Dear Ones, may I ask what is your PASSION?  (Capitalized for emphasis)  Passion usually implies a strong emotion that has an overpowering or compelling effect. i.e., extreme, compelling emotion; intense emotional drive or excitement.  For this Pastor, it is no secret; I have a passion for the lost, for souls.  2^nd Peter 3:9 gives insight into the heart of God:  “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”.  Out of this passage of Scripture is spawn this Pastor’s passion for the lost.

 Number One:  lost humanity being reconciled to Him is a passion of the Lord.  In His desire that none should perish, God gave His only Son, the righteous for the unrighteous.

 Moreover, the Lord is extraordinarily patient with fallen humanity, we blow it big-time and it is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed.  Praise God, His tender compassions fail not.

 You now know this Pastor’s passion, however, the question is, what is your passion?  Let me give you some “Food for Thought”:  (1 John 2:15) “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him”.  (The world, or realm of sin, which is controlled by Satan and organized against God and righteousness).

 If your passion is not for God, His Kingdom, His righteousness or His will and purpose for your life, may I suggest that you subdue your passion and bring it into conformity with the will and desire of Almighty God.  Hear and model the Apostle Paul:  “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ” (Phil. 1:7)

 Be blessed as we continue in Him

 Pastor J. Amos Jones

Affirmation (n)       

      1.    The act of affirming or declaring.

2.   Something affirmed; positive declaration; assertion

3.    Law:  a solemn declaration, but not under oath.

Deacons and Trustees Affirmation Day.  A day of celebration and appreciation. 

On today we, the corporate body of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, celebrate the men who have taken on a noble task and as such have declared their willingness to serve the Body of Christ, the Church.

 To be a deacon or a trustee is an awesome responsibility that requires a commitment to the revealed truths of the Christian faith and must live with a clear conscience.  (For we walk by faith, not by sight)  We are celebrating men who understand the qualifications of deacons and publicly affirming that they possess those qualifications.  They are declaring that they are men who are respected and have integrity.  These are men who realize for whom they are working.  As members of the Body of Christ, we appreciate the commitment to the Kingdom that our deacons and trustees have made and we praise God for them.   On this day as the deacons and trustees assert their servant hood, let the membership respect the leadership that is found in their servant hood. 

 Praise God that our deacons and trustees have listened to Jesus as He said “whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister (servant):  And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant”  (Matthew 20:26b,, 27)

 Pastor J. Amos Jones

In the year 2015 and in the years to come, it is this pastor’s fervent prayer that each and every member of FMBC will be a person of moral excellence.

 The Apostle Peter speaks to this moral excellence in his second epistle, Chapter 1:3:  “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue:  “The Amplified Bible says:  “Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue).  Our Heavenly Father has high expectations of those that have received precious faith through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

 God has made available all that we need spiritually through our knowledge of Him.  In as much as God has empowered us, what should be our posture toward life and godliness?

 Number One:  There should be recognition of the divine calling.  We are called to be recipients of God’s favor and His peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts). 

 Number Two: Moreover, we are called to go into His vineyard and work, and the Master of the vineyard has declared:  “And whatsoever is right I will give you”.  There has to be the clear understanding that we are working for the Lord.  “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men”.  (Col. 3:23).

 Lastly:  By His own glory and excellence, He has bestowed on His people, His precious and exceedingly great promises.  He has promised that you will escape the decadence (worldly filth) all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in His divine nature.

 Dear Ones, moral excellence is depicted by the three “Cs”:  COMMITMENT, COMPASSION and CHRISTIAN ENERGY.

 Be blessed as you walk in moral excellence.

 Pastor J. Amos Jones

“Happy New Year!”  How often we are greeted with that greeting.  We are told “to” but not “How to”.  Here are three principles that will help the person who employs them, to have a Happy New Year.

 Number One:  We must have a “Kingdom Mindset.”  Matthew 6:22 tells us that our eyes are the “lamps” for our bodies.  A pure eye allows sunshine into our souls.  Stay positive.  See what God has done, and is doing, for us and through us.  Don’t allow your life to be governed by negative thoughts and/or deeds.  Stay away from negative people.  They are poison to the soul.  When you can’t isolate yourself from negative people, you can always insulate yourself with the living, covering, word of God.

 Number Two:  We must “settle the God matter” in our lives.  We can only truly serve one master.  As Christians, we cannot vacillate when it comes to things of God.  We must say with certainty, as did Joshua:  “but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15 [d]).

 Number Three:  “Get a Kingdom perspective”.  Our focus should be the Kingdom of God.  (His Kingdom – where the will of God is manifest in the earth realm).  We must aim at, and strive after, His Kingdom and His Righteousness, for the fulfillment of our prayer:  “Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”.  When we really know, I mean really know, that God in in control, that He is sovereign, that He has the preeminence in all things, then it will be abundantly clear that it isn’t our position, but our disposition that makes us happy.

 The question then arises, when should we apply these principles to have a Happy New Year?  Let the Psalmist give us some spiritual insight.  “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it”  (Psalm 118:24).

 There are three hundred and sixty-one more days in 2015.  Begin each one with the acknowledgement that God Is and you WILL have a happy day and hence, a Happy New Year. 

 Be blessed in 2015.  The best is yet to come.

 Pastor J. Amos Jones

Here we are in the waning hours of 2014. 

 This year has been a reflection of life in its totality.   We have had some exhilarating highs and some debilitating lows, but through it all, God has been faithful.  Praise God for His precious promises!  His word tells us:  “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20-b).

 We enjoyed His protective presence during 2014 and we are assured of His perpetual presence in 2015.  With all of life’s ups and downs, twists and turns, this Pastor can truly declare:  “My soul is anchored in the Lord”.  Let me share with you a truth that comes out of David’s dialogue with the Philistine giant, Goliath.  In 1 Samuel 17:47, hear what David says to Goliath:  “And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear:  for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands”.  FOR THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S (capitalized for emphasis).

 As we go into a new year, please dear ones, do not fight battles that are not yours.  The battle is not yours, it is the Lord’s.  Rather than fight, try this:  Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee:  He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved”  (Psalm 55:22).

 Be blessed in Twenty-fifteen.

 Pastor J. Amos Jones