My Story

Posted in Evangelism, Life Happens2 Comments

My name is Steve Rice and this is a brief story of the most important thing in my life.  I grew up as somewhat of a hillbilly in eastern Kentucky.  I lived in Floyd County and graduated from Betsy Layne High School.  I loved to hunt and fish.  I loved to ride motorcycles and play basketball.  I especially loved to golf. Jack Nicklaus was always my favorite golfer.  My dad was a plumbing and heating contractor and my mom was a stay-at-home mom.  They were both hard workers and I had about anything I wanted as a boy.

I was happy, but when I was fourteen years old, I started to feel like a piece of the puzzle was missing in my life.  I went to church all the time with my parents, but I realized I had never personally made a decision for Christ.  I started worrying about what would happen to me if I died without Christ. One day after my pastor, Earl Waugh preached, I walked down the hardwood aisle in the First Baptist Church of Allen and told him I wanted to become a Christian.  He led me in a simple prayer and I asked Jesus to come into my heart and forgive me of my sins.

Right away, I could tell something was different.  I didn’t worry any more about death and a peace came to my life.  I’ve been a Christian now for thirty-seven years.  I still have problems and still make mistakes like everyone else.  But God has always been there to pick me up and wipe me off.  My mom passed away in ‘92.  I miss her more and more every year.  I don’t know how I would have made it during that time without the Lord.  I try to live for the Lord every day the best I know how.

Through the years God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and three awesome children, but that’s enough talk about me.  I’d like to hear about your life.  Has this kind of thing ever happened to you?  Do you feel like something or someone is missing from your life?  Would you like to invite Christ to come into your life?  If I can answer any questions or help you with a decision to invite Christ into your life please email me at srice@fbcshelbyville.com.

Honoring Our Military – “Raw Worship”

Posted in Discipleship, Life Happens, Worship2 Comments

(Written 10/23/2008)

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”John 4:24

Can you remember the most moving worship service you ever attended? I can, because it was only two days ago, on Easter Sunday.

My wife and I entered the Chapel Service at the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas with our son wearing his sharp “dress blues.” Around us sat 1,000 young, uniformed men and women, at all stages of military basic training–“zero weekers” to “new airmen.”

Music videos played as we entered. Toward the beginning of the service, the worship leaders and band led some upbeat worship music along with a jazzed-up version of a moving hymn.

Then IT happened–the most powerful worship moment I can remember! The Mark Schultz video, Letters from War, began to play. In amazing unison, the soldiers leaped to their feet, let out a yell, and started passing around boxes of tissues. As the song began, every soldier was singing and every soldier was crying.

The moment was raw….the moment was real! They seemed to understand that God helped them through another week of “Hell on earth” as they prepared to serve our country. That week, the God of the Bible had been their God, their helper, their strength.

The most touching moment was the point in the video when the soldier came home. As his car turned down the lane to his farm on the video, the soldiers let out an enormous cheer. Wow! Patriotism and the Spirit of God was as powerful as any moment in my life.

Later, during the offering, I watched my son count out 10% of his small, military salary and place it in the basket as it passed. Words can never adequately describe how I felt at that moment!

The truth is, our churches are starving for that level of raw worship. Assimilation rates will dramatically improve if we achieve worship that is real….worship that is raw…worship that is relevant! Even though I have been a Christian for 34 years, I personally long for that kind of worship. I fear that we may have to experience a great trial in our lives, similar to these soldiers, if we ever hope to cling desperately to God again.

Prayer: “Lord, whatever it takes. Let us see You. Let us sense You. Let us experience You. Let us worship You in a way that is raw and real. Let us serve you with a living sacrifice which is our reasonable service because You are worthy!”

Discover Prayer

Posted in Church Chat, PreachingLeave a comment

Yesterday at Shelbyville First Baptist Church I kicked off a new series I’m calling Discover. Each week we will take an in-depth look at one of the key elements of the Christian life.  The first sermon in the series I called Discover Prayer.

In the first sermon, I answered the following four key questions concerning prayer:

  1. What is prayer?
  2. Who can pray?
  3. How do we pray?
  4. What can prayer do?

The text was taken from the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7.  The main memory verse from the sermon was Matthew 6:6.

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”  Matthew 6:6 (NIV)

You Light My Path

Posted in Discipleship, Running2 Comments

I could hardly sleep last night because of the anticipation of trying out my new Petzl Tikka Plus 2 Headlamp at 5:30 am this morning.  I went with this particular model because it had great reviews and was very affordable.  Until this morning, I had never run with a headlamp.  On several recent morning runs, I ran along the unlit path blindly–hoping that I did not trip or step on something.

BUT….this morning, thanks to my Petzl Tikka Plus 2 Headlamp, that ALL CHANGED!  I could see!  I could see well!  Now, I couldn’t see everything because it was dark, but I could see the path well.

I was reminded of the fact that God’s Word is like a headlamp.  It lights our path so we can see where to take the next step.  God does not always show us the entire horizon in life, but He promises to “direct our steps” and He promises to “light our path.”  I have personally found God to be very faithful to those promises in my life.

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”  Psalm 119:105 (NIV)

“If the Lord delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm.”  Psalm 37:23 (NIV)

Adopted

Posted in Life Happens, WorshipLeave a comment

This morning at Shelbyville First Baptist Church, Holly Prosser shared her testimony about adopting her daughter Ellie.  Ellie’s story is a heart-wrenching, fascinating drama about moving from an Ethiopian orphanage to a loving, American family where she is growing and flourishing.  Check out the picture of Ellie and “mom” this past Christmas.  Also, be sure to checkout Holly’s blog here!

God does the exact same thing for us when we place our faith in the Lord Jesus.  He moves us from a position of helplessness to a position of hope.  He adopts us as His own child and promises to provide and care for us throughout eternity.  When business guru Peter Drucker was asked why he became a Christian, he simply answered, “There’s no better deal!”  Indeed, there’s no better deal than being adopted by God Himself.

Look how the Apostle John describes this awesome deal of adoption:

     1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.  1 John 3:1-3 (NIV)