First Baptist Church in Randolph

05/24/2026

Live from Mevo

05/23/2026

The account of the day of Pentecost in Acts of the Apostles reveal a moment where divine promise meets human readiness. The disciples are gathered “in one place,” embodying unity and expectation, when the Holy Spirit comes like a rushing wind and tongues of fire. This picture echoes earlier biblical encounters with God’s presence—wind recalling the breath of life in Genesis 2:7 and fire evoking God’s self-revelation in Exodus 3:2.
What unfolds is not chaos but transformation: ordinary people become vessels of divine speech, proclaiming God’s powerful deeds across linguistic and cultural boundaries. This even fulfills the promise Jesus had spoken of in the Gospel of John 14:16-17, where He assures His followers that the Advocate would come to dwell within them.
The coming of the Spirit on them was more than an external sign but an internal empowerment, inaugurating a new kind of relationship between God and humanity. It also resonates with the prophecy of Book of Joel 2:28–29, where God said to pour out His Spirit on all flesh—young and old, male and female. At Pentecost, this promise takes visible form, breaking social and spiritual barriers.
The coming of the Holy Spirit, then, is both gift and invitation: a gift of divine presence and power, and an invitation to openness, discernment, and transformation. Pentecost calls each generation to consider how the Spirit might still be moving—disrupting, uniting, and empowering God’s people for witness in a divided world.

05/16/2026

When Paul exhorts believers to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12), he is not suggesting that salvation is earned by human effort. Rather, the phrase “work out” carries the sense of bringing something to its full expression or completion. It is the call to live into the reality that God has already begun within us.
The following verse grounds this truth: “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Our effort is responsive, not initiatory—an active participation in God’s transforming work. Pastorally, this means the Christian life is neither passive nor anxious striving.
To “work out” our salvation is to cultivate a daily attentiveness to God’s presence, allowing His grace to shape our desires, decisions, and habits. It looks like obedience in ordinary moments—turning from sin, pursuing love, seeking justice, forgiving as we have been forgiven. Paul echoes this elsewhere: “present your bodies as a living sacrifice…be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:1–2).
The “fear and trembling” he mentions is not terror of rejection, but a reverent awareness of the holiness of God and the weight of the life we are called into. Finally, this working out is communal as well as personal. Paul addresses the church together, reminding them that their shared life should reflect Christ’s humility and unity (Philippians 2:1–5).
Salvation, once received, unfolds in relationships—bearing one another’s burdens, encouraging one another toward faithfulness, and shining “as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). In this way, “working out our salvation” becomes less about achieving something and more about becoming someone—formed by Christ, sustained by grace, and faithful in love until the work God began is brought to completion (Philippians 1:6).

05/16/2026

05/10/2026

“Love one another”, Jesus speaks these words not as a suggestion but as a command rooted in divine love: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” A mother’s love offers a living reflection of this abiding love—steady, sacrificial, and often unseen. She keeps watch through sleepless nights, tends to wounds both visible and hidden, and gives of herself without counting the cost.
In this way, maternal love becomes a window into the heart of God, revealing that true love is not merely spoken but lived, sustained through patience and quiet faithfulness. Jesus continues, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Many mothers embody this daily, laying down personal desires, ambitions, and comforts for the sake of their children.
This sacrificial love echoes the deeper truth found in First Corinthians 13:4–7: “Love is patient, love is kind… it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” A mother’s love teaches us that to “love one another” means choosing compassion when it is difficult, forgiveness when it is undeserved, and presence when it is inconvenient. It is a love that shapes life not through power, but through gentleness and endurance.
If we chose to love one another as He has loved us, then the tenderness seen in a mother’s care must be an extension outwardly also—to neighbors, strangers, and even those who challenge us. The love we receive from Him is not meant to be contained; it is meant to flow outward, becoming a source of grace in a world often marked by division and indifference. In the end, a mother’s love is both a gift and a calling. It shows us what it means to remain in love, as Christ commands—to stay rooted even when storms come, to bear fruit that lasts.

04/25/2026

After His resurrection from the crucifixion, Jesus continued to show His love and concern for His fearful and dejected disciples, not only through His appearances to them but also through His ongoing intercession. Before going to the cross, Jesus prayed deeply for His followers in John 17. He proclaimed, “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but those whom you have given me” (John 17:9). One senses the deep concern in His Prayer.
Even after the resurrection, this prayer remains meaningful because Jesus still stands before the Father on behalf of His people. Hebrews 7:25 reminds us that Christ “always lives to make intercession” for those who belong to Him. This reveals the heart of Jesus: He is not distant from His disciples but continually prays for their protection, faith, and perseverance.
John 17th shows that Jesus was not asking for an easy life for His followers, but for spiritual strength and faithfulness in the midst of hardship. After the resurrection, the disciples would need this prayer more than ever as they carried the gospel into a hostile world. Christ’s prayer gave them confidence that they were not abandoned, and that God Himself would sustain them.
Jesus also prayed for the unity of His disciples. He said, “That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you” (John 17:21). This prayer remains important for the church today because believers are called to live in love, humility, and unity with one another.
The risen Christ desires that His people reflect His character in the way they treat one another. When Christians live in unity, the world sees a powerful testimony of the love of God, mercy and truth. Jesus’s prayer reminds us that our strength is not found in ourselves, but in continuous connection to Him and to one another through faith.