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
In light of the enormity of the recent elections, both locally and national(s), may I remind you that, as believers, we possess dual citizenships. We, as citizens of this great country, pledge our allegiance to the United States of America, however, we are also citizens of the Kingdom of God. Moreover, when we “Render therefore, unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God, the things that are God’s”, there is no conflict. When the citizenry of these United States really live out “We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed.” When the believer truly embraces this word: “For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ Is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore, follow after the things which make for peace, and things with which one may edify another: (Romans 14:17-19). When we are “doers of the word”, then, change will have truly come to America.
es and there appears to be no improvement looming on the horizon. Perhaps you are sitting where Habakkuk sat when he said: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation”. (Habakkuk 3:17-18). Whether the year 2020 was a good year for you or not so good, if you were in abundance or you had a lean year, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord”. My joy and your joy is not contingent upon our circumstances, but rather, our joy is borne out of our relationship with our heavenly Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ. You can begin again.