First Presbyterian Church Of Baton Rouge

The hope for the world is realized through personal reception of the gift of the savior. It’s not the other way around. We don’t wait for the world to get right before we have personal hope. Rather, individual, personal faith in what God has done through the child of Bethlehem alone gives us hope for how the history of the entire world will turn out. If we pin our hopes on electing the right person or solving the latest culture crisis, we will always be disappointed. We will always be in upheaval. Hope comes through the humility of receiving the gift of the tiny babe in Bethlehem as the redeemer of our souls who will, in his time, bring all the world to new life and re-creation.

Silence you voice in awe! For we do not need to fear the silence. God is there. And he speaks. And what he says is Love.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air, Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere; True man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us, And lightens every load. For we know the sweet power of his presence. His fragrance with sweetness fills the air. This aroma of a savior clears the room of gloom. He dispels with glorious splendor that darkness everywhere. Now we know it in a taste, a scent that we catch on the wind. We know it in our personal lives when we realize how he gave us hope when we were in despair. He gave us cleansing forgiveness when we seemed forever stained with guilt. He gave us direction when we were wandering. He brought us home when we were lost. He sent love to us again when we thought we were only despicable. He still does it. And these roses blooming in the desert are signs of what is to come. In these difficult days, with advent yearning, we hold hard to the hope. Streams will flow in the desert. Paths to life will arise in the wildern

First Presbyterian Church Baton Rouge is a church passionately committed to Christ Jesus our Lord and ardently engaged in studying the Scriptures. We love reaching out to our city and world with the love of Jesus. You'll see a church ready to welcome new faces. You'll see a church with a vision to go Deeper into Christ and Further into the World.

Faith is simply the rope that ties us to Christ. But if that rope is not anchored on Jesus, it’s worthless. If our confidence is in our ability to make sense of everything, we will be disappointed. And if our confidence is in our own ability to have faith, we don’t have much to hold onto. Our confidence must be in Jesus.

Fully entrusting ourselves to the one in whom we have placed our trust, is perhaps the most difficult part of our Christian faith. It means giving him who we are. It means not withholding but deferring to him as the Lord of everything in our lives. It can be a scary thing.

Faced with such a stark, eternal choice, every believer would say, “I pick Jesus!” So why do we live every day as if we could set aside the sacrifice Jesus made and build our own kingdom? Why do we get bored with the idea of his blood making us holy and stop pursuing him? Hebrews’ encouragement to draw near with confidence is not given as a marketing tool in hopes that I might decide to buy the Jesus product this week. It’s not a spiritual option presented as an alternative should I get tired of myself. It’s a command. Scripture’s says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice.” That’s not a suggestion. It’s a directive. Not only your immediate fulfillment depends on making full use of your first class ticket to the Father. The eternal evaluation of your life is based on your living from the Jesus who saved you by his blood.

Centuries of hints in Scripture burned into our souls the reality that none of us is true in heart. All of us are lawbreakers on the inside. We cannot get connected to God just by trying to be good, or by pounding out a record of good deeds. But God came to do for us what we could not do. The Father sent the Son who said, “A body you have prepared for me.” You gave me flesh and blood in order that I might live the life of faithfulness from the heart. I came to live what is required of a human being in right relation to his Father in heaven. Christ came to us to do the will of God on our behalf, and in the end to make a sacrifice of himself on the cross that would truly take away our sin. Hebrews tells us we have been made holy, made clean, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all.

We yield to him our time, our bodies, our habits and our wealth. And we find that he takes up our offering as part of his own. He sends his Spirit to join us to himself. He appears before the Father in our behalf. So through Jesus we can cry “Abba Father!” And know that we are received. Glorious!

Does your relationship with God just stop when you stop? We have someone who is working for us, even when we’re not working. Jesus is our intercessor. He prays the right things on our behalf when we don't. Sometimes our prayer motives are questionable. Jesus' motives are always righteous on our behalf. Hebrews 7: 23-28.

You have his oath. He holds you fast. He is the anchor of your soul. Press forward in confidence and faith, dear ones. He is worthy of our trust! Hebrews 6: 11-20.

Your Savior and Lord Jesus is merciful and sympathetic. He has made a sacrifice for your sin and he prays for you even now. He joins you in the process of drawing near to his Father through him. He sends his Spirit to you to strengthen you for the journey of faithfulness. He is yours indeed. He belongs to you utterly. And you belong to him. So draw close. Stay close. Keep your heart open to suffering and cry out to God, “This is not right!” Engage the struggle of Christ’s love for this sinful and broken world, then see what happens.