Because The Time is Near, book review

John MacArthur has written a book that all pastors and Bible teachers will benefit from. Though it is in a book format it acts as a great study guide for someone studying Revelation. If you are studying for personal Bible study you will be enlightened by this great work. If you are preparing a teaching series the book will help you put together an outline for systematic teaching. A book many have called a mystery becomes clear when John MacArthur takes you on a tour of the Revelation.

http://www.gty.org/Products/Books/451159

Discipleship is a Necessity

Necessity? Yes, discipleship is a must for true believers. I heard a great Bible teacher give this definition of discipleship; wanting to know God as He is. That is a profound statement. Many people have preconcieved ideas of who God is and what He cares about. The one place we can go to find out who God is and what He cares about is His own word in which He reveals Himself to us. The Holy Bible tells us everything God wants to tell us about Himself. A true believer is one who wants to know the God he/she is surrendered to. If God is my dearest Father I want to know what that means. The more I learn about my dearest Father the more I want to resemble Him. Only in His kingdom will I see Him in all His splendor, but while I wait I will practice the disciplines in scripture and become the disciple He can use. Is discipleship a necessity for your?

Christian Liberty, What is it?

Liberty! Today many suggest Christian Liberty is social, political, economical and self promoting liberty. That is not what Jesus Christ taught about liberty. Jesus said the believer would be free.  Jesus also taught us to be a slave. The Apostle’s taught about a Christian freedom pushing the believer into slavery. The slavery I speak of today is that of being slaves to righteousness. What is Christian Liberty? Salvation! Salvation from sin, the law and superstition is the basic definition of Christian Liberty.

When a person is a regenerate believer they are set free from unrighteousness. It is not always fully recognized by the regenerate believer upon regeneration, but it is still a blessing from God imparted to the regenerate believer. Due to this new freedom we are inclined to a different lifestyle than before. The Holy Spirit working in us effectually calls us to righteousness. This is again not because we are good people. It is only by the grace of God.

To preach Christian Freedom as a means of living our own desires, doing what is contrary to the word of God and promoting our self above all other is a heresy. Jesus Christ never, “never”, taught His disciples to be first, go for your dreams or you should have all the world has to offer. That is not popular, but it is the truth. This is not my words. Jesus Himself said in the kingdom the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Too many people in the church today are falling into the trap the devil has set. He wants us to remain slaves to self and sin rather than slaves to Christ and His righteousness.

Where is Common Sense?

The political scene is about to go through another heated session. We can be sure it is not the last one, nor will the upcoming one last until the election. In our society today we have a short attention span. We forget quickly the recent happenings if we are not reminded daily by the source we look to for information. How many of us remember who the last press secretary was to serve under the Clinton administration? See! most of us do not remember. But when Clinton was in office we heard it daily in the news cycle.

Barak Obama will choose a running mate and madness will ensue. His supporters will be overwhelmed with different feelings, most of them supportive in nature. Obama’s adversaries will begin a different set of actions. Some will send out email’s to tell us Obama and his counter-part are evil and will destroy our nation. There is one thing however that will be missing in all this. We will come back to it later.

McCain will be next to chose his running mate on his birthday. This will set in motion another feeding frenzy for people of all persuasions. Publications will be filled with stories highlighting any negative character issues concerning the new arrival to the campaign. Airways will be filled with those defending the accusations made by nay-sayers. Still one thing will be missing.

Now we will get down to business. The One Thing Missing in all the above mentioned will be the same thing we have not witnessed in folks in a long time. COMMON SENSE! Where has it gone? Most email recievers will read an email about either candidate and fire it off to all the contacts on their email list. Most readers will read the headlines of stories in their attempt to get through another busy day without reading the entire story or checking the story with all facts surrounding the headline.

This is evident in the days following the Saddleback Forum held at Saddleback Church. Rick Warren asked both candidates the same questions and gave both adequate time to answer. The headlines followed with things like “McCain cheated”. Did he? Why did that rumor (un-substantiated statement) begin? I am not saying he did or did not know the questions. The reason he is accused of cheating is the answers he gave.

Common Sense! The answers each candidate gave are still the answers each one of them decided to give. The words used were the candidates own beliefs. Knowing the questions or not any presidential candidate could know questions of the nature of those asked would be directed at them. Thats common sense.

Enough of the emails to slander, the un substantiated headlines, harmful blogging and all other forms of demeaning communcations. Listen to the candidates. Check the things they say to determine it’s accuracy and truthfulness backed by actions. The truth will inform you. You don’t have to rely on email from people you don’t even know.

Revelation study

Revelation = the revealing of something previously hidden or secret

Revelation has been difficult for even seasoned believers. Theologians have argued particulars for years. The “Church” still disagrees on the interpretation of not only passages in Revelation, but on entire themes and teachings. Some are quick to tell their belief concerning Revelation while others say nothing at all. Many still believe Revelation cannot be understood by believers or non believers. I say with caution that idea is wrong. I don’t claim to know the answers, but I do claim the answers can be known. You might ask, “How”? The very title of the book tells us God has revealed things He wants His Church to know. Revelation is the revealing of something previously hidden or secret.

About the link to New Bethel Baptist Church

Just to let our visitors know.

If you click the link to New Bethel Baptist Church newbethel-bc.org you will notice it is currently not on-line. We are shopping for a new web host. OUr current host contract has ended. We will be off-line until we find a new host.

Accepting Wisdom

The culture we live in today subscribes to the idea which claims “every man for him-self”. On the surface we all can agree with the fundamental value of that statement. All of us are accountable for our actions. Despite our quick agreement with the statement it is not always correct! We are not all left to ourselves. We are not necessarily accountable for only our individual lives. All believers are accountable for self and for fellow believers, especially elders and pastors.

Proverbs 18:1 directs our attention to the idea of self. If you know someone who is holier than thou you have a personal connection with the expository teaching of this proverb. If you know those who may realize their human error, but they are always quick to point to the error of others to justify their own desire to perform wrong actions you too have a personal connection with this proverb.

God’s word clearly directs the community of faith to watch over one another. Hebrews 10:24-25 gives reason for believers to provoke one another to love and good works through the vehicle of public assembly for the purpose of worship. In such worship we hear the wisdom of God through His called servants. This is not for the sake of the hour of assembly, but for everyday life. God wants us to be careful in and with our own life, be concerned with the lives of others and wise in both.

For a compelte sermon outline visit www.freesermons.wordpress.com

Preaching the Gospel, the way God intended

Dr. Steven J. Lawson delivered a message at the  Ligonier Ministries 2008 National Conference on the subject of “The Foolishness of Preaching”. For all who preach the gospel of Christ it is good to be fed the meat served in this message to keep us focused on the Cross of Christ and all that was accomplished on it. If we preach anything else we are preaching a false gospel. I encourage you to listen to Dr. Lawson for a check up concerning your preaching.

 

http://www.ligonier.org/media_player.php?tabID=1&id=003

Vacation Bible School, Outdated?

Does your church think Bible School is outdated and ineffective? Many churches are deciding to do away with VBS (Vacation Bible School). The reasons are plentiful. Some churches beleive they are not equipped with the staff or volunteer base to execute a VBS. Others cite a lack of financial resources. The overwhelming reason given is the decline in children and youth attending regular services. All the above sound like legitimate reasons for not holding VBS in a church, but none are sufficient for me to agree with.

To speak to the idea of VBS being outdated I praise the Lord for the privilege of witnessing fifteen souls gloriously saved during VBS this year. The church where this took place is a rural church, not a downtown or inner-city church in walking distance of multitudes. Our averages in the past few years remained steady in the sixties and seventies. This year we maintained a one hundred and ten average with one hundred twenty two being the greatest attendance. God did not see VBS as outdated and we did not see it as ineffective this year.

Resources? We are blessed with volunteers, budgets and prayer warriors. For those who “think” they do not have the resources I want to ask you to think outside the box. We often donate our materials, decorations and even some workers to other churches in the surrounding area with small congregations and limited budgets. I’m sure you can find the resources you need to conduct VBS in your church.

Maybe you have not had any children or youth in your church for some time now. That is no reason to not hold VBS. Of the one hundred twenty two attendees only about thirty percent were our regular attendees. Some of our leaders began praying for VBS 2008 the day of commencement VBS 2007. We are already praying for VBS 2009. After bathing the issue in prayer we promoted VBS throughout the community by word of mouth, home-made fliers, newspaper ad and website invitations. Also every event such as homecoming, revival, car and tractor show and more we viewed as opportunities to invite people to VBS. If you only consider VBS as a church event you will never see over the wall. We should always reach out to the community when planning VBS.

All the credit goes to the Lord! He is worthy of honor and praise! Of course we have witnessed dry years for VBS. Of course we have counted years with no salvation’s during VBS. All the years in waiting are worth the hard work when God allows us to witness His Grace being poured out to the fifteen children who asked God to forgive their sins, make them new people and save their souls. Maybe you have been thinking VBS is a waste of time and a drain on the resources of the church. I hope you find encouragement through the testimonies of God’s grace in our VBS.

During VBS we have the opportunity to share the gospel with people we might never see under any other circumstance. That is why VBS remains one of our most effective evangelistic tools as Believers.

“Foundations of Grace” by Dr. Steven J. Lawson (book review)

http://www.ligonier.org/publishing_reformationtrust_latest_foundationsofgrace.php

The Church today finds Herself in the midst of a battle greatly resembling a civil war. Current church leaders elude foundational issues such as doctrines of grace and others in the name of acceptance and political correctness. Other leaders stand firm in doctrines handed down through tradition only, but fail to ask themselves hard questions about scriptural teachings. If you are a serious student of scripture with a desire to resolve your beliefs and know why you believe what you do  Dr. Lawson will expose the evidences of God’s Grace throughout the scriptures. If you are a pastor or teacher who would like to know how to honestly contend for the faith “Foundations of Grace” is an excellent guide for your personal growth and your discipling efforts with others.

God’s grace is indispensable for salvation to be known by a sinful race of people. With current trends the Church is in danger of forgetting the very author of our faith. “Foundations of Grace” will be advantageous to all who desire to know, adhere to and proclaim the message of a soveriegn God who creates all things for His own glory and purpose. To preach salvation without a clear understanding of God’s grace is much like driving a car without knowing where the instruments and mechanical devices for steering are located. Dr. Lawson will draw the map with detailed descriptions of the “Foundations of Grace“.

A glimpse at the book title might lead you think this book is for Calvinist’s only. Not True! “Foundations of Grace” is a book for all. The believer will find evidence for foundational truths about God’s grace. The non-believer will begin to understand the answer to the age old question, “why would God save me”? Those believers of different thoughts will be provoked to healthy thought that will ultimately lead to a more informed community of faith.