When Morning Gilds the Skies

When morning gilds the skies my heart awaking cries:May Jesus Christ be praised!Alike at work and prayer, to Jesus I repair:May Jesus Christ be praised!
When you begin the day, O never fail to say,May Jesus Christ be praised!And at your work rejoice, to sing with heart and voice,May Jesus Christ be praised!
Whene’er the sweet church bell peals over hill and dell,May Jesus Christ be praised!O hark to what it sings, as joyously it rings,May Jesus Christ be praised!
My tongue shall never tire of chanting with the choir,May Jesus Christ be praised!This song of sacred joy, it never seems to cloy,May Jesus Christ be praised!
Does sadness fill my mind? A solace here I find,May Jesus Christ be praised!Or fades my earthly bliss? My comfort still is this,May Jesus Christ be praised!
To God, the Word, on high, the host of angels cry,May Jesus Christ be praised!Let mortals, too, upraise their voice in hymns of praise,May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this at meals your grace, in every time and place;May Jesus Christ be praised!Be this, when day is past, of all your thoughts the lastMay Jesus Christ be praised!
When mirth for music longs, this is my song of songs:May Jesus Christ be praised!When evening shadows fall, this rings my curfew call,May Jesus Christ be praised!
When sleep her balm denies, my silent spirit sighs,May Jesus Christ be praised!When evil thoughts molest, with this I shield my breast,May Jesus Christ be praised!
The night becomes as day when from the heart we say:May Jesus Christ be praised!The powers of darkness fear when this sweet chant they hear:May Jesus Christ be praised!
No lovelier antiphon in all high Heav’n is knownThan, Jesus Christ be praised!There to the eternal Word the eternal psalm is heard:May Jesus Christ be praised!
Let all the earth around ring joyous with the sound:May Jesus Christ be praised!In Heaven’s eternal bliss the loveliest strain is this:May Jesus Christ be praised!
Sing, suns and stars of space, sing, ye that see His face,Sing, Jesus Christ be praised!God’s whole creation o’er, for aye and evermoreShall Jesus Christ be praised!
In Heav’n’s eternal bliss the loveliest strain is this,May Jesus Christ be praised!Let earth, and sea and sky from depth to height reply,May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this, while life is mine, my canticle divine:May Jesus Christ be praised!Sing this eternal song through all the ages long:May Jesus Christ be praised!

Oh that men would praise the Lord

Wow! What a great week it has been at Church Hill Baptist Church! Dr. Scott Caudill has been with us all week singing the songs of Zion and preaching the Word of God. Monday night he preached from 1 Kings 18 and the "showdown" between the god (note little "g") Baal and the one true God, the God of the King James Bible. His sermon was titled "What's it going to take for the fire to fall." Woooooeeeee. What a challenge from the Word of God. Tuesday night it was Ruth chapter 1 with "Leaving full but returning empty". The key verse was Ruth 1:21. It was a great night as our friends from Calvary Baptist Church in Sanford joined us, along with Pastor Barnard from Quebec. What a great night. Wednesday night, the final night of preaching, was a challenge out of Psalm 107:8,15,21,31. "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" We are commanded to praise the Lord. Not just on the mountaintop but in the valleys as well. What a great week it has been. Thursday night is going to be a night of singing. Dr Caudill has a golden voice and what God honoring music this is. Praise the Lord!

We Need Revival

Winter in New England can be a very long and cold experience. Because of the lessened amount of fellowship that takes place in January, February, and March we all run the risk of getting spiritually cold. It can happen very quickly, skip praying one morning, don't read your Bible one day and ........ you can find yourself drifting away from the things of the Lord. I have experienced this in my life. Often you don't know that you have drifted. I Corinthians 11:28 says "But let a man examine himself ......" and when you follow that command from Gods word, you will see that you may need personal revival. Revival starts with me. Revival starts with the individual. We cannot have corporate revival without personal revival. In 2 Chronicles 6 we read King Solomons prayer of dedication for the temple. That prayer is a model for us. Your assignment is to read that prayer and in chapter 7 the result of that prayer. Glory be to God! We need that kind of revival.

Purpo$e Driven $ham "pastor" sells out support for California's Proposition 8

I have long been wary of Rick Warren and his whole "purpo$e driven" "mini$try". It has long been evident that his top priority is the loads of money that he is making selling books and all those sorts of things. He has now come out and apologised for supporting California's proposition 8. My guess is that $ale$ of his merchandi$e were going down because he came close to taking a stand for something. Notice I said "came close" to standing for something. I doubt he would take a stand on anything that would lose him "market share" of the prosperity gospel book market.

In a related story $addleback church is officially changing it's name to "Ichabod Laodecian church" and it's new motto is "out his mouth us God will spew, this is surely the church for you". (Ichabod = "the glory has departed, Laodecian church Revelation 3)

How many "churches" across the world have bought into the whole "40 days of purpose" nonsense. We need preachers equipping believers to live lifetimes of purpose. The purpose is to serve the Lord. Is that what Rick Warren's purpose is? We really are forced to question that. It appears that Rick Warren is concerned most about ............ Rick Warren. If he truly loved those around him he would be screaming the truth of God's word from every possible corner. He would be preaching on hell and sin and letting people know there is a heaven, there is a hell, those that trust Christ as Saviour will go to heaven when they die, those who reject Christ as their saviour will go to hell when they die. His popularity on the world stage is no different than the popularity of "America's preacher" Joel Osteen. These "men of God" and all others of their kind are doing so much damage to America. They are propagating the lukewarm Christian life. They are not telling the truth. They are telling people "you are ok just where you are. No change is needed. Where is the true Jeremiah 1:10 preaching? "See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant." What has Rick Warren ever rooted out? Maybe the last piece of KFC in the bucket? How about Joel Osteen, has he ever "destroyed" anything? Well, they have both destroyed lives. Because of each of their "preaching" many people think they are ok, only to find otherwise on the last day they are burning in hell for eternity. America needs Men of God all over the country that will open up their Authorized King James Bible and say "Thus saith the word of God" We need to have a missions mind for America to undo the damage these $h$ter$ are causing.

Riding the Bus.....

We had a wonderful Lord's Day yesterday. The Lord is so good! My entire family had the opportunity to serve on the Church Hill Baptist Church Bus yesterday. Brother Woody Hayward and his family have faithfully served for over 20 years driving that bus, visiting the families, and bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who, otherwise, may never have the opportunity to hear. It was such a blessing to see the fruit of his labor of love in one young man named Jeff. Jeff has been riding the bus since he was "still in diapers". He is now 18 years old and what a fine young man he is, despite his surroundings. The bus was pretty full, making for a spirited trip back and forth. Getting to know these young people is a real blessing. Your heart breaks as you hear some of the stories they tell. Our sincere prayer is that these kids will get saved and then bring the great gospel of Jesus Christ home and help show their parents the way.
Praise the Lord for the faithfulness of the Hayward family. What a sacrifice they have made over the years. The Lord will reward them for their work.

Origin of Baptists

I found this at www.baptistpillar.com . Enjoy!

Origin of the Baptists
Taken from the book entitled, “Why I am a Baptist” by C. Larkin
Almost all the Anti-papist denominations date, either directly or indirectly, from the Reformation of the sixteenth century. The Protestant Episcopal, Lutheran, and Presbyterian Churches, came from the Roman Catholic Church, and the Methodist Episcopal Church came from the Protestant Episcopal Church.
The Baptists, however, do not date from the Reformation. Though Anti-papists, they are not, in the technical and historical sense of the word, "Protestants," though they have ever protested, and do now protest, against the heresies and abominations of the Romish Church.
Just before his ascension, Jesus said to his disciples:
All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matt 28: 18-20; and Mark adds, He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16: 16.
The requirements of this Divine Commission, are:
1. To preach the gospel to all nations.
2. To baptize those who believe.
3. To teach those who believe to observe all things whatsoever Christ commanded.
This the apostles did. That the churches they founded were believed to be composed of regenerated persons, is evident from the fact that they addressed or referred to them as "believers," "saints," "quickened," "the faithful," "the redeemed," "the sanctified," "the saved," etc. The apostolic churches were also independent bodies; that is, separate from the State and from each other, and self governed. They are spoken of individually as, "the church at Jerusalem," "the church at Antioch," "the church at Smyrna." They are spoken of collectively as, "the churches," "the churches of Macedonia," "the churches of Asia," "all the churches."
They are represented as electing their own officers, admitting, expelling, and restoring members, and acting as distinct, independent bodies.
There is a remarkable similarity between the apostolic churches and the Baptist churches of today, in their modes and forms of worship.
The apostolic churches were distinguished for the plainness and simplicity of their worship. "They had no magnificent cathedrals, gorgeously arrayed priesthood, no prescribed ritual, no splendid religious shows, no pomp of music, no parade of images and paintings."
Quietly, and unostentatiously, they met in some "upper room," or other humble sanctuary, to sing, to pray, to read and expound the Scriptures, and to exhort one another to faithfulness in the Christian life.
History of the Baptists
The Baptists claim to have descended from the apostles.
It is true that the line of descent cannot always be traced. Like a river, that now and then in its course is lost under the surface of the ground, and then makes its appearance again, the Baptists claim that, from the days of the apostles until the present time, there have not been wanting those persons, either separately or collected into churches, and known under different names, who, if now living, would be universally recognized as Baptists.
Since the origin of the Baptists, long and eventful ages have elapsed. Some of them were ages of ignorance and darkness. Men were afraid to speak or to write, almost to think. The principles for which the Baptists contended were fiercely denounced as heresy and treason. To speak, was to be hushed in death. Had they not been immortal, all vestiges of them, save in the records of courts and councils, would have perished. Their existence and continuity can be traced down the ages by "the stains of their martyr's blood, and the light of their martyr's fires."
Since the days of the apostles, they have come to the surface in the Novatians, the Donatists, the Paulicians, the Paterines, the various communities of Waldenses, the so-called Anabaptists of Germany, Dutch Baptists, the Baptists of England; and are seen today in the Baptists distributed all over the world.
Dr. Cramp says: "When Luther blew the trumpet of religious freedom, the Baptists came out of their hiding-places to share in the general gladness, and to take part in the conflict."
The Baptists have suffered, in common with other Christian denominations, at the hands of wicked rulers, and of the Roman hierarchy. They have also suffered by themselves for their peculiar views as Baptists, at the hands of Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists; and for no one thing more than their rejection of infant baptism. In Germany they were plundered, thrust into dungeons, banished, and numbers of them beheaded or burned alive. Torture was frequently employed to wring from the sufferers the names and abodes of their associates, or to force them to renounce the faith. In Switzerland, in 1526, it was ordered that if any baptized others, or submitted to baptism (re-baptism, they called it), they should be drowned without mercy. Many Baptist ministers were drowned; and they held their meetings in secret, in the woods, and under cover of the night. Finally, they left the country in large numbers, going to Moravia, where, for a season, they were tolerated; but at length a law was passed expelling them, and they left, some going to Hungary, some to Transylvania, some to Wallachia, and others to Poland.
In the Netherlands, the hand of oppression was heavy on the Baptists. In 1532, three were burned at the Hague. By edicts, published in the following year, all persons were forbidden to harbor Baptist preachers in Holland; and Baptists refusing to recant were to be slain. The torture was constantly resorted to. The victims were stretched on the rack, or thumb-screws were employed, or a similar instrument applied to the ankles. No regard was paid to sex, station, or age. Under Bloody Mary, a good proportion of the martyr blood that flowed was from the veins of Baptists; and many passed to heaven through the fire.
In the early settlements of America, Church and State were united by law, and the Church sustained by taxation and State appropriations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Virginia; and persecutions against Dissenters were violent and severe.
In 1620 (December 20), the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, and founded the first colony in New England. They were Independents, or Congregationalists; and on board the "Mayflower," they had made a provision for the support of the church and ministry by taxation. The Pilgrims, or Puritans, did not come to this country to establish religious liberty; they came to establish their own faith, and to exclude all others from their colonies; and they were more intolerant in their colonial enactments against Dissenters than either England or Holland, whence they had fled from persecution.
Roger Williams landed at Boston, February 5, 1631. He had been a minister of the Church of England; but becoming disgusted with its corruptions, he sought a home in the Puritan colony of Massachusetts. But when he found the Puritan Church at Boston still holding communion with the Church of England, he refused to unite with it, and went to Salem. But his sentiments were quite in advance of the Puritans. He boldly preached religious liberty, liberty of conscience, liberty of worship, and declared that the civil magistrate had no right to coerce the consciences of men, nor inflict civil penalties upon men for their forms of religious faith and worship. In January, 1636, he was banished; but his persecutors, fearing that he would establish another colony, determined to send ham back to England; but when the officers went to his home to arrest him, he was gone. He had fled into the wilderness among the savages, who furnished him with a home. "For fourteen weeks," he says, "I knew not what bed or bread did mean." He had made the acquaintance, and secured the friendship of Massasoit, and the Narraganset chiefs, Canonicus and Miantonomoh. By the last two he was welcomed to Narraganset Bay, where he founded the city of Providence. In March, 1639, he became a Baptist.
Though persecuted by others, the Baptists have never persecuted. They have always opposed the union of Church and State. In Virginia, in 1784, when they had almost conquered in their struggle for religious freedom, a compromise was proposed in the form of the famous "Assessment Bill." Every one was to be taxed to support religion; but to have the liberty of saying to which denomination his tax was to be applied. The Baptists saw that this was an alliance of Church and State, and opposing it, secured its defeat.
In Georgia, in 1785, a law for the establishment and support of religion was actually passed, through the influence of the Episcopalians. It embraced all denominations, and gave all equal privileges; but the same year, the Baptists remonstrated against it, sent two messengers to the Legislature, and it was promptly repealed. The first modern treatise ever written upon "Religious Liberty," was by Leonard Busher, a Baptist, in 1614.
The Baptists have not only been the firm friends of "Religious Liberty," but of "Civil Liberty" as well.
Thomas Jefferson had much to do in shaping the government of Virginia, and of the United States. He was not a Baptist, but he was brought up in close relations to them; and about ten years before the Revolution, he attended, for several months, the meetings of a small Baptist church near Monticello, his country seat, and became much interested in their church government; and declared that it was the only true democracy existing in the world; and that he believed it would be the best plan of government for the American Colonies.
A National Constitution for the United States was adopted in 1787. Its provisions were satisfactory so far as they went; but many felt that "Religious Liberty" was not sufficiently guarded. The Baptist General Committee of Virginia, in 1788, expressed their disapproval of this important omission, and, after consultation with James Madison, they wrote to President Washington, saying, that they feared that liberty of conscience, dearer to them than property or life, was not sufficiently guarded in the Constitution. Washington sent a kind and encouraging reply, and in the very next month, Virginia proposed that immortal "First Amendment" to the Constitution of the United States:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Having a Mission Mind for Maine

Glory! God is so good! We had a great Lord's day and mid week service at Church Hill Baptist Church. Sunday morning we had brother Josh Lovelace preach a Sunday School message on the four types of soldiers found in I Samuel, the Coward, the Chameleon, the Comfortable and the Courageous. Brother Josh really brought it home. What a blessing it is to hear a man of God preach right from the King James Bible!
After Sunday school I had the pleasure to preach to an official crowd of 101 people. This is the highest amount of people I have ever preached to! Glory! I listed five reasons we need to have a missions mind for Maine.

1. Most towns don't have an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church.
2. Apathy rules most existing Churches.
3. Influx of immigrants.
4. Non-Biblical and extra-Biblical teaching is on the rise.
5. Ethical crisis in Maine.

You will notice the "acrostic" with the first letters spelling out "Maine". I am a simple man so I really need to create mechanisms for me to remember my points.

I had a great time preaching this message that God has laid upon my heart. I was a little nervous at first and I skipped around a little bit more than I planned to, but I think it went well. The feedback was very good. I certainly hope I will get another chance soon!

Sunday night Pastor Wiley delivered a message about the door. Be the watchman at the door of your house. Only let the Lord in. Watch for the Devil trying to get in through the cable, the mailbox, the Internet, the cel-phone.........guard your home.

What a great day in the Lord's house!