What a beautiful song written by Isaac Watts. Isn't it true that all of our worldly cares / pursuits should melt at the cross. This song brings a tear to my eye. I can not understand the love behind the wondrous Cross. When we deserve it least, Christ is reaching down for us to pull us up to Him. Amazing!
1. When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died;
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.
2. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the death of Christ, my God;
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
3. See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown.
4. Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
One face of compromise.....
"Dear God. Thank you for making me, for creating me, and for loving me. I want to fulfill the purposes that you made me for. Starting today I want get to know you and love you and trust you. And I want my life to bring you pleasure. Thank you for sending Jesus Christ. Help me to understand it more. As much as I know how I want to open up my life to your love and your purpose. In your name I pray. Amen."
What you have just read was the standard Rick Warren salvation prayer. Preceding this prayer (spoken at a prayer breakfast) was a "salvation plea" which never once mentioned sin or being a sinner, never once mentioned redemption or repentance. The speech never once mentioned our need for the Saviour. No, those words are too "negative".
This is what is called compromise. We have no time for compromisers. We have a world to warn of the coming judgement. Like Jonah's "Yet forty days and Ninevah shall be overthrown!"
Separate from compromisers.
This includes Rick Warren.
What you have just read was the standard Rick Warren salvation prayer. Preceding this prayer (spoken at a prayer breakfast) was a "salvation plea" which never once mentioned sin or being a sinner, never once mentioned redemption or repentance. The speech never once mentioned our need for the Saviour. No, those words are too "negative".
This is what is called compromise. We have no time for compromisers. We have a world to warn of the coming judgement. Like Jonah's "Yet forty days and Ninevah shall be overthrown!"
Separate from compromisers.
This includes Rick Warren.
Friday, April 29, 2011
April update
What a few weeks we have had at Church Hill Baptist Church! The LORD has blessed on so many fronts. He is so good! Weekly soul-winning has been so powerful! I praise the LORD for all He is doing in the city of Augusta. We are seeing souls saved almost every week. Every time we hit the streets, I get more of a burden. Amazing how that works!
We had a tremendous Resurrection Sunday this past week. The choir performed the contada "the Miracle I've Seen" on both Saturday night and Sunday morning followed by amazing preaching from Pastor Wiley. There is true power in the Word of God when preached! Each service at least four people (different ones each service) raised their hand for salvation. That is what it is all about! Amen! Amen!
Brother Michael and his new bride Amber arrived on Saturday fresh off the honeymoon. What a pleasure it is to have them back. He will be preaching at Truth Baptist Church for the next three weeks. What a good opportunity for him.
CHBC is hosting the McFarland's from Oklahoma this week. We are praying God will call this precious young family up this way. Maine desperately needs laborers.
The annual ladies tea is tomorrow. Much hard work has gone into the tea. It is going to be a great time for the ladies (the men helpers get to eat leftovers...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!)
We are almost finished with the remodel of the choir loft at church. Many hands contributed to this effort. It looks awesome.
Revival time is here! Two weeks ago Pastor Nathan Pelkey of Bible Baptist in Unity preached revival at Truth Baptist Church. This coming week Pastor Todd Bell of Calvary Baptist Church in Sanford is preaching revival at Bible Baptist in Unity. Looking forward to hearing Brother Bell "Fling'er down!"
We are now just three weeks away from Brother Sam Davison arriving in Maine to preach revival at Church Hill Baptist Church. I am looking forward to hearing this Man of God preach the Word of God!
May 2, 2011 marks the 400 year anniversary of the King James Bible. Have you spent time in your King James Bible today? If not, click the red "X" in the upper right hand corner of the screen and go and read your Bible!
Amen!
We had a tremendous Resurrection Sunday this past week. The choir performed the contada "the Miracle I've Seen" on both Saturday night and Sunday morning followed by amazing preaching from Pastor Wiley. There is true power in the Word of God when preached! Each service at least four people (different ones each service) raised their hand for salvation. That is what it is all about! Amen! Amen!
Brother Michael and his new bride Amber arrived on Saturday fresh off the honeymoon. What a pleasure it is to have them back. He will be preaching at Truth Baptist Church for the next three weeks. What a good opportunity for him.
CHBC is hosting the McFarland's from Oklahoma this week. We are praying God will call this precious young family up this way. Maine desperately needs laborers.
The annual ladies tea is tomorrow. Much hard work has gone into the tea. It is going to be a great time for the ladies (the men helpers get to eat leftovers...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!)
We are almost finished with the remodel of the choir loft at church. Many hands contributed to this effort. It looks awesome.
Revival time is here! Two weeks ago Pastor Nathan Pelkey of Bible Baptist in Unity preached revival at Truth Baptist Church. This coming week Pastor Todd Bell of Calvary Baptist Church in Sanford is preaching revival at Bible Baptist in Unity. Looking forward to hearing Brother Bell "Fling'er down!"
We are now just three weeks away from Brother Sam Davison arriving in Maine to preach revival at Church Hill Baptist Church. I am looking forward to hearing this Man of God preach the Word of God!
May 2, 2011 marks the 400 year anniversary of the King James Bible. Have you spent time in your King James Bible today? If not, click the red "X" in the upper right hand corner of the screen and go and read your Bible!
Amen!
Friday, April 8, 2011
No turning back...
Luke 9:62 "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
We all go through times and seasons where we get frustrated. Perhaps finances are real tight. Perhaps time for leisure and relaxation is getting less and less. Perhaps personal struggles wax great in our heart, causing doubt to creep in. I don't know how your heart is right at this moment, but sometimes we just get .... well .... "fed up".
Our walk with the Lord can sometimes get that way. Read Jeremiah 20 and you will see a Prophet of the Living God getting frustrated.
Jeremiah 20:7 O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
If even the prophet Jeremiah can get to this point, certainly we can in our walk with the Lord.
I have had a very interesting week. I have had two ministry "firsts" that are .... well .... not the "firsts" that you deisre to experience. To be honest, they were painful experiences. Couple that with true financial pressure, pressures of business, pressures of home life. To be honest, the temptation to look back gets strong at times. It is so easy to say "remember when we could just buy what we wanted. Remember when we had "X" amount of money in the bank. Remember when these events didn't strike so close to home...." You get the picture. You get tempted to look back.
Well, God has a word for this concept of looking back: sin. It is sin to look back at our old lives when God has put us on a new path. When our hands have been placed "on the plough", there is NO looking back. Remember what happened to Lot's wife when she looked back? She became the worlds biggest salt-lick.
Let's be like Daniel and purpose in our heart not to look back. There are lessons to be learned from these painful experiences in life. There are lessons to be learned from the pressures that we face. Perhaps we place too much emphasis on what our hands can "earn" instead of trusting the Lord to provide? I don't know what your struggle is, but we must learn from them. Don't look back.
The thought reminds me of that old song "I have decided to follow Jesus"
I have decided to follow Jesus.
I have decided to follow Jesus.
I have decided to follow Jesus.
No turning back, no turning back.
The world behind me, the cross before me.
The world behind me, the cross before me.
Thw world behind me, the cross before me.
No turning back, no turning back.
Friend, if you are serving the Lord, don't look back. Press forward. Keep on plowing for Jesus.
If you are not serving the Lord, why not?
Serve the Lord. Put your hands to the plough and don't look back.
We all go through times and seasons where we get frustrated. Perhaps finances are real tight. Perhaps time for leisure and relaxation is getting less and less. Perhaps personal struggles wax great in our heart, causing doubt to creep in. I don't know how your heart is right at this moment, but sometimes we just get .... well .... "fed up".
Our walk with the Lord can sometimes get that way. Read Jeremiah 20 and you will see a Prophet of the Living God getting frustrated.
Jeremiah 20:7 O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
If even the prophet Jeremiah can get to this point, certainly we can in our walk with the Lord.
I have had a very interesting week. I have had two ministry "firsts" that are .... well .... not the "firsts" that you deisre to experience. To be honest, they were painful experiences. Couple that with true financial pressure, pressures of business, pressures of home life. To be honest, the temptation to look back gets strong at times. It is so easy to say "remember when we could just buy what we wanted. Remember when we had "X" amount of money in the bank. Remember when these events didn't strike so close to home...." You get the picture. You get tempted to look back.
Well, God has a word for this concept of looking back: sin. It is sin to look back at our old lives when God has put us on a new path. When our hands have been placed "on the plough", there is NO looking back. Remember what happened to Lot's wife when she looked back? She became the worlds biggest salt-lick.
Let's be like Daniel and purpose in our heart not to look back. There are lessons to be learned from these painful experiences in life. There are lessons to be learned from the pressures that we face. Perhaps we place too much emphasis on what our hands can "earn" instead of trusting the Lord to provide? I don't know what your struggle is, but we must learn from them. Don't look back.
The thought reminds me of that old song "I have decided to follow Jesus"
I have decided to follow Jesus.
I have decided to follow Jesus.
I have decided to follow Jesus.
No turning back, no turning back.
The world behind me, the cross before me.
The world behind me, the cross before me.
Thw world behind me, the cross before me.
No turning back, no turning back.
Friend, if you are serving the Lord, don't look back. Press forward. Keep on plowing for Jesus.
If you are not serving the Lord, why not?
Serve the Lord. Put your hands to the plough and don't look back.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
March 18, 2011
It's hard to believe that it is almost spring. It was over 50 degrees yesterday and I had the opportunity to sit on a rocking chair on the porch. Question: does the fact that I enjoy spending a few minutes on a rocking chair on my porch make me old? Well....
Since my last post there have been a lot of happenings. Through it all I can say that GOD HAS BEEN GOOD TO ME!
Sunday Feburary 27 was my last Sunday at the Barter's Island Baptist Church. We had a great day there. It was sad leaving, but it was time for me to come back home to Church Hill Baptist Church. Please continue to pray for Barter's Island Baptist Church as they are now deep into their search for their next pastor.
It has been great to get a chance to teach the adult Sunday School. I am teaching our way through the book of Ecclesiastes. God has been blessing through my study there. I have the opportunity to preach on Wednesday the 23rd of March. Pastor Wiley will be preaching at the Heartland Baptist Bible College on Tuesday the 22nd. Please pray for him as he pleads for more laborers. The Lord is laying a message on my heart right now and I must be sensitive to His will to "preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee" (Jonah 3:2).
Saturday morning soul-winning has been going on through the winter. Praise God for a small but faithful group that has labored through the cold and the unplowed streets. We have seen many souls saved through this ministry. I look forward to building the number of participants up to canvass the city of Augusta (a.k.a. our Jerusalem). As you go from apartment to apartment and house to house, you can't help but get a broken heart for the lost. There is also something very special in sharing the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in the shadow of the big Catholic stone idol (a.k.a. their "church" building). Open up the Kennebec Journal and view the obituaries any day of the week and you will see souls that have slipped into eternity. Many are Catholic and I wonder if they have ever heard a clear presentation of the gospel in their entire life. WE MUST REACH THEM BEFORE THEY ARE IN THAT SECTION OF THE PAPER, WHEN IT IS ETERNALLY TOO LATE.
Won't you pray that the Lord will give you boldness to witness to those He brings your way?
On a personal note, I continue to learn more about the Baptist preachers in my family tree. I have learned much about Nathaniel Jenkins. I had the pleasure of learning (on Saturday the 12th) about more Baptist preachers in the family. Frank D. Jones was a Baptist pastor of many churches in Maine in the mid 1800's. I have seen his name on a few websites. I am also related to the Callenders. This name is a very active name in the late 1600's and 1700's in New England. Ellis Callender was one of the first pastors of the First Baptist Church of Boston. He was a contemporary of William Screven who planted the first Baptist church in Maine before being kicked out of the district only to settle the first Baptist church in South Carolina. Brother Screvin actually wrote a letter to the First Baptist Church of Boston recommending Ellis Callender to be the next pastor. Ellis had a son named Elisha Callender who was also a pastor at the First Baptist Church of Boston. Ellis also had a nephew named John Callender who was a Baptist preacher in Rhode Island. John Callender chronicled much of the early history of the Baptists in Rhode Island. Do an internet search for Ellis, Elisha, or John Callender and you will get many links. I have not searched them all out yet. Time is precious but what an encouragement when I can steal away for a few moments to do this research. It fires my soul that I am going forth preaching the very same Gospel of Jesus Christ that my relatives preached. What a blessing.
That is all for now.
Please pray for laborers. Maybe it is you the Lord is talking to about witnessing more?
Since my last post there have been a lot of happenings. Through it all I can say that GOD HAS BEEN GOOD TO ME!
Sunday Feburary 27 was my last Sunday at the Barter's Island Baptist Church. We had a great day there. It was sad leaving, but it was time for me to come back home to Church Hill Baptist Church. Please continue to pray for Barter's Island Baptist Church as they are now deep into their search for their next pastor.
It has been great to get a chance to teach the adult Sunday School. I am teaching our way through the book of Ecclesiastes. God has been blessing through my study there. I have the opportunity to preach on Wednesday the 23rd of March. Pastor Wiley will be preaching at the Heartland Baptist Bible College on Tuesday the 22nd. Please pray for him as he pleads for more laborers. The Lord is laying a message on my heart right now and I must be sensitive to His will to "preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee" (Jonah 3:2).
Saturday morning soul-winning has been going on through the winter. Praise God for a small but faithful group that has labored through the cold and the unplowed streets. We have seen many souls saved through this ministry. I look forward to building the number of participants up to canvass the city of Augusta (a.k.a. our Jerusalem). As you go from apartment to apartment and house to house, you can't help but get a broken heart for the lost. There is also something very special in sharing the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in the shadow of the big Catholic stone idol (a.k.a. their "church" building). Open up the Kennebec Journal and view the obituaries any day of the week and you will see souls that have slipped into eternity. Many are Catholic and I wonder if they have ever heard a clear presentation of the gospel in their entire life. WE MUST REACH THEM BEFORE THEY ARE IN THAT SECTION OF THE PAPER, WHEN IT IS ETERNALLY TOO LATE.
Won't you pray that the Lord will give you boldness to witness to those He brings your way?
On a personal note, I continue to learn more about the Baptist preachers in my family tree. I have learned much about Nathaniel Jenkins. I had the pleasure of learning (on Saturday the 12th) about more Baptist preachers in the family. Frank D. Jones was a Baptist pastor of many churches in Maine in the mid 1800's. I have seen his name on a few websites. I am also related to the Callenders. This name is a very active name in the late 1600's and 1700's in New England. Ellis Callender was one of the first pastors of the First Baptist Church of Boston. He was a contemporary of William Screven who planted the first Baptist church in Maine before being kicked out of the district only to settle the first Baptist church in South Carolina. Brother Screvin actually wrote a letter to the First Baptist Church of Boston recommending Ellis Callender to be the next pastor. Ellis had a son named Elisha Callender who was also a pastor at the First Baptist Church of Boston. Ellis also had a nephew named John Callender who was a Baptist preacher in Rhode Island. John Callender chronicled much of the early history of the Baptists in Rhode Island. Do an internet search for Ellis, Elisha, or John Callender and you will get many links. I have not searched them all out yet. Time is precious but what an encouragement when I can steal away for a few moments to do this research. It fires my soul that I am going forth preaching the very same Gospel of Jesus Christ that my relatives preached. What a blessing.
That is all for now.
Please pray for laborers. Maybe it is you the Lord is talking to about witnessing more?