First Baptist Church of Bay Springs

09/07/2026

09/02/2026

James 5:7–12 reminds us that waiting on God does not mean He is doing nothing. If you are in a season of waiting, take heart: God has not forgotten you, and your prayers have not gone unheard. James points us to the farmer, who patiently waits for the precious fruit of the earth. Yet the farmer does not simply sit on the porch and do nothing while waiting for the harvest. He prepares the soil, plants the seed, tends the field, pulls the weeds, protects the crop, and continues working with hope.

The farmer cannot make the harvest come, but he can faithfully do what God has called him to do. In the same way, you may not be able to control the timing or see what God is doing beneath the surface, but you can trust that He is present and at work.

That is the kind of waiting James is teaching us. Waiting on God is not passive it is faithful. While you wait for the answer, keep praying. While you wait for the breakthrough, keep serving. While you wait for the promise, keep obeying.

The farmer trusts that, in due season, the harvest will come. Our confidence is even greater because our hope is not in the field, the seed, or the weather it is in the Lord. He is faithful, even when the process is slow and the results are still hidden.

We wait because we trust Him.

08/25/2026

There is something about a sunrise that makes joy flood the heart.

Before the world is fully awake, God is already at work. He begins painting a one-of-a-kind portrait across the sky with colors no human could create and no human hand could reproduce. Yet the most amazing part is not simply the beauty of the sunrise.

It is the hand behind it.

08/19/2026

What if today was the day you stood before God?

Let me remind us of something we often forget: God is not waiting on us, and time is not waiting on us. The day of our departure has already been marked.

Psalm 90 was written by Moses a man who stood at the edge of a fading generation. He watched an entire generation die in the wilderness. He saw graves multiply in the sand. He witnessed wasted years, broken trust, disobedience, and lives cut short.

Moses knew what it meant to watch time slip away. So when he prayed,

“Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

He wasn’t simply asking God to help him become aware of time.
He was crying out for something deeper.
He was asking God for a spiritual awakening to the weight and value of every single day.

I believe Moses was asking God for three things:

1. “Let me feel how fragile my life is.”
2. “Let me see how precious my time is.”
3. “Let me not waste what can never be recovered.”

Many who read this will think, “This is for someone else.”

Others may think, “That’s something I’ll have to deal with someday.”

But this isn’t simply a prayer for someone else. This is a prayer for you right now.

Why do we live as though tomorrow is guaranteed?

Why do we delay obedience as if we have unlimited time?

Why do we keep saying, “I’ll get serious with God later”?

Getting serious with God isn’t about later. It’s about now.

In my lifetime, I have witnessed how one single moment can change everything.

I’ve seen one breath become someone’s last breath.

I’ve seen someone experience their final sunset.

I’ve watched a person’s story on this earth suddenly come to an end.

And when we attend a funeral, it isn’t simply a farewell to someone we knew. A funeral is also a sermon to those of us still living.

It reminds us: Our time is not endless.

This isn’t meant to terrify us. It’s meant to awaken us.

It’s time to wake up from spiritual sleep.

It’s time to stop assuming we have tomorrow.

It’s time to live with purpose.

It’s time to Live our life too intentionally to waste it.

Love your family while you still have them.

Serve the Lord while you still have opportunity.

Forgive before bitterness takes root.

Encourage before silence becomes regret.

Speak of Christ while you still have a voice.

Invest in what eternity will never erase.

Because one day, your days will stop.

And when they do, what will your life have said?

May this become our prayer:

“Lord, teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

Don’t just count your days. Make your days count.

08/16/2026

Today was a special day at First Baptist Church as we celebrated the Baby Dedication of Silas Houston McCool, son of Brother Brody and Brittany McCool and little brother of Sadie.

We are thankful for parents who desire to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and we are honored to partner with them through prayer and encouragement.

Please join us in praying for Silas and his family as they seek to follow the Lord and raise him to know and love Him.

“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.” —Psalm 127:3

08/14/2026

What Does Today’s Church Need?

Today’s church needs people like Nehemiah—people who refuse to call normal what God calls broken.

The church does not need another generation that simply learns to live with the ruins.

For approximately 140 years, Jerusalem’s walls had remained in ruins. Generations had grown up around the rubble. What should have grieved them had become familiar. What was once unacceptable had become the new normal.

And that is the danger for us today.

We can live around brokenness so long that brokenness no longer bothers us.

We need people who care enough not only to see brokenness, but to allow what they see to move them to prayer, repentance, and action.

We need a generation that refuses to accept the way things are as the way things must be.

We need a generation that believes God can rebuild the walls.

“For with God nothing will be impossible.” — Luke 1:37

We need homes restored to God’s order—fathers leading in faith, mothers standing in prayer, and children being shaped by God’s Word rather than the values of the world.

We need people who choose conviction over compromise, obedience over convenience, and presence over apathy.

We need church leaders who will not trade truth for approval and congregations that value holiness over popularity.

We need believers who love people enough to speak the truth, even when it costs them.

Because love for God does not call broken normal. Love for God tells the truth and helps rebuild.

Nehemiah looked at Jerusalem not simply as it was, but as what it could become.

“Arise and build.” Nehemiah 2:18

May God give us eyes to see clearly.

May He give us hearts that still weep.

May He give us courage to confront what we have tolerated.

May He give us faith to believe that ruins can become restoration.

May He give us obedience to act on what He reveals.

And may He free us from the lie:

“That’s just the way it is.”

When God calls something broken, the church cannot call it normal.

We are not called to minimize sin, excuse sin, explain sin, or adapt to sin. We are called to recognize what God calls sin and, repent where we have sinned, and then we can rebuild what He has entrusted to us.

God is a God of restoration.

He rebuilds broken walls.

He restores broken homes.

He heals broken hearts.

He is the only One that can breath life into broken churches.

He can take what looks like ruins and turn it into something that brings glory to His name.

Restoration can only begin when God’s people the church becomes broken over what has broken His heart.

Maybe the question is not simply, “What does the church need?”

Maybe the better question is:

“What is God calling us to do about it?”

07/29/2026

Today I found myself standing over something I never expected to admire—a mushroom, or perhaps just a fungus. Whatever it is, out of all the towering trees and beautiful plants in the woods, this was what caught my attention. At first glance, it didn’t seem particularly impressive. In fact, it was something I probably would have stepped over without giving it a second thought.

But today I slowed down.

I walked over, knelt beside it, and really looked.

What I saw amazed me. Every detail bore the unmistakable fingerprints of the Creator. Hidden beneath the canopy of much larger things, God had fashioned something remarkably beautiful.

It made me wonder how many masterpieces of God’s creation I have hurried past because I was too busy to notice.

As I stood there, the Lord reminded me of something He has been teaching me lately.

We spend much of our lives looking for the big splash.

We expect God to speak through dramatic moments, mountaintop experiences, extraordinary miracles, or sermons that everyone remembers. We wait for the thunder, the lightning, and the spectacular.

Yet so often, God works through the ripples.

A quiet walk through the woods.

A conversation with a friend.

A verse that suddenly comes alive.

A child asking an innocent question. (VBS)

A gentle prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Or even… a mushroom growing unnoticed beside a trail.

The splash may capture everyone’s attention, but the ripples often travel the farthest.

One small observation can deepen your worship.

One quiet moment can reshape your perspective.

One walk with God can accomplish more in your soul than hours of hurried activity.

Perhaps that’s why Scripture so often invites us to slow down and notice. Creation is constantly preaching a sermon about its Creator, but we will never hear it if we are always rushing to the next thing.

That’s why it is so important to intentionally walk with God—not only spiritually, but sometimes literally.

Put down the phone.

Slow your pace.

Lift your eyes.

Listen.

Creation is declaring the glory of God every single day.

The mushroom I saw today wasn’t trying to impress anyone. It wasn’t growing where crowds would gather to admire it. It was hidden beneath the forest canopy, quietly fulfilling the purpose for which God created it.

Whether I ever see it again tomorrow really doesn’t matter.

Today, it accomplished exactly what God intended.

It reminded one wandering soul to stop, to worship, and to listen.

I pray that thought will stay with me.

How often do we have just one opportunity to create a ripple that may outlast us? One conversation. One act of kindness. One encouraging word. One invitation to church. One faithful moment of obedience.

Most ripples are never celebrated.

But they are never wasted.

Don’t overlook the beauty found in quiet faithfulness.

If God invests such creativity, precision, and beauty into something most people will never notice, how much more does He care for those He created in His own image?

The psalmist understood this when he wrote:

“O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.” (Psalm 104:24)

Today I didn’t just see a mushroom.

I saw a reminder that God is enough.

God is near.

God is always speaking to those who are willing to slow down long enough to notice the ripples.

May we spend less time chasing the next big splash and more time paying attention to the quiet ripples of God’s grace.

07/27/2026

Today, we had the joy of officially recognizing Ms. Alison Thigpen during our worship service for completing her Maiden Step in GMA.

Ms. Alison was presented with her certificate and charm bracelet in honor of this special accomplishment. We are so proud of her commitment to growing in her faith and learning more about God's Word.

May the Lord continue to guide and bless you as you grow in your walk with Him.

Congratulations, Alison! Your church family loves you and is cheering you on every step of the way.

07/26/2026

The countdown is over—VBS begins TOMORROW! 🌟🌟🌟

Our sanctuary and fellowship hall have been transformed, the excitement is building, and we can't wait to welcome all of our children for an incredible week at Illumination Station!

Get ready for fun, games, music, Bible lessons, crafts, and new friendships.

We can't wait to see what God has in store this week. See you tomorrow!