Joel Osteen and Propserity Gospel Videos - Acts of the Apostates Series

Our Sunday Evening series through the book of Jude has looked into the current Prosperity Gospel heresy. This heresy teaches that Jesus did not die only to forgive our sins, but to make us all rich. We also looked at Joel Osteen's version of the Gospel, where Jesus did not die for our sins but to make us victorious. It may sound good, but it is lacking in one key element of the Gospel - that we are sinners and that Jesus is our Savior.

Prosperity Gospel Videos:




Click here for an eye-opening report on the prosperity gospel in Africa.

Joel Osteen Videos:



Osteen's Gospel Presentation:




A great critique of Osteen's version of the Gospel can be heard from Todd Friel's recent radio program:



William Lodbell is a journalist who has followed the ministries of many of the individuals in the Prosperity Gospel Movement:


Check out John MacArthur's recent discussion for more information.

What are your thoughts? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Bible Reading Plans for a New Year

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.

Through the Bible Plan
In Microsoft Word Format.

Book at a Time Plan (From Discipleship Journal)
In PDF Format. Will require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to open.

Other Plans that may be of interest

Chronological Plan
In PDF Format. Will require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to open.

New Testament and Old Testament Plan
In PDF Format. Will require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to open.

(New!) Topical Bible Plan (Read a different topic each day through the Bible)
In PDF Format. Will require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to open.

For more plans check out the following links from:
www.bibleplan.org
www.zondervan.com
www.esv.org

Church News Update

Lottie Moon Update

I am excited to report that we have shattered our goal of $10,000 by bringing in a record total of more than $11,240! Praise God for helping us to exceed our goal! With every penny of this offering going to support our missionaries, I am proud of the way our church rose to meet the challenge. Please know that there is still time to give if you have not done so.

Walk Through the Bible

On Sunday Nights beginning in January, we will be walking book-by-book through the entire Bible. Beginning in Genesis, this series will focus on a new book each week and look at the major themes and purposes of the book. I guarantee that you will learn a lot about each book, and as a result your literacy in the Bible and desire to read it completely will increase. I have already learned a lot and have been excited in my preparation for these evenings, and I cannot wait to see what God is going to teach us! I want to challenge you to commit to coming on these evenings so that we can grow together in our understanding of God's Word.

"Focus on the Church" Radio Program

Bruner's Chapel Baptist Church was chosen as the featured church for a new radio program called "Focus on the Church" that will air on Lexington's WJMM, FM 99.1 and WCGW, AM 770. This program looks at area churches and learns about their pastors and ministries. Air times are as follows: Weekend of January 2-3; On WJMM 99.1 Sat.6:30am, 2pm, & Sun 7am. On WCGW 770am, 9am). The AM station reaches the cities of Cincinnati, OH, Louisville, KY, Lexington, KY and of course, Harrodsburg, KY. Pray that God would use these radio programs to help invite people from our area to our church.

New Year's Resolutions

This upcoming Sunday, I will begin a new four-week series on New Year's Resolutions for our church. I will be challenging us to make some commitments as a church for 2010. I want to ask for your prayers for me as I prepare these messages.

Lord's Supper Service

We will be observing the Lord's Supper on Sunday Morning, January 3, during our 11AM service.

Updated/Upgraded Website

A lot of work has gone into our church website making it more user friendly and helpful for visitors. Everyone can access videos, audio sermons, photos, and read church news on our church blog. Check it out by going to www.brunerschapel.com.

Have a wonderful Christmas!

- Bro. Dave

Elders!?!

During our last church business meeting, a motion was made that we look into exploring the Biblical office of Elders. Southern Baptists have some history with utilizing a plural board of elders within their churches, though they do not serve as the "Ruling" Elders you would find in a Presbyterian church. Since Southern Baptists are Congregational in nature, the power over decisions in our churches resides in the vote of the entire congregation. Though plural Elders have been used in the history of the SBC in advisory leadership positions, many are unfamiliar with their true role. On Wednesday Nights, we are looking at what the Bible says about this fascinating and sometimes controversial topic. Below, I am providing some notes and papers that have been used to help Southern Baptist Churches learn more about Elders. I invite you to attend these meetings and bring any questions you have.

Schedule of Discussion -

December 16 - The Roles and Government of the Church

December 30 - Elders in the Bible and common questions about Elders

January 20 - Elders in the History of the Southern Baptist Convention

Helpful Papers:

The Offices and Government of the Church - by Bro. David Crowe. These are the notes from the December 16 discussion. I relied heavily on Millard Erickson's Christian Theology, as well as Danny Akin's A Theology for the Church for this discussion.

By Whose Authority ? - by Mark Dever. Click on the link and then download the PDF document of Dever's paper. Dever provides a helpful overview of the Southern Baptist understanding of Elders.

Elder Rule and Southern Baptist Polity - by Robert Wring. Wring presents a healthy defense against "Ruling" Elders in the SBC. He also is fair in mentioning Dever's views on the matter.

Christmas Gift Suggestions

I would like to congratulate Mark Whitaker and the choir for a job well done on our Christmas Cantata! I praise God for the joy and leadership our choir provides our worship services! I am also proud of everyone digging deep to give sacrificially to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. We now have a total of $9,240! Let's get to our goal of $10,000.

As we are only a few days away from Christmas, I would like to encourage you to consider some spiritual growth gifts this year! These suggestions have not changed much at all from my list last year, and I would still encourage you to invest in them.

Bro. Dave's Gift Suggestions for Christmas: Bibles:

1) The ESV Study Bible – This is my favorite Study Bible ever. I am addicted to this Bible, and you will be too. It simply explains the text and has over 200 maps and charts. If I had the money to do so, I would buy everyone in church a copy of this incredible Study Bible.

2) The Archeological Study Bible – This Bible does an incredible job linking the pages of scripture with the wealth of archeological evidence. It opens a completely new viewpoint on the text of scripture and provides many fascinating articles.

3) The Apologetic Study Bible – This Bible does a good job answering all of the hard questions that people have had about Christianity. If you are someone who has hard questions, or would like to know how to better answer other people's questions, you owe it to yourself to get this one.

4) Other good study bibles that will help you understand God's word better are the Life Application Study Bible, the John Macarthur Study Bible, and the Nelson Study Bible.

For Children – These first two are books that I have recommended earlier this year.

1) The Big Picture Story Bible, by David Helm. With full-page illustrations and an incredible overview of the whole Bible, this has been a favorite in the Crowe house.

2) The Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Shows how Jesus is in every story of the Bible. Does a great job highlighting where He is in the Old Testament.

3) The Child's Story Bible, by Catherine F. Vos. The wife of a Biblical Theology professor at Yale wrote this Bible in the 1920's. Vos took her husbands notes and wrote them out for Children. Though not as well illustrated as the others, its literary style is engaging for kids and full of rich theological truths.

May God bless you with a wonderful Christmas!

- Bro. Dave

Lottie Moon Update

Mission Report from IMB Missionaries Josh and Amy Bowman, friends of mine since High School:

 

Our family has just returned home from our Prayer Retreat where we gather with IMB missionaries who are serving all over Zambia for a time of focused prayer, Bible study, and worship.  Our children were also ministered to as they learned from God's Word and enjoyed the fellowship of other MKs just like themselves.  Corporate worship in your own heart language is a much needed exercise of your soul and it isn't until we are at meetings like this that I realize how much my soul thirsts for it!  We were so thankful for the Lord meeting with us in a special way as we talked about persistent prayers of the past 50 years since the first IMB missionaries arrived in Zambia in 1959.  The prayers of those first missionaries for the rural cities all over the country to hear the Gospel have been answered as now there are families all over Zambia sharing Christ with these people groups!  Praise the Lord for answers to persistent prayers of those who have gone before us.

 

This was  a bittersweet time because it has just been decided that we will NOT have any meetings like the one described above for the coming year of 2010 due to almost HALF of our budget being cut.  We agree that it is better to cut money from missionary meetings and not cut our ministry budgets and the opportunity for the lost to hear the gospel.  It is great to be part of an organization that makes the preaching of the gospel the priority in all we do!  Our goal this year for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering that is being collected in your churches this month is $175 million.  We are praying that it will be met so that tough decisions will not have to be made like which people group will have access to the Gospel and who will have to slip into eternity without that chance.  It has been said that if every person will give just $7 more than what they gave last year the goal will be met!!   Will you PRAY about what God would have you give this year?

 

Our Goal is $10,000 this year and our in gathering is this upcoming Sunday  Let us pray about what God would have us give to the Lottie Moon Offering this week!

- Bro. Dave

12 Reasons for Christmas

12 Reasons for Christmas

1. "For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth." (John 18:37)

2. "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8; cf. Hebrews 2:14-15)

3. "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)

4. "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)

5. "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)

6. "God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." (Galatians 4:5)

7. "For God so loved the world that whoever believes on him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16).

8. "God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him." (1 John 4:9; cf. John 10:10).

9. "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15).

10. "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against . . . that the thoughts of many may be revealed" (Luke 2:34f).

11. "He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed." (Luke 4:18)

12. "Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy." (Romans 15:7-8; cf. John 12:27f).

These verses were compiled by John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

May we reflect on these purposes of Christmas this season! And may we all rejoice in the King that reigns in our hearts!

- Bro. Dave