March 20, 2026, 4:00 PM
Hello and I pray you've had a good week thus far!
What gets you excited?
Is it when the winter ends, and the weather warms up outside? For the record, today (March 20th) is the first official day of spring!
If you are a basketball fan, this is, no doubt, the best time of the year - March Madness. For example, this afternoon's UK basketball game was definitely a thriller. You don't often get to see such last-second heroics as we did today with Otega Oweh's midcourt buzzer beater to send the game to overtime.
Maybe you finished your taxes up and are getting a big refund back!
There are a lot of things to get excited about. However, there aren't too many things that are really worth getting excited about.
Jesus is someone/something to truly get excited about!
When Mary was pregnant with Jesus she came to visit her relative and friend Elizabeth.
As my friend Robbie Elam pointed out the other night at Bible study, Elizabeth's child (John the Baptizer) reacted with great joy.
Luke 1:41 reports, "When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit."
Later on, Luke 1:56 says: "Mary stayed with her for about three months, and then returned to her home."
I've always joked that the REAL reason Zechariah (Elizabeth's husband) couldn't speak for nine months was not because he initially did not believe the angelic message from God that his aged wife was pregnant. He couldn't speak because two pregnant women were going to be living at his house at the same time for THREE months!
Of course, that is only a joke (and maybe not a very good one). Zechariah's muteness was due to his unbelief!
Today, we can experience that same JOY and BLESSING that Elizabeth and John experienced. Jesus, God in flesh, has come to stay with us! And not for just THREE months! Jesus will reside in us eternally when we take Him in through baptism and make Him Lord and Savior of our lives!
And, yes, Jesus will satisfy all our hunger and fill all of our needs. In fact, Mary sings a song of praise recorded also in Luke 1. Mary says/sings this in Luke 1:53: "He has filled the hungry with good things, And sent the rich away empty-handed."
Those words of Mary remind me of a great Psalm. We'd be wise to remember and be challenged by Psalms 34:8-10: "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. [9] Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. [10] The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing."
There are several things happening at FCC that I am excited about!
We are seeing several people come to know Jesus and take Him as their Lord and Savior. To help people who are new to the faith and new to FCC, we're having a class for new believers/members on Saturday, March 28th @ 9:30 am in the Fellowship Hall. During the class, we will communicate some basic information about the church along with teaching of what the church believes, expectations for each church member, and encouragement to pursue spiritual growth.
I pray you have a wonderful weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon! Maybe even this Sunday @ FCC!
This coming Sunday, March 22nd, I will continue our series of messages, "Miracles of the Messiah." The sermon will be about Jesus healing a man born blind. From this encounter, we will see that Jesus can restore far more than just one's vision!
God Bless,
Greg Herriford
