Embrace - Devotionals
This Week’s Personal Action Step
Be intentional this week to draw closer to those whom God puts in your path and on your heart.
This Week’s Group Action Step
Take time in the your next LifeGroup meeting to focus on genuine depth and care of each other’s souls.
JANUARY 25 - THE EVIDENCE IS LOVE
John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Everyone needs love. Jesus gave us a new commandment which we can follow well when we embrace one-another as family… brothers and sisters in Christ. Being in a LifeGroup is incredibly important for that to happen. It is of course not the only way. But, as the body of Christ, embracing one-another in love is central to deepening our relationships. We want to be there for each other in these groups acting like disciples who love Him and each other. We all have room to grow in our connections with one-another. God saw fit to use the word ‘allelon’ (Greek for ‘one-another’) over fifty different times in the New Testament. Jesus calls ‘loving one-another’, a new commandment. As the body of Christ, we are to be the first to help each other and embrace each other as we follow our Lord.
Jesus goes so far as to say that the evidence of being His disciple is that you love one another. How much ‘evidence’ is there on you for someone to claim that you are a follower of Jesus Christ? Or are you exhibiting evidence of the opposite? Are you more about you than you are about others? When Jesus uses the word for love here, it means ‘giving expecting nothing in return.’ Do we do that in such a way that others know we are His disciples?
JANUARY 26 - DEEP FELLOWSHIP
Acts 2:42-47 “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
One way they devoted themselves was to fellowship with one-another. ‘Day by day’ the early disciples were together and looking out for each other. In all of the ways we see the early church together, we know that they were building up the body of Christ. They embraced each other deeply as they fellowshipped together. They went beyond snacks and chit chat. They were doing life together. They spent time with each other in their homes. They helped each other in whatever ways that were needed. So, are we that way toward one-another? In what ways could we grow to be relationally close enough to love one-another and to know what each other needs…then meet that need? They had generous hearts toward each other. They are a great example of loving one-another. Why not ask Jesus to help you to be better at being there for one-another?
JANUARY 27 - GATHERING IS IMPERATIVE
Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
It is almost impossible to stir one-another up, if you are rarely around one-another. Sure, you can use text, email, Facetime, and Zoom as Covid has required us to do. But we all know that those are temporary substitutes for the real thing. We need each other more desperately than we thought. The smiles, the genuine feel of being together, seeing each other’s face in person, even with a mask on, is great! But we cannot wait till we can be together like we were. We miss it. I think we can all say, we may have taken it for granted.
To stir one another up to love and good works, we must gather. When we gather, we must encourage one another. The body of Christ can do for each other what no other gathering on the planet can do. We can be built up as a ‘spiritual house’ by our Lord, by our gathering together and then stirring and encouraging one-another. Ask Jesus to show you where you may be neglecting to gather with other believers for deepening of relationships. Ask Him how you can better stir one another up toward love and good deeds.
JANUARY 28 - HOLDING BURDENS UP TO CHRIST
Galatian's 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Again, the word one-another. We do bear one-another’s burdens, but not alone. When we hear of a burden that one of our friends has, we hold those up to Christ. He is the one who ultimately bears all burdens. When we do so, we fulfill His law, that we love one-another.’
As we gather we should have time to share our burdens. Many times this is better done in even smaller groups outside of LifeGroups where we have deeper discipleship relationships. It is tough to squeeze all of the one-another’s into a one-hour meeting. It is impossible to bear that which we do not know. We need to develop trust with one-another so that we can share with confidence that it will not be spread everywhere, and, that they will actually lift it up to Christ. Sometimes a ‘silent prayer request’ is appropriate in a large group setting and maybe in mixed company. But with a close friend, you should be able to bear your soul, so they can lift the burden up to God. It is not that they bear it personally, but they hold it up and ask God to take care of it.
JANUARY 29 - PAYING COMFORT FORWARD
1 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
If God is the God of all comfort, why would we need to comfort one-another? In God’s divine wisdom He has chosen to use other believers to be conduits of comfort to one-another. There might be days when our fellowship with God wanes, and the affliction is affecting us. God might use another person to come alongside us to comfort us and remind us who God is and how He loves us. It is actually encouraging to know that the comfort another believer gives us is the comfort they got from God.
Tomorrow you may be having a great day and know someone who needs comforting. If you can, comfort them. It may be that you are the one in need later in the week. Reciprocal comfort is available. But in many instances you will comfort someone who may never be able to comfort you back. That is actually not the point. It is though, that you are able to pay it forward. With the comfort you receive, comfort others.
He will never run out of comfort, and we will never run out of need for that comfort. Ask Him to show you who needs comfort, then go and give!
EMBRACING ONE-ANOTHER ACTIVITY
Is there someone you used to see in worship or in your LifeGroup that you haven’t seen in a while? Do you know where they are? Do you why they aren’t coming anymore? Reach out to that person and let them know you noticed their absence and that you care for them. They may be keeping their distance because of the virus and that is understandable but every one needs to know someone noticed they were gone.
Midweek Update [January 20, 2021]
EQUIP-Devotionals
This Week’s Personal Action Step
If you are not in a LifeGroup, get in one! You will love it! Are you becoming more like Jesus, and helping others do so? Pray and ask God to show you how to grow in His Son’s likeness, since He has made you part of His body. Find that group of others that can walk with you through life.
This Week’s Group Action Step
Answer this question next week in LifeGroup: “How can we better equip each other for every good work of ministry?”
JANUARY 18—WE HELP EACHOTHER GROW
Ephesians 4:11-13 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,”
We are here to help each other, as a part of the same body. In the mind of God, once we became a part of the body of Christ, He sees us together, unified as that body. We ‘are’ the body, but we are to ‘build up’ that body. We are the ones who must work to make unity a reality. What part do you play in the unity process? He made each of us different, with different gifts and abilities. Only a few are listed there. We all play a part in building up the body of Christ.
He desires unity…of the faith...and the knowledge of the Son. Unity is not just agreement. Unity is movement toward attaining the same things - faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus. Sometimes we get dis-unified when we want what we want, instead of asking ourselves, ‘What part am I playing to build up the body in faith and knowledge of Him?’ We may at times have those moments when, as adults, we still think or act like small children who want their way. When we do, we are dis-unifiers. We must do our part, desiring faith and knowledge in our Lord Jesus.
JANUARY 19—GROUPS ARE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT
Acts 5:42 “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.”
This is the early churches’ version of our Worship Services and LifeGroups. Much has changed over the years, but it is still incredibly important to gather to worship, and also to gather in smaller groups to be able to be the body of Christ, and equip each other for good works...in both settings. All that we learn in scripture we can use to love each other, to care for each other, to genuinely help each other grow in our faith and knowledge of Him.
The difference between this verse back then and our lives now is this - they did this daily. We should be encouraged by this, not discouraged. We may not be able to meet daily, but we can call each other, text each other, meet for lunch or dinner together, have coffee or breakfast together in even smaller groups than our LifeGroup. LifeGroups are the great place to start and focus on our discipleship relationships, but they are not the only place. We can find ways to stay in touch during the week. Helping each other grow in Him. Caring for each other when the pains of life on this earth come.
JANUARY 20—GROUPS ARE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
As a disciple of Jesus, if we are to follow Him well, we must find ways to constantly remind ourselves of who He is, and how He works. Committing scripture to memory is good. Writing sticky notes for the bathroom mirror is also good. Really, any way you can keep what He has said in front of you will help you live the life He desires for you. He ‘is’ your life. So, knowing Him more deeply, and knowing what He has said about how to live your life with Him and others, is imperative. Keeping ‘Who He is’ ever present in your eyes and ears and mind and helping others do the same, will keep us focused on Him.
Go back to the ‘Guide to Worship’ and use some of the suggested ways to create habits in your life to draw near to Him by reading, listening, and studying His word. Then tell others in your LifeGroup and family what you have found.
JANUARY 21—HIS WORD GUIDES US
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
All scripture, not just some scripture, is inspired by God. Our life as a disciple of Jesus must start and rely on what He has written. All of it. After all, He is the ‘author and perfecter’ of our faith. He is making us ‘more perfect’ every day. We are to look more like Him each day. But honestly, there are days we feel less like Him. Don’t worry…in every bit of scripture, you can find God and His ways. He can and will give you the peace and courage to grow in Him. Knowing God and understanding His ways will guide you through your whole life. On the good days and the bad days. Our great God has a personal and vested interest in you, and seeing you grow. He loves you and has written His word for you.
What He has written is good for teaching, to correct you and others in the ways we all are to live. His word will train you in how to live a ‘right life’. In doing so, you will be equipped for whatever work He has for you. Some of the time we may get scripture in our minds, but it has yet to come out in our actions.
JANUARY 22—SPECIFIC GOOD WORKS FOR YOU
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
God is writing a journal about who we are. A ‘poema’, the original Greek word for ‘workmanship’ God used. This is very personal. We were created in Christ to do the works He has planned. These works are some of the same ones listed in Ephesians 4:11-13. He has made you and gifted you for good works. He is with you to guide you into them. These works will involve others. Ask Him, ‘Father, what do you want me to do for you and for others?’ Then let Him show you and guide you in that work.
Christ is not only with us today, and the Spirit living in us to guide us today…but there are plans made by God for tomorrow. Plans for you to accomplish. Plans you may not think you can do, but through His strength, His gifting, and His guidance…you can. His plans are for good works that fit who He has made you to be.
Who you are today in Him, and how you change to be more like Him, will prepare you for the work tomorrow. The big question is this, are you looking for those works that you can do with Him as He guides you? He wants us to walk in them, as we walk with Him.
Midweek Update [January 13, 2021]
Exalt - Devotionals
This Week’s Personal Action Step
Use the “Guide to Worship” and spend some time exalting Christ in your life by taking a next step in daily personal worship, in-home worship, and corporate worship.
This Week’s Group Action Step
Take some time in your LifeGroup next week to discuss how personal time with God affected you.
JANUARY 11—SCRIPTURE IS WRITTEN BY A PERSON
John 5:39-40 ‘You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.’
You cannot exalt what you don’t know…better said, ’you cannot exalt ‘Who’ you don’t know. But the Pharisees tried. Jesus told them basically, that they read the bible, but they missed the fact that the bible was talking about Him. And that He is the author. God wants us to know Him. Not just know ‘about Him’. He desires an ongoing, heartfelt, growing, personal relationship with each of us. He wants us then to exalt Him, to lift Him up in our hearts, to make Him central in our lives. He wants His presence in our hearts and minds to be a constant. Then in the lives we live, He desires to be evident.
The bible is the only book ever written…ever written…that when you read it, you can talk to the author. Too much of the time we seek the scriptures and miss knowing the author. We miss God. The Pharisees searched the scriptures looking for eternal life. Yet Jesus was right there saying those words. ‘Eternal life Himself’ was standing right there in front of them. Yet they missed Him. He is standing right there with you, actually in you through His Spirit, every moment of every day if you are His. Do you miss Him? Start with the scriptures and look for Him in them. Ask Him, ‘Father, how do you want me to know you more?’
JANUARY 12—CLOSENESS IS DESIRED
James 4:8 ‘Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.’
His desire is for us to draw near to Him. He wants us to make the move toward Him. To desire that. Then He will draw near to us. He wants us to seek His face. He is already seeking ours. The ‘heavens declare the glory of God’. ‘His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.’ Yet, much of the time we seek His hand. What can He give us or do for us. But God wants us to know Him, as a person. To know Him we must seek Him. Look for Him.
To draw near is to get to know him not just with our mind, but with our heart. As we do we learn to trust Him more and more…which in turn helps us to draw even nearer to Him.
JANUARY 13—HOW DO YOU WORSHIP HIM?
John 4:23-25 “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
So much of our worship has to do with the physical environment we are in. In our corporate worship with others we like certain seats, lighting, music. Nothing wrong with things that make us comfortable. But when we must have that comfortable-ness to worship, we are actually worshipping the comfortable-ness. That may sting a little. But Jesus Himself said it is not about that. As He told the woman Jesus met at the well. She was concerned about ‘where’ worship happened…Jesus told her that ‘how’ worship happens is important to God. In spirit and truth. In our personal worship, there is nothing wrong with looking for ways to get alone with God, to remove distraction. But our ability to worship Him through a hectic, busy day will be a test as to whether we can connect with Him in the midst of the daily grind. Our personal and our corporate worship should help us to be connected and stay connected through the hours of our week. The spiritual aspect is more important than the physical aspect. But also, we must worship Him in truth, not in falseness. We must not attribute to Him something that is false and act out on it. To know Him truly means we must draw near to Him and get to know Him. Only as we grow in this way will we be able to love Him truthfully as He truly is.
JANUARY 14—CORPORATE WORSHIP MATTERS
Psalm 34:3 “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!”
Corporate worship is important to God, and to us. We are to exalt His name when we are together. Sunday worship gathering can become a habit that we do just because it is Sunday. We can be in worship service as habit, but our hearts may not be exalting Him with others. We may just at times be going through the motions. Our hearts and minds may be far away in worry or random thoughts. Habits sometimes can take the place of what they were intended do. For each of us to be a part of a congregation which exalts His name, we need to personally push back against that. We must avoid worshipping the habit, rather than the One who is Holy. Focusing on the habit itself is not the way He wants us to focus on Him. He is a Person, not a ritual.
As you come to corporate worship time, ask Him to help you focus on who He is. Focus your heart’s affection and your minds attention on Him. Ask Him to help you avoid the distractions. Ask Him to help you avoid worship as just a ritual habit you walk through.
JANUARY 15—GOD WANTS US TO SEEK HIS FACE
Psalm 27:8 “Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.’”
He wants an increasingly closer relationship with us. When we walk through that valley of the shadow of death, He is there with us. During times of difficulty, He wants us to ‘cry aloud’ to Him. When we hurt, and our soul is tired and beaten up, He wants us to cry out to Him. He wants us to seek His face, not just to fix a situation in our lives. He may not fix the situation immediately, but He desires to give you that peace that passes understanding in the midst of your trial.
So many times I think we feel like we should not cry out to Him. We feel we should not burden Him. But He wants us to. He is ready at any moment to hear from you. Don’t put Him off to some time slot of devotions or reading. Speak to Him as you go about your day. He is listening.
Seeking someone’s face is relational closeness. Let your heart lead you to Him. Let your heart say to Him, ‘Your face do I seek’.
Midweek Update [January 6, 2021]
Wednesday Nights at First Moore
In addition to our ongoing Worship Ministry practices, we plan to begin a couple of Next Gen Ministries on Wednesday nights on January 13.
We are excited to begin a once a month family worship experience for Kindergarten-6th Grade in the Atrium. Pastor Charlie and other church leaders will lead this time of worship and interactive Bible teaching.
(childcare available for younger siblings, all kids should be accompanied by an adult)
We will be having a weekly time of worship for our 7th-12th graders in the Student Center.
Women's Bible Study
Ladies! We are looking forward to new year and studying God's word with you! It's been a long time since we have gathered, but Lord willing, we plan to resume our weekly Tuesday Morning Women's Bible Study on January 12 - February 23.
Because of the current health climate, Tuesday mornings will be a little different. We have consulted with our church leadership and we will be implementing the following steps: taking temps when you enter the building, we will meet in the Atrium, so there is plenty of room for social distancing, and we encourage you to wear a mask.
Our studies for this semester will be lead by Joanna Duck and Betty Rogers. We will also have free childcare, please let us know with the form below. Email questions to women@firstmoore.com
Midweek Update [December 23, 2020]
Online Giving Changes
Thank you so much for faithfully giving to our church. Every gift received at First Moore helps us accomplish our mission of helping people be disciples that know, follow, and become like Jesus. We have recently updated our online giving platform. If you have given online before use the steps and tips below to get access to and use Realm, our new giving and church database platform.
Go to www.firstmoore.com/give and select “Give Online”
Once our new online giving form is loaded please select “Sign In” at the top right of the page
On this login page, select “forgot your password” at the bottom, enter the email address that you used to login into our previous giving platform, then select the “Send Email” button
Once you receive the password reset email, click or tap the blue link and enter in a password (tip: As long as your previous password fits the criteria for our new platform you should be able to use it as your password here)
At this point you should be logged in and any previous scheduled gifts and bank or card information should be already loaded into your account
If you need further assistance, please contact Paula Mikes. Below are a couple of other tips for navigating giving in Realm.
Once your Realm account is activated…
You will have access to everything in Realm which includes groups you are in, events at the church, and many other features. We will be rolling out the other features soon so feel free to look around but giving will be the main function of Realm for the remainder of 2020.
You can give by logging into www.onrealm.org, selecting the “Give Here” button at www.firstmoore.com/give, or by downloading and logging into the Realm Connect App on the Apple or Android App Stores.
You can schedule giving on a web browser or in the Realm Connect App, but you can only edit scheduled giving while logged in a web browser.
Midweek Update [December 16, 2020]
Midweek Update [December 9, 2020]
Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
Join us in partnering with people all over the world in supporting the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. 100% of every dollar given goes directly to international missionaries on the field. Watch the video below to learn more.
Midweek Update [December 2, 2020]
Important Church Update [November 23, 2020]
Video Highlights:
We will worship together online for November 29 and December 6. You can join us on Facebook Live or www.firstmoore.com/live at 10:30am each Sunday.
DVD's and CD's will be available for pick-up on Sundays from 11:00am-Noon. If you prefer, you can pick up a DVD or CD of the worship gathering at the northeast covered entrance (by the Care Center).
Worship Through Giving online, by mail, or by drop-off. Continue to give at www.firstmoore.com/give, by mail at 301 NE 27th Street Moore, OK 73160 or by dropping off at the northwest covered entrance on Sunday from 11am-noon or Monday at the west desk from 8am-noon.
The church office will be closed until December 7. The church staff will continue working primarily from home due to the amount of people exposed to the virus.
We will honor Brother Walter on December 9. We are going to host drive-thru reception for Walter on Wednesday, December 9 from 5:00pm-7:00pm.
Midweek Update [November 19, 2020]
Christmas Decoration Day
Let’s get festive on Monday, November 30. There is an opportunity for you to help prepare the church building for the 2020 Christmas season. We will be starting at 9:00am and plan to decorate at least until lunch. The church will be providing lunch for all people that are able to come help. If you are interested in helping us then simply fill out the form below.
Midweek Update [November 11, 2020]
“I Love Missions” Banquet - Canceled
The “I Love Missions” banquet and thanksgiving meal is canceled due to the rise in COVID cases and hospitalizations. Safety is a priority at this time and we do not believe it is wise to proceed with the event. This event was scheduled to take place on the evening of November 22. For those who purchased a ticket, please visit the place from which you purchased the ticket to be issued a refund. Online ticket purchases will be refunded in the method by which they were purchased.