Vacation Bible School

 VBS, A term I'm sure you're familiar with by now, is a typical highlight for the month of June. For many churches Vacation Bible School is one of the biggest evangelistic outreach events of the year. A busy week balancing work, kids, and late evenings at church, which can often lead to being tired and wondering how much does your involvement matter? Are my own kids getting a meaningful experience out of it? They surely have enough volunteers, right? These thoughts can flood our mind as often we may not see the immediate effect of our efforts in ministry. We can miss out on amazing opportunities God has for us. 

 

As a child, I don't remember very much from my time in and out of church. But I recall every summer my grandmother would ask us to come with her to VBS at her church. A small church down in Liberty, with 20-30 kids at most on a good year. I would reluctantly go, and only because my grandmother asked. Out of all my experience with church growing up, those small little VBSs are what I remember most. At the time, I didn't want to be there and most of the volunteers serving probably could see my disinterest. 

 

Today, I can recall times of seeing these leaders jump into prayer when someone needed it, treat me with so much love, and strive to make it an awesome week. It's those moments that helped me during the struggles of my high school and college life. It's the people involved showing Christ through their actions. So, while you may feel burnt out, and tired, hold fast to Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” You may just find, as a volunteer, what you get out of it is priceless. 

 

The lives and eternities of so many children are touched by Vacation Bible Schools each year. Additionally, there’s probably millions of dollars raised for missions. As a church family let’s come together, get involved, and make a lasting impact sharing the Love of God. 

Kobie Heath,
Youth Director

What’s the biggest challenge our church faces?

Think about it for a moment…what is the biggest obstacle to our congregation’s future and our capacity to be a thriving assembly committed to serving the Lord, declaring truth, and proclaiming the Gospel message?  There are certainly some worthy ideas; among them are these challenges of secular, cultural, and spiritual natures:

·      Legal challenges which put up obstacles to our ability to minister away from church property.

·      Cultural challenges that seek to minimize and even eliminate the need for churches. 

·      Political challenges by those who want to restrict the First Amendment’s freedom of religion. 

·      Educational challenges by those who claim the church is irrelevant in the 21st century.

·      Financial challenges created by COVID, inflation, and a reduction in tithes and offerings.

·      Demonic challenges by the forces of evil which always resist the work of God.

Certainly, these are issues that can’t be ignored.  Additionally, it wouldn’t take long to think of other challenges that could either restrict our existence or our effectiveness.  That’s why I was surprised that Dr. Mark Dever (Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.), in his book, Twelve Challenges Churches Face, put none of these issues in his book.  Indeed, the first issue he addressed was forgetfulness, which seemed like an odd place to start.  However, once I finished that chapter, I agreed, it was a wise choice.  

That chapter of the book caused me to pursue more about what the Bible says about remembering, for indeed, the Bible constantly echoes the obligation of not forgetting, consider for example:

·      …remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. (Num. 15:40)

·      …remember all the ways which the Lord thy God led thee… (Deut. 8:2)

·      Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God… (Deut. 8:11)

·      Remember his marvelous works that he has done… (I Chron. 16:12)

·      I will remember the works of the Lord: Ps. 77:11

·      And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer. (Ps. 78:35)

·      Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (Ps. 103:2)

·      Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth… (Eccl. 12:1)

Dr. Dever focuses the priority of not forgetting the blessings and faithfulness of the Lord.  Truly, if we forget what the Lord has done for us and how faithful the Lord has been, then we set ourselves on a path of ruin. 

So, let’s be reminded, and often remind ourselves, of the Lord’s blessings on us as individuals and families, and on us as a congregation.  This month we celebrate eighty-three years as an assembly formed into a local church, and we must not forget the Lord’s blessings and His faithfulness over these many decades. 

To us as individuals, God has been faithful to provide the gift of salvation by grace and through faith in the sacrifice of Christ; He has provided us with a purpose to life and a future eternity that far exceeds anything the world has to offer; He has provided us with the Bible and the promises He has recorded for all generations.

To us as a congregation, God has been faithful to provide a pastor with strong commitments to the Gospel, the ministry of preaching, and the priority of family; God has assembled here a diversity of people with various abilities and gifts to strengthen the church; He has provided us with a wonderful facility to use as a house of worship and as a launching pad for outreach and evangelization.

Therefore, let us diligently strive to say off the path of ruin because of our forgetfulness and ungratefulness.  Let us always remember, and not forget, as Ephesians 1:3 says, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

Dr. Harlie Miller,
Executive Pastor

Happy Spring

 

April is a month of celebrations for our family! We celebrate and rejoice over five family members that God has blessed us with that were all born in April. But much more than that, we remember, commemorate, rejoice over and celebrate a Risen Savior this month! The Lord Jesus was really dead and He really came back to life, just like He said He would. The resurrection of Christ makes all the difference, in everything! Let’s acknowledge and celebrate the real meaning of Easter!

 

Because He lives, we can face today and tomorrow!

Because He lives, we have meaning to life and a purpose, so life is worth living. 

Because He lives, we no longer live under condemnation because our sins are forgiven. We have been set free from the law of sin and death once and for all.

Because He lives, families can laugh together and enjoy life together. 

When we lose loved ones, we have the assurance that we will see them again, because He lives!

We can face all the difficulties and disappointments in life because He lives!

We have hope, joy and peace because He lives!

We can have the strength to live right and resist temptation because He lives!

 

How exciting that we can live with confidence and hope, knowing that “he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” Romans 8:11

 

“Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead.” Romans 1:3,4

On that third day, God raised Jesus to life.  He delivered the fatal blow to sin and death.  The life that was lost in the Garden was now restored through the resurrection.  That is why Jesus came, so that we might have life.

 

Let’s celebrate! Jesus is alive!  Jesus was raised completely victorious over sin and death. He lives! 

We look forward to seeing each of you as we come together in our regular and special services at the church through-out the month of April!

 

Love in Christ, 

Pastor Paul, Senior Pastor

Are You a Disciple of Jesus?

In Luke 6:12-13 (NASB) we read these words,  “It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles.”

 

What is a disciple? 

The word translated “disciple” in our English Bible is from the Greek word for a learner or a pupil, it is the word “μαθητής”,  pronounced ma-the-tes. The standard definition of disciple is someone who adheres to the teachings of another. So a disciple is a follower or a learner. In today’s culture we might use the word “apprentice” for disciple. It refers to someone who takes up the ways of someone else for the purpose of learning from them. In the case of the passage above from Luke’s Gospel account we find that a disciple is a learner who is under the tutelage of a master teacher or Rabbi. 

 

Jesus emphasized the idea of a “follower” when He called the twelve from their busy lives to be His disciples. For example in (Matthew 4:18-19), we read these words, “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Follow me, these words mark out an important aspect of discipleship. The pupil was to mimic the actions and teachings of the Master by following closely in His footsteps. To be a learner the disciple followed closely behind the Master, observing His life, and listening intently to His words (see I John 1:1-4).

 

Jonathon Parnell, pastor and teacher, said this of the disciples, “Applied to Jesus, a disciple is someone who learns from Him to live like Him — someone who, because of God’s awakening grace, conforms his or her words and ways to the words and ways of Jesus”  (see Acts 4:13). The disciple is constantly learning, and absorbing everything he can from the teacher, striving daily to walk in the footsteps of the Master, for the purpose that others would see “Christ in you the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). 

 

It would be no easy task to instruct and equip these twelve for the ministry that they had been called to. These “Ordinary Men” as they are described by John MacArthur, had many faults to overcome. For example, in the Gospel accounts we read that the twelve could be “slow of heart to believe” (Mark 16:14), that they had a defect of jealously (Mark 10:35-37), that they lacked faith when tested (Mark 9:17-19), that they lacked spiritual understanding (Matthew 15:16), and finally that they all deserted Jesus when He needed them the most (Mark 14:50).

 

The Gospels record the many failings, struggles, and doubts of these twelve men who followed Jesus Christ. They may have been slow to learn, but the disciples of Jesus did learn and as a result they became under Jesus the founders of the Church of the Living God. It has been truthfully said that you don’t have to be perfect to follow Jesus. 

 

After witnessing Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven, the Holy Spirit transformed the disciples into powerful men of God who turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6). What accounts for the dramatic change? It is said of the disciples that they had “been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). My prayer is that the same may be said of us as we strive to follow in the footsteps of our Lord, Jesus Christ and to fulfill the work He has given us to do here at Gospel Baptist Church. 

 

Jim York,

Teacher, Berean Bible Study Class

You Have to Hate What’s Happened to Love

Love is a noble virtue.  The Bible plainly teaches its value and experience confirms its worth.  Love is the central theme in a multitude of historical and literary stories, including Abraham and Sarah, Boaz and Ruth, Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, Pocahontas and John Smith, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and of course, Popeye and Olive Oyl…not to mention the never-ending parade of Hallmark movies!  Plus, on a personal level, every couple that is, or plans to be, married has their own love story.  Yes indeed, “love is in the air,” especially during this month.

No other month flies under the banner of love as much as February.  The reason is the celebration of Valentine, a third century Christian pastor who highly valued the idea of the “courtly love” between a man and a woman.  As a result, ever since the Middle Ages, the date of Valentine’s death has come to be the day to memorialize love…not to mention its impact on flower, chocolate, and jewelry sales.

So, what’s happened to love?  Sadly, this most noble virtue has become a victim of a sham.  Indeed, what is promoted as love must be recognized and yes, even despised.  For what has happened to love is truly a tragedy and a catastrophe that is nothing less than, well…heartbreaking.

The culture has twisted and perverted love to the point that it’s almost unrecognizable.  The culture has long polluted love by expressing it in terms of lust…a mere physical attraction that ignites the hormones and stimulates a pounding heart.  But lust is a defiled substitute for love.  Lust is selfish and always wants something.  Lust is short-lived and is always looking for a new object of desire.  Lust is always misleading, wanting to think only of the moment and never caring about the future.  Abundant evidence can be easily found in pop and country music, which (sad to say) have long been the ballads that promote such perverted misrepresentations of love.

Love has been dishonored by the “happily ever after” story endings.  Regrettably, many interpret this to mean that there’s not supposed to be any bumps or difficulties along the road of life, at least not if it’s “true love,” and if there are problems, then it must not be love, so the relationship is abandoned.

Love has been disgraced by the idea that love is just an emotion.  This is the view that you know it’s love when it “feels right.”  To which the question must be asked, what does it mean to “feel right?”  If there was ever a reason for a false positive, it’s the “feel right” view of love.  Eventually, the “just follow your heart” feeling goes away, and then what’s left?  Sadly, this too is the reason why many relationships are begun and abandoned…only to see individuals go to look for another emotional high.  The world of music promotes this lie with their variations of “how can it be so wrong when it feels so right” and “hooked on a feeling” songs.  The Bible warns of this trap when it says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

The worst of all desecrations of love is the idea that love has no ethical boundaries.  Love that is disconnected from biblical ethics is love that is truly perverted.  Love grows best and matures most when it’s exercised within the bounds of God’s intended framework of purity, marriage, and family.  Love outside of those boundaries is a gross misrepresentation of all that God intends love to be.

Without a doubt, love involves an attraction, an emotion, and an anticipation of wonder and excitement.  However, love was never intended to be led by attraction, emotion, and anticipation.  This is because love that reflects the best of God’s intentions will always be patient, kind, truthful, hopeful, enduring, and never failing.  It will not boast, be proud, dishonoring, selfish, or angry (see I Corinthians 13:4-8). 

This type of love is based upon a commitment, one best described in Matthew 22:36-40, where Jesus said to first love God and then to love others.  Extending from this is the love of a husband and wife (Ephesians 5:21-33), the love of a family (Ephesians 6:1-4), the love of other Christians (Galatians 5:13), and the love of other people (Galatians 5:14).  Indeed, the Bible instructs us to be “…rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17).  So, beware of how the culture always seeks to defile, dishonor, disgrace, and desecrate love, because you have to hate what’s happened to love.

Dr. Harlie Miller,

Executive Pastor

New Beginnings, New Seasons, New Habits

 With a New Year comes new expectations. No doubt we will hear many New Year’s resolutions, whether it be to shed a few pounds or to open our Bibles daily. The new year for many represents a time of change and a brand-new start to improve ourselves. Some of us will find ourselves in a different season of life. No matter what season you find yourself in 2022 remember Ecclesiastes 3:1.

“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven…”

Whether in the depths of a valley or on the mountain top this next year, let’s make a resolution. Not just to reach some goal we set for ourselves to be a better follower of Christ.

Not just to read a certain number of chapters a day in God’s Word, or to pray a certain number of times a day. But to pull up to God’s table, put our eyes on Him, and let Him make the change. For who are we to know what God’s final image is for us? Who are we to change ourselves?  Is it not Jesus that died for us that we might be clothed in righteousness? Is it not He who changes hearts, breaks chains, and breathes life into dry bones? So, let’s not trust ourselves to make and reach some unobtainable goal this year. Instead let’s trust in Him. Let’s set our eyes on God and make Him the priority in our lives. Too often the clay tries to mold itself rather than submit to the gentle hands of the potter.

With this in mind I urge all of you, as brothers and sisters in Christ, to remember that whether it’s the New Year, the 4th of July, or whether you are turning 16 or 90; every day is a new day in Christ Jesus! 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!”
(II Corinthians 5:17)

We live in newness every day in Jesus. God didn’t provide new life for us so that we would walk in old ways. The Lord came down for us that we might set our sights on Him and have our chains broken. So, in this new year, let your chains fall and set your eyes on God. Don’t let doubt and anxiety whisper lies about what you must do to be better but rely on God’s strength to accomplish the plans He has for you in 2022.

May each one of you have an amazing New Year that is Christ-centered!

Kobie Heath,

Youth Director

Immanuel: God With Us

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  But as followers of Christ, we strive to practice a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving daily, especially at this joyous time of year.   Let’s celebrate and rejoice in God’s most glorious gift: a baby born in a manger, who forever changed the world. How thankful we are for our Immanuel, “God with us,” the true meaning of Christmas!

 

Have you noticed that stores have been playing Christmas music since before Thanksgiving?  This time of year approaches with much anticipation, excitement, sentimentality, and hope.   No doubt as the month of December begins, we ourselves will be singing some familiar Christmas hymns with meaning and depth as well as some of the fun songs about reindeer, chipmunks and snow falling.  

The sights, sounds, smells, traditions, stories and memories of Christmas past, may bring lots of different emotions to our hearts.  But as we focus on the true meaning of Christmas, we will find our hearts able to rejoice even in the midst of difficult memories. 

 

So let us intentionally focus on Christ, “the reason for the season” as they say.  As we participate in, and look forward to all of our annual Christmas traditions, let’s keep Him as the center of our JOY and celebrations.  

 

Thank you to those who participated in Operation Christmas Child with Samaritan’s Purse to reach children all over the world this holiday season. We also provide the opportunity to serve  in our Outdoor Live Nativity as we give to our community a” Living Christmas Card” to bless them with visuals of what Christmas is really all about.  Most of our church family will enjoy giving in the Birthday offering for Christ so that we can help those in need this season.  Many of us will enjoy going Christmas Caroling to be a blessing to our shut-ins.  Our church family will delight in watching our children perform their Christmas program.  All of these events are traditions of our church to celebrate our Savior’s birth and share the Gospel.

 

In the words of one of our Christmas hymn, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Joyful and Triumphant, Come let us adore Him!” Oh come let us adore Him, Christ our King! He is not only the baby in the manger but this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of heaven and earth. To adore is to regard with the utmost esteem, respect and honor.  He deserves our adoration!  

 

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:17

 

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  Is. 9:6

“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Phil. 2:10-11

 

The shepherds adored Him, and the angels praised Him.  We are reminded to come and worship the King of Kings! The Wise Men saw the star, rejoiced with exceedingly great joy, fell down and worshiped Him.  Then they presented their gifts to Him. (Matthew 2:10-11) Let’s praise and worship Him!  Let’s rejoice with much joy at such great a salvation He has provided!  What a privilege to present Him with the gifts of ourselves in service, our time, using our talents to help others and to point them to Christ, all for God’s glory! 

 

May each of you enjoy a Christ-centered Christmas season!  I am praying for you.

 

In Christ’s love,

Pastor Paul, Senior Pastor