A-Z Challenge!

Starts Tomorrow! 

I am interrupting our regularly scheduled postings for the month of April in order to  participate in the A-Z Challenge!

I will be breaking from our normal format of theological and biblical posts. Please join me each day!

I will be trying my hand at poetry! Each day I hope to write a poem corresponding to the day's alpha-bet letter. Check in and see how I do. I would appreciate your comments, please remember to be kind!

Toot! Toot! Toot!

Tooting one's own horn can be a somewhat "dangerous" and obnoxious thing to do. However, I feel somewhat at liberty and a little bit compelled to toot just a tad today.

A-Z begins April 1st. I have utilized different formats each year. This year I have decided to write a poem/song for each day. This can be a bit challenging.

Let me say I am halfway through the days in April already. Out of this first 15 days I think I have only used two (2) previously written poems/songs and the others are new. A couple seem a bit lame, but I am excited about several others.

I am especially pleased with the poem for the letter "B." I hope you get a "kick" out of the poems for "D" and "G." I think they are not only corny but they are cute. I hope they make you chuckle.

I still have the back nine to finish. I hope they can be just as entertaining, edifying, and encouraging as some on the front nine. Please join me each day and see what you think. I am looking forward to seeing each and every one of you!

No Message Today

I am out of the pulpit today. At least once a quarter we take some time to "sneak away." Therefore, there will be no message for today in "Sunday in the Study." We will resume our study in Romans on April 5th, Lord willing. Please join us then. Thank you!

To the Diligent Seeker...

"The Bible is no lazy man's book! Much of its treasure, like the valuable minerals stored in the bowels of the earth, only yield up themselves to the diligent seeker." 

(Arthur Pink)

April's Blog Format Announced

Inspired by NashvilleCats (2) Poems by Yvonne’s blog I am going to attempt to write a poem for each of the 26 letters of the Alpha-Bet based on people, places, and things in the Bible. Yvonne has been writing poetry almost daily on her blog for a number of years. She has actually had two books of poetry published.

Most of you know I am a frustrated poet/songwriter at heart. God has blessed me with having three of my songs recorded. The first was a labor of love written as a response to a sermon series I was preaching and it was recorded by a local church for distribution called Hand in Hand. The second was a country and western song I co-wrote called Haggard and Jones. The third song recorded was a song about the bible called This Ole Book. The late Jerry Hanlon of UAR Records produced and recorded the last two songs.

I have written hundreds of would be poems and songs since I first rewrote a Johnny Cash song called the Long Black Veil while I was a recruit in boot camp. Many poems and songs have been written for my blog.

So, I hope to encourage, edify, entertain, and exhort you over the next 26 of 30 days. I will attempt to write or include a self-written poem Monday through Saturday. Sunday we “have off.” However, I will post my weekly message on Sunday as I usually do at this time. 

I hope you will join me each day. Please, I implore you to leave a comment. Remember, since I haven’t earned a dime yet on anything I have written, I am still an amateur and not a professional. Therefore, please be kind – honest, but kind. Thank you!

It's Back!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blogging programming to bring you this very important public service!

For the month of April, I will be taking a break from our normal blogging format and will be joining in with over 1,500 other bloggers in the sixth annual A-Z challenge.

This is your invitation to follow along as I blog each letter of our Alphabet! Come join me beginning April 1st, 2015.

I am going to interrupt our normal theological and biblical format for some light, fun, and silliness for this challenge. Come May, I will return to the normal format for this blog! 

Please hang in there while we take this break! 

The Bad News then the Good News!

God's Perfect Plan (Part 1)

SERMON:             GM15-051

SERIES:              Renewal Through Romans: The Gospel Defined, Explained &           Applied

SETTING:          North Kelso Baptist Church

SERVICE:          Sunday AM (March 22, 2015)

SECTION:          The Prologue to Righteousness (Romans 1:1-17)

SUBTITLE:        God's Perfect Plan (Part 1)

SCRIPTURE:     Romans1:16a

SUBJECT:          It is good to experience confidence

SUMMARY:       You must believe in the Gospel’s ability to deliver you from your                              sins.

SCHEME:           That each member of NKBC fully trusts in the gospel for its sanctifying work

_____________________________________________________________

Our theme is: It is good to experience confidence        

This is a good reminder for us all to remember that the gospel is designed to more than simply save people from their sins. The gospel is the means by which the HS uses in your daily sanctification.

 Proposition:  You must understand the ability of God to deliver His people from their sin and how he sanctifies his people.         

Interrogatory Sentence:  What does the text reveal to us about confidence in the gospel?

Transitional Sentence: From our passage we learn two very important truths about Paul’s confidence in the gospel:

·        …the gospel produces saving faith in sinners

·        …the gospel produces sanctifying faith in saints

Be Careful as to How You Hear!

The ability that we as believers have to understand biblical or spiritual truths is based solely on the gracious sovereignty of God. The understanding of these truths is indeed a gift from God only available to His elect, His people. Those who are not the people of God do not have any understanding of God's truths because of the natural consequence of their spiritual blindness. The natural consequence of spiritual blindness is unbelief and a failure to understand. Each individual will be judged according to the amount of the light they have been given, the amount of understanding of the light, and the response to that light. The lesson: be careful as to how and what you hear!

(Matthew 13:10; Mark 4:10-25; Luke 8:9-18)

Now There Is A Thought!

17 Surprising Reasons You're Stressed Out

Yesterday morning I happened to see the title of an article on my web browser. The title read, Seventeen Surprising Reasons You're Stressed Out. I didn't have to have either an ivory league education or baby grand piano fall on me to know that I didn't need to read the article. I am sure it was filled with worldly philosophy and humanistic cliches. 

However, it did bring a couple of thoughts to this somewhat warped, yet still functioning brain of mine. I instantly thought of the seventeen surprising reasons that genuine Christians who are walking with the Lord by faith are stressed out. Allow me to present them to you this morning:

1. _____________________
2. _____________________
3. _____________________
4. _____________________
5. _____________________
6. _____________________
7. _____________________
8. _____________________
9. _____________________
10. _____________________
11. _____________________
12. _____________________
13. _____________________
14. _____________________
15. _____________________
16. _____________________
17. _____________________

Oh. You're right! Each line is blank, there are no reasons for genuine believers to be stressed out!

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6, NKJV)

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" (Matthew 13:22, NKJV)

"And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind." (Luke 12:29, NKJV)

"...casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7, NKJV)

P. S. If these promises are missing from your Bible, chuck it, and obtain a copy that includes these promises. Then trust them! And trust Him!

IFCA International Pacific NW Regional Church Leaders Conference

I am so looking forward to the IFCA International Pacific NW Regional Church Leaders Conference which begins tonight. The conference theme is:

Faithful Leaders for the Next Generation

I have never met nor heard the featured speaker, Paul Seger. Apparently for some seventeen years he planted churches among the European population in South Africa under the auspices of the Biblical Ministries Worldwide. He is the current president of the IFCA International.

We are gathering for this conference at the Evergreen Bible Church in Vancouver, WA. This is so convenient for me since I live only 42 miles from Vancouver.

We will be in conference tonight, all day tomorrow, and then half day on Wednesday. I am sure there will be lots to take in and some things to not so take in.

I think the one thing our fellowship misses is related to leadership, particularly leadership for the next generation. I have come to see that many pastors and/or elder teams fail to teach and develop leadership from within the body. It is my contention that a church should not have to look outside the body when it finds itself in need of replacing a teaching pastor. Someone on the current leadership team should have been trained and developed to step in to the teaching pastor role without any interruption. 

Of course there may be a couple of objections to this; if the church is too new or too small to have any qualified men then it may need to turn to someone from without the body. If no one on the current Eldership team is either qualified, trained, or willing to step in as the new teaching pastor, then I have to ask, "Why are they on the leadership team?"

Our topics for this conference include:

• The Incredible Potential of the Next Generation
• Preparing the Next Generation
• Equipping, Encouraging, and Training Men for Ministry
• Mentoring the Next Generation
• Transitioning to the Next Generation

Hope to see you there!

Paul Desires to Visit Rome (Part 2)

SERMON:             GM15-050

SERIES:              Renewal Through Romans: The Gospel Defined, Explained &           Applied

SETTING:          North Kelso Baptist Church

SERVICE:          Sunday AM (March 15, 2015)

SECTION:          The Prologue to Righteousness (Romans 1:1-17)

SUBTITLE:        Paul Desires to Visit Rome (Part 2)

SCRIPTURE:     Romans 1:14-15

SUBJECT:          Paul is desires to visit Rome

SUMMARY:       The gospel obligates you to proclaim it.

SCHEME:           that each member of NKBC shares the gospel

_____________________________________________________________

Our theme is: Paul desires to visit Rome          

This is a good reminder for us all to examine the intensity of Paul’s desire to visit Rome in order to be a blessing to the believers in this church.

 Proposition:  You must share Paul’s intensity to be an encouragement to others       

Interrogatory Sentence:  What does the text reveal to us about Paul’s desire to visit Rome?

Transitional Sentence: From our passage we learn two very important truths about Paul’s to visit Rome. We learn…

·        Paul’s Aim in visiting Rome (8-13)

·        Paul’s Argument for visiting Rome (14-17) 

The Woes of Two Cities and the Wisdom we Learn

When you spend some time reading, praying, and reflecting over Christ's pronouncing judgment on Chorazin and Bethsaida, you can learn some tremendous truths. This morning I spent some time in this little section and dug out these nine nuggets. 

What do you think?

Nine Principles from the Woes of Two Cities

• There will be differing degrees of judgment and punishment in hell (Tyre, Sidon, & Sodom will fair better than Chorazin and Bethsaida)

• Indifference to Christ is a worse sin than sexual immorality(Capernaum for the most part was indifferent to Christ and will be judged harsher than the Sodom and their sexual immorality

• God does not view all sin as equal (Capernaum vs Sodom, indifference to Christ is worse than sodomy)

• Divine things by design have been hidden from wise but revealed to babes (Jewish leaders vs disciples of Christ)

• God is absolutely sovereign over all things ("...the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.")

• Men are ignorant of their absolute spiritual bankruptcy (proof:  the indifference, the refusal to repent, and the necessity of the Son needing to reveal the Father and spiritual truth)

• W/O a divine and sovereign awakening by the HS in the heart, men will not know their spiritual poverty ("...the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.")

• Divine and sovereign election is not incompatible with the free offer of the gospel and call to repent (even though men are spiritually bankrupt, unable to know the bankruptcy, and in need of the Son through the HS to reveal their bankruptcy, the universal offer of salvation is legitimate)

• Those who trust Christ will find rest from efforts to earn salvation by self-righteous efforts (Take my yoke upon you...you will find rest for your souls.)

Do You Get It?

Is Prayer Evidence of Grace?

Is prayer an evidence of grace? 

• If so, why?
•  If not, why not?

The Basis of the Believer's Confidence: The Character and Nature of God

The motivational statement in my Daily Planner today was taken from a quote by Charles Hodge. It reads:

"The ultimate ground of faith and knowledge is confidence in God."

I believe I understand what the late and great Dr. Hodge intended to convey, but I wonder if it falls just a little short? It certainly presupposes information to have been previously garnered in order to experience said confidence.

I would like to take the statement a bit further and expand it to include how or why one would have confidence in God.

Confidence in God is obtained and maintained by a comprehensive understanding of the character and nature of God. Confidence is built and bolstered on the knowledge and understanding of the attributes and qualities that comprise all that God is.

What do you think?

Each Time I Had To Call

Tonight I was walking my dog Fifi around 10:00 PM. We circled the park and then crossed the street into the Twin City Shopping Center. All the stores were closed and the parking lot was almost empty of cars. I was approached my two girls who asked me for money. I don't carry money when I walk the dog in case I were to be robbed. After I told them I didn't have any money they went there way. 

The incident prompted me to thank God and to acknowledge that except for the grace of God there go I. This made me think however of a time when I didn't have a dime and could have become a beggar. But God always, even at the last minute would always supply.

God has supplied places for us to live miraculously, cars, food, college tuition, clothes, shoes, haircuts, bible college tuition and books, gasoline, frivolous and foolish bills, and insurance. We have never gone without the basic necessities and we have never had to beg. He has let me preach in at least four states, hundreds of churches, thousands of sermons, College Chapel, High school chapels, street corners, parks, old-folk homes. He has let me pastor churches. God has so good to me, not to mention forgiving my sin and saving me.

So, I dedicate this poem to God and to John Gale. John was one of those guys God used to teach me faith and dependence. When our family car broke down for good, John and Sue Gale gave us a car. Thank you God and thank you John and Sue Gale.

Each Time I Had to Call

A couple of girls came up to me

In the dollar store parking lot

I knew what they wanted before

They asked, they wanted a five spot

I told them the truth that out late at night

I didn’t carry a wallet, nor a single dime

I couldn’t help them so they moved along

But that made me think of another time

I remember when times were hard and low

We didn’t have a single dime to our name

No food in the fridge and no gas in the tank

Even thought we might be put out in the rain

I cried to the Lord and asked what was up

Here I am doing what you wanted I thought

I was scared and thinking I’ve made a mistake

Surely it wouldn’t be that God had forgot

With a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes

I fell to my knees and began to make my plea

I reminded the Lord about all of our troubles

I asked him please, would you remember me

How foolish I must have sounded to our Lord

Like some little child who had lost his way

How easy it is to forget just who He really is

It’s easier to complain than it is to pray

It has been nearly 40 years since I lived those times

I’ve been to a lot of places and done many a thing

I’ve never gone hungry, nor had to live on the street

Never missed what I needed while serving the King

God has been so good I can’t count every blessing

And I can’t describe living this amazing grace

Undeserved, unmerited, never rating these gifts

Behind the dark clouds was always His smiling face

So Lord let me take just a few lines to tell

How much I love you and I’ve appreciated it all

I wouldn’t trade a single trial or one of those days

Thank you for being there each time I had to call

Please Accept My Apology

I hope to get the formatting fixed for the next sermon that I post. I am sorry that it is so out of wack. Thanks for reading the sermon!

Paul Desires to Visit Rome (Part 1)

SERMON:             GM15-049

SERIES:              Renewal Through Romans: The Gospel Defined, Explained &           Applied

SETTING:          North Kelso Baptist Church

SERVICE:          Sunday AM (March 8, 2015)

SECTION:          The Prologue to Righteousness (Romans 1:1-17)

SUBTITLE:        Paul Desires to Visit Rome (Part 1)

SCRIPTURE:     Romans1:8-13

SUBJECT:          Paul desires to visit Rome

SUMMARY:       You are a debtor.

SCHEME:           that Christians maintain an intense desire to extend mutual blessings to fellow believers by discharging their debt

_____________________________________________________________

Our theme is: Paul desires to visit Rome

This is a good reminder for us all to examine the intensity of Paul’s desire to experience mutual blessings towards the believers in the church at Rome in order extend benefits to fellow believers.

 Proposition:  You must share Paul’s desire to be an encouragement to other believers         

Interrogatory Sentence:  How do we see Paul’s desire to be an encouragement to these fellow believers?

Transitional Sentence: In verses 8-15, Paul suggests two clues for his intense desire to visit this church.

·        Paul’s Aim in visiting Rome (8-13)

·        Paul’s Argument for visiting Rome (14-17)

Spring Forward Tonight!

Twelve Principles Taught by the Sermon on the Mount

• The law consists of God's righteousness standards, not man's (Rabbinical) interpretation of those standards

• Christ never came to minimalize or render God's standards inoperative/ineffective, but to fully fulfill

• Children of God are to be obedient to the spiritual intent of God's standards in both attitude and actions

• The law deals with and expects conformity to the spirit of the law and not merely the letter of the law

• No man can establish a righteousness acceptable to God since no man can fulfill the standards of the law

• A man who wants to be justified and obtain the necessary righteousness must obtain Christ's righteousness

• Christ did not alter the standards of God, He only corrected & clarified the false teaching about the law

• The hyperbole used by Christ in his sermons was symbolic to emphasize the seriousness of sin

• The genuine children of God are to maintain and reflect the moral character of God the Father

• Christ established an impossible standard for mankind to meet that could not be altered nor rescinded

• Christ Jesus met the entire standard of God on behalf of the elect

• The law must be utilized to show mankind that they cannot achieve an acceptable righteousness on their own

Seven Truths From the Beatitudes

This morning as I read Matthew 5:1-16 and then meditated through this passage, I discovered seven truths. These seven truths serve as a reminder that the plan of salvation/redemption laid out by God in the Scriptures is 180 degrees out from any and every plan of salvation or redemption offered by this world. 

Here, for your consideration, are seven truths that identify, illustrate, and intimate God's plan:

1. There must be an awarenesss of need - spiritual bankruptcy

2.  There must be an anguish because of this awareness - mourning

3.  There must be an aspiration for the righteousness of Christ -hunger & thirst

4.  There is must be an assurance of salvation imparted - for you shall be filled

5.  There must be affirmation that salvation was obtained - blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers

6.  There must be an admonishment concerning persecution - persecuted for righteousness sake, when men hate you, persecute you, revile you, cast out your name as evil

7.  There must be an acceptance of responsibility - you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world

Choice Quotes From Day One of the Shepherds Conference

These are from my friend Terry Delaney, Pastor of Union Baptist Church in Mexico, Missouri. He posts:

John MacArthur - "You can't be an expositor of Scripture if you have a weak view of the Bible."

Alistair Begg - "How can you take seriously the Word of God when everything leading up to the preaching of the Word is more entertainment than worship?"

RC Sproul - "The church doesn't want to have a view of the Bible higher than Jesus nor does it want to have a view lower than Jesus."

Stephen Nichols - "Will we submit to the Master through His revealed Word to us?"

Ligon Duncan - "A pastor's job is not finished until the Bible is obeyed and not just believed." "You live by the book so you can minister by the book."

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What The Church is Loosing Sight Of

Meet the Rome Baptist Chapel

SERMON:             GM15-048

SERIES:              Renewal Through Romans: The Gospel Defined, Explained & Applied

SETTING:          North Kelso Baptist Church

SERVICE:          Sunday AM (March 1, 2015)

SECTION:          The Prologue to Righteousness (Romans 1:1-17)

SUBTITLE:        The Introduction & Overview of Romans (Part 8)

SCRIPTURE:     Romans1:7

SUBJECT:          the recipients of Paul’s letter

SUMMARY:       The Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the HS addressed his letter to Christians at Rome communicating with a firmly established collection of believers in that city.

SCHEME:           that Christian grasp the identity of the recipients of this letter written by the apostle Paul

_____________________________________________________________

Our theme is: Paul writes to the Church @ Rome

This is a good reminder for us all to examine the identity of the people to whom he wrote this letter in order to gain a deeper appreciation for this remarkable piece of Christian literature.

 Proposition:  The Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the HS addressed his letter to Christians at Rome communicating with a firmly established collection of believers in that city.           

Interrogatory Sentence:  What do we know about the people of the church at Rome?

Transitional Sentence: Our topic this morning supplies at least five (5) elements that identify the people to whom Paul wrote this epic letter - The fiver (5) elements are:

1.  The Condition of the City

2.  The Conversion of the Congregants

3.  The Construction of the Church

4.  The Calling of the Christ

5. The Chemistry of the Church