Judy and Bisi
Transcript of bisi’s message
Okay. Hello, church family. This is Bisi, the lady with a guide dog with a service dog, and it is my prayer to encourage us with daily encouragement. First of all, I want to thank everyone that has been sharing. It has been very encouraging, and I want to take this opportunity too to say a big thank you to our leaders and our pastors for the idea of creating this avenue where we can encourage each other, where we can hear each other's voices, and where we can continue to share the word of God together. So, it is a great avenue and we thank God for that.
Now about some weeks ago Barbara, my friend, just called me. “Oh, how would you like to do the daily encouragement?” I said, “No, I don't want to do it because my voice is horrible!” I don't, I don't like how my voice sounds in recording. I don't know, maybe because my hearing is very sensitive. So sometimes the way I hear myself when I leave a voicemail message for people—oooh I don't like it. But this one I have to do you because I've been benefiting and enjoying other people encouraging me, so I just thought yeah, I better take a step of faith with my voice. Hopefully you guys will hear me clearly. So that's what I'm doing.
So, after Barbara told me, I started thinking about it and also I think it was Sunday or Saturday. I finished studying and I was tired. And I was just relaxing, and I said, oh my God this coronavirus is never going. When is it going to go? And I was counting how many weeks have we been in social isolation? And by Sunday was like three weeks already. And I was saying “God, when is this thing going to go?” and “Give me the thing that comes to my mind.” And the immediate thoughts that came to my mind was that give thanks in everything. I said, what?! Yes, give thanks in everything. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 18. It says, "Thank God in everything no matter what circumstances may be. Be thankful, and thanks be thankful and give thanks to"—sorry...I'm reading my breath. I don't even know why okay, "give thanks in everything. Whatever the circumstances may be, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you who are in Christ Jesus.” So as children of God, I strongly feel this time we need to create time to give thanks to God, to say thank you, Jesus, for everything because it says "whatever the circumstances may be." Okay. This is the circumstances we are going through now; it is a difficult time. It is a time of social isolation. It is Covid-19 period, and we're not used to this type of things, staying at home doing nothing. We are go, go, go, go, go people, but God is telling us to give thanks. And, don't get me wrong—it's very hard to give thanks when things are hard. But God is instructing us that we should create time to give thanks in everything, whether good or bad, whatever the circumstances may be, whether it is good or bad as well. So, I just want to remind my church family that this time let us create time to give thanks for all things and for whatever the circumstances we are going through now by giving thanks. I'm sure very soon this time shall pass.
So, as I was thinking of that and it was impressed upon my mind to share Psalm 46 with us. It's one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 46. And as I was reading it, God started ministering to me, and it was a blessing to me as I was meditating upon it on Sunday, and I thought I should share it with us. You know so for us at this time, I would like us to focus on reading Psalm 46 and Psalm 91. Both 46 and 91 are very powerful and there for protection and there for encouragement. So, Psalm 46 verse 1 says, it says, "God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in time of trouble." We all know this is the time of trouble, the time we cannot go out, the time we cannot do whatever we want to do, the time we cannot hang out with friends. Thank God family can keep coming to see us, thank God we can talk to each other on the phone, but we cannot physically mix, even at church. We cannot congregate together to serve God. So, the Bible says God is our refuge and is our present help in time of trouble. I want us to believe that God is with us at this time. Number two say "Therefore, we will not fear though the Earth be changed and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the sea." So, what about we try to say that? Yeah, it may look terrible physically, it may look unbearable. It may look unbelievable, and the news will be telling us how many people are dying every second because they are good at that. That's what they keep telling us from morning till night. From morning to night people that are dying every second or thoroughly overwhelming which is true, it is the reality. But the Bible is telling us we should not fear, for mountains be shaken. You know, it says the Lord is in the midst of her. So, God is with us no matter what the circumstances may be. And I jumped too fast. Five, verse five is "God is in the midst of her she shall not be moved. God will help her right early at the dawn of the morning." So, God is telling us that it's emphasizing, the word of God is emphasizing that He is with us no matter what the circumstances, no matter the situation, no matter what we are experiencing, no matter what the social isolation. It says, He is with us and He will help us and will be there to see us through.
And verse 7 is one of my favorites. It said "The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge, our Fortress and Hightower." And I want to encourage us to try and memorize verse 7 because from what we are hearing in the news, and this is where we need to be careful. I'm not saying don't listen to the news, but we should be careful how we listen to the news because the news is not bringing us good news; it is bringing us bad news. And remember in Romans 10:17, the Bible says faith comes by hearing, hearing the word of God. I want to let us know that here comes by hearing, hearing negative negative. The more negative we listen to, the more negative news we hear, the more fear we will have, and we don’t want fear, we don't want to be afraid. We don't want to be panicking. So we should be careful what we listen to and we should know that. I said "come by hearing" so also fear comes by hearing, so it depends on what we hear. So, this is why number 7 of Psalm 46 is very good for us. It says the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge, our Fortress and Hightower. So, when you go out shopping or picking up a few groceries, don't be afraid, you know, don't be afraid. Oh, no I'm going to catch it. A friend of mine was telling me, "Oh they say this coronavirus is in us." I said, "No, it's not in us. Coronavirus is not in us; it's an epidemic that just happened suddenly, and it will go suddenly, too, so it’s not in us." God didn’t create us with coronavirus. Don't get me wrong. We can have flu, we can have cold. Those are viruses. That is normal, they come and go, but they don't, they don't live in us as some people tend to believe now. So, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge, our Fortress and Hightower, so if we can try and memorize that, that will help us a lot to cope with what we are hearing or whatever we're experiencing. Last verse is “Be still and know [and recognize and understand] that I am God:I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." So, verse 10 is telling us that we should be still at this time because who knows what God wants to do in our lives spiritually at this time. It is when you are still that you are able to hear God. It is when you are still that you are able to learn more from sit at His feet. It is when you are still that you are able to think clearly, you are able to plan, you are able to make concrete decisions. So, this time of isolation may look bad, this time of social isolation may look bad. But God is telling us to be still, He wants us to know and recognize and understand that God is with us, and He will be exalted among nations, He will be exalted in the earth.
Verse 11 says the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge, a high tower and a stronghold. So, this is full of promises. And as the Lord is with us, I want us to take courage in that. And the word of God says He will be exalted among nations. Let us take time to pray for our nations that peace be still. Let us take time to pray for nations of the world, that God will remember mercy and that the mercy of God will prevail over judgment and that God will help us to overcome this time. And let us trust God that after this time, God will bring Revival in this nation and God will bring revival in the nations of the world because by this time, when this time passes, you will make us a better person and will make us stronger in our faith.
So I hope this encouragement has been helpful to all of us, and I hope that you benefit and you are blessed from this encouragement. And I'm praying for all of us, that God will continue to sustain us, God will continue to be with us, and God will continue to use this to unite us together in faith and in love of one another. So, thank you so much for this opportunity you’ve given me to share with my fellow Believers. Take care and God bless you. -Bisi
Psalm 46 Amplified Bible (AMP)
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to soprano voices. A Song.
God is our refuge and strength [mighty and impenetrable],
A very present and well-proved help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains be shaken and slip into the heart of the seas,
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains tremble at its roaring. Selah.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her [His city], she will not be moved;
God will help her when the morning dawns.
The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered and were moved;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has brought desolations and wonders on the earth.
He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
”Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord of hosts is with us;The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Easter Bag Delivery Surprise!
Hi, Parents!
This Saturday evening, we have a crew who will be dropping off Easter surprises for FBCP kids and youth at their homes. We have followed strict sanitary protocol to ensure that what we are delivering is germ-free. Masks, gloves, sanitizer, and proper "wait times" for items to sit out once they were delivered to us have all been part of our process, and, thankfully, Pastor Mary had ordered much of the items before the outbreak of Covid-19. Our delivery folks will be like stealth ninjas in the night, so we wanted to give you a heads up and make sure we have your permission to deliver a little Easter gift to your child.
If you do not wish for us to drop off an Easter bag for your child, we understand. Just let us know to save it for later.
If you would like us to leave a bag for your child, great! Please just confirm your address and give us any instructions about the best place to leave it for you. We also have sidewalk chalk, so let us know if we can write a message somewhere on the ground!
Our hope is that your child wakes up on Easter feeling loved by the church and by God so that they can celebrate the resurrection of Christ with extra joy! Thanks for keeping this a secret in the meantime.
So, again, please email/text/call me with this information (and any questions!):
Can we deliver an Easter bag to your home?
If so, what is your address, and are there any instructions we should know about where to leave our goodies?
And can we use sidewalk chalk somewhere outside your home?
Thanks for helping us love on your sweet kids!
P.S. Don’t forget to send us a video of your child saying “Christ is Risen!” if you are able! More info here.
Allyson
Sunday Special EP 4
Hi, Friends!
Happy Palm Sunday! We had planned for our kid and adult choirs to sing together and lead us in worship this Sunday. So, there is an extra sadness in being apart this morning. But there is also an unexpected blessing that four weeks into quarantine, I am certain we have all been thinking of each other more and connecting as a church in new ways. So this morning, this Palm Sunday, we will rejoice and enter into Holy Week together even if we are six feet (or more) apart. I hope you will join us for each step of the way to Easter!
Pastor Mary and I have a new video in honor of Palm Sunday, and we pray it blesses all who watch! Brody shows up as usual, and we explain all sorts of props that kids can choose to bring to worship this morning in their own homes.
Click here to watch the new video!
After you watch the video, you and your family members can use the following discussion prompts and activities to apply the lesson—woot!
Talk It Out
Recap: What happened on Palm Sunday?
Check In With Yourself: Are you feeling ready to celebrate and cheer for Jesus today? If not, what are you feeling today? Tell God about it!
Wonder: What are you wondering right now as you think about that first Palm Sunday when Jesus came riding into town on a donkey?
Apply It
Ways you can celebrate your own Palm Sunday:
Gather some leaves of any kind! If you can't find any leaves outside, you can make your own using paper, scissors, and glue/tape. You can trace your hand to make leaves if you want, or make any shape you like. You could also make a palm branch using anything else you have around the house—be creative!
Find a favorite coat, sweatshirt, robe, or blanket. We show Jesus honor by laying down things that are special to us.
Make a parade route through your house using your "cloak" and branches. You can walk the parade route shouting "Hosanna!" and anything else that you want to say to praise Jesus. You could also play this song as you go!
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Jesus' path to the cross. Think about a time when you had to make a hard journey—maybe it's right now as you make this journey of social distancing and being home all the time. Ask God to help you get through this time. Draw a picture of a "road through quarantine" and draw pictures of blessings you have along the way.
Remember, you can talk to God about anything anytime! You can tell God how you feel, what you need, and anything else that is on your mind. And don't forget that thanking God can help us feel more calm and happy inside.
We are praying for you! Please remember to email/call/text with any prayer requests you have.
Much love,
Pastors Lindsay and Mary
Special Request for Parents
Hi, Parents!
We have a very special and fun request for you in preparation for Easter. Would you be willing to make a short video of your child saying "Christ is Risen" or "Christ is Risen, indeed!" (their choice!)? We are going to string all the videos of our kids together to share with the church on Easter Sunday. It will be a special way to celebrate the goodness of Easter morning and include the voices of our younger church family members. Your child can shout, jump, dance, sit, sing—however they want to express their joy for the moment while proclaiming that Christ is risen.
All you need to do is text or email me your video clip by Wednesday, April 8th, and we will do the rest! If possible, hold your phone camera to capture the horizontal view. No names or identifying information will be used. Let me know if you have any questions.
Sending you so much ❤️!
Pastors Lindsay and Mary
Leslie
Rebekah and Rene
FBCP Families | Weekday Wonders 3
Hi, Friends!
I hope that you are feeling loved today (and every day!) by your church family. You are a blessing to us as a staff and quite simply the best church family we could ask for. We hope the following resources will bless you if you need them (but feel free to ignore if you are a little overly resourced right now!). Know that they are coming to you with lots of love and support!
Without further ado, here are some weekday wonders for you that we are excited to share:
New Wonders
Food Scavenger Hunt
Here is another version of a neighborhood food scavenger hunt. Instead of bears in the windows, this hunt comes with pictures of food for kids to find posted. It's from a site I love called CookSmarts, and it's free! We would love to see photos if you end up going on a food hunt.
Make a Stringed Instrument
Wishing you had signed your kid up for music lessons before quarantine life started? Not to fear! They can learn some science and some musical skills by making their own stringed instrument. And here is a fun link to this ukulele lesson taught by two adorable kids.
Learn to Code
If you/your child wants to learn how to code for free, then head over to this amazing site for lessons and projects to create.
Resource Hub
And, of course, our Thriving at Home page is still live and expanding. Let us know if you have something to add.
Sunday specials
Sunday video
This Sunday, Pastor Mary and I are sharing a video about Palm Sunday! We know the kids were supposed to sing in church, but we explain how they can have a Palm Sunday Parade at home (since we are being the church in our homes!). Brody thoroughly enjoyed waving his palm leaf, so we hope your kids enjoy their own celebration of Jesus. Oh, and you can always check out previous Sunday worship stuff at this page on our website.
Youth Hangout!
We had so much fun seeing our youth last week, and we will continue to Zoom with them every Sunday at noon. Here is the meeting link that you can use each week to hop on the hangout. We are working on some fun things to do while we hang out, and we are working on some weekday gatherings in the coming weeks. Yay for youth—we love you!
Connection Corner
Parent Zoom
We had so much fun with our parent hangout last night! Our next zoom will be open to kids and parents, and we will send out information in our next email about how to join that. Yay for being able to at least see your beautiful faces and hear your familiar voices!
Keep In Touch (safely!)
Pastor Mary and I will continue to reach out to families and make sure you have what you need, but we are always a phone call, text, or email away! We can pray, tell you a joke, figure out a way to get you supplies, entertain your child so you can drink some coffee—whatever you need. You also will be hearing from someone else in the church who is one of our Connection Team leaders, and they are eager to come alongside you as well.
Sending you so much love and virtual hugs!
So grateful for you,
Pastor Lindsay and Pastor Mary
Gretchen
John Jay and Patty
Lindsay and Stormie/Dustin
John Jay and Michael
Sunday Special EP 3
Hi, Friends!
Happy Sunday! It's hard to believe it's been three weeks since we were last together. In some ways, we feel like we see you often since we have been thinking of you nonstop! We hope you got the link to the third "Liturgy for the Living Room" from John Jay and that you are finding your own ways to create a new rhythm on Sunday mornings. Pastor Leslie gave some great tips for that in her Daily Encouragement from Saturday in case you missed it!
Pastor Mary and I have a new video for you today, and it's about something we think everyone can relate to: disappointment. We jump into the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis because it turns out he knows a thing or two about being disappointed. We hope you will join us!
Click here to watch the new video!
After you watch the video, you and your family members can use the following discussion prompts and activities to apply the lesson—woot!
Talk It Out
Recap: What were some reasons we can imagine Joseph was disappointed?
Check In With Yourself: How are you or others in your house feeling disappointed? Have you expressed that to God yet?
Wonder: What are you wondering right now as you think about dealing with disappointment?
Apply It
Ways you can respond to disappointment:
On a sheet of paper, draw a line down the middle from top to bottom. On the left side, draw a sad face at the top and list things you are disappointed about. On the right side, draw a present at the top and list things you are grateful for in this season. What are the special gifts God is giving you during this time? You could also post this somewhere for your family to see and add to.
Take a minute to express it with your body: stomp your feet or march around the room for a minute or two. After the time is up, then picture yourself handing your disappointment to God and choose something fun or calming to do.
Use your blocks or legos to build a tower of disappointment. As you add blocks, name whatever it is you are feeling disappointed about. Then knock it down and rebuild it by naming something you are grateful or hopeful for as you add each block.
Grab some paint and try to use colors and brushstrokes to reflect how you feel in your moment of disappointment. After you are done, say a prayer to God asking for help to deal with disappointment and to show you the good things He is doing in your life.
Remember, you can talk to God about anything anytime! You can tell God how you feel, what you need, and anything else that is on your mind. And don't forget that thanking God can help us feel more calm and happy inside.
We are praying for you! Please remember to email/call/text with any prayer requests you have.
So much love,
Pastors Lindsay and Mary
Leslie and Chip
John Jay and Lindsay
FBCP Families | Weekday Wonders 2
Hi, Friends!
One of the best blessings of this strange time is that you and all the kiddos are on my heart in an amplified way. It is a joy to think about you and your families every time I get a new resource in my inbox or hear a good idea from another parent. You are shaping how I move through this season, and that is quite special and lovely. I know the same is certainly true for Pastor Mary, and I hope you have been able to receive her texts and emails full of so much sincere love for you. It's so fun for us to think about you all week!
We know you have lots coming at you, so here is how our communication will flow each week moving forward. On Sunday you can find our video on the Liturgy for the Living Room post, and we will continue to email it out with discussion questions and activities. On Monday we will send out a playlist of worship songs for your kids to listen/sing/dance to throughout the week. On Thursday we will send out the Weekly Wonder with some new resources and updates.
Also, Easter is approaching, and we are working hard to plan some special ways for everyone to observe Holy Week. Stay tuned for more on that, including a special Easter project for our kids!
Without further ado, here are some weekday wonders for you that we are excited to share; this week they are homegrown and easy to do!
New Wonders
Make everyday life a game!
This fun and helpful idea is brought to you by Natalee, one of our wonderful parents at FBCP. All you need is some paper, a pen, and a few ideas to make a board game that has chores, school work, and random fun things to do throughout the day. Fill it with whatever works for your kids! She says her boys love to complete their board games and get stuff done. If you make one, send us a photo and tell us how it went!
Spread Some WINDOW Love to Your Neighbors
I saw this window full of encouraging words while driving through the neighborhood (Brody missed his car seat), and I thought your kids might also want to bless those who walk by. It's hard to see, but the hearts have sweet notes like "Give Thanks" and "Flatten the Curve." It would be fun to have your kids choose a blessing to pour out to your neighborhood and post them for all to see! You could even write our church website address and an invitation for people to connect with our community and join our Sunday liturgy. Send us pictures if you fill your windows with love!
Similarly, you can go on a bear and rainbow hunt! Check out these ideas to start in your neighborhood (or play along if other kids have already begun).
Create your own escape room!
You can download this set of materials to show you how to create an escape room! We would love to hear about any cool ideas you have (and if you are stuck inside your mastermind!).
Resource Hub
And, of course, our Thriving at Home page is still live and expanding. Let us know if you have something to add.
Sunday specials
sunday video
This Sunday, Pastor Mary and I are sharing a new video about how to respond to disappointment. We are following social distancing rules, but don't worry—Pastor Mary, Brody, the tent and I will all be in it. We can't wait to "see" you Sunday! Oh, and you can always check out previous Sunday worship stuff at this page on our website.
Youth Hangout!
We had so much fun seeing our youth last week, and we will continue to Zoom with them every Sunday at noon. Here is the meeting link that you can use each week to hop on the hangout. We are planning some fun things to do while we hang out in addition to some weekday gatherings in the coming weeks. Yay for youth—we love you!
Connection Corner
Parent Zoom
We had so much fun with our little parent hangout on Wednesday! It was a time of much laughter and beautiful faces. I know some of you were unable to join at that time, so our next one will take place in the evening for those who can’t take a break to chat during the day. You can join us for our next Parent Hangout on Thursday, April 2, at 8pm by clicking this link and using the Zoom app. Let Pastor Lindsay know if you need help with that!
Keep In Touch (safely!)
Pastor Mary and I will continue to reach out to families and make sure you have what you need, but we are always a phone call, text, or email away! We can pray, tell you a joke, figure out a way to get you supplies, entertain your child so you can drink some coffee—whatever you need. You also will be hearing from someone else in the church who is one of our Connection Team leaders, and they are eager to come alongside you as well.
Sending you so much love and virtual hugs!
Mary
John Jay, Gretchen and Bill
From Bill E.
We all know the story of Noah's ark and the great flood. I look at what we are going thru as being on the ark. Darkness, loneliness, and isolation. But this isn't quite true. We are the family on the ark. We are close and connected to each other every day. We know that the floodwaters subsided, the clouds cleared and some have said, a rainbow appeared in the sky. This is God's promise to us, that he is with us always. Even though we are in troubled times...this too shall pass.
There will be rainbows again.
(Bill’s reflection reminded me of this song below. One of my favorites. -Pastor John Jay)
