Pastor Ray Smith

​Senior Pastor - First Congregational, Ashland, NE




​

June 5, 2026

​       As we continue to delve into the story of Jacob and Esau, we're going to see it very quickly boils down into a few simple elements: two brothers, one birthright, and a pot of red stew. And around that solitary pot of stew one of the most devastating transactions in all of human history took place. No idols, no temples, no miracles or flashes or thunder from the sky; no, just a hungry man, a hot soup, and a heart that had already decided, long before the stew was served, that God could wait. "How can this birthright profit me?" Esau says.
      And right there in that one question, you can hear the sound of a soul beginning to unravel.
Now what is a birthright? It's something we modern Americans almost never give much thought to anymore, but it is tied to family identity. It is tied to covenant. It is the unseen promise of God wrapped up in a person's lineage and future. Esau had this birthright by the grace of his birth in the family of Abraha, but he threw it away by the grace of his appetite. And afterward Esau sold his birthright, when the blessing was gone and the tears came. He sought the blessing of God with urgency but not with repentance. He wanted what the birthright offered but without a transformed heart that treasured it. 
      But the tragedy is that far too often, we are just like Esau. How many of us have traded prayer for distractions. Pursuing holiness for comfort. Or living by the Word for the momentary satisfaction of simply not having to deal with it today? The exchange is always the same. Something eternal gets placed on the table, and something immediate gets picked up in its place. We can only reject the Holy Spirit so much before He will fail to extend His mercies any longer. Proverbs 29:1 declares "A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed without remedy." So hold fast to what we have been blessed to receive forever in Heaven, and may we do well to remove our eyes from the lusts of the flesh and desires of the world. 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Ephesians 1:3

~Pastor Ray~
Servant in Christ 
402-944-7121 (church office)

PASTOR RAY SMITH

Pastor Ray began his ministry at First Congregational, Ashland, NE, February 2025