I am thankful for everyone who turned out this evening for our TNT dinner and Bible Study! Special thanks to Bill and Shari Fleming for the meal and to Bill Kleiss for staying in the Nursery for us! BTW - Pray for Bill and Jessie as they drive out to Salt Lake City this weekend to take some of Jessie's things to her new apartment.
Our study this evening was on, "Is Jesus Christ the only way to Heaven?" Next Thursday evening will be a time of follow-up and Questions and Answers on this vitally important topic!
This coming Sunday morning, I will continue my series on, "Understanding Acts - Body #2 Takes Over" with a sermon from 1:4-5 on the subject of "The Baptism with the Holy Spirit."
We will not have any afternoon classes, activities, or the PM Worship Service due to the Holiday.
I hope to see you Sunday morning with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!
PTL: Thanks for praying for Cory Schultz, he got the job he was praying about in Champaign!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Body #2 Takes Over!
Oh my, how well the Church did… at first!
41 “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Acts 2:41-47 (ESV)
Everyone I know wants the Church to do that well again, and always! So, the question is with so many good people wanting the Church to be biblical in all we do and to experience the manifest blessings of God, why do we not see the Church experiencing the manifest blessings of God?
As the Lord allows, I will explore this question over the next twelve to eighteen months in a series of sermons I am calling “Understanding Acts: Body #2 Takes Over!” This coming Sunday morning, 6-6-2010, I will begin the series with an introductory sermon by that very title.
When God determined to save His people, He did so by taking on a human body in which He lived a sinless life, perfectly obeyed the Law, died an atoning death, and three days later rose again from the grave! Body #1, the Divine Person of Jesus Christ, perfectly did His Father’s will and work in the world!
Forty days after His resurrection, Body #1 ascended back to His Father where He now serves us as our Great High Priest. Thankfully, He did not leave us without divine aid. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer to enable and empower us to finish the work that Jesus Christ came to do.
The Book of Acts was divinely inspired to instruct us (both by precept and by example) in the way by which we are to accomplish the great world-wide task of evangelization we are both called and commissioned to accomplish.
It takes an average reader about 2.5 to 3 hours to read the 28 Chapters of the Book of Acts. I hope you will start reading now. Maybe reading for 2.5 hours at one sitting will work well for you. Or, maybe 5 sessions of 30 minutes each per week will be best. Either way, I hope you will read this “Christian and Church Growth Guidebook” over and over again as we work through this series in the coming months.
We begin this Sunday! Start reading now! I hope to see you Sunday morning with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and family and friends by your side.
41 “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Acts 2:41-47 (ESV)
Everyone I know wants the Church to do that well again, and always! So, the question is with so many good people wanting the Church to be biblical in all we do and to experience the manifest blessings of God, why do we not see the Church experiencing the manifest blessings of God?
As the Lord allows, I will explore this question over the next twelve to eighteen months in a series of sermons I am calling “Understanding Acts: Body #2 Takes Over!” This coming Sunday morning, 6-6-2010, I will begin the series with an introductory sermon by that very title.
When God determined to save His people, He did so by taking on a human body in which He lived a sinless life, perfectly obeyed the Law, died an atoning death, and three days later rose again from the grave! Body #1, the Divine Person of Jesus Christ, perfectly did His Father’s will and work in the world!
Forty days after His resurrection, Body #1 ascended back to His Father where He now serves us as our Great High Priest. Thankfully, He did not leave us without divine aid. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer to enable and empower us to finish the work that Jesus Christ came to do.
The Book of Acts was divinely inspired to instruct us (both by precept and by example) in the way by which we are to accomplish the great world-wide task of evangelization we are both called and commissioned to accomplish.
It takes an average reader about 2.5 to 3 hours to read the 28 Chapters of the Book of Acts. I hope you will start reading now. Maybe reading for 2.5 hours at one sitting will work well for you. Or, maybe 5 sessions of 30 minutes each per week will be best. Either way, I hope you will read this “Christian and Church Growth Guidebook” over and over again as we work through this series in the coming months.
We begin this Sunday! Start reading now! I hope to see you Sunday morning with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and family and friends by your side.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Sundays Coming!
Beloved Ones, this coming Lord's Day morning may be sunny both inside and outside our Church! It is always sunny inside, but lately we have not seen a lot of sunshine outside.
As the Lord allows, I will continue my series of "Simple Salvation Sermons" with a message from Luke 23:32-43 entitled, "What is Essential for Salvation?" At the last night of revival last month, we named 22 people for whose salvation we are praying and we committed to try our best to get them here in May.
This is certainly not a new sermon to me! I have been preaching this message in churches for nearly thirty years. This sermon has been used of the Lord to bring more people to faith than any other message I have ever preached.
I hope to see you Sunday Morning with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!
Remember, Sundays Coming!
As the Lord allows, I will continue my series of "Simple Salvation Sermons" with a message from Luke 23:32-43 entitled, "What is Essential for Salvation?" At the last night of revival last month, we named 22 people for whose salvation we are praying and we committed to try our best to get them here in May.
This is certainly not a new sermon to me! I have been preaching this message in churches for nearly thirty years. This sermon has been used of the Lord to bring more people to faith than any other message I have ever preached.
I hope to see you Sunday Morning with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!
Remember, Sundays Coming!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Revival!
We have experienced a wonderful day today at "The Greatest Church on Earth!" (OK, OK, I know that is boastful... but it is not bragging since it is true). ;>)
4 Baptized, 4 bricks taken down, great attendance, singing, offering, specials, and a typically biblical and soul-stirring sermons from Bobby Boyles! It was a joy to have "Touched by Grace" with us this evening for special music!
We will have three more services this week: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 7pm. I hope you will be able to attend and bring your family and friends with you.
4 Baptized, 4 bricks taken down, great attendance, singing, offering, specials, and a typically biblical and soul-stirring sermons from Bobby Boyles! It was a joy to have "Touched by Grace" with us this evening for special music!
We will have three more services this week: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 7pm. I hope you will be able to attend and bring your family and friends with you.
Monday, April 5, 2010
16:20. The End of Mark
This coming Sunday, as the Lord allows, I will preach the final sermon (#66) from the Gospel of Mark completing the series I began nearly 18 months ago!
Mark 16:14-20 is about the forty day ministry of Jesus following His resurrection from the dead. There are three great controversies about these verses:
1) Are these verses actually scripture?
2) Is being baptized required for salvation?
3) Are the miraculous signs that followed still for today?
I will certainly address each of these issues, but, let me say that the great controversy I find in these verses is why Christians have not made more progress toward accomplishing the Great Commission nearly 2,000 years after Jesus spoke these words! Read the verses, pray, and get ready to learn!
I hope to see you Sunday with a Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your friends and family by your side!
Mark 16:14-20 is about the forty day ministry of Jesus following His resurrection from the dead. There are three great controversies about these verses:
1) Are these verses actually scripture?
2) Is being baptized required for salvation?
3) Are the miraculous signs that followed still for today?
I will certainly address each of these issues, but, let me say that the great controversy I find in these verses is why Christians have not made more progress toward accomplishing the Great Commission nearly 2,000 years after Jesus spoke these words! Read the verses, pray, and get ready to learn!
I hope to see you Sunday with a Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your friends and family by your side!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Great Expectations!
William Carey, (1761-1834) English Baptist Missionary, Founder of the Baptist Missionary Society, and known as “The Father of Modern Missions” served the Lord in Serampore, India. His most famous quote, (from a sermon on Isaiah 54:2-3) is, “expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”
It is from this quote that I have been meditating on the idea of “Great Expectations!” What exactly do I mean when I say that we, as the people of God, should live our life with Great Expectations?
Recently, I attended a Sunday School leadership training event led by Dale Davenport of IBSA. He gave us some great material including a booklet by David Francis entitled, “Great Expectations.” In this booklet, he lists three things that we ought to see in a “Great Expectations Sunday School”:
First, we should expect new people every week!
Second, we should expect people to say yes!
Third, we should expect classes to reproduce!
I want to springboard off of these ideas and get us thinking about several “Great Expectations” for our Church in the future:
1) We should expect (and be ready for) new people every week!
2) We should expect (and be ready for) God to save lost people every week!
3) We should expect (and be ready for) new believers to be baptized every month!
4) We should expect (and have the process and programs in place for) new members to grow spiritually!
5) We should expect (and have training in place for) spiritually growing members to serve the Lord!
6) We should expect (and provide training) to start new classes and new Ministry Teams continually!
7) We should expect (and be spiritually prepared for) opposition from the evil one and his helpers!
May God grant that we will always be known as “The Great Expectations Church.”
It is from this quote that I have been meditating on the idea of “Great Expectations!” What exactly do I mean when I say that we, as the people of God, should live our life with Great Expectations?
Recently, I attended a Sunday School leadership training event led by Dale Davenport of IBSA. He gave us some great material including a booklet by David Francis entitled, “Great Expectations.” In this booklet, he lists three things that we ought to see in a “Great Expectations Sunday School”:
First, we should expect new people every week!
Second, we should expect people to say yes!
Third, we should expect classes to reproduce!
I want to springboard off of these ideas and get us thinking about several “Great Expectations” for our Church in the future:
1) We should expect (and be ready for) new people every week!
2) We should expect (and be ready for) God to save lost people every week!
3) We should expect (and be ready for) new believers to be baptized every month!
4) We should expect (and have the process and programs in place for) new members to grow spiritually!
5) We should expect (and have training in place for) spiritually growing members to serve the Lord!
6) We should expect (and provide training) to start new classes and new Ministry Teams continually!
7) We should expect (and be spiritually prepared for) opposition from the evil one and his helpers!
May God grant that we will always be known as “The Great Expectations Church.”
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Beautiful Foyer
The new carpet is complete in the foyer of the church. It is beautiful! Thanks to everyone who came up with the idea, picked the style and color of the carpet, and to THE SUPER-DUPER VOLUNTEER CLEANING TEAM who have worked and worked and worked to get it cleaned up and ready for Sunday! God bless you!
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