First Baptist Family of Asheboro, NC

"I don't know about you, but I have felt so overwhelmed by the layers of hurt and injustice so many are experiencing in this pandemic. The list is endless and we all have a different front row seat. Mine is in proximity to our homeless friends here in Wilmington through my role at Vigilant Hope. It is really easy to focus on all the awful. But I'm choosing to look for the movement of God instead. That doesn't mean looking away from the hurt. Actually the opposite. It means staring injustice in the face and squinting your eyes so hard that you can barely see to look for the traces of the Lord at work in it. I'll be honest and say that I can't always see it. But I know that I for sure won't see it if I stop looking. So I keep looking. And sometimes, God makes it clear. Sometimes the movement of God shows up in a solitary grocery bag in the back seat of my car when I drove by our community meal site (after an unexpected detour) and saw one

We all have our callings and how do we live out our callings with so many distractions?   How do we make sense of what’s happening?   God’s Word doesn’t change and always remains the same.   It speaks deep into our hearts.   Abraham is a tremendous figure in the history of the world and Abraham knew about loss.   In Genesis 12:1-9, God calls Abraham and God calls us as well.   Abraham has and will experience a tremendous amount of loss.   Everything is disrupted.   Abraham understands when life doesn’t make sense.   There’s a reason for this.   God wants to bless the world through Abraham.   God will bless those who bless Abraham and will curse those who curse him.   We are all asking why this is happening in our world today.   How do we understand our calling?   God speaks into our lives.   In chapter one God calls Abraham to leave the known and venture into the unknown.   We can relate to this.   We have a lot of unknowns now.   What will happen with my job?   What will happen with

I remember when I was 16 years old.   I attended a small church in Stokes County and the pastor took a group of us teens and adults aside to show us how to share our faith.   He introduced me to a small tract titled, “How to Have a Meaningful Life.”   It featured John 10:10 and was the first tract I’d ever seen.   In every meeting he taught us how to engage people.   I was terrified!   I sat down with a peer and read the entire tract.   I left feeling like I didn’t make any ground with that person. While I was in college a group of people were being baptized and was in the group.   All I did was read Scripture.   Scripture is a powerful tool, a gateway.   Here at First Baptist we take our people through a tract too.   It’s called the Three Circles and you can find it on Lifeway’s website.   Internationally we use something else called Creation to Christ that’s longer.   The Three Circles is a three minute conversation with people on how to have a relationship with the Lord.   I wan

Have you ever heard of caroling in April?  Crazy, right?  Yeah that’s what I thought too when Ellen Lucas, FBC Church Secretary, come up with this wild idea to go sing to the residents at Cross Road Retirement Center.  Especially when she said she was going to take pictures and I was going to sing.  However, I surrendered to her wild idea and played along.  On Wednesday, April 7, Wanda B., Eulalie, Ellen and I headed to Cross Road Retirement Center to travel door to door as a singing, picture taking quartet.  Our goal was to bring a smile and ray of sunshine to our FBC members during this time of quarantine.  However, we were the ones blessed and encouraged.   We sang a few old gospel hymns such as “Leave It There,” “I’ll Fly Away,” “We’ll Understand It Better By and By,” as well as an old Dottie Rambo song entitled “Sheltered in the Arms of God.”   Not only did we attempt to minister to our own FBC Family, but others, such as their neighbors or friends across the lake w

Little is Much……. The Mask Ministry is now entering its 5 th week of sewing with over 600+ masks completed and distributed to healthcare professionals, first responders, and families throughout our community and beyond. Six hundred……a number of quantification, an indicator of rise and fall, or a measure of success. The news media has reported that manufacturing companies have the capability to produce one million or more masks per week.   In the shadow of that vast number, Satan whispers to us, “there is no need to try. Your contribution is too small to make a difference.”   But God says, “little is much, when I am in it.”   So on those long days and evenings when our fingers and hands are puffy, our shoulders are tight and our backs are aching,   we reflect on the encouraging words of those who have already received our masks…..” each mask I give out may save a life ”…….” your ministry is such a blessing to so many ”…..” our nurses are eager to use your masks” ….. and God

Happy Easter!  It’s good to be gathered together to worship this morning and read God’s Word.  John 20:1-9 tells us what happened that first Easter morning.  They were seeking Jesus.  Maybe someone invited you to tune in today.  You’re in the right place if you’re seeking who God is.  We celebrate God’s love for us today just like we do at Christmas and other Christian holidays.  God sent His son to go to the cross for us.  On Good Friday, the son of God took our place on the cross and died for us.  God wants to forgive our sins and restore us back to Him.  All of this is part of the Christian story.  Easter, there was something different about that day.  The unbelievable happened.  We cannot explain it with logic or reasoning.  We believe Jesus Christ is the son of God and raised from the dead.   This is a story of two people who discovered an empty tomb.  This is remarkable.  There’s a state of being neutral here.  God overlooks what we’ve done in the past through forgiveness

Kevin & Jan Rutledge, serve as missionaries with Mission to the World (Presbyterian Church of America) in Frankfurt, Germany and are NC natives. They work with the many refugees currently in Germany, teaching German, English, camps, etc. For more info, check out our Facebook site:  https://www.facebook.com/focuson.frankfurt.9 "We are so grateful that you are letting us live in your spacious Missionary House, Robin's Nest. Jan had some medical issues that required us to come back and we had to scramble for flights and housing as the Covid-19 virus was hitting Europe hard. This has been a quiet place to regroup. Thank you!" - Kevin & Jan Please feel free to send Kevin & Jan a card welcoming them to our community.  You can get the address by contacting the church office.  Kevin & Jan plan to be with us until September of this year.  Please pray for them as they navigate health concerns during a time of quarantining.  Sharing your favorite local pl

How often have you said to someone “your timing is perfect?” In the last 6 weeks, I have experienced God’s perfect timing.  During a dinner conversation at a Wednesday Night Fellowship Supper, a church member, who I will call Lydia, shared a touching story about a special gift she received some time back. While Lydia had every good intention of using this gift, time passed, it only collected dust and took up space. Lydia listened that night as I shared about my love for sewing and how I especially enjoyed applique and creative sewing projects. Several weeks later Lydia approached me with a wonderful surprise!  She wanted me to have that special gift that she had spoken about at dinner one night. You guessed it! It's a sewing machine!  Not just any sewing machine, but a machine that has all the bells and whistles that a seamstress dreams about!  Little did I know that this sewing machine would later be the work horse that has enabled me to sew over 400 face masks for first respo

A Response to the Randolph County Commissioners Declaring Monday, April 6, 2020, as a Day of Prayer Instructions :   Download and print the document for the number of people following this guide . Allow the Lord to speak and guide you during this time of prayer.   Allow the Spirit to guide you as you offer your personal prayers. The guide includes the words to all songs hymns, and scripture.   Web links are provided to YouTube which includes the words making it easier for you to sing. ENTERING COMMUNION WITH GOD. My soul waits for the Lord   More than watchmen wait for the morning…                                                              Psalm 130:6 (NIV) Be still and focus on the reality you are seeking communion with God PRAY THIS PSALM ALOUD Psalm 46:1-11 (NIV)  God is our refuge and strength,   an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way   and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,