David Richardson

*  Things are going great here at First Baptist Church of Sebring! 

*  I told Lara yesterday “When we moved here, I knew this was a good church, but I had no idea it was this good of a church.  We are blessed to be here!!”  She totally agreed.

*  Upward Basketball had its first game day of the 2010 season yesterday.  Seeing this ministry in action blew me away.  What a great time we all had!  I am going to blog about Upward one day this week.  Lots to say about that.

*  It’s getting a little chilly here in Sebring again.  Ready for things to get nice and warm again.  My kids are also ready for it to warm up so they can jump back in the pool.

*  Both morning worship services went smoothly.  Big, strong crowds.  Worshipful music.  I loved it!

*  Seeing more visitors from our community come in each week.  Met several new people today.  Some were over 50 and some were under 50.  I like that mixture!

*  Preached a different kind of message this morning entitled “Random Thoughts On Worship.”  In total I shared 5 thoughts.  They were as follows:  [1]  Be Present.  [2]  Be Focused.  [3]  Be Biblical.  [4]  Be Responsive.  [5]  Be Expectant.  It was a fun message for me to preach, and I pray that it helped people.

*  My son was proud today about wearing his first tie to church.  Some of the other young boys in the church wear ties too.  Here is a look at Emerson after the 11:00 service standing by the pulpit in his tie:

*  Since we moved to Florida, he and I have gotten a lot closer as father and son.  He likes to go everywhere I am.  He’s really interested in my ministry as a pastor.  God has shown me that boys need their dads.  I don’t want to let him down as his father, so I’m trying to be what he needs.  I do love that little guy.

*  I also wonder if he will be a pastor when he grows up.  He talks about that a lot.  Who knows?  Maybe.  He’s only 4, so anything could happen.  As long as he loves Jesus and lives for Him, I’ll support whatever he ends up doing with his life.

*  Met with Sunday School leaders today at 5 pm.  I shared with them the vision of greatly expanding our Sunday School ministry to accomodate more people.  I believe we can reach A LOT more people from all over this county, and a healthy Sunday School will play a vital role in that.

*  We have a fantastic Sunday School with gifted teachers.  Very proud of these men and women.  I want to encourage and equip them even more as we launch out into the future.

*  Had a special worship service tonight.  30 Day New Testament Journey testimonies.  Also did a message (or more like a talk) on church music.

*  I believe there is value in the old hymns and in the new choruses.  Both are helpful and both should be celebrated.

*  I also believe that no one instrument is more sacred or holy than the other one.  What matters is not the instrument…but what kind of music the instrument is producing.

*  After the message tonight, I was encouraged by the comments at the door.  Lots of people agreed on what really matters with church music…and what does not matter.  What a relief!

*  Can’t wait to see Dad and Mom this week.  They are arriving (by Amtrak) on Friday afternoon.  They will be with us Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning.  Looking forward to spending time with them and letting them experience our world down here in Sebring.

*  Next Sunday will be HUGE around here!  The entire church is encouraged to be here at 8:30 am for a worship service in the sanctuary.  We will wrap up our series entitled “The Word On Worship” with some special elements.  Sunday School will be at 9:45 am.  Then, at 11:00 am, the entire church is encouraged to PACK OUT the sanctuary for a time of worship and “The 2010 Pastor’s Address.”  We will be vision casting and talking about the future of First Baptist Church.

*  If there’s one thing I’ve learned before coming here, it is this:  the pastor must LEAD.  He must do more than put on a good talk.  He must seek the Lord, and then mobilize the people into action.  I want to be an effective communicator of God’s truth in the pulpit.  But I also want to be a powerful leader that gets things done. 

*  Being a leader is about more than holding a title…it’s about making a difference!

Thanks, First Baptist of Sebring, for a special day!  I enjoy being with you.  When I leave church on Sundays, I feel greatly encouraged and blessed…and that’s because of you.  You, church family, have been incredibly good to my family and me.  You have made us feel welcome, you have looked after us, and you have made it easy on me to carry out my calling.  I appreciate that!

Good night, and God bless you all!

It’s time for something new here on the blog, and it’s called Live It.  This will be an ongoing series of short videos we put together that address topics of interest for people who want to live out their Christian faith on a daily basis.  We will address a wide variety of topics with these videos.  I want to thank my friend, Matt Church, for being the “tech guy” who films, edits, and ties everything together.  It is a pleasure to work with him.

This Live It is entitled “Worship.”  We walked into the sanctuary and filmed this.  It was completely unscripted.  Off the cuff.  I just wanted to share a thought with you about what matters when it comes to worship in the local church.

Ladies and gentlemen, I gladly present to you the first ever Live It:

Tuesday night we experienced our first fair in Sebring.  It was a load of fun to hang out with friends and watch the kids on the rides.  I thought that for today’s post I would just share some pictures with you from the fair.

Below is a picture of Emerson and me coming down the big slide.  This was his first time on it, and he wanted me to hold him.  We laughed the whole way down!  After this, he did it on his own several times.

Below is a picture of Rachel having a good time after a fun slide.  This child absolutely loves any kind of ride.  She is fearless with this sort of thing.

Below is Lizzie getting off the same slide.  Lizzie is just happy wherever she is.  Always enjoying the ride of life.

Below is Emerson joining the NASCAR ride.  The boy loved the cars.  I enjoyed watching him smile when it whipped quickly around the curves.

Here is Lara with one of the many great girls she has met here.  Lisa Collins has been one of our good friends since day one.  She helped us during our move, and continues to be a good support for our family.  They had a fun time just hanging and watching kids when we first arrived at the fair.

I’ve got two younger brothers.  They both are great Southern Baptist pastors.  The youngest of the Richardsons is Wyman.  He is our 2010 revival speaker here at First Baptist Church of Sebring.

Wyman was always a fun-loving, mischievous kid growing up.  He had a sense of humor that made us laugh, and a charm that made it hard for us to stay mad at him.  Being a typical Southern boy, he also enjoyed sports.  Wyman is the only Richardson to actually score a touchdown on the football field at Thomas Sumter Academy.

But he also had a serious side.  I can remember watching Wyman as a high school student sit for hours at his bedroom desk and study the Bible.  He loved it!  On some occasions I saw him outlining books of the Bible and taking careful notes about what he had read.  That impressed me.

Wyman took his education seriously, and proved to be a good student.  He earned his bachelor’s degree from The University of South Carolina.  Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is where he earned his master’s degree.  Finally, he got his Doctor of Ministry degree at Beeson Divinity School.

Wyman has pastored two churches.  Both of them are in Georgia.  The first was in Woodstock.  His current ministry is at First Baptist Church of Dawson.

His wife, Roni, is a wonderful Christian lady.  They first met during their college years in Anderson, South Carolina.  In addition to God giving them a good marriage, He also has given them a wonderful daughter named Hannah.

Wyman is a great preacher of God’s Word.  He honestly is one of the finest young preachers I’ve ever heard.  He has an effective preaching style that connects scripture with modern culture.

This year’s revival services are from Sunday, February 28 until Wednesday, March 3.  Wyman will be preaching during all of them.  Trust me when I say that you will not want to miss any of these messages.  Please mark your calender now, and plan to be there for each of these services.

My prayer for these upcoming services is that we will see God move in a way that is fresh, energizing, and life-changing.  May a massive revival break out in our church and community.  What a thrill that would be!

Here is the schedule for our 2010 Revival Services:

Sunday, February 28: 8:30 am, 11:00 am, 6:00 pm

Monday, March 1 – Wednesday, March 3: Noon, 6:30 pm