Spokane First Baptist Church

06/05/2026

Notes From The Pastor – 06/04/26

The Feast of Tabernacles, a significant Jewish festival, involved the setting up of tents and a week-long celebration in Jerusalem to commemorate and celebrate God's faithfulness in delivering the Israelites from Egypt. A central feature of this festival was the lighting of four enormous candelabras, each approximately 70 feet tall and filled with large quantities of oil. These candelabras were illuminated at night, casting light over the entire city. This illumination was not merely practical but held profound symbolic meaning, representing God's presence and guidance amid darkness and uncertainty.

During the Feast, the Jewish people sang songs such as Psalm 27, which declares, "The Lord is my light and my salvation," expressing their hope and trust in God's illuminating presence. Jewish rabbis taught that the Messiah would be identified as the "light," a prophetic expectation grounded in scriptures like Isaiah 60, which calls for the people to "arise and shine" because "the glory of the Lord rises upon you".

Imagine the Children of Israel coming out of Egypt after over 70 years of slavery. What direction should we go? How are we supposed to live now? Where are we supposed to live? Where is our protection? Then imagine a pillar of fire appearing in the sky at night along with a pillar of cloud by day. Both symbolized God’s presence with them and directing Israel in the direction they should move toward the Promised Land. Exodus 13:21-22 ESV, “21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.” At any time, the people could look up and see the images of God’s presence and promises.

Well, that fixed 3 of the 4 questions, but what about, “How are we supposed to live”? You can’t get that answer from a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud. God provided for that as well when He called Moses to come up onto the mountain and provided to Moses His Law. Not just the 10 commandments, but Moses was instructed or schooled on how or what these commandments look like when lived out among His people. So the Nations of Israel had the light of the pillar of fire and the light of God’s commands.

At the height of this Feast of Tabernacles ceremony, Jesus made a startling statement in John 8:12 ESV, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Hear Jesus say, “The pillar of cloud of day and the pillar of fire at night is a reference to Me. The commandments given on how to live are now passed to Me. I am the light of the world”. The Apostle Matthew said in Matthew 4:13 ESV, “the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”

Today our Promised Land is a place prepared for us by Jesus in a place we call, heaven. John 14:2-3 ESV, “I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” The Apostle Paul tells us in 2nd Corinthians 5:8 ESV, “to be away (absent) from the (physical) body and at home with the Lord.” How do we get there? You follow Jesus, our pillar of fire and pillar of cloud. Follow Him all the way to the cross, through an empty tomb shown in a glorified resurrected body.

Well Randy, what about the question, “How am I supposed to live?” That answer once again is to “follow Jesus”. Jesus spent 3 ½ years walking with His disciples training them on how to live and trust their Heavenly Father. They had some “stinkin' thinkin'” swirling around in their minds from false teachings and interpretations of God’s commands. Those teachings made it nearly impossible for the poor, hardworking Jews to adhere to the commands of God and feel close to God. Many times, in Matthew 5 Jesus said, “You have heard it said, but I say”. Jesus didn’t come to do away with God’s commandment but to fulfill them perfectly and fully (Matt. 5:17) and teach us how to live a blessed life.

We still have God’s Word today. We can still hear the words and truth spoken by our blessed Savior. As born-again children of God we still have the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds to “lead us to complete truth” (John 16:13). And we have all the promises of God fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 1:20) coming our way. How can we not say we are anything but blessed.

Randy Harwood, Pastor, Spokane First Baptist Church

05/31/2026

05/29/2026

Notes From The Pastor – 05/28/26

The human event of Noah’s Arc described in Genesis starting in chapter 6 is a fascinating depiction of God’s holiness, man’s sinful rebellion, and God’s response to that sinfulness. We find in Genesis 6:5 ESV, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:11-12 ESV, “Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”

It grieved God that His “very good” creation would become completely corrupt. Oh, the marvelous future God had planned for His creation. His “very good” spreading out to encompass the whole world as godly men and women lived out their lives with reverence, fear, and love for their Creator. In these verses we get a clear view of sin’s intent for our lives.

All seems hopeless as God must move to protect what was His “very good” creation. Genesis 6:6 ESV, “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” Just think, out of all the people on earth at that time, there was only one man who found favor with the Lord. It’s amazing what one single individual can do when completely sold out to God. Noah sacrificed his future, hopes, and dreams on the altar of obedience and simply began building an ark, in the desert, because a flood was coming.

God gave Noah detailed instructions on how the ark was to be built right down to the dimensions, the number of decks, the kind of wood to use and to make sure pitch was applied both inside and out. There is no indication Noah had any boat construction skills, especially something this size. Noah just simply said, “Yes, Lord” and got busy. God built this ark through Noah and his sons just like He brought the animals to the ark. Can you imagine Noah putting the last whatever on the ark, looking up and seeing the line of animals coming toward him. I wonder if Noah had a brief thought like Police Chief Martin Brody in the movie Jaws, "You're gonna need a bigger boat." Genesis 6:22 ESV, “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.” It would take Noah about 120 years to complete the ark and not lose focus on the way he was building it. God’s wrath is coming and Noah needing to be prepared.

Just as intriguing as how it was constructed is what is not mentioned. God gives dimensions and talks about the wood and the decks and the roof, but he says nothing about building a mechanism to steer the ark. Nothing about a rudder or oars or sails. Noah wouldn’t need to steer it because all the ark had to do was float. Noah would be shut inside. Genesis 7:16 ESV tells us, “Then the Lord shut him in”. Noah would be completely dependent on God to bring him through God’s wrath upon mankind. Noah was not a man who needed to steer. He had faith that God was leading him and providing a way.

Scripture tells us of another time when God’s wrath will come upon mankind. Romans 2:5 NIV, “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” A day when God’s wrath will be revealed is coming just as the day when the first raindrops fell upon the people in Noah’s day. Just as God provided a way through His wrath for Noah and his family, God has provided a way through His coming day of wrath. It took man being obedient to God to build or provide a way through the flood and it takes a man to provide a passageway through God’s coming wrath. His name is Jesus.

Noah had faith in what God had provided. He trusted God through the time of wrath. There was only one way through and one door in. God provided an ark for Noah, but He provides a cross for us today. On that cross we are told that Jesus bore the complete and total penalty of our personal sin debt and by faith we step into that provision just as Noah stepped into the ark by faith, not in his handiwork but God’s promises. Noah and his family were saved through faith in God’s provision. The same is true today.

Romans 8:1 ESV, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
2ndCorinthians 5:17 ESV, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Letting God steer our lives sounds good in principle, but at any given moment, it may feel as if God is driving pretty erratically. He insists on driving his own way, following his own route. I am given a choice: Will I trust God, or will I grab the wheel and take off in my own direction?

Randy Harwood, Pastor, Spokane First Baptist Church

05/22/2026

Notes From The Pastor – 05/21/26

Roger Faircloth tells of a time when he was working on a farm during the summer. Part of his job that day was to remove a flock of sheep that had gotten out of their pen and into an alfalfa field they were not supposed to be in. Sheep can easily eat too much alfalfa. It really tastes good to them and a high dose can lead to serious life-threatening health conditions.

Roger thought getting behind and herding them out like cattle was the best strategy, but all they did was form a cluster around each other and take off in the opposite direction as a tight unit. Where is a good sheep dog when you need one? Not even getting one or two out of the gate made the others want to follow and thus, they did not. The sheep did not want to go where Roger wanted them to go. They were all for staying in the alfalfa field where they had plenty to eat and little or no dangers as far as they knew. Summary, they did not know nor trust Roger and saw no good reason to follow him.

Back in Jesus’ day shepherds would bring their sheep into pens in the evening for protection. There would be flocks from several different shepherds in one large corral. In the morning the shepherd would come and call his sheep and the ones that recognized his voice would follow him out of the corral and into the surrounding fields to eat. Each shepherd had a different voice or mechanism to call his flock, and they responded to that sound. They knew from experience that this was a sound they could trust and that it meant good things were ahead. All the other sheep in the corral would just ignore the sound because it meant nothing to them. They did not recognize the voice of another shepherd. They only followed their own shepherd.

Jesus said in John 10:27 ESV, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” A wonderful aspect of salvation is the ability to hear our Shepherd’s voice. We are not only forgiven but we have been made alive in Christ Jesus and filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Now we can hear His voice and are able to identify it as belonging to my Shepherd, the one who loves and died for me. Then, just like the sheep in the alfalfa field, we have the option of following that voice.

A new sheep must learn their Shepherd’s voice. The Shepherd would receive the new sheep and immediately begin talking to it, making their specific sound for identification, and spend the next few days close to it. Slowly it would become deeply familiar with his specific tone, smell and appearance, eventually viewing the shepherd as its primary source of safety and protection. The response of the other sheep would help the new sheep to begin to recognize their shepherd.

The same must happen with Jesus’ sheep. Just as a lamb comes to know the voice of the shepherd, we need to come to know the voice of our Savior. We learn his voicings primarily through His Scripture, the Bible. Yes, we can catch a glimpse of Him in creation and see His hand in history but to really begin to hear His voice clearly we must personally be reading and studying God’s Word, Communicating with Him through prayer, and Participating in His worship with His other sheep. You will then begin to identify His presence in your life. You will allow His promises to direct your thoughts, faith, and life directions even in the “valley of the really spooky” like King David said in Psalm 23. We will not fear for His rod and staff will protect us.

Jesus tells us in John 10 we must be careful of the voice of hirelings or false shepherds. Hirelings were paid to watch after the sheep. They would not risk their lives by protecting someone else’s sheep nor look after them every day like the owner would who loves them. Sometimes the hireling voices today seem so Godly, or so wise, or so correct. It is hard to tell the difference. Even the voices that have good intentions can be ones that lead us away from God’s will for our lives. This is why we must stay close to our Shepherd.

Listen to what the psalmist wrote in Psalm 95:6-8a ESV, “6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts”

Randy Harwood, Pastor, Spokane First Baptist Church

05/19/2026

**CANCELLED** We will have Williams Concessions with us again. All kids who sign up for VBS at the block party or who have previously signed up get a free lemonade. There will also be lemonade to purchase as well. **CANCELLED**

05/15/2026

Notes From The Pastor – 05/14/26

It amazes me that Jesus, the Son of God, needed to pray. Luke 5:16 NIV, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” This appears to be a habit of His. We find He prayed for Peter, Luke 22:32 NIV, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” He even prayed while nailed to the cross, Luke 23:34 NIV, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” We are tempted to put a superhero cape on Him with a capital “S” shield on His chest while forgetting, He walked this earth like us and “was tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin”, Hebrews 4:15 NIV.

His disciples noticed this habit of Jesus and figured out that it must be His superpower, and they asked Him to teach them how to pray. Now, this is interesting. They have been praying most of their lives having been taught how from childhood, but Jesus’ prayers were different. I’m guessing they were wanting to know how to pray effectively with greater power like Jesus.

Luke 11:1 NIV, “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Now this is also interesting where we find out that John the Baptist taught his disciples to pray. We do not have his recorded words, but it would have been similar to Jesus’ probably asking that God’s kingdom would come on earth as foretold by the Prophets since that was John’s primary message and purpose. His prayer would have also included repentance and getting themselves ready for the coming Kingdom of God. Matthew 3:1-2 NIV,1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Jesus began His teaching by providing the proper foundation or mindset of prayer. Matthew 6:5 NIV, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” Hear Jesus say, “It’s not about you, your lofty religious words, or how worthy you think you are to address God Almighty. There is no power in that type of prayer.”

Then Jesus instructed them to begin their prayers with their relationship with God Almighty. Matthew 6:9 NIV, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name”. The wording here could just as easily have been translated as, “My Father in heaven”. We begin our prayers with acceptance, “My Heavenly Father”. “I’m coming to you as your deeply loved child with my failures, hurts, cares and needs. Some are hard for me to grasp. I’m struggling to live a life that brings you glory here on earth. Please make your love and acceptance shine upon me.”

So often we just run to God, spout some words about needing something from Him and then quickly going on to something else or trying to satisfy our perceived needs ourselves. We forget God cannot be rushed or pushed into our timeframe. He knows what is best and perfect and is patient until the events of our lives line up with His perfection of His will and then suddenly, there is His response. That’s the next part of Jesus’ model prayer in Matthew 6:10 NIV, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. This is really what we as Born-Again Children of God desire. His Kingdom Ways ruling in my life as His will is worked out in my day-to-day events.

Jesus understands our needs and they fall into three large categories; Contentedness with the provisions provided today, learning how to forgive and not be held hostage by the past, and avoiding sin within and without. Matthew 6:11 NIV, “Give us today our daily bread.” A better translation could be, “Help me appreciate the provisions you will provide me today, no matter how grand or meager they might be. Help me be content today”. Matthew 6:12 NIV, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” This verse could also be, “Help me learn to treat others as you have treated me.” And Matthew 6:13 NIV, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” It could read, “Keep me far from the sins that long to entrap me but also the sin that is hiding in the mind of the evil one looking for ways to bear its fruit in my life.”

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV, “6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

TLB, 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. 7 If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.

It is amazing when God swaps your worry with His presence and promises.

Randy Harwood, Pastor, Spokane First Baptist Church

05/14/2026

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