March 2025 Family Ties

Posted byfbc1849

A Note from Pastor Sheila

This month is the beginning of Lent – the forty days (not counting Sundays) before Easter. One of the reasons that Lent is forty days long is because that is how much time Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and praying before he was tempted by the devil. It can be hard for us to understand why Jesus would fast before this difficult encounter, because it seems like fasting would make him weak. But Jesus was fasting and praying because that time in prayer made him strong.

When Jesus left the wilderness after those forty days the scripture says that he left in the power of the Holy Spirit, and with that power he was ready to do the work that God had called him to do. In the book of Galatians, Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit – the kinds of things that our lives produce when we are filled with the Spirit – are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Just reading that list makes me feel happy! These are the things I want to have in my life, and we can definitely see them in the life of Jesus.

So often these days it feels like our lives can be filled with things like disappointment, anger, impatience, stress, and distraction, but God wants us to have so much more than that. God wants us to have a life that is better than that. So, during Lent, we are invited to pray and fast – to give up the things that don’t really nourish us or make us strong – so that we can be filled with the Holy Spirit and all the wonderful things that come with living a Spirit-filled life.

I hope you can join me this Lenten season in a time of Bible study on Wednesday nights at 5:00, as we look at the fruits of the Spirit through the life of Jesus – especially in the week before his death on the cross – and consider what a Spirit-filled life may look like for us too.

God bless you and keep you,

Pastor Sheila

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A Safe and Welcoming Church

First Baptist Church wants to be a church that welcomes everyone, just as Jesus welcomed everyone. But we also realize that we also have a responsibility to make sure that people feel safe whenever they are here. We have written the following Safety and Security Statement to express steps we are taking to help people feel both welcome and safe, and to offer recommendations of what everyone can do to help with the safety and security of this community.

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First Baptist Church of St. Paul Security and Safety Statement

We believe:

  • First Baptist Church is a place where all people should feel safe and welcome.
  • We are brought together by the Spirit of Christ
  • Our security in this community is a vital concern
  • We all have a part to play in creating and healthy, safe and welcoming environment.

In order to create this safe space, we recommend the following:

1. If you see something, say something

  • If you see something or someone that makes you uncomfortable, or feel unsafe – anyplace on church grounds, including the parking lot, tell someone that you trust.
  • Do not confront someone on your own.

2. Do not give money to people who ask for help

  • We have been advised by the police to not give money to people.
  • Aggressive panhandling (asking for money) is against the law in St. Paul on property where there is posted a “no solicitation sign,” which we do have posted.
  • Although, as Christians, we want to help people, often money is spent for unhelpful things such as drugs or alcohol.
  • Instead of giving money you can let someone know that we have a hospitality closet with personal hygiene and cleaning items. Often these things can be of help. A pastor or a deacon can help people with items in the hospitality closet.

3. Children should be supervised during worship

  • No one under 18 should be in the narthex during worship services without an adult.
  • Children should be in the sanctuary or a classroom.

4. Designated members of the congregation will help with security issues

  • There will be members of the congregation who will monitor the 9th street entrance and the narthex during worship
  • Money collected during the offering will be collected by designated members and taken back to the church office.
  • Members who have agreed to be available to help with safety concerns will be made known to the congregation, so that people can know who to go if they have a concern.

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Graceful Conversations

(From America Baptist Home Mission Societies)

Does kindness come naturally to you? If so, has it always or have you needed to work at it? Is it easier with some people than it is with others? Some psychologists say we are born with a natural ability to be kind. We might say that God created us to be kind. As we grow and mature, however, we have an inborn tendency to mirror how others around us act. When we are exposed to hardness, we can become hardened. When we are exposed to kindness, we reflect more kindness. Intentional kindness toward others has the power to change the world because it multiplies kindness. Jesus knew this too!

But what does it take to be kind? First, we can try to understand how others feel, or as Paul writes to the people at Ephesus, be “compassionate to one another.” Compassion literally means to feel someone else’s pain. If we can relate to their pain, wouldn’t we naturally want to help them feel better again? Paul also urges forgiveness, another idea that can be tough to do in a world that encourages us to hold grudges. But sometimes, the best way to end suffering is to choose kindness and forgive others’ wrongs, just like God did for us through the life of Jesus.

Questions for reflection and action:

• When did you last see someone suffering and feel you understood exactly how they felt? What did you do because of that feeling? Would you do something different now?

• When was the last time someone did you wrong? Were you able to forgive them? What did that mean to you?

• What are three kind actions that you can take this week to help encourage others to spread kindness?