In these early weeks of 2019, we reflect on the days of 2018, giving thanks and beginning again! As a congregation, we are thankful for the commitment of the church in 2018 to our ministry and mission. We are grateful for the many ways in which the congregation extended the grace of God to others,…
Posts by Tripp Martin
We are turning the page on another year! It is always an opportunity to begin again, letting go of what we need to put down and taking hold of what we need to carry forward. New Year’s resolutions are rooted in fresh beginnings. In these first weeks of 2019, we will be surrounded by conversations…
Over the course of the next several weeks, we will gather around various tables. People will pull up a chair to the table that we know and that we are meeting for the first time. Tables will be adorned at parties, homes, and church. We will celebrate, eat, and fellowship with others! Fellowship is engrained…
On Sunday, November 25, we will celebrate Christ the King Sunday, which is the last and final Sunday of the Church Year. The culmination of the year recognizes the glory of God in Christ as King. This means that Sunday, December 2 begins the next Church Year, so it is the First Sunday of Advent. …
About eight years ago, Auburn First Baptist Church completed a capital campaign, raising funds to address facility needs. The campaign was called Renovation and Renewal, addressing small and large projects. There were major construction projects as well as cosmetic painting, which were completed, renewing our spirits and renovating our buildings. As part of the campaign,…
On October 21, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Alabama will have its annual meeting. Whenever I attend a CBF meeting, I am thankful for the people in the room, the spirit of cooperation, and the history of CBF’s efforts. One of the efforts I am particular grateful for is the Together for Hope initiative. In…
When the season of stewardship comes around each year, we might need to reclaim that word because it feels rather dated. Outside of the church, we do not use the word stewardship, or steward, often. Within the church, we say it to remember that we are stewards of somebody else’s land, caring for the world…
In honor of Claude H. Moore, Mary Virginia Moore gave the church a gift in order to provide an opportunity to invite scholars and leaders in the church to come and speak at Auburn First Baptist. Several years ago, we invited Dr. Bill Leonard as the inaugural speaker for the Claude H. Moore Lecture. This…
With a washcloth tucked into her apron, a waitress cleans up each table after a group of customers have left. She takes all of the dishes to the kitchen to be washed. She turns the table over for the next customers walking through the door. She sets the table with care and introduces herself to…
When Dr. Bill Leonard handed out the syllabus for Church History 101, I read through the books I had to purchase, which included Table Talk by Martin Luther. In 1520, Luther had published formal papers on his views of the Church, but Table Talk is a different kind of collection. The formal papers by Luther…