Sunday is Pentecost on the Church Calendar. Our Old Testament text is Moses and the burning bush which we’ll compare with Acts chapter two and the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit. From the sermon:

As I prepared the sermon this week I wondered what can I say on Pentecost Sunday about the descent of the Spirit? What good news do I have for Ridge Road about the fire of God? It is still burning? Is it still changing lives in unmistakable ways? Is it still empowering and enriching believers? The word Pentecost means “first fruits” which implies other fruit follows. And then it hit me—the fire of god—the gift of the Holy Spirit—the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Paul said something about that remember? The Galatians5:22: “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,23 gentleness, and self-control.”

Our text Sunday is Exodus 2:11-22. Moses has fled to Midian, a group of nomads and desert dwellers. Here’s a snippet from the sermon:

This is a story of hardship: Moses cannot find acceptance. He’s not “one of them” nor “one of us.” He’s not lord and master nor slave and servant. He must flee and find safety but Pharaoh’s reach is almost unlimited so he hides with a moving caravan, the last place you would expect to “settle.” But the writer’s intent is to show a man at peace: he has a wife, a son, a larger family, a future. His last statement is “my son is Gershom” and then he gives the meaning: “I have been an alien residing in a foreign land.” This is probably a cry of relief. If I may expand and paraphrase: “I was a stranger in the land I was born and raised but now among strangers I have found a home.”

Sunday we begin a series of sermons on the life of Moses beginning with his birth and placement in the Nile River. This week will be a bit unusual in that we’ll break the sermon down into three sections interspersed throughout the service. Here is a snippet from the first “scene” where Pharaoh is anxious over the presence of so many Hebrews in Egypt.

It’s interesting that the first person to speak in Exodus is the king (Exodus 1:9) and he’s giving an outline for a new national policy concerning this huge population of aliens in their midst. The temptation here is to draw a connection between Pharaoh’s fear of foreigners and our own. With immigration such a hot issue and the new laws in Arizona so much in the news, we could use this text to jump into the debate because Pharaoh’s fear is our fear. However, while a legitimate issue to consider it’s not exactly tailor made for our situation. There’s one very big difference. In Exodus the king is afraid they’ll escape—leave the land. He wants them to stay. He struggles to keep them in, not shut them out. Of course, this isn’t out of kindness or hospitality. He needs laborers, slaves and these folks are it.

Our text for Sunday is John 21:1-19 and our title is, “What Makes A Good Shepherd?” This is from the sermon:

In a sense this image of shepherd is lost on us in 2010. I’ve yet to run across a shepherd in Raleigh or any other place I’ve lived. The profession and image is of another world not ours. So over time the Church has pressed other images into service to describe the job of feeding the flock. High, liturgical churches tend to use the image of priest. The Lutherans prefer pastor. The Reformed Congregations lean to minister and Evangelicals like preacher. Yet despite the fact that we no longer herd sheep, nothing captures beauty, simplicity, and humility like shepherd. And nothing captures the essence of the shepherd’s calling like those three words, “feed my sheep.”

We continue Sunday looking at how each gospel deals with the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. We deal with Mark this Sunday.

So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Mark 16:8

Unlike Matthew’s Great Commission or Luke’s heavenly ascension, Mark ends with trembling and quaking women scared out of their wits and fearful to tell anything they saw. What do you make of this ending that leaves us hanging like some cliff hanger at the end of a television series’ final season episode. I put the gospel of Mark down and look around and say, “What? That’s it? Afraid? They were afraid? There’s must be something else. It can’t end like this.” But it does. So what gives? Can the last thing we leave the second gospel with be fear?

NEW STAFF MEMBERS

We have two new staff members who have joined our ministry in this new year. Holly Baldwin is our new Administrative Assistant, and Randy Sherron is our new Interim Pastor. We are excited about the creativity, gifts, and energy they each bring to the life and mission of RRBC.

NEW COLLEGE CLASS

This year we have begun a new class for college students, and college-age young adults. Nathaniel Grubbs is leading this class. He is currently a graduate student and TA at NC State. Currently the class is going through the NOOMA DVD series produced by Rob Bell. This video series is thought provoking, and creatively invites viewers into conversation about matters of faith and practice. This class is meeting now in room 210 of our education building @ 9:40 AM.

NEW ADULT CLASS

Starting February 21, 2010 there will be a new class for couples/parents and young professionals. This class will be led by Zach Roberts. To get started, this class will spend 10 weeks studying the “Teachings of the Twelve.” Historically this document is called the “Didache”, and is one of the oldest confessions of faith & practice in the Christian tradition. This class will discuss these teachings in dialog with the Bible. By looking together at the ancient wisdom of our collective past, we can face the mystery of the Bible, and the vastness of today’s complexity with a measure of confidence and excitement. This class will meet in room 205 of the education building @ 9:40 AM. (The book in the link above is not required for this class, but is an additional resource for those interested.)

Come see what’s new at Ridge Road Baptist Church!

Sonshine Kids

…On the Ridge

Have you heard the exciting news? Ridge Road Baptist church is launching a new Sunday Morning Children’s ministry on Sunday, November 1! We’re kicking things off with a breakfast for our members from 9:00-9:40 AM.

This brand new ministry will engage children ages birth to eleven in multi-sensory learning, all within a loving and nurturing environment. Children will also participate in an active worship experience involving music, games, puppets, and art.

In partnership with our preschool director Penny Atwood, we have recruited 7 amazing teachers from our weekday program. They will be staffing this ministry with the help of some of our members & youth helpers.

If you are looking for place on Sunday Mornings where your children can grow in faith, then you will definitely want try out the “Sonshine Kids” experience. To find out more, click here.

Our adult studies for Sunday mornings starting this September will entail discussion about key freedoms that make up our identity as Baptists. In an effort to enhance and deepen this study and corresponding conversations, I have put together a series of podcasts from selected Baptist scholars.

If you are teaching this curriculum, please utilize these podcasts for instruction. If you are a class member, tune-in as preparation for engaging the material with your fellow classmates. I think you will enjoy and benefit from listening.

To listen, simply click on the podcast title in the right-hand sidebar that has the earphone graphic in the top corner. (Located on our homepage.) You will be taken to a new page that has a QuickTime player bar in the center of it. It should start playing on its own.

We’ve launched a new site for Ridge Road Baptist Church. We hope you will utilize this site as a significant source of information, communication, and conversation in relationship to our church, and the greater discourse on spirituality, faith, mission, and community.

Our church welcomes you to engage this website for regularly updated content on our blog and podcast pages. You can also keep up with what’s happening at RRBC by downloading our newsletter and checking the events page.

We are pleased to have you visit this virtual space, and hope to meet you soon when you are able to visit the church.

Grace & Peace,
Zach T. Roberts
Associate Pastor