First Baptist Church, Stillwater – Newsletter for the week of Oct. 19, 2025

“In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering”  -Genesis 4:3-4 (NIV)

Cain wants to do the bare minimum and also be as well received as Abel. We see this principle lived out today, we call it “students.” When I was in high school, the subjects I was passionate about: English, literature, history, civics, I scored way higher than the ones at which I barely tried: science and mathematics. Yet simply because 15 year-old Matt showed up to class and did the bare minimum, he felt that his teachers should honor that and bump his C- to a B+. Rarely did that work. (One time I did bump up a bad grade in chemistry at the end of the semester because the teacher noticed I “rarely asked to use the bathroom.” And so she gave me extra credit. My stepdad would refer to this as “bathroom points.”) As a result of these bare minimum requirements, I had to make my penance in community college before going to Long Beach State University (Go Beach!)… I squeezed a four year degree into six years!

 

In His grace, God told Cain what to do: stop comparing himself to Cain, and worship God with sincerity and intentionality. Do more than the bare minimum. It wasn’t enough for Cain. He was consumed with jealousy and so killed his brother Abel. Cain had the consequence of being cast out of the family, away from the safety and security of the community. Yet in His strange grace, He gives Cain a distinguishing mark that protects him from those who seek harm. 

 

  There are many principles we can glean from Cain and Abel, yet the one I want us to focus on is this: are we comparing our spiritual gifts and offerings to others? If so, are we starting to develop a pattern of worship that comes from a place of begrudging obligation? Maybe the better reflection question should be: how can we better focus on this God of grace and mercy, and our own development -and that of our church- to be who God wants us to be rather than what the church down the road is doing? 

May it be so with us,
Matt 

Announcements and other thoughts: 

Prayer Requests for our Church: We have some groups that are in the development pipeline that I am asking all of us to pray for God’s provision and guidance. We are hoping to start a youth group, a career (young adults), and men’s and women’s groups in 2026. We have leaders lined up for some of these, and others we still need to look for; but I am reminded that it is God who causes the growth. We also want to put together a dedicated prayer team, details to come on that one. Let’s seek Him as we move forward together! 

Build Nights: Thank you all who are participating in Build Nights, I pray these sessions have been helpful as we build on the foundation of what God has done in FBC’s past, so we can enter into the future God wants for us. We have three more Build Nights for this semester: Oct. 26, (No meeting on Nov. 2), and the 9th and 16 of November. As always, bring a dish to share!

Harvest II Food Drive Grand Total: I’ll reveal the grand total this Sunday at Church, but I want to say thank you to all who gave cans and funds. I think the College group barely squeaked out a win against the other classes. But I hear there will be a challenge from Beverly Len’s class for Operation Christmas Child, so stay tuned for that!