First Baptist Family of Asheboro, NC

God has been speaking to the angel Gabriel.   Anticipation is growing.   Here we have the results of what the angel has been promising.   It will surprise quite a few people.   Maybe you’ll surprise your neighbors this year with your dazzling Christmas lights?   Excitement is growing.   There’s a merger that happens this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving and we merge right into Christmas.   How do these holidays relate to each other?   Thanksgiving and Christmas go together.   They complement each other.   Thanksgiving prepares our hearts for the joy in Christmas. Elizabeth is promised a son and is waiting.   It’s time for these promises to be realized.   Our faith is often personal.   Many people around the world are more community oriented.   When one person celebrates the whole community celebrates!   For example, we’ll have a community Thanksgiving meal here this week for those who may not have a place to celebrate.   In 1621 the colonists landed at Plymouth and one colonis

We are proud to announce and celebrate The Growing Place's employee Natalie Cottrell's achievements.   "The Randolph County Advisory Council for Disability Awareness is proud to present the Employee of the Year Award for 2019.  This year we had 2 applicates that was nominated this is very important award and there was no employer nominated so our committee voted on giving 2 employee of the year awards. The Randolph County Advisory Council for Disability Awareness is honored to present the Audrey and Jim Harriman Employment Awards.  The Outstanding Employee with a Disability Award is given in recognition of an employee with a disability who has provided encouragement and inspiration to others and has proven to be an asset to the workforce and our community. This employee must also work in Randolph County. This year’s employee of the year is dedicated to the early childhood program in pursing teaching in overcoming their own physical obstacles. This person ha

Have you ever had a song stuck in your head?   Here at Christmastime some crazy songs can get stuck in our heads like, “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas…”   Music can speak to us like nothing else does.   Aristotle taught how music heals our emotions.   We can communicate through song when we cannot communicate any other way.   Mary puts into song what’s in her heart.   This is Mary’s response.   Mary invites us in and speaks from her perspective.   Where are we in this song?   What would we speak to God? God gives us reasons to celebrate.                      46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, These are words from a teenager.   God speaks to us at all different stages of life.   Mary’s song begins with, “my soul magnifies the Lord.”   She is singing from the depths of her being.   She wants to make large and increase the glory of the Lord.   This is what it means to magnify, to make God large.   This is a habit

It’s a season of hope, Christmas is coming.   As we celebrate our veterans today we are reminded of hope.   The reason people go into our military is hope; we have a hope for a future.   We believe we can make a difference.   God gave Elizabeth hope.   She was told she was going to have a son.   Elizabeth is six months pregnant and an angel is speaking to Mary.   Hope isn’t just from stories 2000 years ago.   God entered into our world.   Right now, in His presence we too can find hope.   What is God doing?   God spoke to Elizabeth and then to Mary.   Hope is beginning to grow.   People are asking questions. God brings hope.   Are we open to the possibility that God can bring hope into our lives? 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,  27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.  Luke is the writer of this Gospel.   He is writing to people like you

Jimmy Stuart plays George Bailey in the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life.   George lived in the same town all his life.   He comes to a place in his life when he wishes he’d never been born.   An angel lets him see how life would have been if he weren’t in it.   He sees what the impact of one life can be on friends, family and faith. For the last 30 days we have been praying for someone that’s been on our hearts because they’re not connected to God.   We can see the impact our life can make.   Does our life matter?   Has it made a difference in the lives of others?   Andrew, one of the disciples, saw people and knew what really mattered. He saw the value of individual people.              He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).   John 1.42 (ESV) We see an example of Andrew seeing other people.   Jesus said to the other disciples, “follow me,“ and they did.   Andrew had spe

In Luke 16 Jesus tells a parable, a story of hell. This is a different topic for us.  We have been praying for someone we care about to connect to God.  We are reminded in scripture that God loves people more than we do.  God loves us more than we can imagine.  Sometimes we are asking the question what happens when we die.  This week will be full of Halloween costumes.  Kids will look adorable.  There’s a question of good and evil.  Halloween has a Christian background.  The church has celebrates All Hallows Eve, celebrating loved ones who have passed and the saints, those who walked with God.  Halloween has now taken a darker side and we think about the reality of Heaven and Hell.  Heaven and Hell are closely related.  What happens after we die?  There’s all kinds of ideas about what happens.  What did Jesus say about Hell?  This parable is real and meaningful with true principles.  It’s not to be taken literally in every aspect.  The Sadducees were present and they did n