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Compiled by the Faith Newsletter editor: Burt Pearson
Contents:
From your Pastor
Ladies, Mark your Calendar
About the Music
Subject: Locking your car
The Brand New Day
What Party Does God Claim
God’s Wife
The Family Bible Conference
Florida Presbytery elder/deacon training
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From your Pastor |
The Lord Jesus told His disciples that after the Holy Spirit had come upon them, they would receive power to become witnesses for Him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8). It is clear from Acts 8:4 that the apostolic church applied this not only to the apostles themselves, but also to all of the members. In other words, all believers are to be witnesses of the Gospel to the world.
The focus of last month’s article was how to write your personal testimony in order to help you become a more proficient witness. This month I want to consider the responsibility and privilege we have to communicate the Gospel with our words and our deeds in whatever sphere of influence God places us.
Additionally, I want to share three keys that have greatly encouraged me in our call to evangelize.
1.) Confidence in Christ’s Authority
Evangelism is often frightening, sometimes painful, and always wonderful. It has a deeply personal element that makes it difficult to express what goes into it. And yet, if you consider the Great Awakenings in America, what gave evangelists remarkable power was confidence in the supreme authority of Christ. Jesus acted in and through them not because they were powerful persons, but because they were empty vessels needing grace. They understood that Jesus was the one who forgave and cleansed them; He was the one who sent them with the gospel; and He was the one who opened the hearts of hardened people to a very humbling message.
By contrast, believers today typically serve a much smaller Christ. We like His role of comforter, provider and sustainer, but we regularly ignore the fact that he is also the conquering King. Since we do not maintain conscious submission to Christ’s supreme authority, we generally give up the right of spiritual inquiry into the state of the human soul. The leaders of the Great Awakening, and all those who participated had extraordinary power in evangelism and renewal, because they followed an omnipotent Christ, the divine warrior. Consequently, His power was poured out on those who knew that they were inherently powerless without a constant dependence upon the working of God’s grace in their lives.
2.) Confidence in the Whole Truth
When we do attempt evangelism, often times we aim to get people to “make a decision for Christ” quickly and with as little pain as possible. Then we encourage them to never doubt their salvation. Although well meaning, we deceive ourselves and those we are trying to evangelize. We often teach little about God, His perfect righteousness and His demands that we be perfectly righteous. We minimize original sin and our deeply rooted self-will. And we often fail to communicate that “choosing Christ” is not an act of human independence, but a surrender of it.
No wonder millions of Americans who profess to be born again are deeply confused about what it even means. Think of the confusion frequently created by shallow evangelistic invitations. We tell people that God loves them and Christ died for them and leave them to wonder why His love is all that great, since we didn’t challenge the notion that they are pretty good to begin with.
By contrast, preachers like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield presented their hearers with the biblical truth about their lost condition. They labored to make their hearers understand that Christ demands more than a religious experience or surface moral reform; He requires your life. Additionally, they did not call a religious experience a conversion, unless spiritual fruit accompanied the profession of faith.
3.) A Passion for Winning Souls
Christians often have two levels of belief and do not recognize it. They have concepts in their minds which are fully biblical, but deep down they may have another belief system that contradicts biblical truth. For example, we evangelicals believe in hell, but it is not part of our daily working theology. Therefore, we often have a general apathy toward eternal judgment. Do we really believe that many of the people in our spheres of influence are lost and are going to hell? Theologically, I’m sure that we do. However, the reality of their destiny often fades from our minds.
Conversely, our evangelical ancestors were soldiers in God’s army, whereas we tend to think and act like civilians. The leaders and participants in the Great Awakenings thought deeply about eternal issues, and prayed with intense enthusiasm. They were God’s “soul winners,” soldiers in His powerfully advancing Kingdom of love and mercy. Today, we would have to acknowledge that many of us who are soldiers in God’s army have gone AWOL. Evangelism is not an invitation to participate in a movement, it a call to war. In a series of talks entitled The Lord Christ is a Missionary Christ, John Stott told the conferees at Urbana in 1976: “This sense of having been sent was a fundamental awareness of Jesus. It gave significance, urgency, and compulsion to everything he did…If God was to Jesus, he who sent me, then Jesus must be to us, he who sent us…The church is the community of Jesus who have first been chosen out of the world and then sent back into the world…In order to qualify for the name “church” we must be a community deeply and constantly aware of our “sentness,” and actively loyal to this part of our Christian identity.”
Our hope for renewed vitality in our Christian communities rests on our willingness to expand our vision and align our faith with God’s missionary purposes throughout the world. We need to ask Him to send His Spirit to instruct us on how to go out with the gospel in a spirit of humble, confident, expectancy.
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Grace and peace,
Pastor Adams |
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Ladies, Mark your Calendar |
Ladies, Mark your Calendar for Saturday, October 25th at noon.
We will be having a luncheon at Jean Poole’s home. Just bring a salad to share.
We will also be having a speaker, Nancy Kennedy.
Her topic for the day will be, "Prayers God always answers."
Below is a brief article about Nancy.
Christian author and inspirational speaker Nancy Kennedy says, “Life is hard, but God is good. And He's full of surprises, like calling me to a speaking ministry. I'll never forget the day. I said something like, ‘God, I'll do anything for you except....’ You see, speaking before an audience was the one thing I thought I could never, ever do. Since then He's been out to prove me wrong, that I can indeed ‘do all things through Christ.’ As a result, for the past several years I've thoroughly enjoyed being proven wrong as I seek to convey the message that His love and grace are readily available to all who are in Christ.”
Nancy currently lives in Inverness, Florida, where she’s active in her church and community. A Christian since age 23, Nancy says she surrendered her life to Jesus Christ in the ladies room of the supply warehouse at Loring AFB, Maine. She would love to tell you more about that. Married to Barry Kennedy since 1975, she says she still thinks he's awfully cute. They have two daughters: Alison (grown and married) and Laura, a twenty-something student in Charlotte, NC. (They're cute, too.)
Known for her honesty and gentle humor, Nancy says, “I love my life. I'm incredibly average, basically clueless, always self-centered. I love coconut cake, soft blue jeans, sushi, sappy love songs...and knowing that there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I also love to laugh and love sharing my gift of laughter and inspiration.”
A member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Nancy has appeared on radio programs such as Family Life Today and Revive Our Hearts. She is also a Religion editor, feature writer, and columnist for the Florida daily newspaper, the Citrus County Chronicle. Read her column, Grace Notes, through her Web site at www.nancykennedybooks.net.
Most recently, Nancy has been chosen as one of four monthly “Walk With Me” bloggers for Today’s Christian Woman at www.todayschristianwoman.com.
Her books include: Girl on a Swing, Prayers God Always Answers, Move Over Victoria — I Know the Real Secret, When He Doesn’t Believe, When Perfect Isn’t Enough, Between Two Loves, and Lipstick Grace. |
Submitted by Linda Seiffer |
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About the Music |
A message from the Deacons
As I serve Faith Presbyterian Church as a Deacon, I have the blessing of being on the church’s worship committee. I was given the task of putting together our church’s statement for our music ministry. This statement will be posted on our web site. As you can imagine, I would not even consider getting started on this until I spent much time in prayer.
Our communal worship is high on the list of importance of things we do as Christians. It is here that God speaks to us as a church. Through the preaching of God’s Word, the Choral Anthem, and yes, even the hymns we sing each Sunday, God speaks. We must take each part of our worship experience very seriously. If God is speaking, I want to be listening.
Following is the statement that will be posted on our web site. Since this statement speaks to our community I thought it would be wise for all of us to know what is contained in this statement. I pray God will use it to speak to our community as well as to our church. As you read, please be in prayer that God will use this statement as an evangelistic tool for all who will see it. God has gifted many in this area. I pray He will use this statement to draw people, as He sees fit, to our music ministry here at Faith Presbyterian Church.
Our statement of Music Ministry:
Colossians 3:14-17 (NKJV)
“But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
II Chronicles 5:11-14 (NKJV)
“And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without keeping to their divisions), and the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthin, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding trumpets—indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: ‘For He is good, for His mercy endures forever,’ that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.”
MUSIC MINISTRY OF FAITH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Music is a gift from God for all. God has given this gift to His entire Church. This gift is used to express ourselves to God and for God to express Himself to us.
God has called particular individuals into music ministry. (2 Timothy 1:6 “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of hands.”) God has given these individuals an ability and desire to use this gift as an expression of faith and service within the congregation. It is the desire of this ministry to give these individuals the opportunity to share with others that which God has given them.
The mission and purpose of the Music Ministry at Faith Presbyterian Church is to glorify God through music. We desire to help others reach out to God and to come into His presence in such a way as to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16 NKJV) We strive to lead others into God’s divine presence so that, through praise and worship, each person may experience the miracle of God’s love, acceptance, election, and salvation.
Since we believe this talent is a gift from God, we desire to be good stewards of the gift and use it to glorify God. We believe we should develop our talents and offer them back to God. As we strive to serve our Lord, we do so with excellence and thanksgiving. We desire to give God our best at all times.
The message and content of each musical offering is very important to us. We believe, as God’s Word is expressed through this ministry, it is very important to make sure the content is both scripturally sound and fully understandable to all. The message and content is placed before the musicality of the piece.
God uses music to:
- help individuals express praise, thanksgiving, petition, and confession,
- communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ,
- help unite individuals in fellowship and corporate worship,
- help individuals reflect and meditate during personal times of devotion, and
- enhance biblical and theological truths.
The Adult Choir usually rehearses on Thursday evenings from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM and Sunday mornings from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM.
The Children’s Choir rehearses on Sunday evenings during regularly scheduled evening services. |
Respectfully submitted by:
Tom Ferraro
Deacon, Choir Director |
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Subject: Locking your car |
This is very troubling what lengths people will go steal what doesn't belong to them ! 100% of the time I lock my car on the door lock inside when I exit the car. Little did I know that is the best way to lock your car. Read on..
Beware folks. This is news you can use.
THIS HAS BEEN CHECKED ON SNOPES
My oldest son came over yesterday- he had to go to Canada for work last week. One of the other engineer's traveling to Canada with him, but in his own car had something happen...that I need to share.
While traveling he stopped at the roadside park, similar to what we have here with bathrooms, vending machines etc. He came out to his car less than
4-5 minutes later and found someone had gotten into his car, and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator briefcase......you name it.
They called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broke into- the police told him that there is a device that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your key-chain locking device. They set a distance away and watch for their next victim. Since they know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, or bathroom and have a few minutes to steal and run. The police office said...to be sure to manually lock your car door-by hitting the lock button inside the car, that way if there is someone setting in a parking lot watching for their next victim it will not be you.
When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting...it does not send the security code, but if you walk away and use the door lock on your key chain- it sends the code thru the airwaves where it can be stolen.
I just wanted to let you know about this...it is something totally new to us...and this is real...it just happened this past Thursday June 19th to his co-worker...
So be aware of this and please pass this note on...look how many times we all lock our doors with our keys...just to be sure we remembered to lock them....and bingo the guys have our code...and whatever was in the car...can be gone. |
An e-mail received by the editor |
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The Brand New Day |
When you wake up in the morning you are faced with a brand new day “which ain’t ever been used before.” Make the best of it. It belongs to you as you see fit. If the sun is shining you don’t have to make hay. Fishing and shopping could top the list. If it is raining, how about writing a letter to an old friend you haven’t heard from in a while, or worse yet sort those clothes in the closet that don’t fit.
There is always a good thing to do on that BRAND NEW DAY. |
Submitted by Peg Krieg |
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What Party Does God Claim |
Commentary from Dr. Kennedy
What side is God on? People have wanted to know that since the beginning of warfare.
During the Civil War, people wondered which side God was on, and initially, many pastors and their congregations were duped by Adolf Hitler.
Journalist and historian William L. Shirer, author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, notes that some German "Christians" even drew up a resolution (which ultimately was not adopted) demanding "One People, One Reich, One Faith," and these same professing believers wanted to require "all pastors to take an oath of allegiance to Hitler."
Surely, God did not approve of Hitler's anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, anti-freedom regime.
Nevertheless, an intriguing question is what party does God claim?
In the book of Joshua, the title character has an encounter with God, or more precisely, the
Son of God, which helps provide an answer:
"Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, 'Are you for us or for our enemies?'
'Neither,' he replied, 'but as commander of the
army of the Lord I have now come.'
'Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in
reverence, and asked him, 'What message does my Lord have for his servant?''' (Joshua 5:13-14, NIV).
Interpreting this passage, we know that the "man" who appeared to Joshua was Jesus. Joshua asks Jesus,
"Are you on our side?"much the same way we ask today, "Lord, are you on our side or theirs?"
And how does Jesus answer? "Neither." In some versions the word is translated "No." He is not on anyone's side. Jesus said that He was the commander-Joshua's captain and the Lord of the battle.
Jesus goes on to explain to Joshua that he will be victorious if he obeys the Lord and does what he is commanded to do. The question, therefore, is not if God is on our side, but rather, are we on God's side?
To me, more important than being a conservative or a liberal is being a committed Christian-then letting my faith inform my vote.
For many years Christians have abstained from
politics, and now they are shocked that the culture around them has deteriorated.
Certainly, we should not rely solely on political power to right the world's wrongs. All politicians are human; even the best of them will disappoint. So how would Jesus have us vote?
When Jesus was on earth, He did not reside in a democratic republic and had no opportunity to cast a ballot. But, those of us who make following Him our first priority believe He has
spoken through His Word and given us principles that can inform us on how to vote on
many issues-from abortion to the sanctity of
marriage.
In declaring Christian principles that guide
voting, we cannot help but be controversial,
Others will disagree. It goes with the territory. But unless we risk offending, we cannot uphold our duty to God.
John Calvin once said, "The task of the church is to make the invisible reign of Christ visible."
As we submit to His reign more and more in our lives, and compromise less and less with the world, we will see powerful results in our land. All this can begin with voting biblically.
Reprinted from How Would Jesus Vote? Copyright © 2008 by D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe. |
Submitted by Dan Acker |
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God’s Wife |
An eye witness account from New York
City , on a cold day in December, some years ago: A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold.
A lady approached the young boy and said,
' My, but you ' re in such deep thought staring in that window! '
' I was asking God to give me a pair of
shoes, ' was the boy ' s reply.
The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.
She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel.
By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy ' s feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him.. She patted him on the head and said, ' No
doubt, you will be more comfortable now. '
As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her.' Are you God’s' wife?' |
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The Family Bible Conference |
| The ARP Family Bible Conference was held in Flat Rock, NC at our denomination conference grounds, Bonclarken, July 21-25. It was a wonderful experience in many ways. The conference topic was “The Glorious Church” and featured speakers Dr. Ligon Duncan and Dr. Sinclair Ferguson with inspirational speaker, Mrs. Susan Hunt. The teachings were relevant to our life in the church today and had something for every age group. Praise and worship included singing from the hymnal and the Bible Song Book! There were activities for all ages of children in a Bible school-type setting as well as a nursery. The conference schedule had the perfect balance between learning, social interface and enjoying Bonclarken’s beautiful conference grounds as well as surrounding areas of Flat Rock and Hendersonville. For those who haven’t been to the area, it’s in the western North Carolina mountains just south of Asheville. We were impressed with the age mix of the conference attendees. There were many young families with babies, families with teenagers, others like the two of us and of course those who are retired. If you think of our local church as a family like many of us do, you should meet our extended church family! The accommodations at Bonclarken are varied and range from the campground (where we stayed), motel, hotel, and The Lodge, the newest. All are very affordable. The ARP church isn’t just a denomination, it’s really a family and the Family Bible Conference proved that. One of our Florida Presbytery churches, Bartow ARP, had about fifty people there! We would like to encourage all of you to consider attending the Family Bible Conference next summer. The dates next year are July 20-24. Please consider putting this on your calendar for 2009. |
Submitted by Roy and Carylon Good |
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Florida Presbytery elder/deacon training |
| Mark your calendars now for the January Elder/Deacon Training Seminar co-sponsored by the Christian Education Committee. The event will be held on Jan. 17 at the Bartow (FL) Church. Dr. Mark Ross will lead the training sessions. Details about content, materials, registration, etc. will be made available in the early fall. |
Thanks to Amy Hausman for spotting this short item in the latest ARP Magazine. |
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