First Baptist Church Meadow Texas

05/31/2026

"Do You Love Me?" John 21:15-17 - Sunday Morning Message 05/31/2026

CCLI Copyright License #11029718
CCLI Streaming Plus License #20981210
SongSelect Premium

05/26/2026

Just a Meadow Minute

In today’s fast moving world, there is a more and more pressing phenomenon in the church. Let’s call it Snapchat Christianity? Young people especially understand Snapchat and disappearing messages. With Snapchat, some photos or videos vanish within seconds. With Snapchat Christianity, some opportunities to share the Gospel vanish just as quickly. Many speak of “lifestyle Christianity,” and I agree we should be building strong and lasting and trusting relationships with others in order to know them and to sense their needs. But sadly, we often spend our lives getting to know others without ever taking the next step, and the moment passes without ever sharing Christ. There are conversations you will never get back. There are moments you cannot replay. In our mobile society, there are people who will not be here – next week, next month, next year. How vigilant are we in making the most of God-given holy opportunities to share our Lord with others.

At this time of year, we are often reminded of how fast life happens to us. That little boy or girl that we just knew would always be around is growing into or has already grown into a very independent young adult. Influence over his or her priorities and schedules has begun to wane. Control over where they go and with whom, what they read and watch, gets more and more limited. Opportunities to introduce Jesus into their thoughts and decision making skills for the life-changing moments you know they will face seems to be slipping away. But God has a word for us. “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

Snapchat Christianity.

How about that spouse or friend or co-worker you spend so much time with, yet you know has never surrendered his or her heart and life to Christ. It seems you can talk with them about almost anything, yet your faith in Christ has become a taboo subject. Is he or she someone you say you would do anything for? Do you take the command of God seriously to “…be ready in season and out of season…” (2 Timothy 4:2)

Snapchat Christianity.

And what of those who are only acquaintances, those you would not count necessarily as close friends? Do you see your daily Christian Walk as a calling to stand between the wiles of the enemy and the lost around you? Are you looking for what might be only a fleeting moment to make an eternal difference. “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.” (Colossians 4:5)

Snapchat Christianity.

We are to make the most of opportunities our Lord gives us to share His Name. He is so loving, so compassionate, and so faithful, that if we surrender to His will for our lives, He will give us opportunities to introduce Him. Perhaps you’re thinking you surely have missed so many of such chances. Don’t look back. Don’t live in regret of missed chances. Be motivated by God’s great forgiveness. Move forward in the light of His Spirit and leadership.

Grace.

Visit us at FBCMEADOW.ORG

05/26/2026

You are a Good, Good Father. Thank You for the Rain!!!

05/24/2026

"You Shall Be My Witnesses" Acts 1:4-11 - Sunday Morning Message 05/24/2026

CCLI Copyright License #11029718
CCLI Streaming Plus License #20981210
SongSelect Premium

05/21/2026

This coming Sunday after worship is our Annual Dessert Auction benefitting the Youth Ministry at FBC. All the funds raised go to helping our young people get to camp and also fellowships during the coming year. There will first be a lunch of green chili chicken casserole! Any submissions to the auction must be at the church before worship. Bring your checkbook, and stay for the fun!!!

05/17/2026

"Why Pray" Matthew 6:1-15; John 5:15 - Sunday Morning Message from Mark McMillan

CCLI Copyright License #11029718
CCLI Streaming Plus License #20981210
SongSelect Premium

05/13/2026

Just a Meadow Minute

Disclaimer: This is not a politically correct Meadow Minute, and I make no judgements on varying parental skills.

It may come as a big surprise to those who don’t know me well, but I was in trouble quite a bit as a kid. (Shocking, I know.) It would feel very natural here to blame my early troubles on my two older brothers. I did that often enough back then! While they instigated their share of inappropriate adventures, it would be unfair to blame Barry and Eddie for all my indiscretions. I must also add that there was no such thing as the concept of “time out” in our house. My brothers and I would have loved “time out.” I can hear Dad now: “You boys stop fighting. That’s not nice. Now pick up your toys and get the dog and go to your room. Time out!” Punishment? Yeah, right.

On top of the refrigerator in our home was a ping-pong paddle, sanded smooth on both sides. I am sure it was an act of love that my parents personalized that instrument of instruction by branding the names of all three of us on it. The paddle made a particularly ominous sound as it was being taken down from the fridge, and we three could interpret that sound from anywhere within earshot. Looking back now, my first introduction to and understanding of God’s grace, though incomplete, was wrought through my parents and that ping-pong paddle.

I guess you could say in the beginning, my earthly father represented my misguided image of my Heavenly Father. With Dad, we got one chance, and if we broke the rules in his presence or he found out about it (and he always did), punishment was swift and severe. There were no second chances. If the paddle came off the fridge in Dad’s hand, someone was getting a s***king. He softened a bit after learning Mom was telling us, “Just wait until your father gets home!” Dad didn’t like being the bad guy whose only job it was to mete out punishment. My parents eventually decided it wasn’t effective parenting to employ transcendental discipline. If our actions weren’t bad enough to be corrected at the time, we might not even know why we were getting s***ked hours later.

Mom helped me understand who God really is. She would take the paddle down four or five times as a warning before issuing any retribution, reminding we three boys each time of the rules and the coming judgement. If she did s***k, we knew it wasn’t with full strength. And she was quick to forgive if we saw the error of our ways and ‘fessed up. More than once, Mom became our advocate with Dad, explaining us to him, and we loved her for it. Actual s***kings were rare now that I think about it, and neither Dad nor Mom were ever irrational, cruel, or abusive. But there was right and there was wrong. We needed to learn the difference. And we did. Acknowledging the leadership of our parents and accepting who was in charge brought peace to our family while we were still very young. I am aware that some reading this may have suffered greatly in the past or may still be suffering at the hands of the those who should love them the most. I am certainly not discounting the epidemic level of child abuse occurring in our country. And I would also not discount the pendulum having recently swung too far the opposite direction, avoiding discipline altogether. I can only testify that receiving much-deserved corporal punishment as a kid by two loving parents did not turn me into some kind of fiend looking to hit others. I am not inclined to violence. Both of my parents expressed pain for their respective parts in my discipline, and I was overwhelmed by their affection and forgiveness when I said, “I’m sorry.” Mom and Dad disciplined my brothers and me with consistency and purpose, and I will be forever grateful for their attention, their instruction, and their love.

As an adult I have faced multiple times of painful discipline from my Heavenly Father, much worse than some innocuous “time out.” I confess I have been driven to humble myself in repentance under the mighty hand of God. And I have felt His wondrous forgiveness. Through it all, I have learned to cast all my anxiety on Him, because He makes it so obvious that He cares for me. If you are in a time of spiritual discipline, take heart from Scripture.

“Those whom the Lord loves He disciplines…It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” Hebrews 12:6-7

Grace.

Visit us at FBCMEADOW.ORG

05/10/2026

"As the Father Has Sent Me..." John 20:21; Matthew 28:18-20 - Sunday Morning Message 05/10/2026

CCLI Copyright License #11029718
CCLI Streaming Plus License #20981210
SongSelect Premium

05/05/2026

Just a Meadow Minute

We never know how deeply our actions affect the lives of others. This hymn, one of my favorites written by Isaac Watts, has certainly touched the hearts of millions. (The familiar chorus you will hear in your head was added years later.) After drawing the stark contrast between the sacrificial death of Christ and the unworthiness of sinful man, Watts concludes with, “Here, Lord, I give myself away—‘Tis all that I can do.”

A thirty-year-old blind woman heard a revival choir sing this simple hymn. Stanza after stanza stirred her heart, but when the choir came to the final line, “Here, Lord, I give myself away,” she gave herself away, surrendering to the Lord as well. That blind woman was F***y Crosby, who went on to become the greatest writer of gospel songs in the past century.

Alas! And did my Savior Bleed and did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head for sinners such as I?

Was it for sins that I have done He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown! and love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut His glories in,
When Christ, the great Redeemer, died for man the creature’s sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face while His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness, and melt mine eyes to tears.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away—‘tis all that I can do.

At FBC Meadow, our current sermon series is Exploring the 40 Days Between the Resurrection and the Ascension. Last Sunday we encountered Christ in the upper room as He dispelled the fear and disbelief of His closest followers by offering His hands and feet as evidence. His words, “Peace be with you,” were meant to calm their fears, squash their doubts, and encourage them to share the message of the crucified, buried, and resurrected Jesus. The peace He gives covers our past in forgiveness. His peace covers our present to live boldly for Him. And His peace covers our future in assurance of eternity. After Christ ascended in the clouds, these same timid, reluctant followers would never look back. They would never hide again. They would never deny their Lord. What changed was the peace found in their encounter with the Risen Christ. Our testimony is not about us. It’s about what Jesus has done for us.

“Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6.

We never know how deeply our lives and our personal testimonies will touch the lives of others. “Here, Lord, I give myself away—‘tis all that I can do.” Be found faithful.

Grace.

Visit us at

Join us this Sunday! We offer Small Group Bible Study for all ages at 9:45 am, followed by the Worship Service at 11:00 am. Nursery Care is provided for children ages 0-2 at both. 

04/27/2026

Just a Meadow Minute

I can remember how unsettling it was as a child when I watched my dad disappear into the clouds, headed across the world while serving in the USAF. I found courage by telling all my friends that Dad was a hero, and I knew he was coming back. I was always so proud of him for what he did for this country even though most people never knew about his sacrifice.

Each time Dad left, Mom would cry for days. Weeks. She was an amazingly strong woman, but each time Dad was called away, her job became raising three boys alone while keeping the “home fires burning.” Dad’s deployments overseas were always hard on those of us left behind. But once he landed in the States again, the joy was indescribable.

Dad’s longest deployment was fifteen months in Peshawar, Pakistan. Peshawar was one of the launch-sites of the U-2 aircraft used by the CIA during the cold war. I believe it was from where Gary Powers took off before being shot down over the USSR. Some fifty years later, the villain Osama bin Laden would eventually be tracked down and killed not far from where Dad had been stationed while I was a kid.

When Dad was away on that tour of duty, we received regular reel-to-reel audio tapes of him talking to us. He would whistle for our dog Ginger, and she would sit and cry under the table just hearing Dad’s voice.

Dad was deployed multiple times in his 30+ years of military service. Sometimes half-way around the world, and sometimes to locations in the US. In total, we had years of practice waiting for Dad’s return. Assured he was coming back, I worked hard in school. I learned to play the guitar while he was in Thailand during the Viet Nam Conflict. And I stayed involved at church, but not to earn his love. Because of it. When he returned, I wanted Dad to always find me faithful to the family as his child. I wanted him to be proud of me.

The Bible says that our Lord ascended into the clouds with His closest followers watching. So far, believers have had about 2000 years of practice waiting His return. If we want to hear from Jesus, there’s not an audio recording of His voice, but there is a wonderful record of His words found in Scripture, and we can talk to Him in prayer. When my Master comes for me, I want to be found faithful and doing my best as part of the family of God. I want to be found sharing the story of Jesus with friends and everyone else who will listen, even though most don’t ever think of the sacrifice He paid on the cross of Calvary. Not to earn my Heavenly Father’s love, but because of it. And I long to hear, “Well done…”

In the first chapter of the Book of Acts, the Bible says, “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; so that where I am, there you may be also.”

Talk about indescribable joy…

Grace.

Visit us at FBCMEADOW.ORG