It's Friday morning as I write this. I have a jillion thoughts in my head.

One, is sermon prep. I'm in a series of messages on the scenes in the stained glass windows in our church. This Sunday it's on the nativity scene. Since we just celebrated Christmas, I'm going to deal with the incarnation of Christ. So, today and tomorrow, I'm asking the Lord to give me scriptures, insight, etc... to finalize the sermon. I wish I weren't like this but, my mind is clearer the closer I get to Sunday. That's weird. I wish I could get it all done early in the week. But that's not the way my mind works. Any way, if you read this, remember me in prayer as I finalize this message.

Second, I'm excited about our new church website that is being built and my new blog that our youth minister, Johnathan Woodward has set up for me. The address is www.greggpotts.com. It's not much right now. Still under construction.

Third, I am very thankful for how wonderful the Lord has been to our church in recent months. Our attendance has grown and some very good things are happening. I'm in the process now of planning events for the remainder of the year. I'm praying that the Lord blesses us with another great day.

Fourth, I am excited about the tremendous potential for reaching people that exists in Paulding county. Lord, guide me as I try to provide leadership for our church in reaching people.

Finally, I am concerned and frustrated with our leaders in Washington, D.C. I agree that the economy is struggling bad. But the stimulus bill they are debating is ridiculous. Enough said.

I hope you have a great weekend. First Baptist Dallas folks, hope to see you in Bible study and worship this Sunday.

Yesterday, at FBCD, the message was on "God's Call To Abraham" based on Genesis 12. This was the 2nd message in my series of messages on the biblical scenes depicted in stained glass windows in our sanctuary. These are the highlights of the message.

Although there are many things major religious groups in the world disagree on, Abraham is one person there is agreement on. Bruce Feiller wrote a book several years ago entitled "Abraham: A Journey Into The Heart Of Three Faiths" that dealt with this subject. We definitely have major doctrinal differences with these groups however, we do share a common belief in the importance of Abraham.
Christians look to Abraham as a man of faith because we believe the Bible and the Bible records Abraham as the first of the patriarchs.
Jews look to Abraham, along with the other patriarchs in the scriptures were considered the founder of the Jewish faith.
Followers of Islam look to Abraham was the father of Ishmael whom was considered the father of the Arab people.
By studying the call of Abraham in Genesis 12 we learn the following:

I. The Call Of Abraham.
The scripture says "Now the Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your country." God is calling Abraham to leave behind his family and the familiar. He says "Go forth from your country."
If God is calling you, you are going to have leave something behind. Jesus said, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has no where to lay his head.”
It has been said "Whomever God calls, God equips; Whereever God leads, God provides."
II. The Course Of Abraham
God says "Go forth from your country... to the land that I will show you." Abraham doesn't have a road map. There isn't anyone he can talk with who has taken this trip. There is no GPS. There is simply the voice of God. Abraham has no idea where he's going but he knows God is calling. God says "I will show you the land."
It was a faith experiment for Abraham. The Christian walk is a faith exercise. We believe in Jesus through faith. We ask Jesus to save us through faith. We walk in faith. Faith means trusting the Lord.
Legendary Pastor R.G. Lee once said, “Anything believable and conceivable is achievable if you have faith in God.”
III. The Conditions For Abraham
God has called Abraham and has told him that he is taking him to the "...land which I will show you." Then God says, "I will make you a great nation... And I will bless you, and make your name great."
Someone has said, “Faith is belief with legs on it.”
Now, some of us may be like the disciples. They said to the Lord, “We do believe, help our unbelief.”
Now, someone may say “How can my faith grow?
Be saturated with the scriptures. The Bible says “Faith comes from hearing the Word of God.”
Be dedicated to the Savior. Remember that faith is no better than its object. It’s not so much a great faith in God as it is faith in a great God.
Be separated from sin. Unconfessed sin is a faith killer.
Be activated by the Spirit. Remember the old song “Trust and Obey?” We are to be obedient.
An unkown poet expressed his faith this way;
“I believe in the Sun even when it is not shining.
I believe in Love when I feel it not
I believe in God when when He is silent.”

This week, ask the Lord to help you grow in faith.

We had a great day of worship at FBCD today.
Our attendance was VERY good. There were over 400 in the two services this morning and we had about 270 in Sunday School. There was a lot of energy in the service. I pray that we are very close to having at least 400 in worship on a regular basis.
My message this morning was on "5 Resolutions Every Christian Should Make in 09." Our text was Daniel 1:8. The Bible says "Daniel made up his mind..." There are some things every Christian should "make up their mind" to do this year. They are:

1) Love God Supremely.
Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God..." (Matthew 6:33).
Jesus said the greatest commandment is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind" (Matthew 22:36-40)
If we put the Lord first, everything else falls into place.
If we put the Lord first, we will make a commitment to regular worship with the people of God.


2) Know God better.
We know better in two ways:
a) By reading God's word
b) Through prayer

3) Give God's Money Malachi 3:10 says, "Bring ye all the tithe into the storehouse."

4) Love God's People Jesus said "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples.. if you love one another" (John 13:34-35).

5) Share God's Love We can do this in two ways
a) Through witnessing
b) Through ministry

5 simple resolutions. Every Christian can and should keep these in 09. I encourage you, this week, to work toward keeping these in your Christian life.

I've just finished my Bible readings for Reading the Bible through this year. I've found a blog that goes along with the Bible readings that is really good. The link to it is www.oneyearbibleblog.com. The guy who does it, puts a lot of time into it.
This morning, the readings in Genesis dealt with the fall of man, God's grace to man in covering man and the first sin (Cain murdering Abel). If you haven't started reading the Bible through I encourage you to do so. It would be 15 or 20 or 25 of the best minutes each day you will invest this year.
I've also been working on my sermon for Sunday. I was off last Sunday. But, Sunday's coming again... pretty quick.
I was going to start a series this Sunday on the Biblical stories depicted in the stained glass in our santuary. However, I'm going to push that back one week. This Sunday the message is entitled "Five Resolutions Every Christian Should Make."
I hope you have a good Friday. Some of you may have taken off today. If so, I hope you enjoy the day.
The weather report is calling for rain in north Georgia this weekend. Sounds like good weather to stay inside and stay by the fire. But, I do encourage you to get your umbrella out, put your rain coat on and go to church on Sunday. Start the new year off in church.

Gregg

Happy New Year!
We have a brand new year in front of us.
The apostle Paul challenged us, "...forgetting what lies behind, we press on." I hope you will join me today and press on to the new year that God has for us.
As we begin the new year, I encourage you to take time today, if you haven't done so already, and commit this year to the Lord. Ask God to use you and grow you this year. One of the best ways to do that is to commit to spend time in God's word and in prayer.
Many from FBCD have committed to reading the Bible through this year. This morning, as I began reading the Bible through, I read about God's work of creation in Genesis 1 & 2.
If you have not committed to reading the Bible through in 09, there is still time. Why not make that commitment today?
As we move into a new year, a couple of verses come to mind that we would do well to commit to memory.
Colossians 3:23 is one. It reads, "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men."
Proverbs 3:5-6 are also good verses to memorize. They read, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart,And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him,And He will make your paths straight."
And, another is Matthew 6:33 which reads, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you."
Commit 2009 to the Lord!
Happy New Year!

In the past couple of days, I have invited our church family, First Baptist Church, Dallas, to join me in reading the Bible through in 09. Several have responded indicating they are going to do so. I would also like to invite anyone else who may drop by my blog while browsing in cyberspace to join me and others in reading through the Bible in 09. He are the rules we are going to follow:

1) If you get behind, don't sweat it. All of us will, periodically, miss a day or two or maybe even three or four. It will happen. Don't sweat that. If you miss a day or, a couple of days, you can take a few extra moments and catch up or, just read what you can.
2) If you have questions about something you've read, email me. If I can help explain it, I will. But, please understand, there will be likely be lots of times when I say, "I don't know either, we will have to wait until we get to heaven to know the answer."
3) As we read through the Bible, I want us to learn and have fun doing it. Ok, so, there are the rules... Now, here are the readings through Saturday, January 3.

Jan. 1Genesis 1:1-2:25Matthew 1:1 - 2:12Psalm 1:1-6Proverbs 1:1-1:6
Jan. 2Genesis 3:1-4:26Matthew 2:13-3:6Psalm 2:1-2:12Proverbs 1:7-1:9
Jan. 3Genesis 3:1-4:26Matthew 3:7-4:11Psalm 3:1-8Proverbs 1:10-19

I'm looking forward to this. It's going to be fun. If you decide to join me and others on this trip, either leave a comment on my blog or send me an email at gepotts1@yahoo.com. Look forward to hearing from you and, have a great new year!

For those who are interested in joining me in reading the Bible through... follow this link and you will find a list of readings.

http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/january.asp?version=51&startmmdd=0101

Email me or text me and let me know how your journey through the Bible is going.

2008 is almost over.
Wow... time flies.
In less than two days we will tear off the calendar sheet that reads "December 2008" and replace it with "January 2009".
A new year.
A new start.
Around this time of year I normally reflect on the past year and look forward to the new one. I will set some goals of things I want to accomplish in the new year. I encourage you to set some goals as well.
One thing I encourage you to do is to plan to read through the Bible. This is a great spiritual discipline and will help you grow as a Christians.
However, you may be thinking, "I can't devote enough time to reading through the Bible."
While I certainly don't know your schedule, I would think that you can. It might mean spending less time say... watching tv but, most of us could get this done. It shouldn't take you more than 30 minutes a day. And, more than likely, you could do it in about 15 minutes.
You could also be thinking, "What if I get behind?" or, "What if I miss a day?"
No sweat, just catch up the next day. And, you may not get the entire Bible read next year but, you can get some of it read and some it is better than none!
So, today and tomorrow (Dec. 30 & 31) seriously consider joining me in reading through the Bible. If you decide to do this, send me an email to let me know.

Gregg Potts