Suffering for Christ in America

Can somebody comment on how they have suffered for Christ lately?

Do we really want to suffer? I don’t.

But the bible teaches that we will go through trials and be persecuted,As Paul was. (2Cor 11)

Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.

Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;

on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;

in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.




God has placed His mercy on us, so we must not take advantage of this period of grace. For their will come a time, where standing up and preaching Christ crucified will cost you your life. Just as it is costing faithful men in China right now.

Please share Christ with those around you.
Put the interest of others before your own interest. (Phi 2)

5 am ( Remember what God has done.)

On Friday mornings we have been in the book of Jude for the past three weeks. One of the main themes of the book is to contend for the faith, meaning everybody not just the pastor. Jude expects Christians to contend for the faith and know what they are contending for. Yes we are supposed to study the bible and know what it says. As a Christian the word of God is what we live by. If you call yourself a Christian and Christ is lord of your life and you have believed the gospel then the next step is to act like it, yes live it out. Don’t be in Jude’s hall of fame of Gods judgment. Don’t be a Christian without Christ, a cloud without water, autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam. The point is don’t be useless like these false teachers were. Bring glory to Christ not shame, contend for the faith, live out your faith, and proclaim the treasure and value that we have in Christ. As Jude says do not turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality and by doing these things denying Christ our lord. If you are a Christian and are struggling with the things of this world, take Judes advice and remember the word of God: His warning of judgment and his blessed promises, always reaching out towards Christ.

Maybe they will finally talk about election.

John 3:16 Conference

November 6, 7 at FBC Woodstock

Did Jesus die on the cross for every person? Are believers eternally secure? Can grace be resisted? These and many other questions will be addressed.

This conference is not going to be a "Let's bash the Calvinists" conference. This conference is going to be a biblical and theological assessment of and response to 5-point Calvinism. It will be helpful for lay people as well as preachers.

$95 for conference only - Register here for conference only.
$110 for the conference with two meals (dinner Nov. 6; breakfast Nov. 7) Register here for conference with meals.
Featuring: (exact schedule to be posted later)

John 3:16 - Dr. Jerry Vines

Total Depravity - Dr. Paige Patterson

Unconditional Election - Dr. Richard Land

Limited Atonement - Dr. David Allen

Irresistible Grace - Dr. Steve Lemke

Perseverance of the Saints - Dr. Ken Keathley

John 3:16 to the entire world - Dr. Charles Stanley

GOING TO SCHOOL

Does Our Evangelism Introduce
People to the Wrong Jesus?
Nearly half the population of the United States claims to be "born-again." Self-identified "evangelicals" are a voting bloc courted by our major political parties, and a large percentage of citizens attend church services at least once a week. Yet, as we look at the culture around us, an unmistakable erosion of the Judeo-Christian ethic has taken place. God is regularly blasphemed, professing believers often live no differently from non-Christians, and many churches are captive to the trends of this present age.

Two factors explain this set of contradictory realities. First, the church has failed to preach the biblical Gospel. Instead of preaching about mankind's depravity and the truth that citizenship in the kingdom of God comes only by the imputation of Christ's righteousness, we hear about a powerless and insipid Creator and the cheap grace He lavishes upon all. Secondly, because the church has failed to preach the biblical Gospel, our evangelism has too often introduced people to the wrong Jesus. We are told that "Jesus can give us our best life now" or that "He wants to be our best friend," and not that He is our Savior from enslavement to sin and the righteous judgment of God. As such, He demands a life of costly discipleship (Luke 14:25-33).

This spring we invite you to join us as we seek to help the church address these critical issues. On March 13-15, 2008, Ligonier Ministries will hold its 21st annual national conference, "Evangelism According to Jesus," in Orlando, Fla. During three days of worship, fellowship, encouragement, study, and prayer, we will proclaim the different aspects of the Gospel and explain how they must impact our evangelism. Joining us will be respected pastors, theologians, and leaders Sinclair Ferguson, Steven J. Lawson, John MacArthur, C.J. Mahaney, R.C. Sproul Jr., and Joni Eareckson Tada, all of whom will remind us of the great truths of the Gospel and help us evangelize more effectively.

It is imperative that we preach no other Gospel than the one delivered by our Lord and His apostles. I hope you will join us in March as we explore and apply the faith once delivered to the saints.

R.C. Sproul,
President and Founder

What do you think is the clearest passage that claims Jesus as God?

5am Study (Trinity)

Why is the doctrine of the Trinity under such attack? Mormons and JW’s both label it as apostasy. They believe that he was a god, or a great prophet, or just a great teacher. But in the Apostle Paul’s day the Gnostics believe that he was not a man at all. I am reading through a paper that Jerry gave me a while back, on The Trinity, an unpublished essay by Jonathan Edwards. Hopefully by Friday after reading it ten times I might have something to say about it. And of course I’m reading my all time favorite, Should we believe in the Trinity? by the JW’s. So my friends have we been deceived, was the trinity something that was made up thru history, or do we have it right.

5am Study

This week at 5am, we were discussing the origin of sin and how we are all under the condemnation of Adams sin, unless we are born again. One of the things we were trying to figure out is the question of what sin did Adam commit? Was it disobedience by eating the fruit? Or was it letting Eve eat it? Then, we moved on to the question: where did sin come from? The big question is did God create sin, for he is the creator of everything? A verse that was brought up was Isa. 45:7: “I form light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil. I the Lord do all these things”. I looked at eleven different translations and six of them contain the word evil. The other five use different words such as calamity, bad times, disaster, and woe. This is a big difference to me, so the question still remains, Did God create evil? For me I would have to say yes. Now I know that some people say that he did not create it but that he allowed it. I just don’t get that statement, where did God allow it to come from? God allows satan to tempt his children and to rule here on earth, but he created satan. Did satan try to one up God and create evil/sin? Why was the tree of knowledge even in the garden? Did God give them a choice to sin or not to sin? That brings up another point. Adam and Eve only had one commandment, "that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it." After being disobedient, the next sin that was committed was murder. In my eyes that is a big difference. But I have to think that God knew this was going to happen before he even created Adam and Eve. I realize thatI can go on and on about this topic. I just thank God we can look at the cross, and see where sin stops. The one who was perfect, the one who I love, the one who I point to, the one from above. JESUS! We cannot keep God's commandment. We must put our faith in Christ. Adam and Eve only had one, and they could not keep it. The study of sin helps us realize we need a savior desperately, that there is no good that is in us. Examine your heart, you are a sinner. Do not ever forget it, for when you do, you can boast in yourself and not in the Lord.

Next week we will still be talking about sin at 5am so please comment to help us out.

John Piper: Getting Saved

Have you seen the LIGHT?

This is what I plan on talking about at Upward basketball, please be in prayer for me.

Pray for Mohler

Mohler to undergo additional surgery

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, will require additional surgery after a scheduled colonoscopy on February 11 revealed a tumor in his colon. An initial biopsy indicated that the tumor is pre-cancerous and further tests are to be scheduled, along with surgical options.

Mohler, 48, underwent major abdominal surgery in late December 2006, complicated by the development of bilateral blood clots in his lungs. Doctors will take special precautions to prevent a recurrence of the blood clots with this new surgery. Specialists are consulting on the case, and a decision on the date and location for the surgery is to be made in the very near future. The procedure is likely to require an extensive period for recuperation and recovery.

Mohler expressed gratitude to God that medical personnel found the tumor this early.

"Sometimes we take it for granted that we live in an age like this one, in which God has given us the blessing of medical technology," Mohler said. "For most of human history, a tumor such as this one would have gone unnoticed until it was too late. I am thankful for modern medicine, but I am even more thankful that we live in a world in which our God hears us when we pray, a Father who listens to his children."

Mohler said that Southern Seminary "would not skip a beat" during his recuperation.

"I have absolute confidence in the seminary leadership team. We will move forward with momentum," Mohler said. "God has blessed and is blessing Southern Seminary. We do not take that for granted, and we pledge to be good stewards of that blessing, even through this time."

Mohler said that his time of recuperation would necessarily alter some of his plans as he gives first priority to his health and his family.

"Some have asked how this new development affects my nomination to be president of the Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis this June," Mohler said. "I have decided to give my greatest attention right now to addressing this new challenge and to ministering to my wife and children. This is clearly not the right time for me to accept this nomination. I have asked my good friend Robert Jeffress not to proceed with nominating me for president of our Southern Baptist Convention this year.

"Frankly that decision is made much easier by my knowledge that there is at least one strongly conservative, committed pastor who intends to be nominated in Indianapolis," Mohler said.

Southern Seminary will release additional information as it becomes available. The Mohler family has expressed appreciation for all concern, prayer and encouragement.

What are we doing?

I am such a prayer warrior I pray so many times a day. I mean I’m up to 5 to 6 times a day. Once in the morning before I go to work, that’s about a 1 to 2 minute prayer, then I pray before every meal that’s 30 seconds max. Oh yea guess what I even pray before I go to bed sometimes. Is this what having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is all about? Just spend 5 minutes a day in prayer and God will use you.


Thank you God for your grace on our lives!

Guess Who?

Verse to think about!

John 1:37-38
And two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
And Jesus turned and beheld them following, and said “What do you seek”?
And they said to him “Rabbi where are you staying”

Does anybody else see this as avoiding the question? Or is this their way of saying that they are seeking after Him?

Friday Bible study

A group of us have been meeting on Friday morning for a bible study. Last week we talked about Prayer, which Barry walked us through some points about why, how, and where do we pray. This Friday coming up Eric will be walking us through the doctrine of sin. Please help us walk through this doctrine by given us scripture or any quotes you might have. We need all the help we can get to expose sin for what it really is. I hope that as you comment that we all can help each to grow; I am going to try to have something like this up every week. My prayer is that this will be a tool to bring God glory each week.

Spreading the Gospel

My friend Steven Swain is going on a mission trip to Spain. Steven has a passion for The Gospel of Jesus Christ, and is a man committed to sharing it. Steven is self-employed and has a wife and two kids. Please keep Steven in your prayers, for God must prepare the hearts to receive the Gospel. If you would like to support Steven with a donation please call me for details