Pastor's Moment

Our musicians have recorded two new songs for Christmas:

"O Holy Night" and "We Three Kings".

You can find their recordings on our website:

spartafbc.org/music

Watch a video message from Pastor Rick by visiting the following web page link and clicking on "Christmas Eve 2020"

spartafbc.org/pastors-moments

The Christmas story in scripture is a wonderful story to read, hear, and experience. We see Bethlehem and a manger. We hear about the shepherds and the angels. We are told about the Magi bringing gifts and a star in the sky.  

The gospel of Matthew says, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).” Matthew 1:22-23

In Luke and Matthew, we find the traditional Christmas story. The gospel of John is more a pondering Christmas story, but it is still there.

John begins his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

My logical and algebra skills started when I was young. I remember doing some equation solving in John chapter 1 back in my younger days. In verse 14 we find out “who” the Word is. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” The Word is Jesus.

If we substitute Jesus for the Word, then John reads like this: “In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. Jesus was with God in the beginning. Through Jesus all things were made; without Jesus nothing was made that has been made. In Jesus was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”

Jesus is God! God became flesh, Jesus, to dwell with us. Be one of us; his creation. Fully human while fully divine. John continues, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

With all that is happening around us, as this unprecedented year of 2020 draws to a close, the world needs what the Word brings, what Jesus brings, what God brings: grace and truth.

Grace to live out the gospel in our lives and activities. Truth coupled with grace as we live and speak. The world along with us, the church, need what only Jesus brings: grace and truth.

I pray that you receive Jesus this Christmas. May you experience His grace and truth. John says it well, “to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

Call him Jesus. Call him Savior. Call him Lord. Call him God.

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God with us’).”

We will continue online activities through January 3.

Stay tuned as the pandemic situation may push the date into January 2021.

I invite you to follow our church group on Faithlife.com. Visit https://faithlife.com/spartafbc to connect with us.

Faithlife is an app and website that you can join for free. It allows you to follow everything church related, from daily verses and weekly sermons to prayer requests and praises from our church members.

Faithlife has an integrated set of technology tools to help equip the church. You have already seen the use of some of their tools: our website, presentation slides, and recorded sermons.

While we are not gathering in person during the COVID-19 crisis, you can send your tithes and offerings to the church treasurer or use the online form on our website page:

spartafbc.org/give