First Baptist Church of Copperas Cove

09/15/2026

I can only imagine the pain that Jeremiah must have felt when he had to deliver the message God gave him in chapter eleven. Like Jesus, who wept over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37), Jeremiah was tasked with telling the people of his day that their disobedience to God’s covenant would result in disaster they could not escape
(11:11). The real tragedy, though, was not the coming disaster, but the fact that it could have been avoided if the people had been willing to listen and obey God. Jeremiah spoke God’s words faithfully; in sharp contrast, the people not only refused to obey God but they plotted to silence Jeremiah (verse 21) no doubt
because they didn’t want to hear the truth about the coming judgment.

Sad to say, I think that Jeremiah would look at our modern world and find it very familiar. The people of Jeremiah’s time worshipped Baal and other false gods; in our modern society, too many worship money, power, celebrities, or their own
achievements in the place of God, so that obedience to the word of God has become just one of many options available. Despite these discouraging words, though, Jeremiah didn’t stop speaking the word of God; he couldn’t do that and remain faithful to his divine calling. If we are to remain faithful to our calling and
commission, as stated in Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:19-20, we must not allow discouragement or opposition to keep us from obeying God’s commands to be witnesses for Christ wherever he gives us opportunity.

09/14/2026

In Jeremiah 7:27, God warns Jeremiah that the people of Judea are so far gone in their disobedience to God and their idol worship that they will not listen to the warnings Jeremiah has been told to give them. Jeremiah will proclaim God’s word to them, he is told, but they will not respond, choosing instead to go about their daily lives in the same way as before. This, however, does not release Jeremiah of his responsibility for proclaiming God’s word; he must do so faithfully even when it seems fruitless, so that no one can claim ignorance of the truth. In our modern world, the truths of the Word of God are too often disregarded as well; those who
hear the word might say that they choose not to believe it, saying that a loving God would never send anyone to hell, or that they believe that their good works or religious practices are sufficient to merit entry into heaven, or perhaps even that there’s nothing after a person dies and that heaven and hell are just myths.
Whatever their reasoning, their resistance to the gospel does not absolve any of us of our responsibility to carry out the commands of Jesus in Acts 1:8 and the Great Commission. Pray for opportunities to share the gospel and for family, friends and
neighbors who need to know Jesus as Savior, and then let us step out in faith to share the gospel as God gives us opportunity.

09/13/2026

09/13/2026

Good Morning Church Family!

09/12/2026

Have you seen the latest news?

It seems we keep taking three steps forward and two steps back in our rebuilding process. But at least we're not taking two steps forward and three steps back. We have made progress, but we still face some hurdles. We will get there in the Lord's time.

09/11/2026

In Jeremiah chapter one, we meet another servant of the LORD who felt completely unqualified for the job God called him to do. Moses, in Exodus 4, protested his inability to speak fluently and persuasively; Jeremiah saw his youth – he could have been anywhere between his mid-teens and his mid-twenties, from what we have been able to gather- as a limiting factor on his ability to do the job. “I don’t know how to speak,” he protested in verse six. God overruled his objections much as he did the ones Moses had raised centuries earlier with the promise that he would be with Jeremiah every step of the way (verse 8), and then he gave
Jeremiah his commission to the prophetic ministry (verse10). Jeremiah’s job would be to uproot and tear down, but it would also be to build and plant. As fully devoted followers of Christ, we are called to uproot and tear down the idea prevalent in our
society that ‘being religious’ or doing good works sufficient to outweigh the bad will somehow obligate God to let a person into heaven, but we cannot simply tear down; we must also build up by telling people the truth of how to be saved. As Pastor Mark demonstrated not long ago, we can present the whole gospel with
just John 3:16; may we prayerfully seek opportunities to use the living word of God to call lost souls to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

09/11/2026

Life at First Baptist

It seems we keep taking three steps forward and two steps back in our rebuilding process. But at least we're not taking two steps forward and three steps back. We have made progress, but we still face some hurdles. We will get there in the Lord's time.

09/10/2026

In the first 16 verses of Isaiah 65, the LORD responds to Israel’s prayer for help by
reminding people of their sin. “I spread my hands all day long to a rebellious people
who walk in the path that is not good”. (v. 2) Because of their sin, judgement will come, but God will protect and provide for those who seek Him. In addition to showing love for Israel, God shows His love for those “who did not seek” Him (v. 1) Scripture indicates in Romans 10:20 that this verse refers to the Gentiles.

After a message of judgement, comes a message of hope and restoration in verses 17-25. “For I will create new heavens and a new earth; the past events will not be
remembered …” (v. 17) The prophecy continues by saying that “The one who dies at a hundred years old will be mourned as a young man” (v. 20) and “The sound of crying will no longer be heard in her (Jerusalem).” (v. 19) While verse 17 seems to refer to eternity, verses 18-25 seem to refer to the time when Jesus will reign as King of the whole earth.

This chapter shows God’s justice, His love, and His mercy. He does judge sin, but He has a plan to bring salvation to people and peace and justice to the earth. What a wonderful future is in store for God’s Children!! Praise His Name! May we do our part to spread this Good News to everyone!

09/09/2026

My Bible summarizes this chapter with the title of “Messiah’s Jubilee’. We know Jesus is the Messiah but what is his Jubilee? In Israel, the jubilee occurred every fifty years to liberate the slaves and persecuted. Referenced in our passage today is Jesus’ new, permanent covenant with Israel set forth with His sacrificial death on the cross for our sins. Our scripture deals with the second coming of Christ to earth to judge and rule over the earth, the Golden Age.

His death and resurrection provides for atonement of our sins and frees us forever, as believers, from the burden of our sinful lives. The jubilee freed slaves; Christ freed us! God’s grace, through Jesus, gives us hope today for our future with him.
Isaiah’s prophetic words in verses 1 & 2 were fulfilled many years later by Jesus testimony at His first coming as documented in Luke 4:18.

We acknowledge that our current world is not filled with righteousness. We have joy in our hearts today because Jesus has provided for our salvation. We have no fear of His second coming and judgement as those who do not know Him personally.

We look forward to living perpetually in a world filled with righteousness where we can always rejoice in God’s blessings and provision. Until then our duty is to love God, love our neighbors, and obey His command to spread the good news of
His love and forgiveness.

Pray that today you will intentionally do all you can to spread that good news.

09/08/2026

Like the Pharisees of Jesus’s day, the people Isaiah speaks of in Isaiah 58 believed that God owed them something for their expressions of piety – in this case, fasting. “We have denied ourselves, but you haven’t noticed!” they complain in verse three.
God’s response through Isaiah was a scathing rebuke, pointing out that at the same time they were practicing their pious rituals, they were also oppressing those who had the misfortune to work for them and desecrating the Sabbath in violation of the LORD’s command. What God wanted to see was not pious rituals but
practical care for those less fortunate around them - the oppressed, the poor, the homeless and the naked. Jesus didn’t mince words when he spoke to the Pharisees, calling them hypocrites and pointing out that they were meticulous about tithing, even down to the herbs they owned, but neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. (Matthew 23:23). Isaiah’s contemporary, Micah, put it this way: “Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love
faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8). One can scarcely read Isaiah 58 without thinking of Jesus’s words in Matthew 25:31-46 regarding those who will be declared righteous at the Last Judgment. Religious practice will never save anyone unless a true faith is present, but when it is present, it will be
demonstrated by care for others.

Jesus made this same point in Matthew 25:31-46 when he spoke of the final judgment day.