Bruner's Chapel Blog

Bible Plan for 2012 - Slackers and Shirkers

2011-12-27T08:16:00.000-08:00

Download the plan here.

Over the years Bruner’s Chapel Baptist Church has annuallypromoted numerous kinds of Bible reading plans, often designed to assist us inreading through the Bible in a single year. These have ranged from Dr. GrantHorner’s plan, reading straight through the Bible, reading chronologicallythrough the Bible, etc. Each method we've promoted has had its advantages andwe would still commend their use.

At the same time, plans like those named abovefrequently cause discouragement as our New Year's Bible reading resolutionsgive way to the unexpected X-factors of life which seem to encroach with avengeance after a few weeks or months. I don't know about you, but I can't seemto find a command in the Bible giving special importance to reading all 66books of the Bible in a year's time. Furthermore, trying to speed through abook like Proverbs could be positively harmful since its poetry was designed tobe read slowly and thoughtfully.

Therefore, let me suggest a new kind of readingplan for 2012: 'The Bible Reading Plan for Slackers and Shirkers' (Isn’t that acatchy title?). Advantages to this plan include:

1. Removing the pressure to 'keep up' with gettingthrough the entire Bible in a year.
2. Providing variety throughout the week byalternating books.
3. Providing continuity by reading the same typeof biblical genre each day of the week.

In a nutshell, here's how it works:

Sundays: Poetry
Mondays: Penteteuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy)
Tuesdays: Old Testament history
Wednesdays: Old Testament history
Thursdays: Old Testament prophets
Fridays: New Testament history
Saturdays: New Testament epistles (letters)

The advantage of this plan is that it providesguidance as we read each day but does not put us on an internal guilt trip ifwe miss a day - we just pick up with the next reading on the day it happens tobe. Also, this plan allows us to see the many interconnections between sectionsof Scripture.

Many Bible reading plans are good, but I find thisone unusually helpful, for it combines two biblical values which seem todiverge in most plans: discipline and grace. Beginning this Sunday we'll have copiesof the plan in the Sunday School office.

Or Download one here.

May God bless us as we enter a new year!

- Bro.David Crowe

Six Styles of Evangelism Survey

2011-12-04T06:08:00.000-08:00

Click here to download the survey to help you see what style of evangelism best suits you. (Note - the "Con" at the end of the survey relates to the "Direct" style.

Here are the six evangelism styles again:

The Six Styles of Evangelism

(1) Direct Style
Biblical Example - Peter - Acts Chapter 2
Characteristics - Confident; Assertive; Direct
Weaknesses - Can lack tact and grace
Examples - Billy Graham; Charles Spurgeon; Chuck Colson; Bill Bright
Possible Jobs - Visitation Leader; Initiative Street Evangelism

(2) Intellectual Style
Biblical Example - Paul - Acts 17
Characteristics - Inquisitive; Analytical; Logical
Weakness - Can get caught up in questions and not get to the Gospel
Examples - William Lane Craig; C.S. Lewis; Josh McDowell; Ravi Zacharias
Possible Jobs - Event Counselor; Visitation Leader; New Member Discipler

(3) Testimonial Style
Biblical Example - Blind man - John 9
Characteristics - Clear Communicator; Storyteller; Good Listener
Weakness - Can occasionally focus on self instead of Christ
Examples - Corrie Ten Boom; Reggie White; Joni Erickson Tada
Possible Jobs - Share Testimony at events; Visitation Leader/Partner; New Member Discipler

(4) Interpersonal - Relational Style
Biblical Example - Matthew - Luke 5:29
Characteristics - Warm Personality; Conversational; Friendship-oriented
Weakness - Can make friends but fail to share the gospel
Examples - Becky Pippart
Possible Jobs - Greeters; Fellowship Director; Visiation Leader; New Member Discipler

(5) Invitational Style
Biblical Example - Woman at Well - John 4
Characteristics - Warm Personality; Relational; Persuasive
Weakness - Can trust in other things for the responsibility of sharing the Gospel
Example - Ruth Graham
Possible Jobs - Event Developer; Visitation Partner; PR Person

(6) Serving Style
Biblical Example – Dorcas (no joke - her actual name is Dorcas) - Acts 9
Characteristics - Others-centered; Humble; Patient
Weakness - Can do a lot of serving but not talk to people about Jesus
Example - Franklin Graham; Mother Theresa; Jimmy Carter
Possible Jobs - Helping run events; Visitation Partner; Behind the scenes anything

Poland Mission Trip Photo Updates

2011-10-18T11:00:00.001-07:00

Due to technical difficulties, the photo updates from Poland are currently being published to www.davidcrowe.org - please look there if you would like to read updates from the trip.

Spurgeon on Reading the Bible and Praying

2011-09-06T07:09:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday morning at church we looked at Steps to Revival and talked about returning to the works we did at first, when we first trusted in Christ. Getting back to the basics of our walk with Jesus is vital – we need a renewed vigor for reading His word and seeking His will in prayer.

Along those lines, the following comes from my favorite pastor, Charles Spurgeon, and his 1867 sermon “A Song at the Well-head” (HT to Justin Taylor):

“You are retired for your private devotions; you have opened the Bible, and you begin to read.

Now, do not be satisfied with merely reading through a chapter. Some people thoughtlessly read through two or three chapters—stupid people for doing such a thing!

It is always better to read a little and digest it, than it is to read much and then think you have done a good thing by merely reading the letter of the word.

For you might as well read the alphabet backwards and forwards, as read a chapter of Scripture, unless you meditate upon it, and seek to comprehend its meaning.

Merely to read words is nothing: the letter kills.

The business of the believer with his Bible open is to pray, “Lord, give me the meaning and spirit of your word, while it lies open before me; apply your word with power to my soul, threatening or promise, doctrine or precept, whatever it may be; lead me into the soul and marrow of your word.”

Also, it is not the form of prayer, but the spirit of prayer that shall truly benefit your souls.

That prayer has not benefited you, which is not the prayer of the soul.

You have need to say, “Lord, give me the spirit of prayer; now help me to feel my need deeply, to perceive your promises clearly, and to exercise faith upon them.”

In your private devotions, strive after vital godliness, real soul-work, the life-giving operation of the Spirit of God in your hearts.”

May God bless us with real soul-work as we spend time in prayer and His word!

- David Crowe

Expansion Committee Report

2011-08-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank the Expansion Committee for their report on Sunday Night. This committee has been working hard to move things forward, and I am grateful for their positive spirit and determination. Sunday Night, the committee shared three commitments with the church that they would follow:

A Monthly Report to be delivered at the Business meeting informing us on all of the progress.
An invitation to approach any of the members of the committee with questions or concerns about the expansion of the property. Also, the committee will receive open questions after the committee report at the monthly business meeting.
The committee has committed to meet each week until a master plan for the expansion is in place.

Join me in praying for this committee that God would help them through the meetings and background work that needs to be done. While they have their work cut out for them, we have many things as a church that we need to do to prepare for what is coming.

We need to pray! While I know many have been praying for our church and for our expansion team, we need to meet together to lift our prayers corporately.

Sunday Night, September 11, we will be joining together to pray for our nation and for our church. There will be some time that evening where we will specifically pray for the expansion of our church.
21 Days of Fasting and Prayer for our Church. Between the dates of September 11 and October 16, I want to challenge the members of our church to fast from something significant (like television, coffee, or candy) and pray for our church.
Prayerwalk on the new property. While the details for this are still to be announced, we are scheduling a prayerwalk on our property to ask for God’s guidance and blessing.

We need vision! The question of what we should do with this property brings up clear questions about where we are going as a church. Vision comes from God, and we need a unifying vision for the future that will incorporate three things:

Who God has made us. By my estimate, we are a generous church, a missions minded church, and an outreach oriented church.
Where God has placed us. He has placed us in Rose Hill, within a 5 mile radius of more than 5,600 people.
What God has commanded of us. He has commanded that we love Him with with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

We need revival! While the momentum in our church feels to many to have slowed down, we need God to revive us with a fresh excitement for His plans and for lost souls.

The next three Sunday Mornings we will be looking at key texts in the Bible to refresh our commitments to King Jesus.
Pray for God to revive you as we seek a renewal of our mission.
Pray for God to stir up his people for action in a community that desperately needs Jesus.

With God’s leading, I cannot wait to see what great things He has in store! May God bless us as we step forward.

Bro. Dave

Spurgeon On Daniel 5

2011-08-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

Here is another devotional by Charles Spurgeon on Sunday Morning’s text:

“Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting.”
— Daniel 5:27

It is well frequently to weigh ourselves in the scale of God’s Word. You will find it a holy exercise to read some psalm of David, and, as you meditate upon each verse, to ask yourself, “Can I say this? Have I felt as David felt? Has my heart ever been broken on account of sin, as his was when he penned his penitential psalms? Has my soul been full of true confidence in the hour of difficulty as his was when he sang of God’s mercies in the cave of Adullam, or in the holds of Engedi? Do I take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord?” Then turn to the life of Christ, and as you read, ask yourselves how far you are conformed to his likeness. Endeavour to discover whether you have the meekness, the humility, the lovely spirit which he constantly inculcated and displayed. Take, then, the epistles, and see whether you can go with the apostle in what he said of his experience. Have you ever cried out as he did—“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Have you ever felt his self-abasement? Have you seemed to yourself the chief of sinners, and less than the least of all saints? Have you known anything of his devotion? Could you join with him and say, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”? If we thus read God’s Word as a test of our spiritual condition, we shall have good reason to stop many a time and say, “Lord, I feel I have never yet been here, O bring me here! give me true penitence, such as this I read of. Give me real faith; give me warmer zeal; inflame me with more fervent love; grant me the grace of meekness; make me more like Jesus. Let me no longer be ‘found wanting,’ when weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, lest I be found wanting in the scales of judgment.” “Judge yourselves that ye be not judged.”

Praise God that Christ stands on the scales on our behalf - and that He fulfilled the requirements to assure salvation to us!

- Bro. Dave

Spurgeon on Pride

2011-08-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday morning we looked at the Pride of Nebuchudnezzar and God’s humbling work in his life. For this week’s chimes article, I would like to post an excerpt from Charles Spurgeon’s devotional where he addresses the sin of pride within the Christian:

“Before destruction the heart of man is haughty.”

— Proverbs 18:12

“It is an old and common saying, that “coming events cast their shadows before them;” the wise man teaches us that a haughty heart is the prophetic prelude of evil. Pride is as safely the sign of destruction as the change of mercury in the weather-glass is the sign of rain; and far more infallibly so than that. When men have ridden the high horse, destruction has always overtaken them. Let David’s aching heart show that there is an eclipse of a man’s glory when he dotes upon his own greatness. 2 Sam. 24:10. See Nebuchadnezzar, the mighty builder of Babylon, creeping on the earth, devouring grass like oxen, until his nails had grown like bird’s claws, and his hair like eagle’s feathers. Dan. 4:33. Pride made the boaster a beast, as once before it made an angel a devil.

God hates high looks, and never fails to bring them down. All the arrows of God are aimed at proud hearts. O Christian, is thine heart haughty this evening? For pride can get into the Christian’s heart as well as into the sinner’s; it can delude him into dreaming that he is “rich and increased in goods, and hath need of nothing.” Art thou glorying in thy graces or thy talents? Art thou proud of thyself, that thou hast had holy frames and sweet experiences? Mark thee, reader, there is a destruction coming to thee also. Thy flaunting poppies of self-conceit will be pulled up by the roots, thy mushroom graces will wither in the burning heat, and thy self-sufficiency shall become as straw for the dunghill. If we forget to live at the foot of the cross in deepest lowliness of spirit, God will not forget to make us smart under his rod. A destruction will come to thee, O unduly exalted believer, the destruction of thy joys and of thy comforts, though there can be no destruction of thy soul. Wherefore, “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

May God bless rid us of our pride, that we may become more useful for His kingdom!

- Bro. Dave

Standing Firm for Jesus

2011-08-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego took a bold stand when they refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol. When I look at their example I wonder how I would do in a similar situation. Looking back over the chapter, I see three things (of course there are 3 things!) that they had that helped them to stand firm that can help us also to stand firm today as Christians.

1) They had each other.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were able to stand firm because they had the support of each other. This is why attending church and being involved in a Sunday School Class is so important. We stand firm when we join together. To get out of the habit of coming to church is the fast path to become easily entangled in the idolatry of this world.

2) They had biblical convictions.

17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

They had resolved in verse 18 not to bow because they had been commanded in Scripture

In the 10 Commandments passage in Exodus 20 we read, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God…

We need to read our Bibles and develop convictions so that we also will stand against the sins of this world.

3) They had Jesus.

Though they were thrown into the fire, bound, the king looked and saw that they were standing in the fire with a fourth man. I believe that this 4th man was clearly Jesus. Jesus helps us to stand when we go through the fires of life. Jesus promised us in His Great Commission that He would be with us always, even to the ends of the earth. Since we have Jesus, let us live bold lives of faith and shine as lights in this dark world.

May God bless us with boldness to stand firm for Jesus in this wicked generation!

- Bro. Dave

BBQ Fellowship Results

2011-08-01T06:35:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank everyone who came out and participated in our BBQ Fellowship. Thanks to everyone who prepared meats and sides, and to the kitchen crew who worked hard to make this fellowship a success. The following were our winners for the night:

Best Chicken Award - Lyric Brown
Best Pork Award - Rudy Burgess
Best Sauce Award - Rudy Burgess
2nd Runner Up - David Crowe
1st Runner Up - Dwain Hahn
Grand Prize Winner - Rudy Burgess

I am writing this from our mission trip at Mountain Community Fellowship in Paintsville. The need here is incredible! We are going to work hard this week and make a good dent here but there will be so much left to do!

Pray for our team as we will be pretty tired coming home this weekend:
Lyric Brown
Taylor Grey
Kayla Moeller
Avery Edwards
Ginny Crowe
David Crowe
Elijah Crowe
Jonah Crowe
Alan Britton
James Moeller

May God bless our fellowship and our service!

- Bro. Dave

Prayer During Trials

2011-07-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

As we studied Daniel 2 this past Sunday morning and looked at how to face a crisis, it is worth look to study the prayer of Daniel more closely to see how we should also pray during a trial.

In the face of their trial, Daniel and his three companions give us an excellent model of how to pray. Let’s look at Daniel 2:18-23:

Daniel 2:17-23 (ESV)
¹⁷Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, ¹⁸and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
²⁰Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. ²¹He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; ²²he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. ²³To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter."

1. They Prayed in Unity (v. 18).

2. They Prayed Specifically (v. 19).

3. They Prayed Effectively (v. 19).

4. They Prayed Thankfully (vv. 20–24).

Are you facing trials? Join or start a prayer group; pray in unity. Pray specifically and effectively for the situation, and remember to always give thanks! You can join with us this Wednesday night and pray with others for your trial.

May God bless us with victory in our trials!

- Bro. Dave

Expansion Committee Update:

2011-07-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

While much has been progressing on our land to get things ready for expansion, there is still much to be done. For the next few weeks, the expansion committee will be gathering information from the church to help in the development of a master plan for our new property. The Expansion Committee has prepared a survey that will be available this Sunday to allow everyone to share their ideas and concerns. This survey will be available for three weeks and will need to be turned in by Sunday, August 14, in order to be tabulated into a report that will be delivered to the church on Sunday Evening, August 21.

The survey will be available in the Church Sunday School office and will also be placed on the church website for anyone who is out of town. All who attend Sunday School and the church services for the next three weeks will be encouraged to fill out the survey. Instructions will be sent out on the church one-call system to instruct out of town members of how to participate in the survey.

As we are nearing discussions for the use of the new property, I ask that you join me in praying for our church. Pray for God to bless us with direction and vision for the future. Pray for unity and patience for the process ahead. Pray for wisdom and blessing as we will have many decisions to make as a church body. Pray for the faith to trust God for great things for our church and our community.

Pray for the members of our Expansion Committee: James Moeller, Harriette Coyle, Donald Logue, Scarla Hahn, Keith Tyler, Earl Camic, and Mark Edwards.

May God bless us with a campaign that will impact our church and community with a light for the Gospel!

- Bro. Dave

Mission Trip Focus: Haiti

2011-07-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

On January 12, 2010, an earthquake measuring 7.0 struck the nation of Haiti affecting more than three million people. More than 316,000 people were killed, 300,000 more were injured, and more than 1 million people were made homeless.

Southern Baptists responded instantly pouring in aid and buckets of food, seeing an amazing response to the Gospel. With so many coming to Christ, there has been a need for training and discipleship of the Haitian believers.

Phil Yates, pastor of Little Zion Baptist Church will be leading two mission teams from our association into Haiti to conduct a number of needed ministries. Phil has been to Haiti countless times and has been establishing a long term ministry in this nation with the local baptists. Joining the teams will be doctors from Louisville who will help conduct medical clinics for about four hours each morning. After lunch, American pastors will be training the Haitian pastors in areas of ministry for three hours. After supper, everyone will join together for an evening worship service that will reach out to the Haitian people.

There will be opportunities for evangelism throughout each day through the medical clinics and services. Volunteers are needed to assist with the clinics, teach personal hygiene, teach english, train the pastors and local Christians, and share Jesus.

If you are interested in joining in with this mission trip, there will be a meeting this Saturday morning at Little Zion Baptist Church at 11AM.

Here are the details of this trip:

Dates: There are two teams going during two different weeks - November 7-14 and 14-21.

Cost: $1400

Team Leader: Bro. Phil Yates

Would you pray for Haiti and ask God if He is leading you to join this trip? With 40 spots open for the teams, this trip is expected to fill up soon.

May God bess the spread of the Gospel in Haiti, Mercer County, and the world!

- Bro. Dave

How the Lord’s Prayer changes us:

2011-07-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

We have been working through the Lord’s Prayer on Sunday Mornings and I have been personally challenged as I have been using this prayer as a model. I have found the Lord’s Prayer to be very helpful in my prayer life, and it has strengthened my walk with God. I found the following during my research and I would like to share it with you today:

How the Lord’s Prayer changes us:

How can we say our unless we make room for others in our fellowship?
How can we say Father unless we have been born from above through Christ Jesus?
How can we say who art in Heaven unless we grasp the awesome majesty and vast love of God?
How can we say hallowed be Thy name unless we who are called by His name dedicate ourselves to holy living?
How can we say Thy Kingdom come unless we always commit ourselves to obey the King of kings in extending His loving rule to all who will receive it?
How can we say Thy will be done unless we release the demand to have it our way?
How can we say on earth as it is in Heaven unless we proclaim and demonstrate the gospel of Christ to the privileged and underprivileged somewhere, everywhere?
How can we say give us this day our daily bread unless we give food and job training and hope to the hungry and homeless?
How can we say forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us unless we make every effort to resolve conflicts quickly by talking to the ones who hurt us instead of talking about them?
How can we say lead us not into temptation unless we adopt biblical standards of integrity and morality for our church, our children, and ourselves?
How can we say deliver us from evil unless we put on the whole armor of God and pray against the adversary?
How can we say for Thine is the Kingdom unless we yield our rights to the Lordship of King Jesus?
How can we say Thine is the power unless we rely on the supernatural energy of Christ?
How can we say Thine is the glory unless we serve humbly without seeking praise from people around us?
How can we say forever unless we keep one eye on the final judgment and rewards of eternity?

Let’s pray earnestly for God to bless and guide us!

- Bro. Dave

C.S. Lewis on Forgiveness

2011-06-28T14:37:00.000-07:00

The following quote from C. S. Lewis may have some difficult words to understand, but there is much wisdom to glean. Here is what he wrote about the problem of forgiveness:

. . . you must make every effort to kill every taste of resentment in your own heart—every wish to humiliate or hurt him or to pay him out. The difference between this situation and the one in such you are asking God’s forgiveness is this. In our own case we accept excuses too easily; in other people’s we do not accept them easily enough.

As regards my own sin it is a safe bet (though not a certainty) that the excuses are not really so good as I think; as regards other men’s sins against me it is a safe bet (though not a certainty) that the excuses are better than I think. One must therefore begin by attending to everything which may show that the other man was not so much to blame as we thought.

But even if he is absolutely fully to blame we still have to forgive him; and even if ninety-nine percent of his apparent guilt can be explained away by really good excuses, the problem of forgiveness begins with the one percent guilt which is left over. To excuse what can really produce good excuses is not Christian character; it is only fairness. To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.

This is hard. It is perhaps not so hard to forgive a single great injury. But to forgive the incessant provocations of daily life—to keep on forgiving the bossy mother-in-law, the bullying husband, the nagging wife, the selfish daughter, the deceitful son—how can we do it? Only, I think, by remembering where we stand, by meaning our words when we say in our prayers each night ‘forgive our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us.’ We are offered forgiveness on no other terms. To refuse it is to refuse God’s mercy for ourselves. There is no hint of exceptions and God means what He says.

C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (New York: Harper Collins, 2001; Originally published 1949), 181-183.

May God help us to forgive others as we have been forgiven.

- Bro. Dave

Mission Trip Highlight: Glogow, Poland

2011-06-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

Trip Date: October 17-28, 2011

Price for trip: $2000

Our Baptist Association has been involved in a partnership with Poland now for more than 12 years. This October, a mission trip will be taking a team to the city of Glogow, Poland to share the gospel.

Poland is a nation that has gone through numerous historical abuses. From the German and Soviet invasions in World War 2, where more than 6 million Polish people died, to the post war communist rule until 1989, Poland is a nation that has experienced tremendous atrocities. While Poland is more than 88 percent Catholic, less than a third of that number attend any church on Sunday. Operation World, a mission’s prayer organization, lists Poland at #28 on their list of countries with the lowest evangelical population. According to their research, only 0.25 percent of the Polish population is evangelical. This means that Poland is less evangelical than countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Libya! Clearly, a Biblical understanding of Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus alone is desperately needed.

This trip will focus on evangelistic outreaches to the people of Glogow, Poland, a city of 75,000 people. The team will be working alongside the Christians of GloGow’s only evangelical church: “Christian Baptist Church.” The outreach will primarily involve English Language Ministry, working through the church’s local ministry called “The Logos Language Center.” Through meetings to help people better use English, much effort will go into spreading the Gospel and inviting people to begin a relationship with Jesus. Many opportunities will be available to make friends with the intent of sharing Jesus.

Would you pray about taking the Gospel to the unreached people of Poland? Would you be willing to step out of your comfort zone to go minister in one of the most unreached countries in the world? Will you trust God for the safety and finances and ministry opportunities? Is God calling you to join with this team?

If you have any interest in this trip, we need to hear from you by Sunday, July 10. You can call the church office at 734-3546 or call me at 325-0528 to be added to the list.

May God bless all of our mission efforts this year – local, state, and global!

- Bro. David Crowe

10 Ways to Glorify God at Work

2011-06-20T14:38:00.000-07:00

Mark Twain once said, "Work is a necessary evil to be avoided." Although there may be days when we feel like he got it right, we know God has ordained work as a stewardship of his created world (Genesis 1:28; 2:15). He has designed work for his glory and our good. But how might we glorify God at work? This list is not exhaustive, but here's at least 10 ways —

1. Be just and honest in all your dealings with money.
A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight (Proverbs 11:1)

2. Be prayerfully dependent upon God, pouring contempt on self-sufficiency.
Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 4:17)
Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain (Psalms 127:1).

3. Use the wages earned by your work to provide for and bless others.
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1Timothy 5:8).
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need (Ephesians 4:28).

4. Grow in your skill-set, work hard, and strive for excellence.
Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men (Proverbs 22:29).
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

5. Exemplify love for your neighbor in how you interact with your colleagues.
Let all that you do be done in love (1 Corinthians 16:14).

6. Plan ahead and sincerely preface future tasks with "if God wills."
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that" (James 4:13-15)

7. Speak the gospel to your colleagues.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20).

8. Work as unto the Lord and as unto men.
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23-24).

9. Focus on the work you've been given.
Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty (Proverbs 28:19).

10. Speak words of grace.
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear (Ephesians 4:29)

May God bless our work and may we Glorify Him in all we do!

- Bro. Dave

The Fruits of Covetousness

2011-06-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we looked at the Lord's Prayer and the petition to ask God to "Give us today our daily bread." When we fail to pray this, we can easily fall into the sin of covetousness - a greedy desire for more than we need. The following list comes from Thomas Watson's classic work on the Lord's Prayer:

Such as are not content with daily bread—but thirst insatiably after more, will break over the hedge of God's command; and to get riches will stick at no sin. Therefore covetousness is called a radical vice. "The root of all evil." 1 Tim 6:10. [Oh cursed hunger for gold, to what do you not drive the hearts of men?] The Greek word for covetousness, signifies an inordinate desire of getting. Covetousness is not only in getting riches unjustly—but in loving them inordinately, which is a key that opens the door to all sin. It causes:

(1) Covetousness causes theft. Achan's covetous heart made him steal the wedge of gold—which cleft asunder his soul from God. Josh 7:21.

(2) Covetousness causes treason. What made Judas betray Christ? It was the thirty pieces of silver! Matthew 26:15.

(3) Covetousness causes murder. It was the inordinate love of the vineyard that made Ahab conspire Naboth's death. 1 Kings 21:13.

(4) It is the root of perjury. Men shall be covetous; and it follows, truce-breakers. 2 Tim 3:23. Love of silver will make men take a false oath, and break a just oath.

(5) Covetousness is the spring of apostasy. "Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world." 2 Tim 4:10. He not only forsook Paul's company—but his doctrine. Demas afterwards became a priest in an idol-temple, according to Dorotheus.

(6) Covetousness will make men idolaters. "Covetousness which is idolatry." Col 3:5. Though the covetous man will not worship graven images in the church—yet he will worship the graven image in his coin.

(7) Covetousness makes men give themselves to the devil. Covetous people forget the prayer, "Give us daily bread." They are not content with that which may satisfy nature—but are insatiable in their desire. O let us take heed of this cancer of covetousness! Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have." Heb 13:5.

May God keep us from the sin of covetousness, and may we be content with what we are given!

- Bro. Dave

Notes and Quotes on The Will of God:

2011-06-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here are six C’s for finding God’s will:

A. Commit your decision to the Lord in prayer.

B. Open the covers of the Bible and seek Scriptural direction.

C. Seek the counsel of those who know more about the matter than you do.

D. What are the circumstances indicating?

E. Is an inner conviction about this matter developing?

F. Finally, contemplate the issue. Think it through. God gave us a brain, and He expects us to use it to arrive at a wise and sanctified decision.

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV) 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

This is the Bible’s classic three-point sermon. These two verses give us three ways of finding God’s will. First, we must offer our bodies as living sacrifices; then we must make a break from the world around us; and finally, we must get the Bible into our minds and be transformed by God’s Word. What does God want from my life? He wants my whole life. He wants my entire life—not fifty percent, eighty-five percent, or even ninety-nine percent. He wants all there is of you.

• To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge. To do the will of God is the greatest achievement.—George Truett

• To go as I am led, to go when I am led, to go where I am led … it is that which has been for twenty years the one prayer of my life.—A. T. Pierson

• The man or woman who is wholly and joyously surrendered to Christ can’t make a wrong choice—any choice will be the right one.—A. W. Tozer

• Has it ever struck you that the vast majority of the will of God for your life has already been revealed in the Bible? That is a crucial thing to grasp.—Paul Little, in Affirming the Will of God

• Belief that divine guidance is real rests upon two foundation-facts: first, the reality of God’s plan for us; second, the ability of God to communicate with us. On both these facts the Bible has much to say.—J. I. Packer

• Never doubt in the darkness what God has shown you in the light.

May God bless us with both the knowledge of His will and the strength to obey it!

- Bro. Dave

12 Things about the Kingdom of Heaven that should strengthen our prayer, "Your Kingdom Come"

2011-05-31T14:41:00.000-07:00

(Adapted from Thomas Watson's work on the Lord's Prayer.)

(1) The kingdom of heaven will afford us a freedom from the necessities of nature. We are in this life subject to many necessities; we need food to nourish us, clothes to cover us, armor to defend us, sleep to refresh us. But in the kingdom of heaven there will be no need of these things; What need will there be of armor when there is no enemy? What need will there be of sleep when there is no night? Rev 22:5.

(2) In the kingdom of heaven—we shall be freed from the imperfections of nature. (Ticks and Mosquitos will not bother us!)

(3) In the kingdom of heaven—we shall be freed from the toilsome labors of this life. God enacted a law in paradise, "in the sweat of your face shall you eat bread." Gen 3:19. but in the kingdom of heaven we shall be freed from our labors.

(4) In the kingdom of heaven—we shall be freed from original corruption, which is the root of all actual sin.

(5) In the kingdom of heaven—we shall be freed from all sorrows. "There shall be no more sorrow." Rev 21:4.

(6) In the kingdom of heaven—we shall be beyond the reach of temptation. But in the kingdom of heaven the saints shall be freed from the red dragon, who is cast out of paradise, and shall be forever locked up in chains! Jude 6.

(7) In the kingdom of heaven—we shall be freed from all vexing cares.

(8) In the kingdom of heaven—we shall be freed from all doubts and scruples.

(9) In the kingdom of heaven—we shall be freed from all society with the wicked.

(10) In the kingdom of heaven—we shall be freed from all signs of God's displeasure.

(11) In the kingdom of heaven—we shall be freed from all divisions. The saddest thing in the world is to see divisions among the godly. But in the kingdom of heaven, there shall be no vilifying one another, nor censuring. Those who before could hardly pray together, shall praise God together. There shall not be one jarring string in the saints' music.

(12) In the kingdom of heaven—we shall be freed from vanity and dissatisfaction.

May we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness!

- Bro. Dave

Hallowing God's Name

2011-05-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

From Tony Evans:‎

The name of God deserves to be hallowed because God’s name is the sum total of His attributes. In the Bible, a person’s name reflects that person’s character.

‎If you know your Bible, you know that God has many names. Each name addresses a different aspect of His perfect character, and each one also speaks to any situation we might find ourselves in or any need we might have.

‎Not all of these names are readily obvious in the English text of the Bible, so let me give you the Hebrew word or words, their translation, and what they mean. Here are some of the names for God in the Bible.

‎In Genesis 1:1, God is called Elohim. “In the beginning, Elohim …” This is a plural word that emphasizes God’s majesty, power, and glory. Elohim is the mighty Creator God who can speak worlds into existence and meet you in your weakness.

‎God is also El Elyon, “God Most High.” This name means He’s the God who is high and exalted and can do great things. David wrote, “I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me” (Psalm 57:2). When everything in your life is out of order and disjointed, you need to know El Elyon.

‎In Psalm 91:1, the psalmist urges us to “abide in the shadow of the Almighty,” El Shaddai, a name for God that speaks of His strength. Even when you have no strength, you have not exhausted your resources because God says, “My name is El Shaddai.”

‎Another wonderful name for God comes from an unlikely source. Sarah’s Egyptian maid Hagar, who bore Ishmael to Abraham, was thrown out of the house by Sarah. Hagar thought she was finished, but God came to her and promised her a heritage through Ishmael. Hagar responded by calling God El Roi, “God who sees” (Genesis 16:13). Even when you feel like you’re alone and have no hope, God sees you. He hasn’t forgotten you.

‎God is called El Olam, “the Everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33) who is in no hurry and will take the time to do what is best for us.

‎There are so many more names for God in the Bible, and each one has a special meaning and holds special hope for us. Let me give you a few more examples.

‎Jehovah is the most sacred name of God, which speaks of His self-existence. “I AM WHO I AM,” God told Moses (Exodus 3:14). Jehovah needs no assistance. This name was often paired with other words for even more emphasis on part of God’s character.

‎He is Jehovah-shalom, “the Lord is Peace” (Judges 6:24), the only source of lasting peace. God is also Jehovah-nissi, “the Lord is My Banner” (Exodus 17:15). The banner was raised as a rallying point for an army going into battle. It was a symbol of victory.

‎We’re talking about the name of God, which Jesus said is to be hallowed. One way to avoid meaningless repetition is to think about the awesome names of the God to whom we pray. There are so many more names.

‎The Lord is Jehovah-raah, our Shepherd and Provider (Psalm 23:1) and Jehovah-rapha, the Lord our healer (Exodus 15:26), meaning you’re never alone. And when we sin, God is Jehovah-tsidkenu, “the Lord our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6), who covers us with His righteousness. And when we have a need, God is Jehovah-jireh, “the Lord Will Provide” (Genesis 22:14).

‎This is the God who teaches us to call Him “Our Father.”

‎

May God grow our knowledge of His Character through His Word!

- - Bro. Dave

Grasping the implications of God's Fatherhood

2011-05-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday morning we began a series on the Lord’s Prayer and we looked at the statement, “Our Father in Heaven.” We drew out several applications from this statement. Here are five summarized applications from God being our Heavenly Father:

1) God loves us.

As God's adopted children we are loved no less than is the one whom God called his "beloved Son." As Paul said in Romans 8:39 - Nothing,...will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. To know this truth of God's fatherly love to us gives boundless confidence not merely for praying, but for living.

2) We are God's heirs.

Adoption in the ancient world was for securing an heir, and Christians are joint heirs with Christ of God's glory (Romans 8:17).To grasp this is to know oneself rich and privileged beyond any monarch or millionaire.

3) We have God's Spirit in us.

John 1:12 says, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” And Galatians 4:6-7 says, “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

‎

4) We must honor our father by serving his interests.

The center of our concern must be "thy name...kingdom...will," and we must be like good children in human families, ready to obey instructions.

5) We must love our brothers, by constant care and prayer for them.

There are no personal pronouns in the Lord's Prayer, but instead, "Our father...give us...forgive us...lead us..." Since God is our Heavenly Father, we have a Christian family that we belong to and are accountable to.

May God bless our continued study of the Lord’s Prayer, and may we grow in our prayer life!

- Bro. Dave

Quote from John MacArthur's Book - Alone With God

2011-05-09T14:43:00.000-07:00

This upcoming Sunday we will begin an eight week series on the Lord’s Prayer. I invite you to come and learn more about How Jesus taught us to pray. The following excerpt comes from John MacArthur’s book, Alone with God:

Nineteenth-century pastor and author E.M. Bounds, who is well-known for his writings on the subject of prayer, said it best, “Prayer honors God; it dishonors self” (Purpose in Prayer [Chicago: Moody, n.d.], 43). The scribes and Pharisees never understood that truth, and I fear the same is true for much of today’s church.

The waves of our indulgent, selfish, materialistic society have washed ashore on Christian theology in many forms, including the prosperity gospel. Although the Bible teaches that God is sovereign and man is His servant, the prosperity gospel implies the opposite. Teaching that claims we can demand things of God is spiritual justification for self-indulgence. It perverts prayer and takes the Lord’s name in vain. It is unbiblical, ungodly, and is not directed by the Holy Spirit.

Prayer begins and ends not with the needs of man but with the glory of God (John 14:13). It should be concerned primarily with who God is, what He wants, and how He can be glorified. Those who teach otherwise are not preoccupied with the extension of Christ’s kingdom or the glory of God’s name but with the enlargement of their own empire and the fulfillment of their own selfish desires. Such teaching attacks the heart of Christian truth—the very character of God.

To believe that God is really like some genie, waiting to grant our every desire, flies in the face of Scripture’s clear teaching. Many Old Testament saints certainly had just cause to plead with God to take them out of harrowing circumstances, yet they sought to glorify God and follow His will.

And that’s just what Jesus taught the disciples when He said, “Pray, then, in this way” (Matt. 6:9). In fewer than seventy words we find a masterpiece of the infinite mind of God, who alone could compress every conceivable element of true prayer into such a brief and simple form—a form that even a young child can understand but the most mature believer cannot fully comprehend:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen (vv. 9–13).

May God bless our study of prayer, and may our prayers rightfully seek his will, glory, and kingdom!

- Bro. Dave

Upcoming Events

2011-05-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank all of the workers who came out and made our Easter Egg Hunt such a great success. There were dozens of kids that were able to enjoy a great day of gathering eggs and hearing about the true meaning of Easter. I also had the joy of meeting many families who are not attending any churches. Pray for us as we follow up on these families, and come and join with us in the next few weeks as we hold special visitation meetings to go and see them.

With so many events coming up – I would like to take the rest of this article outlining them:

Sunday, May 8 – Mother’s Day. We will dedicate the baby’s born in the past year and celebrate our moms during the Sunday Morning Service. There will be no evening service/activities so that families can enjoy the day together.

Friday, May 13 – Lexington Legends Baseball Game. All are invited to come to a Lexington Legends Baseball game. The game starts at 7PM and we will be sitting in the 3^rd base Lawn which is close to the Kids Zone that features inflatables and rides for kids. Tickets are only $3 (available from the Pastor) or $4 at the door.

Sunday, May 29 – Ice Cream Fellowship and Hymn Sing. We will have an Ice Cream fellowship at 6PM with a contest for the best homemade icecream. We will follow that with a hymn sing in the sanctuary and celebrate Memorial Day as a church.

Sunday, June 5 – Graduation Sunday. If your child is graduating from High School or College, please notify the church office and please get photos of your child to Mark and Denise Edwards for this special service.

May God bless our fellowships with incredible blessings!
- Bro. Dave

A Confusing Text Made More Clear - John 20:23

2011-04-25T14:45:00.000-07:00

On Easter Sunday I preached from John 20 and read the following verse:

John 20:23 (ESV)
²³If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld."

Do we really have the power to forgive people’s sins? This passage seems to suggest that we have the power to forgive people’s sins and to withhold forgiveness from people. Taken out of its context, people have abused this verse to say such things. One always has to be careful to observe the context of a passage when interpreting its meaning.

As we look at the two verses before this passage, we can learn more about what verse 23 means:

John 20:21-22 (ESV)
²¹Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." ²²And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

We can now see that this passage is located within the context of evangelism, since Jesus says in verse 21, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

The idea is not that individual Christians or churches have authority on their own to forgive or not forgive people, but rather that as the church proclaims the gospel message of forgiveness of sins in the power of the Holy Spirit (see v. 22), it proclaims that those who believe in Jesus have their sins forgiven, and that those who do not believe in him do not have their sins forgiven—which simply reflects what God in heaven has already done based on their trust in Jesus.

I am thankful for a church that boldly proclaims the Gospel of Jesus to our community. May we continue to do so in the power of the Holy Spirit, and may we never withhold the message of the Gospel from anyone!

May no one in Mercer County go to Hell because of our silence!

- Bro. Dave

I am not in England - Please do not send money!

2011-04-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

Friends,

Please know that I am not stranded in England. My e-mail account was hacked a few minutes ago and used by a spammer. Not too sure how it happened but I am looking into it. I am safe in Kentucky and wish everyone a happy easter.

Thanks and God bless!

- David Crowe

The Historical Background to the Holiday of Easter

2011-04-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

Easter is the oldest celebrated Christian holiday. But what does the word Easter mean? Where and when was it first celebrated?

The origin of the word Easter is uncertain, but the English Monk Bede (673-735 BC) claimed that the Christian resurrection festival displaced ancient pagan celebrations involving the Anglo-Saxon spring goddess “Eostre.” That, he said, occasioned the term. Others believe the word derives from an old German term meaning sunrise.

Whatever its meaning, it is the oldest celebration of Christianity. The earliest written reference to Easter comes from the mid-second century. A controversy arose about the dating of Easter, causing Polycarp to visit Rome’s bishop Anicetus. The two were unable to settle the controversy, and it became a hotly debated issue threatening to split the church. Believers in Asia celebrated one day, Christians in Europe another. Books, tracts, and sermons were devoted to the topic. Synods and councils were called. Tempers flared. Clergy excommunicated one another. Irenaeus wrote in the second century, “The apostles ordered that we should judge no one in respect to a feast day or a holy day. Whence then these wars? Whence these schisms?”

The issue came to a vote at the famous Council of Nicaea in 325. Easter, declared the council, should be celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after March 21, the vernal equinox. Easter then is a “movable feast” that may occur as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. The matter wasn’t entirely settled, but believers seemed to realize that it wasn’t the date, but the significance, that gave Easter its magnificence.

A custom arose among early worshipers to keep watch the Saturday night preceding Easter morning, and many believed that Christ would return at the breaking of this day. New converts kept watch and prayed throughout the night, then were baptized at sunrise. Another custom, still widely practiced, finds the pastor addressing the congregation with the glorious words: He is risen! The assembled worshipers shout in return: He is risen indeed! For 2,000 years the foundation of Christianity has rested securely on this simple yet unfathomable truth.

As we celebrate Easter this week, may God bless us all with a deeper understanding of the truths connected to the resurrection of Jesus!

- Bro. Dave

The Condemnation of Jesus

2011-04-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

As we studied the crucifixion of Jesus this past Sunday, I am always amazed at how Jesus, who was innocent, was falsely accused and condemned to die:

“The chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, in order that they might put Him to death.”
- Matthew 26:59

The only evidence of guilt against Jesus was man-made and contrived.

The essence of the Jews’ ancient legal system is found in the Lord’s words to Moses and Israel: “You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial” (Deut. 16:19). Therefore, it is truly amazing to consider what twisted measures the Jewish leaders resorted to in their trial of Jesus. The Council, or Sanhedrin, was authorized to judge only those cases in which charges already had been brought. But in Jesus’ case, with no formal charges yet made and with the Jews’ rush to judgment, the Council had to act illegally as a prosecuting body to keep the chief priests’ murder plot moving forward.

As the sinless Son of God, Jesus was innocent of any wrongdoing. Therefore, the only way for the Jews to convict Him was to obtain false testimony against Him. And to do that, the leaders had to pervert the very heart of their judicial system and endorse the words of liars.

But the Jews quickly found it was not easy even to manipulate and assemble false charges. As is so often the case with liars, what they testified to was not only false but inconsistent. Mark’s Gospel notes that even the two witnesses’ more usable charges about Jesus and the destruction of the temple were not consistent (14:57-59).
It is one of the strongest affirmations in the Bible to Christ’s moral and spiritual perfection that not a single human witness could make an accusation that would convict Him of a crime. After all the desperate maneuvering by the Jews to come up with even the flimsiest testimony against the Lord, He stood innocent of any violation of God’s moral or spiritual law. Instead, it is the unjust, hateful group of men that will one day stand before God condemned for their sinful actions in falsely accusing the Savior.

Praise God that "for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21)!

- Bro. Dave

Should a Christian ever weep and mourn over indwelling sin?

2011-04-04T02:56:00.001-07:00

Last night in my church I preached a sermon on Joel 1 where God called the nation of Judah to repent and mourn their sin. Concurrently, as I have studied revival, one factor that shows up again and again is a broken spirit over sin. Since Christians have been forgiven of sins through Jesus, I believe we should be the happiest people on earth. But should we ever weep and wail over our continued sinning?

The following comes from Thomas Watson's classic Marks of a Godly Man. His 8th mark of a godly man is that he weeps. Read it, and tell me your thoughts in the comments section. Do you agree or disagree?

8. A godly man WEEPS.

David sometimes sang with his harp; and sometimes the organ of his eye wept: "I water my couch with my tears" (Psalm 6:6). Christ calls his spouse his "dove" (Song 2:14). The dove is a weeping creature. Grace dissolves and liquefies the soul, causing a spiritual thaw. The sorrow of the heart runs out at the eye (Psalm 31:9).

The Rabbis report that the same night on which Israel departed from Egypt towards Canaan, all these idols of Egypt were broken down by lightning and earthquake. So at that very time at which men go forth from their natural condition towards heaven, all the idols of sin in the heart must be broken down by repentance! A melting heart is the chief branch of the covenant of grace (Ezek. 36:26), and the product of the Spirit: "I will pour upon the house of David the spirit of grace, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him" (Zech. 12:10).

Question:and But why is a godly man a weeper? Is not sin pardoned, which is the ground of joy? Has he not had a transforming work upon his heart? Why, then, does he weep?

Answer: A godly man finds enough reasons for weeping:

1. He weeps for indwelling sin, the law in his members (Romans 7:23), the outbursts and first risings of sin. His nature is a poisoned fountain. A regenerate person grieves that he carries with him, that which is enmity to God! His heart is like a wide sea in which there are innumerable creeping things (Psalm 104:25)—vain, sinful thoughts. A child of God laments hidden wickedness; he has more evil in him than he knows of. There are those windings in his heart which he cannot trace—an unknown world of sin. "Who can understand his errors?" (Psalm 19:12).

2. A godly man weeps for clinging corruption. If he could get rid of sin, there would be some comfort—but he cannot shake off this viper! Sin cleaves to him like leprosy! Though a child of God forsakes his sin—yet sin will not forsake him. "Concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season" (Dan. 7:12). So though the dominion of sin is taken away—yet its life is prolonged for a season; and while sin lives, it molests! The Persians were daily enemies to the Romans and would always be invading their frontiers. So sin "wars against the soul" (1 Pet. 2:11). And there is no cessation of war—until death. Will not this cause tears?

3. A child of God weeps that he is sometimes overcome by the prevalence of corruption. "For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do." (Romans 7:19). Paul was like a man carried downstream. How often a saint is overpowered by pride and passion! When David had sinned, he steeped his soul in the brinish tears of repentance. It cannot but grieve a regenerate person to think he should be so foolish as, after he has felt the smart of sin—still to put this fire in his bosom again!

4. A godly heart grieves that he can be no more holy. It troubles him that he shoots so short of the rule and standard which God has set. "I would", says he, "love the Lord with all my heart. But how defective my love is! How far short I come of what I should be; no, of what I might have been! What can I see in my life—but either blanks or blots?"

5. A godly man sometimes weeps out of the sense of God's love. Gold is the finest and most solid of all the metals—yet it is soonest melted in the fire. Gracious hearts, which are golden hearts, are the soonest melted into tears by the fire of God's love. I once knew a holy man, who was walking in his garden and shedding plenty of tears, when a friend came on him accidentally and asked him why he wept. He broke forth into this pathetic expression: "Oh, the love of Christ! Oh, the love of Christ!" Thus have we seen the cloud melted into water, by the sunbeams.

6. A godly person weeps because the sins he commits are in some sense worse than the sins of other men. The sin of a justified person is very odious:

(i) The sin of a justified person is odious—because he acts contrary to his own principles. He sins not only against the rule—but against his principles, against his knowledge, vows, prayers, hopes, experiences. He knows how dearly sin will cost him— yet he adventures upon the forbidden fruit!

(ii) The sin of a justified person is odious, because it is a sin of unkindness (1 Kings 11:9). Peter's denying of Christ was a sin against love. Christ had enrolled him among the apostles. He had taken him up into the Mount of Transfiguration and shown him the glory of heaven in a vision. Yet after all this dazzling mercy—it was base ingratitude, that he should deny Christ! This made him go out and "weep bitterly" (Matt. 26:75). He baptized himself, as it were, in his own tears! The sins of the godly go nearest to God's heart. The sins of others anger God; the sins of the godly grieve him! The sins of the wicked pierce Christ's side! The sins of the godly wound his heart! The unkindness of a spouse, goes nearest to the heart of her husband.

(iii) The sin of a justified person is odious, because it reflects more dishonor upon God. "By this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme" (2 Sam. 12:14). The sins of God's people put black spots on the face of piety. Thus we see what cause there is why a child of God should weep even after conversion. "Can whoever sows such things refrain from tears?"

Now this sorrow of a godly man for sin, is not a despairing sorrow. He does not mourn without hope. "Iniquities prevail against me" (Psalm 65:3)—there is the holy soul weeping. "As for our transgressions, you shall purge them away"—there is faith triumphing.

Godly sorrow is excellent. There is as much difference between the sorrow of a godly man, and the sorrow of a wicked man—as between the water of a spring which is clear and sweet, and the water of the sea which is salt and brackish. A godly man's sorrow has these three qualifications:

(a) Godly sorrow is INWARD. It is a sorrow of soul. Hypocrites "disfigure their faces" (Matt. 6:16). Godly sorrow goes deep. It is a "pricking at the heart" (Acts 2:37). True sorrow is a spiritual martyrdom, therefore called "soul affliction" (Lev. 23:29).

(b) Godly sorrow is SINCERE. It is more for the evil that is in sin—than the evil which follows after sin. It is more for the spot—than the sting. Hypocrites weep for sin only as it brings affliction. Hypocrites never send forth the streams of their tears, except when God's judgments are approaching.

(c) Godly sorrow is INFLUENTIAL. It makes the heart better: "by the sadness of the countenance, the heart is made better" (Eccles. 7:3). Divine tears not only wet—but wash; they purge out the love of sin!

Use 1. How far from being godly are those who scarcely ever shed a tear for sin! If they lose a near relation—they weep. But though they are in danger of losing God and their souls—they do not weep. How few know what it is to be in an agony for sin, or what a broken heart means! Their eyes are not like the "fishpools in Heshbon", full of water (Song 7:4)—but rather like the mountains of Gilboa, which had "no dew" upon them (2 Sam. 1:21). It was a greater plague for Pharaoh to have his heart turned into stone— than to have his rivers turned into blood.

The wicked, if they sometimes shed a tear—are never the better. They go on in wickedness, and do not drown their sins in their tears!

Use 2: Let us strive for this divine characteristic. Be weepers! This is "a repentance not to be repented of" (2 Cor. 7:10). It is reported of Bradford, the martyr, that he was of a melting spirit; he seldom sat down to his meal but some tears trickled down his cheeks. There are two lavers to wash away sin: blood and tears. The blood of Christ washes away the guilt of sin; our tears wash away the filth of sin.

Repenting tears are precious. God puts them in his bottle (Psalm 56:8). Repenting tears are beautifying. To God—a tear in the eye, adorns more than a ring on the finger. Oil makes the face shine (Psalm 104:15). Tears make the heart shine. Repenting tears are comforting. A sinner's mirth turns to melancholy. A saint's mourning turns to music! Repentance may be compared to myrrh, which though it is bitter to the taste—is comforting to the spirits. Repentance may be bitter to the flesh, but it is most refreshing to the soul. Wax which melts is fit for the seal. A melting soul is fit to take the stamp of all heavenly blessing. Let us give Christ the water of our tears—and he will give us the wine of his blood!

- David Crowe

Why Go On A Mission Trip When There Are So Many Needs Here?

2011-03-25T13:43:00.001-07:00

In preparations for our mission trip to Malta last year, the mission team had to read the book "Radical" by David Platt. This book is a dangerous book that everyone needs to read. It is dangerous because it calls for an unapologetic, extreme sacrifice of our lives for Jesus Christ and the Glory of God.

In his book, Platt addresses the common question of "why should we go on a mission trip when there are so many needs right here?" Platt answers this question by saying:

"As we have seen in scripture, God's heart is for the world. So when we say we have a heart for the United States, we are admitting that we have a meager 5 percent of God's heart, and we are proud of it. When we say we have a heart for the city we live in, we confess that we have less than 1 percent of God's heart."

"Certainly there are great needs here. But must we insist on dividing the Great Commission into an either-or proposition? Who told us that we have to choose to have a heart for the United States or for the world? Based on the purpose of God we've seen in scripture, shouldn't every Christian's heart be consumed with how we can make God's glory known in all the world?"

Lottie Moon's Heart for the Chinese

2011-03-07T18:33:00.001-08:00

This past Sunday, I preached a message from Hebrews 12:1-2 about running the race God has marked out for us unhindered. As illustrations for the text, we looked at one of our Southern Baptist hero's - Lottie Moon. Since I never get to share everything I research in the sermon, I would like to provide two convicting quotes from Lottie as she served our Lord in China:

Published in the January 1888 Foreign Mission Journal.

"The needs of these people press upon my soul, and I cannot be silent. It is grievous to think of these human souls going down to death without even one opportunity of hearing the name of Jesus. People talk vaguely about the heathen, picturing them as scarcely human, or at best, as ignorant barbarians. If they could live among them as I do, they would find in the men much to respect and admire; in the women and girls they would see many sweet and loving traits of character. They would feel, pressing upon their heart and conscience, the duty of giving the gospel to them. It does seem strange that when men and women can be found willing to risk life—or, at least, health and strength—in order that these people may hear the gospel, that Christians withhold the means to send them. Once more I urge upon the consciences of my Christian brethren and sisters the claims of these people among whom I dwell. Here I am working alone in a city of many thousand inhabitants, with numberless villages clustered around or stretching away in the illuminate distance: how many can I reach? It fills one with sorrow to see these people so earnest in their worship of false gods, seeking to work out their salvation by supposed works of merit, with no one to tell them of a better way. Then, to remember the wealth hoarded in Christian coffers! The money lavished on fine dresses and costly living! Is it not time for Christian men and women to return to the simplicity of earlier times? Should we not press it home upon our consciences that the sole object of our conversion was not the salvation of our own souls, but that we might become co-workers with our Lord and Master in the conversion of the world?"

Published in the May 1889 Foreign Mission Journal.

“One cannot help asking sadly, why is love of gold more potent than love of souls? The number of men mining and prospecting for gold in Shantung is more than double the number of men representing Southern Baptists! What a lesson for Southern Baptists to ponder!”

Children's Calendar 2011

2011-01-25T08:51:00.001-08:00

I am excited to announce that we have a children’s activity calendar established that will provide children with a fun church event for every month of this year! Our children’s committee and I worked hard on putting together a list of fun activities to do throughout this next year.

To Download a Calendar for printing - click here.

Here is what we are going to be doing in 2011:

2011 Children’s Activities:

January 29 – Bumper Bowling at Bowlarama

10AM-Noon $2.75 per game/$1 for shoes

February 26 – Pitmasters BBQ Party

11AM-1PM $5 per child

March 15 – Finley’s Fun Park (Danville) 6-8PM (Free)

April 23 – Easter Egg Hunt at Fort Harrod 11AM-1PM

May 28 – Louisville Zoo Trip (Details T.B.A.)

June – Children’s VBS Musical (Details TBA)

July 10-14 – Vacation Bible School 6:30-8:30PM

July 15 – Pool Party (And. Dean Pk.) 6-9PM

July 30 – “The Downtown Showdown” (12-4PM)

Held at the Mercer County Association of Baptists Building

August 26 – Fall Festival at Anderson Dean Park

From 6:30-8:30 PM featuring food, games, and inflatables.

September 24 – Devine’s Corn Maze (Details T.B.A)

October 30 – Trunk or Treat 6PM

November 12 – Movie Day (Details T.B.A

December 18 – Happy Birthday Jesus Party

In church fellowship hall at 6PM.

Please stay tuned for further details by checking out

our church website at www.brunerschapel.com.

Children's Calendar 2011

2011-01-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

To Download a Calendar for printing - click here.

Here is what we are going to be doing in 2011:

2011 Children’s Activities:

January 29 – Bumper Bowling at Bowlarama

10AM-Noon $2.75 per game/$1 for shoes

February 26 – Pitmasters BBQ Party

11AM-1PM $5 per child

March 15 – Finley’s Fun Park (Danville) 6-8PM (Free)

April 23 – Easter Egg Hunt at Fort Harrod 11AM-1PM

May 28 – Louisville Zoo Trip (Details T.B.A.)

June – Children’s VBS Musical (Details TBA)

July 10-14 – Vacation Bible School 6:30-8:30PM

July 15 – Pool Party (And. Dean Pk.) 6-9PM

July 30 – “The Downtown Showdown” (12-4PM)

Held at the Mercer County Association of Baptists Building

August 26 – Fall Festival at Anderson Dean Park

From 6:30-8:30 PM featuring food, games, and inflatables.

September 24 – Devine’s Corn Maze (Details T.B.A)

October 30 – Trunk or Treat 6PM

November 12 – Movie Day (Details T.B.A

December 18 – Happy Birthday Jesus Party

In church fellowship hall at 6PM.

Please stay tuned for further details by checking out

our church website at www.brunerschapel.com.

New Year = New Bible Reading Plan

2011-01-01T13:17:00.000-08:00

As we approach the New Year, this is a great time for laying down some new resolutions and establishing new habits. One emphasis that I always stress during this time of year is obtaining a good reading plan for going through the Bible. While I am still behind a few months on my plan from last year, I am already enjoying a new plan that I would like to share with you today.

Most of the plans I have used require a straight read through the whole Bible. This can become very difficult as you journey through the more tedious portions of scripture. To spend a month in Leviticus or Chronicles is a challenge for most Christians. I have found this following reading plan both address this challenge and provide for fruitful and enjoyable daily reading:

Grant Horner’s Bible-Reading System –

Grant Horner’s system requires reading 10 chapters a day. The 10 chapters are from 10 different sections throughout the Bible. Reading one chapter from each section each day exposes you to an amazing overview of scripture. Here are the 10 sections:

Section 1 (89 days) Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
Section 2 (187 days) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Section 3 (78 days) Romans, I&II Cor, Gal, Eph, Phil, Col, Hebrews
Section 4 (65 days) I&II Thess, I&II Tim, Titus, Philemon, James, I&II Peter, I,II&III John, Jude, Revelation
Section 5 (62 days) Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
Section 6 (150 days) Psalms
Section 7 (31 days) Proverbs
Section 8 (249 days) Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I&II Samuel, I&II Kings, I&II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
Section 9 (250 days) Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
Section 10 (28 days) Acts

As you complete a section, you go back to the beginning of that section and begin reading it again. Grant Horner says, “Since the lists vary in length, the readings begin interweaving in constantly changing ways. You will NEVER read the same set of ten chapters together again! Every year you'll read through all the Gospels four times, the Pentateuch twice, Paul's letters 4-5 times each, the OT wisdom literature six times, all the Psalms at least twice, all the Proverbs as well as Acts a dozen times, and all the way through the OT History and Prophetic books about 1 ½ times. Since the interweaving is constantly changing, you will experience the Bible commenting on itself in constantly changing ways.”

I have been using this system for two months and I cannot express how much I have personally enjoyed using it. I try to read 5 chapters in the morning and 5 chapters at night. Though it takes more work than other systems, I have found it to be more fruitful.

As we embark on a New Year, may God bless us as we endeavor to read through his Word!

- Bro. Dave

Here are the two Bible Reading Plans for Bruner's Chapel Baptist Church for the New year. Feel free to download them, print them off, and place them in your Bible.

Grant Horners Bible Reading Plan