Putting On The Armor Of God

As we came together at FBC this morning to join our hearts and voices in offering praise and worship to God Who has blessed us with life and breath and a new day to serve Him, love on and support each other and spread the good news of Jesus to all who do not know Him as Lord and Saviour.  The skies above us were blue and sunny and filled with billowy clouds, but the moment we set foot outside, we could feel winter's parting shot in the blustery northwest winds that put our wind chill temperatures very near the freezing mark.  However, the fellowship was warm and welcoming as we began our service with a congregational song followed by the welcome from Pastor Wes, who assured us that Easter was, indeed, on the horizon, and not Christmas, despite the cold.  The welcome was followed by a rousing rendition of the anthem, "Honored, Glorified, Exalted" by the choir, orchestra, and all our dedicated accompanists.  The congregation sang a few more songs focused toward Easter, before Pastor Wes directed us back to Ephesians 6:18-19 to finish speaking to us about the armor of God and what it actually is and is not.  It is not a costume or garment that we wear, but it is salvation, truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace and love that we fill our minds and hearts with through prayer led by the Holy Spirit.  Spiritual warfare is not focused on learning all we can about the enemy, who is very real and has many who serve him, but we should focus on putting on the whole armor, including prayer so that we can stand firm and be vigilant against the snares and traps the enemy will put in our path to deter us from sharing the good news of Jesus with all we come in contact with.  He spoke about many aspects of prayer, including the importance of praying for each other and you can see it all in the Live-stream which would be a good investment of your time.  At the end of the service, we were blessed to recognize Daniel McGinty and his family for 10 years of service as our Media Pastor and Minister of too many things to count.  Thank you McGinty family for all you mean to our church family---we love you and are blessed to serve with you!