February 7, 2021

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?”  (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.).   It is this Pastor’s desire and prayer that out of Black History month will come the sense of community and the knowledge that the living God is with us and that it is He that has delivered us.  Dr. King’s life and work as a national leader of the Civil Rights Movement was geared to improving the lot of all people—irrespective of race, creed, or heritage.  He envisioned a world where we will all enjoy the blessings of freedom, hope, and justice.  Dr. King’s dream has not as yet been fully realized, however, we praise God for the great improvements that have been made.  We are all aware of the significant contributions to our community made by Dr. King, but the question each of us must answer is this:  “What am I doing for other?”

Dear ones, we share a common destiny.  God has richly blessed all of us.  We need only look to where the Lord has brought us from.  I must remind you that we are blessed to be a blessing.  God gives to each of us according to our individual abilities.  Having said that, we all have something to contribute to the betterment of our society.  Please know this, you can have what you want, if you help others get what they want.  There is still much to be done to address the helplessness, the hopelessness, the futility that is the breeding ground for Black-on-Black crime.  We will not find the answer to this country’s ills in the political arena, even with a black Vice President, but the answers are in the purview of the living God who is “among us”.  Listen to the Apostle Paul:  “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  So can we.  Let’s get busy.

Pastor J. Amos Jones

January 31, 2021

Time is something that we all know about. But it is hard to tell exactly what time is.  Time is one of the factors that help us describe and locate any given event.  We say, for example, “On last Sunday we celebrated Sunday School Appreciation Day”.  We also ask, “What time do you have?” or with exasperation we might exclaim, “I don’t have time for this!”  In the natural, we might say that time is one of the dimensions of the physical universe in which we live.  May I remind you, man is a spirit that lives in a body, who possesses a soul?  With that said, then the above definition cannot be complete in the spiritual realm, time is a commodity in the commerce of the Kingdom of God.  It is the period between two eternities.  Time emanates from God, who sits outside of time and in His sovereignty, orchestrates time.  The wise man Solomon tells us in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter number three, there is a time for everything:  A time to be born, to die; to plant, to pluck up; to kill, to heal; to break down, to build up; to weep, to laugh; and the wise man continues through the weary round of life to illustrate that to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

Everything is appropriate in its own time.  Although God has planted eternity in the hearts of men, even so, man cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.  Let’s examine time as the commodity of commerce in the kingdom “But when the fullness of the time was come God sent forth His son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:4-5).  In eternity past, the God of the universe had you (and me) on His mind.  Hear the Prophet Hosea: “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy: break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12).  It’s time to live right, it’s time to act right, and it’s time to seek the Lord in every area of our lives.  (In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.)

Question:  Are you aware of the time?  Hear the Apostle Paul: “the time is short” (1 Cor 7:29). “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed (Romans 13:11).  Dear ones, it is time to wake up and let the church be the church.  Be blessed as we spend our time wisely.

Pastor J. Amos Jones

January 24, 2021

“This is the day of history and hope.”
Words of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoken during his Presidential Inauguration Address. And we know this is true because “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)  Our heavenly Father in eternity past ordained that this day would be, and to Him be glory and majesty, dominion and power. As a nation, we have witnessed history in the making. Thank God we serve a God that is the
overseer of history. “The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifted up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s and He hath set the world upon them.” (1 Samuel 2:7-8)

Even a cursory review of history reveals the hand of our God strong over His people. Even as Hannah’s prayer (the source of the quote), shows us that all we have, experience and receive is on loan from God. Our relationship with Him gives us hope. Our prayers are with President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Vice President Kamala Harris and with these United States of America. As people of faith, I know you will join me in praying for those who have the authority over “We the people”. This is a day of hope for two very good reasons:

1) Hope in God’s unfailing love. (Psalm 33:18) “Behold the
eyes of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that
hope in His mercy”.
2) We have a living hope. (Peter 1:3) “Blessed be the God an
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His
abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

To God be the glory for this day of “history and hope”.

Pastor J. Amos Jones

January 17, 2021

Deacons and Trustees Affirmation Day

On today we, the corporate body of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church celebrate the men who have taken on a laborious task and as such have declared their willingness to serve the body of Christ, the Church.  The essence of this day is a matter of spiritual self-actualization.  Men who are real about the title they wear.  The reality is, they are who they profess to be.  We are celebrating men who understand the qualifications of the diaconate (servant) and are publicly affirming that they possess those qualifications.

There is the spiritual assertion that these are men of integrity and are well respected.  These are men who realize who they are working for.  Their ultimate commitment is to Him. As members of the Body of Christ, we appreciate the commitment to the Lord and His kingdom that our Deacons and Trustee have made and we praise God for them.  On this day as the Deacons and Trustees assert their servanthood, let the membership respect the leadership that is found in their servanthood.  May the Lord Jesus Christ, and God, the Father comfort your hearts brethren, and establish you in every good word and work.

Be blessed as you walk in Him.

Pastor J. Amos Jones