Thursday, September 29, 2011

Revival!

Wow! What a great Revival Meeting! I was inspired, encouraged, convicted and impressed by the soul-stirring music and the preaching of God’s Word. I feel that we have a new breath on our ministry.

Brother Lee was at his best. His messages hit home and were from his heart. I was moved as I’m sure you were to love and serve our Lord more.

Thank you for your faithfulness to the meetings. To all those who worked the nursery, picked up folks, the ushers, the choir, all the musicians, I say a heartfelt “Thank you for your labor of love.”

I’m looking forward to continuing our program this Sunday with “The People of the Cross”.

See you then!
Pastor

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

March to a different beat!

Early in Israel’s history, God ordained that judges would be responsible for overseeing the adherence of the nation to His law, maintaining the social order and administering justice. Unfortunately, as time passed the Israelites allowed the cultures of the surrounding heathen nations to influence them, and they began to clamor to be like them and be ruled by a king. God reluctantly yielded to them, and gave them Saul as king. As is abundantly evident in the Biblical record, the results were catastrophic! God had intended for His people to be different than other nations, but now they were becoming as the heathens around them, both in practice and in spirit.

America likewise has always been different than other nations! The principles upon which this country was established were derived from Biblical precepts. Since our inception our leaders have sought God’s direction, not the direction of those around us. We have always been different in body and spirit. We marched to a different beat because our guiding values were based on a different book, the Bible.

But recently, a disturbing trend has been taking place. Both the executive and judicial branches of our government are looking to other nations to develop our national policies. And we are fast becoming like Israel in the sense that we want to be “like” everyone else. Look around the world and you will see the disastrous consequences that result when a people embrace a philosophy of man over the clear teachings God has revealed in the Bible. Socialism has caused the better part of Europe to begin to self destruct. Greece, Italy, Spain and France have all begun to display the signs of countries whose societies are eroding from within. What’s wrong with socialism? After all, on the surface it seems to be a “fair” system; the government taking care of everyone! The problem lies in the notion that government has endless resources to accomplish this. But the government by nature does not produce material goods. It in fact must take from those who have earned through their own industry in order to give it to those who have not. This is nothing less than government theft, and ultimately produces a climate of entitlement, and a population who will by and large become dependent on that government. As Margaret Thatcher aptly said, ” The problem with socialism is when the other guy runs out of money”.

America has prospered because the people who came here worked hard, relying on their own industriousness and resourcefulness, not because of government hand-outs. An enterprising spirit along with a dependence on divine help has always set us apart from others. May it ever be so!

We do not need to look elsewhere and embrace the failed philosophies of men. We need to return to the foundational concepts upon which this country was constructed. In closing, I believe these words spoken by Ben Franklin to the Continental Congress are most appropriate: “I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth-that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His Aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this.”

God bless you all!
See you sunday!
Pastor

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Revive Us!

James 4 exhorts us to “draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands ye sinners; and purify your hearts ye double minded.” In this passage, James has essentially provided the framework for the concept of revival.

All of us experience highs and lows; one day we’re on top of the mountain, the next we may be traversing through the lowest valley. This is what C.S. Lewis described as the “Law of Spiritual Undulation” of the Christian life; the tendency to move from spiritual highs when the blessings of God are clearly evident, to times of spiritual lows when the trials of life provoke us to battle with doubts or discouragement. Our hearts get cold and calloused, and let’s be honest, even bored at times, and at some point, we all need revival. We need to get back to the fire and warm ourselves again.

Revival is bringing back to life that which has previously had life. Of course, this means you cannot have revival unless you’ve already had “life”. God’s people are “born again” into a new life, adopted into God’s family; yet at different seasons of life we need a new stirring of the Spirit of God; a quickening of our spiritual life. We need a personal revival.

Gypsy Smith, an evangelist of yesteryear said, “The way to have a personal revival is to draw a circle around yourself, get down on your knees and say “OH Lord send revival and let it start inside this circle.”

Charles Finney, the great evangelist said, “Revival is a new beginning of obedience unto God.”

All of us need that! Amen.

This Sunday will start our Fall Revival with Evangelist Tim Lee. I would encourage everyone to make a commitment to participate as I am sure we can all use some “revival” in our spiritual lives! This is our church and together we need to seek God’s blessings through obedience. Each night bring your family and your Bible but most of all bring your heart open, ready to receive what God has for you. Let us all pray this week that God will send us true Holy Ghost revival. I can’t wait!

See you Sunday!
Pastor

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

In Honor of Our Fallen Soldiers

It was certainly an emotional day this past Sunday when we honored those precious families that suffered the loss of a son in Iraq or Afghanistan. Heart-rending may actually be a more appropriate description. If you were not moved by the life stories behind each of these valiant young men, you better check your pulse! In the coming weeks we plan to have the names of these dear men engraved on the bench designed in their honor.

Solomon said “Sorrow is better than mirth (laughter).” Although this may seem to be a rather cynical attitude, it is actually rooted in Solomon’s astute observation that we tend to learn and grow stronger in faith more from times of sorrow than we do from times of joy.

Experiencing sorrow is typically not considered to be something beneficial, but Solomon would argue that it does have some positive effects. For one, it causes us to “reconnect” with our humanity, often compelling us to reach out to our fellow man in ways we otherwise would not (this Sunday’s service, for instance!). It also forces us to recognize our inherent weakness as humans, and that some things are beyond our control. This in turn provides insight as to our own limitations; we are so limited just by our being finite human beings. But God is unlimited, and God is infinitely wise and perfect in all His ways. If we acknowledge these contrasting realities, and we place our trust in God and rely on his providence, times of sorrow will strengthen our faith and fortify our spiritual muscle. I guess Solomon knew what he was talking about!

This Sunday our theme will be on “The Power of the Cross”. We have some great things planned at Chestertown Baptist Church. If you miss a Sunday, you miss a lot!

Please know that I love and appreciate you all.

See ya Sunday!
Pastor