February 24-26, 2012

Speaker: Allen Cagle, Pastor of Family Ministries
Christ Fellowship Church, Mobile, Alabama

Band: Luminate
Top 20 Sparrow Recording Artist from Tyler, Texas

$30 per student.  Registration forms are located in the youth area.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

We will be collecting the following items beginning this

Sunday for the Hands of Christ Ministry Center:

Safety Razors

Travel Size Toothpaste

Children’s Shoes (New or gently used)

Diapers – Sizes 3, 4, and 5 (No newborn)

Boys Clothes (Sizes 6-16)

Men’s Clothes

Men’s Shoes (New or gently used)

Men’s Jeans & Belts

Please place any items in the blue buckets located at the entrances to the church.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Before I begin explaining the differing views, I would like to note what all the views have in common.  First, all of the views believe that Christ will most certainly return to earth in His second coming.  Second, all of the views believe in a rapture of the church.  Third, all of the views believe that some form of tribulation will take place when the return of Christ is immediately imminent.  Fourth, all of the views believe that Christ will reign on earth in some form during some period known as the millennium.  Fifth, all the views believe Christ will judge all mankind of all times, and that the wicked will be cast into the eternal lake of fire with Satan and his demons while the righteous in Christ will be glorified and brought into the eternal presence of God in the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21).  The major differences between these views are (1) The timing and nature of the millennium, and (2) The timing of the rapture and nature of the tribulation.  There are also some minor differences on matters like the status of national Israel in the end times, but delineating such nuances would take us far beyond the scope of this article.

The first view is known as Classic or Historical Premillennialism.  In this view, the church age (which we are in now) will ultimately give way to a literal seven year period of global judgment and intense suffering known as the Tribulation.  The church will be purified of unregenerate believers through the course of the tribulation and it will be the source of gospel proclamation during the tribulation.  At the end of the seven years, Christ will return visibly in all His glory.  He will take up the church to meet Him in the sky in the rapture, and then He will immediately come to earth with the saints where He will bind Satan and establish His thousand year reign over all the nations.  At the end of a thousand years, Satan will be released, He will be defeated in a final battle, the final judgment will take place, and the new heaven and new earth will be established for all eternity. (Rev 20:7-21:1)

The second view is known as Dispensational Premillennialism.  This view is built upon the Historical Premillennial system, so it shares the aforementioned perspective of the millennium and the final judgment.  The critical difference is that dispensationalists believe that there will be a secret return of Christ at the beginning of the tribulation to rapture the church, sparing it from the experience of suffering.  At the end of the seven years of the tribulation, Christ will return visibly with the saints to establish His millennial reign.  After the millennium, their view follows what was detailed above.

The third view is known as Postmillennialism.  Whereas “Pre”-millennialism contends that Christ will return prior to the millennium, “Post”-millennialism contends that Christ will return after the millennium.  They believe that the work of Christ through His church during the church age will usher in a thousand year period of spiritual dedication, international peace, and godly prosperity wherein Christ will spiritually bind Satan and “reign” on earth through the hearts of His people.  At the end of this millennial period, Satan will be released and there will be a time of tribulation (that may or may not be a literal seven years), after which Christ will visibly return.  He will rapture His church, He will defeat Satan in a final battle, the final judgment will take place, and the new heaven and new earth will be established for all eternity.

The fourth and final view is known as Amillennialism, because they contend that the millennium is a figurative amount of time that coincides with the church age.  In their view, the millennium began with Christ’s completed work of redemption and His subsequent ascension.  In a spiritual sense, Satan is being bound and Christ’s reign over the nations is being established with every heart that is changed through the preaching of the gospel.  At the end of this church age/millennial period, there will be a time of tribulation (that may or may not be a literal seven years) after which Christ will return visibly.  He will rapture His church, He will defeat Satan in a final battle, the final judgment will take place, and the new heaven and new earth will be established for all eternity.

As you consider these differing opinions, remember that the nature of the Bible’s apocalyptic texts requires that we be very generous in how we discuss eschatology with one another.  God has revealed His truth about the end times through very figurative and symbolic language, which is difficult to interpret clearly at many points.  Thus, we should celebrate the commonalities (that I listed in my second paragraph above) even as we study and sharpen one another through our discussions of the differences.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Rightly interpreting apocryphal texts, like those we have in Daniel, Ezekiel, Revelation, and here in Matthew 24, is often very challenging.  These texts are recorded visions which employ an incredible amount of metaphor and symbolism to reveal truths about God’s judgment of the wicked and His preservation of the righteous.  Though we might prefer more clarity, we must remember that Scripture is absolutely inerrant and completely sufficient.  God has given us exactly what we are meant to have, even in regards to descriptions of the end times.  So where precise identification of future events is difficult, we are to continue trusting Christ with the future and not be divided over different interpretative schemes.  Eschatology is one of those third-tier areas of theology where we can have loving latitude in opinions.

That being said, I wanted to go ahead and introduce us this week to the four main schools of interpretation.  Next week, I’ll write about the different views of the millennium.

(1) Historicism is the interpretive approach that understands the literary order of the visions to correspond to the actual course of history.  For example, historicists believe that Revelation 4:1 through 20:6 symbolizes the chronological order of events from the time of the apostles all the way until the time of the end of the world.  They link the movement through these chapters with the movement from the Roman Empire to the middle ages to the renaissance and reformation and on into the modern age.  Thus, only Revelation 20:7-22:5 deals with Christ’s second coming and the final judgment.  Historicism has been the historic Protestant interpretation.

(2) Preterism (from the Latin word meaning “things that are past”) contends that most of what is described in the book of Revelation took place in the ancient past, not long after the author’s own time during the early years of the Christian church.  Generally speaking, they believe that everything in Revelation 12-19 was completed by the time the Roman Empire fell in the 4th century.  Those who are full preterists insist that every prophecy in the New Testament was fulfilled by 70 A.D., thus denying Jesus’ second coming, the resurrection of believers, and the coming of the new heavens and new earth.  Partial preterists (rightly) believe that those particular end-time events are still to come in the future.

(3) Futurism is the approach that believes that the majority of what is in Revelation 4-22 is all in the future.  They typically contend that the book of Revelation describes events that are coming during the seven years of the tribulation (chapters 6-19) that will then be followed by the millennial reign of Christ on earth (20:1-6) and the final resurrection and judgment (20:7-22:5).  This view has become more prevalent in modern evangelicalism than it had been in previous centuries.

(4) Idealism, also known as the Spiritual approach, believes that the book of Revelation describes the spiritual realities present down through world history as Christ and His church are at conflict with Satan and the wicked.  There is not an order of history that is being followed in a single linear sense, but there are cycles that are continually repeating with the rise and fall of nations and the success and persecution of the church down through human history.  Thus, the book of Revelation is a record of vision cycles that were true for the early church age as well as true for the modern church age, and fulfillment of these visions is recurrent.  They do believe that the final chapters of Revelation refer to a final consummation when intense persecution of the church will lead to the final return of Christ and the new heaven and new earth.

As we delve into Matthew 24, I hope that all of us will be like Bereans, studying the Scriptures to clearly discern the truth and to establish our own approach to these challenging texts.  Regardless of where each of us may fall, we know that Christ will come again in all His splendor to reclaim His bride and to judge the wicked.  In this we can rejoice!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

I want to remind us that though abortion is a grievous reality, it should never be accepted by those who claim the name of Christ.  How would we react if our government set up centers for human beings that functioned like animal shelters?  These centers would collect unwanted children or would be drop off stations for unwanted children between infancy and age 18.  There would be a 7 or 14 day period in which the children could be adopted, but if they were not adopted, they would be humanely executed.  Such a thing would be horrific!  We know that we would not allow something so heinous to exist in our communities.  Yet this is exactly what our government and our culture does with unwanted unborn children, only without the period allowed for adoption and without a humane execution.  In those two ways, pets are treated better than the unborn in our culture.

Now please know my heart at this point — I am not asking us to raise up in righteous fury and march against this practice (although such a reaction, and even more, is certainly justified).  My goal is simply to move us to care, to keep us from being comfortable with a status quo that devalues and destroys human life as a matter of personal privacy and convenience.  Every human being is sacred in God’s sight, from the moment of conception.  We are His image bearers, and not one of us is an accident.  It is God who opens the womb (Gen 29:31), and “children are a gift of the LORD; the fruit of the womb is a reward.” (Psalm 127:3)  Every life, no matter how young or how old, possesses a divinely endowed gift of personhood and dignity that is valued far above any other creature in the created order, which is why God tells us, “You shall not kill.” (Exod 20:13)

Ultimately, we know that marches and political action campaigns can never truly change human hearts.  Only the gospel can change people.  Only hearts changed by Christ will appreciate and protect life as God commands.  However, though gospel proclamation should always be the primary means by which Christians engage culture, we can and should be responsible citizens who do more.

We can pray that God will close our local abortion mills; we can pray for the salvation of abortion clinic doctors and staff; we can go and pray outside our local abortion clinic every Wednesday and Friday morning, when abortions are scheduled; we can pray for expectant mothers in crisis to look to Christ and to value life instead of considering abortion; and we can pray for sexual abstinence among the unwed and greater sexual responsibility among families who are incapable of supporting more children.

We can also take action to support crisis pregnancy centers.  Few of our members realize that Morningview gives a small amount of support to our local crisis pregnancy center every month to support their labors in saving unborn lives. The center is called First Choice Women’s Medical Center and they assist crisis moms in so many ways in an effort to help them protect their unborn children.  Life should indeed be our “First Choice.”  More of our members could give through the church to support this incredible ministry, or many of us could give some of our time by volunteering there.

We can also vote biblically.  Murder should never be endorsed by any culture at any time.  Our elected officials are directly responsible for the laws that govern our land.  When we consider a candidate for office, we should consider how closely a candidate’s position on matters of law aligns with Scripture.  Those that align more closely should receive our vote.  Particularly, we should weigh their position on the Sanctity of Human life.  Some dismiss this as “single-issue voting,” but can any Christian honestly say that matters of the economy or the environment or international policy or social welfare carry more weight than the ongoing murder of unborn children?

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we need to be people who support the main social remedy for abortion: adoption.  It is wrong for us to condemn the practice of abortion without offering  mothers in crisis the love and forgiveness of Christ.  It is wrong for us to condemn the practice of abortion without being prepared to offer this important social remedy.  If we are truly concerned about unwanted children, we will be the first ones to receive them into our homes and hearts and churches.  Christians can have an incredible impact on culture by being foster parents, by adopting those in need, and by supporting others who share the burden to do the same.

As you pray for the end of the American holocaust, consider what God would have you do.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

As I reflect upon these realities on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2012, it occurs to me that my thankfulness for these realities is rooted in the King’s success.  No, he was not a perfect man; none of us .  Though he served as a Baptist pastor, I also strongly disagree with some of the liberal tenets of his theology.  However, God used him to precipitate realities that we and our children enjoy today.  It is true that the work of helping people become “color blind” is not fully finished, but by God’s grace, we are far beyond where we were just 50 years ago.  On this day, I would ask that we express our thankfulness to God, who has given us ultimate peace through Jesus, in whom “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28)

I would also ask that we not forget our history.  Below is an excerpt from King’s letter from a Birmingham jail.  It captures the reality of a racism that should grieve us to the core:

“I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait. But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an air-tight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her little eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son asking in agonizing pathos: “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”; when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” men and “colored”; when your first name becomes “nigger” and your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you are) and your last name becomes “John,” and when your wife and mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tip-toe stance never quite knowing what to expect next, and plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness” — then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.”

Even as we consider the past, I would hope that we also could rejoice in how far God has brought us.  Following are some of King’s words from his famous “I have a dream” speech: “I say to you today, my friends, that even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.  I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”  I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.  I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.  I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.  I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.  I have a dream today!”

The dream is being realized.  To God be the glory!  I love you all.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

12:00 Noon

Pete McCoy, who has spoken to Prime Timers in the past, has graciously accepted to speak to our group at Morningview at our January 24, 2012 meeting.  He was liberated from Germany during WWII, and is an author, adjunct, and professor of History at Faulkner, Troy, and Auburn/AUM.  The group has really enjoyed his presentations in the past. He will bring some of his books as some members were very interested in purchasing them.

His topic will be: “TO GET TO HIM, YA GOTTA GO THROUGH ME”.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

According to Barna research, a majority of self-identified Christians believe that the saying, “God helps those who help themselves” is a quote from the Bible.  In reality, it is a saying coined by Benjamin Franklin who was not a Christian, but a Deist.  However, we do see biblical figures seemingly living as if this statement were inspired.

In Genesis 15, We have God speaking to Abraham in a vision to once again confirm His covenant.  Abraham had experienced many blessings of God, but from his perspective, the most important promise seemed painfully out of reach.  God kept telling Abraham that He would give him numerous offspring, that He would bring forth a great nation through Abraham, but Abraham remained childless, and he and his wife were well past child-bearing years.

Genesis 15:1-6 says, “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great.”  And Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what wilt Thou give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”  And Abram said, “Since Thou hast given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.”  Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who shall come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.”  And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”  Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

As we can see, this part of the narrative ended well.  God said it, Abraham believed it, and in the rest of chapter 15, God sealed His covenant with Abraham by passing through the midst of sacrificed animals which He had commanded Abraham to prepare.  This is once again a beautiful picture of grace through divine promise.

But then everything goes wrong in chapter 16.  Abraham and Sarah are impatient.  They seem to be buying into the false belief that “God helps those who help themselves.”  Genesis 16:1-2 says, “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.  So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

We all know what happens from here.  Hagar gives birth to Ishmael, and we have millenia of conflict (right up through today!) as the descendants of Ishmael are constantly in conflict with the descendants of Isaac and Jacob.  Sarah thought God needed a helping hand to keep His promise, and Abraham listened to the voice of his wife Sarah instead of looking to God in faith.  Their sin of presumption and lack of faith did not deter God’s promise.  Sarah did later give birth to Isaac, the child of promise.  However, their sin did introduce severe consequences that are still being born out in the world today.

As I close this article, I would leave us with a critical realization:  God does not help those who help themselves; God saves those who cannot help themselves.  And ALL of us are “those” kind of people — the helpless kind.  We cannot save ourselves from our bondage to sin nor from the wrath of God.  Our own wisdom and our own strength will always fail us.  To believe that God somehow needs our help or to believe that we can somehow pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps is pride.

Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

The aforementioned idea of looking “back” to the old year while simultaneously looking “forward” to the new year is what gave birth to the idea of making resolutions for the year ahead.  Most all of us have practiced the idea of making resolutions at the start of each new year.  The three most common resolutions are denoted by three “F’s”:  Fitness, Finances, and Family.  These things are certainly worthy of attention, but they reflect a sad fact: God is rarely mentioned when we consider the most important changes we need to make in life.

As we have so recently celebrated the incarnation of our Lord at Christmas, we should endeavor and resolve to improve our lives based upon ultimate reality of Christ rather than the mere start of a new calendar year.  After all, it is not the change of dates that gives us a fresh start, it is the saving and regenerating work of Jesus Christ that gives us new life and new hope.  To that end, here are some worthy resolutions for the for 2012 that I would like to suggest for you and your family.

(1) Read through the Bible this year with your church family — AND MAKE IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH!  We did this together in 2007, and so many of us started well, but not as many of us finished well.  God’s Word is the Word of Life.  Make yourself accountable to read all the way through the Bible with your church family this year.  If you have struggled to keep a consistent devotional time or to have regular family worship, this is the perfect opportunity to build an essential habit.

(2) Commit to share the gospel with at least one unbeliever every month of 2012.  Right now, it takes about 50 Southern baptist Church members to lead one person to Christ in one year.  We know that God is in charge of saving people, but as a denomination, we must admit that we are better at making excuses than we are at making disciples.  Many of us can’t remember the last time we shared the gospel with someone.  It could be a waitress, a family member, a co-worker or classmate, or maybe someone else you meet while at a ballgame or shopping.  Be intentional.  Have a goal.  Share Christ!

(3) Resolve to go on a mission trip in 2012.  I would love to see every person in our church go on a mission trip within the next 10 years.  We currently have three opportunities every year to go and minister the Word of Christ on a foreign field.  The church helps with finances and our congregation gives generously.  We even help with each other’s families and children when people are gone on mission trips.  There are few valid excuses for not going.  A short-term mission trip will change your perspective, it will grow you spiritually, and it will glorify Christ.  Consider going this year!

(4) Lead your family to minister in the name of Christ in our community in 2012.  I know our lives are busy, and I know that many of us regularly suffer from time and/or financial constraints, but we really have been given so much.  I was speaking with another pastor today about the fact that there are several hundred homeless people just in downtown Montgomery alone.  Take your family and serve a couple times this year at our Ministry Center in Chisholm, feed the hungry at Friendship Mission, serve needy families with Linnie Dixon at Shepherd’s Staff, or get trained to be a foster parent for needy children.  Make the resolution to get outside your comfort zone to serve and love and witness in the name of Christ.

(5) Resolve to replace at least one earthly pursuit with a spiritual pursuit in 2012.  There is no standing still in our spiritual lives.  We are either growing, or we are backsliding.  What are you intentionally doing to grow?  Maybe you should give up a sport or some television time to read some Christian works that will nourish your soul.  Maybe you should exchange a troubling habit for a prayer time.  Maybe instead of that hunting trip, you should take a couple vacation days to attend a nourishing Bible conference with your pastors.  Crisis and intentional decision making are the only two things that will change your schedule and your habits.  Doing the same old things and expecting different results is insanity.  Resolve to pursue Christ in a new and different way this year.  I love you all dearly!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Here’s my favorite Christmas text. Look for Jesus’ humility.

Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8)

What defines Jesus’ humility is the fact that it is mainly a conscious act of putting himself in a lowly, servant role for the good to others. His humility is defined by phrases like

“he emptied himself [of his divine rights to be free from abuse and suffering]”

“he took the form of a servant”

“he became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross”

So Jesus’ humility was not a heart disposition of being finite or fallible or sinful. It was a heart of infinite perfection and infallible truthfulness and freedom from all sin, which for that very reason did not need to be served. He was free and full to overflow in serving.

Another Christmas text that says this would be Mark 10:45: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus’ humility was not a sense of defect in himself, but a sense of fullness in himself put at the disposal of others for their good. It was a voluntary lowering of himself to make the height of his glory available for sinners to enjoy.

Jesus makes the connection between his Christmas lowliness and the good news for us: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).

His lowliness makes our relief from burdens possible. If he were not lowly, he would not have been “obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” And if he had not been obedient to die for us, we would be crushed under the weight of our sins. He lowers himself to take our condemnation (Romans 8:3).

Now we have more reason to be humble than before. We are finite, fallible, sinful, and therefore have no ground for boasting at all. But now we see other humbling things: Our salvation is not owing to our work, but his grace. So boasting is excluded (Ephesians 2:8–9). And the way he accomplished that gracious salvation was through voluntary, conscious self-lowering in servant-like obedience to the point of death.

So in addition to finiteness, fallibility, and sinfulness, we now have two other huge impulses at work to humble us: free and undeserved grace underneath all our blessings and a model of self-denying, sacrificial, servanthood that willingly takes the form of a servant.

So we are called to join Jesus in this conscious self-humbling and servanthood. “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12).            “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus . . . .” (Philippians 2:5).

Lord, I pray that this “shy virtue”—this massive ground of our salvation and our servanthood—would peek out from her quiet place and grant us the garments of lowliness. “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Peter 5:5).

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Please note, the Christmas Caroling schedule has changed.  We will meet in Armstrong Hall at 5:45 p.m.  The nursery will open at 5:45 for ages birth through three years of age.  We will leave the church at 6:00 p.m. and return for the chili supper at 7:00 p.m.   The church will furnish some chili but we are asking others to bring chili also.  If you are able to bring a pot of chili, please let us know by either calling the church at 272-2304 or emailing info@morningview.org

Caroling – 6:00 pm
Chili Supper – 7:00 pm

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

As soon as the tables are cleared, the warmth of Thanksgiving is traded for a swelling tide of material lust.  The wave of advertisements is like a toxic chemical spill creating rabid zombie shoppers who launch themselves out into the darkness, driven by an insatiable hunger for all that is “on sale.”  Through the night, they drag themselves ever more wearily from department store to outlet to discount retailer, consuming everything in their path like a swarm of mindless locusts.  I know of that which I speak, for I was in their midst.

With each passing Christmas, it seems that the battle between the Christ of Christmas and the god of “stuff” grows more fierce.  As Christians, we especially know where our hearts should be focused, yet the wave of consumerism still pulls at us and sucks us in.  We would do well to rediscover the value of simplicity at this time of year.  What follows is an excellent article from Randy Alcorn entitled, “Changing Christmas in our Families and in our Hearts.”  Take time to weigh the wisdom that he shares.

“An alarming number of children from Christian homes grow up grasping for every item they can lay 
their hands on. Children raised in such an atmosphere—which includes most children in America—are afflicted with a killer disease called “affluenza.”

“Consider the typical American Christmas. When the annual obstacle course through crowded malls culminates on the Big Day, what’s the fruit? We find a trail of shredded wrapping paper and a pile of broken, abandoned, and unappreciated toys. Far from being filled with a spirit of thankfulness for all that Christmas means, the children are grabby, crabby, picky, sullen, and ungrateful—precisely because they’ve been given so much.”

“We love our children. So do their grandfathers and grandmothers, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends. All of us seem to think that love is measured by giving things. We say it isn’t so, but we go right on acting as if it were. Our children aren’t battery operated. Their deepest needs are spiritual, mental, and emotional, and these needs cannot be met by flashing lights and doll houses. This sometimes dawns on us, but we soon forget. Another Christmas, and again we immerse our children in things. In doing so, we mentor them in a perspective on life directly at odds with the Scriptures we seek to teach them at home and in church.”

“Can we change the pattern of materialism in our homes at Christmastime? Certainly. We can buy far less. We can hand make presents, set a budget, and buy presents in advance to avoid the unnerving jostling through stores. Any change is good if it helps us to focus on Christ rather than on ourselves. We can visit shut-ins or take food to the needy—to focus on giving rather than receiving.

My wife often staged a “Happy Birthday Jesus” party for our girls and their friends. Each child brought one gift personally made for Jesus. (After all, whose birthday is it?) One year, a few nights before Christmas, our family sat around a candlelit table holding hands. Then each of us said what we appreciated about the Lord. After praying together and singing Christmas carols, we shared what we appreciated about each other. It was an unforgettable evening.”

“If a child receives four presents, the gifts can be spread out on each of the four days before Christmas. On Christmas night, after reading Scripture and singing carols, each giver can present his or her gift in turn to the recipient. In the quietness and simplicity of the celebration, we can pray and express our gratefulness to God for his greatest of all gifts, the Lord Jesus. By taking our focus off the human receiver and putting it on the divine giver, Christmas can become a symbol of God’s giving heart rather than people’s grabbing hands.”

“This is only a beginning. You may wish to make more radical changes in your Christmas. When our missions pastor told our church about enslaved Christians in Sudan one November, family after family spontaneously decided to forgo Christmas presents and give instead to free the slaves. My family was among them, and it was a wonderful Christmas, made better by the knowledge that we’d given to what matters instead of exchanging more stuff we didn’t need. But even if you still exchange presents, you can make Christmas different. Don’t be victimized by the world’s materialism. Worship Christ in simplicity.”

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Sunday, December 4

6:30 p.m.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Saturday, December 24, 2011
5:00 pm

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Every December it is our distinct privilege and joy to celebrate and treasure God’s grace in Christ Jesus, given to us as a humble baby born in stable.

Though the story is old and familiar for so many of us, a fresh look at it’s cherished lines still brings a sense of wonder and awe even to those who know it best.

One of our favorite traditions at Morningview is the retelling of the sweet story through the the rich sounds and angelic melodies of the holiday season.
Apart from our regular weekend services of worship, we set aside one Sunday evening per year especially for the purpose of treasuring the child in the manger in song.

This is our “Christmas Celebration” and we would love to share it with you!

Please come and be the guest of our Orchestra and Choir as we celebrate the Savior with some of the most time honored songs of the season and then join us for a reception to follow.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

On Sunday, I preached from Matthew 22:37 on what it means to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind.  If you remember, I stated that love, whether used of God or man, is an earnest and anxious desire for and an active and beneficent interest in the person and well-being of the one loved.  One of the many places that we see this kind of love for God modeled is in Psalm 63:1-8.  Just the first verse says, “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

If we are honest with ourselves, we know that we often love Christ too little.  We know we are saved, we know we must obey, and we have some basic desire to do better, to love Him more, but the lures and demands of this life get in the way.  How do we overcome such obstacles to recover our first love?  Here are some pointers.

(1) Remember that feeling will follow doing, not vice-versa.  If you wait until you feel in love with Christ to start pursuing Him, the pursuit will likely never begin.  The story is told of a woman who hated her husband and wanted to divorce him.  She went to a lawyer and told him that she wanted to take everything from her husband and hurt him in every possible way in the divorce.  The lawyer told her that if she really wanted to hurt him, she should go home and feign love for him and serve him and honor him and care for his needs faithfully for several months, then slam him with divorce papers out of the blue and take everything from him.  She thought the plan was delightfully diabolical, so she went home and did so.  After about four months, the lawyer contacted her to see if she was ready for the papers, and she responded, “I would never leave my husband, I love him with all my heart!”

You may not feel like spending time with Christ in the Word and in prayer every day.  You may feel like you don’t have time to read and study and praise Him.  You may feel like it is too hard to find time to pray with your spouse and to lead your family spiritually.  But the truth is that you need to stop using your feelings as an excuse for your spiritual apathy.  Do what you know you are supposed to do, regardless of how you feel, and your love for Christ will be fed and will grow strong as you spend time with Him.  Feeling will follow the doing.

(2) Examine your heart to see what your first love really is.  Where does your time go?  Where does your money go?  What delights your heart?  Those are your idols.  The sad truth is that even good things can be idols.  We can idolize our children, our work, our religious involvements, or even our spouse by putting them before our pursuit of Christ.  However, it is often lesser things that steal our time and attention — our favorite movies, shows, or video games, obsession with possessions, our hobbies, or our time with friends.

I John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.  And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.”  What aspects of the world have you fallen in love with?  What are you putting before your pursuit of Christ?  Make no mistake; if there is anything before Christ in your life, you are in spiritual adultery.  Repent.  Obey.

(3) Consider your faith.  What beliefs have you founded your life upon?  Do you really live your life as a person who believes in the promises of God?  Do you believe that what He has for you will satisfy your soul in a way that nothing else ever will?  Do you truly believe that Christ loves you with all His infinite goodness?  Do you believe that your inheritance in heaven is far more glorious than anything you will ever have or experience here?  It is easy to give lip service to such things; it is harder to walk by faith in such things.  Your faltering love for Christ may be rooted in a faltering faith in Christ.

Your faith and your love will be deepened through the Word and through prayer and through fellowship with other faithful believers.  Feeding your mind and your heart a constant stream of worldliness will only numb your spiritual sensitivities.  Feed your mind and heart that which is true and good and right in the sight of God.  Believe, and be filled with Christ, and your affections will follow.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

As a result of these events, institutions and churches all over the nation will need to consider again our policies for handling such misconduct.  Here at Morningview, we have already proceeded to update our policies, and everyone in leadership will be required to sign a statement saying they have read and understand these updated policies.  To some, this may sound a bit like an over-reaction, but in reality, should we not do all we can to insure the safety of children?  Following is an excerpt from Dr. Albert Mohler’s blog post on this important issue.  Please take a few minutes to read and weigh these matters.  He writes:

“The detonation of the Penn State scandal must shake the entire nation into a new moral awareness. Any failure to report and to stop the sexual abuse of children must be made inconceivable. The moral irresponsibility that Penn State officials demonstrated in this tragedy may well be criminal. There can be no doubt that all of these officials bear responsibility for allowing a sexual predator to continue his attacks.”

“What about churches, Christian institutions, and Christian schools? The Penn State disaster must serve as a warning to us as well, for we bear an even higher moral responsibility.  The moral and legal responsibility of every Christian — and especially every Christian leader and minister — must be to report any suspicion of the abuse of a child to law enforcement authorities. Christians are sometimes reluctant to do this, but this reluctance is both deadly and wrong.”

“Sometimes Christians are reluctant to report suspected sexual abuse because they do not feel that they know enough about the situation. They are afraid of making a false accusation. This is the wrong instinct. We do not have the ability to conduct the kind of investigation that is needed, nor is this assigned to the church. This is the function of government as instituted by God (Romans 13). Waiting for further information allows a predator to continue and puts children at risk. This is itself an immoral act that needs to be seen for what it is.”

“A Christian hearing a report of sexual abuse within a church, Christian organization, or Christian school, needs to act in exactly the same manner called for if the abuse is reported in any other context. The church and Christian organizations must not become safe places for abusers. These must be safe places for children, and for all. Any report of sexual abuse must lead immediately to action. That action cannot fall short of contacting law enforcement authorities. A clear lesson of the Penn State scandal is this: Internal reporting is simply not enough.”

“After law enforcement authorities have been notified, the church must conduct its own work of pastoral ministry, care, and church discipline. This is the church’s responsibility and charge. But these essential Christian ministries and responsibilities are not substitutes for the proper function of law enforcement authorities and the legal system. As Christians, we respect those authorities because we are commanded to do so.”

“There may well be further arrests in connection with the Penn State scandal. One can only imagine the lawsuits that will consume the university’s time and treasury in years ahead. Christian institutions and churches looking at this scandal had better act immediately to ensure that all operate under adequate policies and guidelines. What would prevent this scandal at your school or church?

Church leaders and pastors must decide now — not later — that we will respond to any report of sexual abuse with immediate action and an immediate call to law enforcement officials. We must decide in advance what we will do, and not allow ourselves to think that we can handle such a challenge on our own. Every church and Christian institution needs a full set of policies, procedures, and accountability structures. As leaders, we must develop the right instincts for right action.”

“In a real sense, the whole world changed today. We all know more than we knew before, and we are all responsible for that knowledge. The costs of acting wrongly in such a situation, or acting inadequately, are written across today’s headlines and the moral conscience of the nation. The tragedy at Penn State is teaching the entire nation a lesson it dare not fail to learn.”

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

There are many countries in the world today where Christians are martyred for their faith. Believers in Afghanistan are facing death threats; Christians in Uzbekistan, Nigeria and many other countries all around the world face violence, imprisonment and even death.  There are other places in the world such as North Korea where acts of persecution take place, but we don’t see or hear of it. Brother Andrew of Open Doors once said, “Our heroes are not with us simply because they are in prison.”

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

That is what the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is all about:  remembering those who are suffering for the cause of Christ.  This coming Sunday is our day to remember.  If you would like to be part of the prayer effort, contact Judd Hough.  If you would like to know specifically how to pray, take a look at the Voice of the Martyrs website at www.persecution.com.  Here are a couple of news updates to be praying about this week.

SOMALIA:  A 17-year-old Christian was beheaded by al-Shabab extremists on Sept. 25 as he prepared for school. Al-Shabab, determined to rid Somalia of Christianity and Western influence, had carefully monitored Guled Jama Muktar and his family since their arrival from Kenya in 2008, a source told Compass Direct News. “I personally know this family as Christians who used to have secret Bible meetings in their house,” the source said.

The militants arrived at Muktar’s house around 6 a.m. after his parents had left for work.

“The neighbors heard screaming coming from the house, and then it immediately stopped,” the source told Compass Direct News. “After a while, they saw a white car leaving the homestead.” When Muktar’s parents heard about their son’s murder, they rushed home, buried his body and fled the area, fearing the militants would kill them as well. “When the incident happened, the parents called to tell me that their son had been killed and that they feared for their lives,” the source said. “Since then, I have not heard from them.”
After a string of al-Shabab kidnappings in Kenya, Kenyan military forces invaded Somalia on Sunday, Oct. 16, to combat the extremist sect, according to Associated Press reports. Kenya claims that France joined them in an attack on Oct. 23, bombing a town near an al-Shabab stronghold.  The al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabab are masters of suicide bombs, slaughtering Somali civilians, many of them Christians. While fighting the transitional Somali government for control of the country, al-Shabab imposes a strict version of Sharia, or Islamic law, in the area it controls.

CHINA:  In early December 2004, Pastor Zhang disappeared, and eventually, the Chinese government admitted they had him in custody. Zhang was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for possessing and using a forged passport — which typically carries a six-month sentence.  Zhang, a founder of one of China’s largest churches with over ten million members, has endured constant persecution for his ministry in China. Zhang has been imprisoned five times and spent about a fourth of his life in prison.

People and organizations around the world pressured Chinese Communist leaders to release Zhang. Thousands of individuals wrote letters and prayed while multiple organizations worked to secure his release.  “I am happy that you and others tried to arrange for my release, but in one way, I am happy that you failed,” Zhang told a VOM contact in China. “You almost made a big mistake. If you had been successful, there would be no church in that prison today.”

Chinese Christians are not allowed to visit prisons or start prison outreach ministries, so Zhang ministered to everyone he could while in prison — prisoners, prison guards and officials he could never have met outside prison. Over 5,000 men lived in prison with Zhang, and many of them were able to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.

Zhang said, “I preached to many, many people during the more than seven years I was in prison. I preached not only to common prisoners, but also I met many government officials while I was in prison. I met many business leaders. These were highly-placed officials; they were not common criminals. I shared the gospel with them in prison, and many of them received the Lord. Then I baptized them inside the prison. The prisoners were always coming and going, but I was in for a long time. At any given time, I would have direct access with more than ten important people who I was disciplining daily and who I considered to be my “cell group.” These new converts were the only way that I could forget the suffering I was going through in prison.”

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

It is out of such experiences that I want to share some of what God has shown me about cultivating patience.  Patience is not something to run from, and the trials and difficulties that help nurture patience are not something to fear.  How could we fear that which draws us closer to Christ?  Furthermore, praying for Christ’s grace and strength to help you cultivate patience is not the equivalent of asking God to send great trials.  Often, God will teach you patience through His word and His Spirit and through the dozens of smaller challenges that you face every day.  That being said, let me share some pointers on how to cultivate patience in your life.

FIRST, Consider Jesus.  This was the first point of Pastor’s Tom’s sermon Sunday evening from Hebrews 3:1.  There is much that we must “do” as we strive, according to the grace of Christ, in the process of sanctification.  However, the point of origin for obedience is Christ’s person, not our self-effort.  We must labor, but rather than fighting failure by just trying harder, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. (Heb 12:2)  Specifically, consider the patience of our Savior.  He labored diligently for the glory of the Father, but His heart was always at rest; never in the turmoil of selfishness and impatience.  He was patient with His own family members when they misunderstood Him, patient with His own disciples when they failed him, and patient with those who had rebelled and wrecked their lives through sin.  His patience was displayed in how he met every one of these challenges with grace and in how He used these circumstances to serve His redemptive purpose.

SECOND, Rest Specifically in God’s Good Sovereignty.  A disobedient child, an unproductive co-worker, an over-bearing teacher, a late delivery, a slow (or crashed) computer, and traffic are all examples of God-given opportunities to cultivate faith and patience.  Not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from our Father. (Matt 10:29)  The difficulties that so often illicit our frustration and complaint are sovereign orchestrations of our God, ordained for His glory and our good.  That disobedient child is meant to develop you into a more Scriptural parent.  That un-productive co-worker will help you to learn more about leadership, service, and conflict resolution.  That crashed computer will develop your self-discipline, lead you to a witnessing encounter, or perhaps be the means by which you procure better resources for what is ahead of you.  And traffic, that is a God-given time for worship, to be still and know that he is God.  Cultivate patience by trusting in His sovereign hand. (Romans 8:28)

THIRD, Develop Biblical Priorities.  Our lack of patience is often owing to unbiblical priorities.  We can often be impatient with our spouse because we are not getting our way or not getting what we want.  But in those moments, we must stop and consider that we have elevated our personal wants and desires above our desire for Christ’s glory in our marriage, above our desire for our spouse’s heart and their growth in Christ.  Getting your family or children to an appointment or event on time is a challenge that often tries our patience.  But should our quest for timeliness nullify the command to be like Christ?  At those times when you are tempted to be impatient, frustrated, or even sinfully angry, take just a moment to ask yourself, “What is really the most important thing here?”  And just in case you find yourself wondering about the answer, here it is:  The most important thing is the glory of Christ, in your life and in the lives of others.  Keeping this biblical priority at the forefront of your thinking will help you to cultivate patience and love in all the circumstances of life.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. II Corinthians 9:7

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

A typical church congregation in the United States draws an adult crowd that is 61% female and 39% male.  This gender gap is true in all age categories.  On any given Sunday, there are 13 million more women than men in America’s churches (this statistic includes married and single adults).

More than 90% of men say they believe in God, and 83% of those identify themselves as Christians, but only 33% of those attend church on a given Sunday.  The average man accepts the reality of Jesus Christ, but fails to see any value in going to church.

On a given Sunday, almost 23% of married women will worship without their husband (24.5 million married women compared to 19 million married men).  Over 70% of the boys who are being raised in church will abandon it in their teens and twenties, and most of them will never return.

If you have had the opportunity to visit many other churches, you have likely observed the truth represented by these statistics.  Unfortunately, in most American churches, spiritually mature male leadership is lacking.  As a result, you will find that women in most churches are filling the majority of leadership, service, and teaching positions.

Allow me to say I this point how thankful I am for women who serve so faithfully in those positions; many churches would cease to exist without the leadership, faithfulness, and sacrifice of dedicated women.  By focusing this article on male leadership, I do not mean to diminish in any way the generous contribution of female leadership.  Here at Morningview, we are incredibly blessed by our ladies in how they give of themselves so freely to glorify Christ in our church family.

However, the proficiency of mature Christian women in the life of the church does not negate the need for mature Christian men in the life of the church.  So many churches are very unhealthy because men have abdicated their role as spiritual leaders in their homes as well as their role as the key teachers and spiritual leaders in the church.

These realities make me so thankful for the men we have here.  God has so greatly blessed our church family here at Morningview with many dedicated, mature Christian men.  They are men who serve sacrificially, who teach faithfully, and who lead biblically.  They are by no means perfect, because none of us will be perfect until our glorification with Christ, but they are true blessings.

As of late, I have been specifically thankful for how I see more and more men laboring in our preschool and children’s ministries.  These are areas in the church typically dominated by female leadership, and our ladies have done and are doing an excellent job.  But having more men take an interest in spiritually shepherding our young ones is a sign of responsibility, maturity, and overall health.  We have had several men who have labored to teach and serve in these areas for years and years, and I am thankful for their diligence and perseverance.  I am also delighted to see their ranks growing.

As a congregation, I hope we will pray for our leaders — all of them, male and female, from preschool to Senior Adults.  Specifically, I hope you will pray for our men to be responsible servant-leaders, for them to stand strong against the temptations of the flesh, and for them to love Christ with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.  Wives, I hope that you will continue to be your husband’s greatest cheer-leader and prayer partner as he leads in your home and as he leads here at church.  Men, I pray that you will be faithful to shepherd your wives and your children for the glory of Christ, and I pray that you will continue to obediently answer the call of God to serve His kingdom and His people according to your unique talents and giftedness.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

But, when we consider how Christ speaks to us with such love, justice, truth, and grace, our own speech will change as we seek to become like the One we love.  Christ changes our speech in the home, in the workplace, and in all public and private forums.  Look at some of what the Bible teaches about our speech.

Matthew 12:36 says we will give an account for every “idle word” or “careless word” we speak.  Ephesians 4:15 says to speak “the truth in love.”  Ephesians 4:29-30 says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 5:4 says, “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.” Colossians 3:8 says to put away “obscene talk from your mouth.” Colossians 4:5 says “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt.”

Biblically speaking, the speech of Christ’s people has only one purpose: to love and reverence Him.  Among fellow human beings, our Christian speech should only be “gracious, seasoned with salt” to evangelize and love the lost and to edify and build up brothers and sisters in Christ.

Consider a man who jabs at others with his words, speaking idly to draw attention to his own wit or charm, or making himself look better than others.  The more this man’s mind is saturated with Christ, the more He loves Christ, the more he will die to his selfishness and look for ways to edify others with his words.  The more he lives in the knowledge of God’s holy presence, the more he will realize that he lives every moment “before the face of God,” and the more he will live every moment with reverential fear, carefully guarding his words.

Too many Christians think they have the right to speak as they please to those closest to them.  Their coarsest language is often reserved for their husbands and wives, for their coworkers and friends, even for other Christian friends.  I’ve heard Christians say that it’s just being “honest” to speak with vulgarity.  Sadly, it probably is honest.  It’s what’s in their hearts.  But, Christ will sanctify their hearts.  Some Christians think it is honorable to “speak their minds,” but speaking their minds is not honorable at all if their minds aren’t holy.  Biblically, they may only speak their minds if they have the mind of Christ; otherwise, they should hold their tongues (Proverbs 10:19).  But, Christ will change them so that more and more, they will live coram deo, before the face of God.  More and more, Christ will teach them how gracious He is toward them, and they won’t be able to help but to be gracious toward others.

The Proverbs teach that blessings come from godliness in speech.   Proverbs 12:13-14 says, “An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble.  From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good.” Proverbs 12:18 says, “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 13:2-3 says, “From the fruit of his mouth, a man eats what is good . . . Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life.” Proverbs 15:23 says, “To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is.”

Let us speak as Christ speaks to us in His Word, with purpose, wisdom, grace, justice, and truth.  May He be glorified in our words.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

“Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and
considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.”
(Hebrews 13:7)

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

That doesn’t mean that, as Christians, we simply believe and do nothing.  Prayer and Scripture reading are the foundational means of our communion with Christ (our primary ‘means of grace’).  But what we must understand is that these fundamental disciplines are, in themselves, acts of faith.  As a result of being regenerated through true faith, we believe that God is the One true God, we love Him as the One who has saved us and adopted us as His own, and we desire to know Him more intimately and to be like Him.  In faith, we mature spiritually by communing with Him, by extolling Him in prayers of faith and by filling our minds with the truth of His Person and Purpose.  Conversely, to read your Bible and pray apart from faith renders such disciplines useless.  “And without faith it is impossible to please Him for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Heb 11:6)

This is our spiritual service of worship: to live by this faith, to present ourselves to Him in love, and to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:1-2).  When we are thusly loving Him and seeking Him by faith, all the means of life become graces of Christ.  This is what Pastor Tom taught us so well in his Sunday evening sermon.  It is not only the things that we would expressly label as “spiritual” that are means of grace.  When we live unto Christ in all things, then all things become exhibits of grace; and these graces of means themselves become further means of grace.  Allow me to illustrate this truth by quoting pastor Tom:

“It’s not only godly to teach your children Bible verses, the catechism, how to pray, and so on. That’s vitally important!  But, it’s also godly to play with your children, to enjoy them, and enjoy the world with them.  They’re just discovering God’s world.  It is godly to discover it with them, and to encourage them to worship by your own worship in light of who God is.  It is godly to give your children good material gifts as the Father gives us gifts, and spend time with them to express your love to them, just like our God, who will never leave or forsake us.  This is living out the gospel to your children.

“Husbands, it is godly to date your wife.  It’s an act, not only of communion with your wife, but communion with God to date your wife.  You should certainly have couples devotions, and come to church together as a couple, and so on.  But it’s also an act of communion with God and walking with God to love your wives by taking them on dates. Or by having a night out, in.  Or by taking care of the kids so she can have some time for herself.  If done in faith to Christ and love to Him, those physical activities are spiritual and necessary, not low and worldly.

“You don’t only glorify God at work by doing evangelism. It is vital. Do evangelism at work! But it’s also godly to work for the glory of God, and out of love to Christ and obedience to Him, to serve others.  So, that in doing your work, you become a manifestation of God’s service and love for others.  It’s godly to make money and to use your money wisely for God’s glory.  Wives, it is godly to clean your house, to form and fill your homes, putting everything in its place, to reflect God’s own creative activity.  It’s communion with God to wash the dishes in faith.  God is there in the kitchen. That’s not low and worldly. It’s subduing the earth as God has commanded.”

Sometimes there is a tendency to think that your walk with Christ equals reading your Bible and praying, but faith is the true foundation of communion with Christ.  Scripture reading and prayer are only the beginning, the fundamentals, of walking with Him.  Each of us must deepen our understanding by recognizing that faith transforms the whole of everyday life into an exhibition of His grace.  In faith, your walk with Him is your whole life, in thought, feeling, word, and deed.  It is every activity of life (even the things we might call mundane) undertaken joyfully as graces of means and, therefore, means of grace.  I love you all dearly!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Toys are to be for children between the ages of 3-16 (NO INFANT TOYS) please. We ask that all toys be new. Monetary donations are welcome and are to be sent to our mailing address:

Hands of Christ Ministry Center

1045 Coliseum Boulevard

Montgomery, AL. 36109

The following are just some helpful suggestions of popular items this year:

Boys
Lego Star Wars Imperial V Wing Starfighter
Indoor Mini Basketball Hoop
Basketballs/Footballs
Hand Held Video Games
Nerf- N- Strike Maverick
Transformers

Girls
Fisher Price Sing A Ma Jigs
My Pillow Pets
Moxie Girlz Teenz Doll Tristeen
Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Making Kit
Sorry Slips
Mattel Loopz Game

Parents and or guardians must first come to the Ministry Center to complete our intake process. Those who qualify will be able to purchase donated toys at drastically reduced rates. $.50 cents for the least expensive up to $3.00 for the most expensive gift. We will also offer stocking stuffers at a rate of $.10 cents each.

Our Toy Store was created to help be a part of a healing process of the family unit. It helps restore dignity and self esteem of the parents while aiding the children in regaining respect for them. It also teaches priorities and sacrifice. I pray you will join us in making a difference in the lives of many.

Deadline to deliver toys to the Hands of Christ Ministry at 3000 Lower Wetumpka Rd. is Thursday December 8th. We are open Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Should you have any questions or would like to volunteer an hour of your time. Please, feel free to contact me at 262-6438 or via e-mail at Chitownladee@hotmail.com.
I am so excited and looking forward to what God has in store for us.

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to minister to those in need.

Thank you,
Teri McDonald

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

So many people contributed to the success of our annual conference.  I would like to thank Jonathan Oue and the rest of our Global Advancement Team (Joy Portis, Billy Cox, Joel Thompson, Judd Hough, Brittany Oue, Steven Bray) for their efforts this weekend and the work that they do on a consistent basis to keep us focused on our global task.  I would also like to thank Kem Holley and Jennifer Graham and all our Preschool and Children’s workers.  You all do such an excellent job caring for and teaching our young ones.  Barbara Holley and Teri McDonald and the rest of the kitchen staff once again served us so well.  And our Deacons are top-notch when it comes to caring for the building and meeting dozens of service needs.  Thank you all so much for your labors in Christ.

With the rest of this space, I want to revisit the points from Dr. Lawless’s Saturday evening message.  It was a sermon on the power of God and how we can pray for our missionaries.  His first point was (1) “Pray that God will raise up missionaries who will take up the impossible.”  From a human standpoint, reaching all the people groups of the world is an impossible task.  As you know, the last frontier people group that we are partnering to reach does not have a single church, a single missionary, or even a single believer that we have been able to confirm.  The government in that region is doing all it can to control the people and block all outside religious influences.  But remember what Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  We need to pray for missionaries who will take on such impossible tasks knowing and believing that no human stronghold can withstand the power of our God.

(2) “Pray that our missionaries will let God fight the battles and that others will see God’s power in the victory.”  Faith in the valley grabs people’s attention.  Faith in the face of insurmountable foes exalts the glory and power of almighty God.  Think of David and Goliath, a story we know well.  The boy David went forward in faith against a foe that struck fear into the hearts of the entire army of Israel.  With only a sling and some stones, he brought about a victory for God’s people and glory for God’s name.  Whether facing their own besetting sins or the trials and persecutions of a sinful world, we need to pray that our missionaries will trust God to fight the battles.

(3) “Pray for the International Mission Board, our Seminaries, and for our churches, that we will not train our missionaries out of dependence upon God.”  Training and education in the theology and methodology of missions is a blessing from God.  However, we all know how quickly to can resort to living out of a sense of our own self-sufficiency.  Pray that God would protect our missionaries from slipping into such a sinful mindset.  No missionary, no pastor, no Christian is capable of saving anyone else.  None of us is capable of even saving ourselves.  Only God can change the human heart, and only in Christ can we accomplish anything of eternal significance.  Thus, missions and evangelism is His work, and we are simply tools in His hands as He builds His kingdom.  Let us pray that our Missionaries will remember these truths and stay humbly dependent upon Him.

As I conclude this article, I would like to leave us with this thought:  We should not only pray for our missionaries this way, we should pray for each other this way.  These same needs/truths apply to every single one of us.  May we be a people who do not shrink back from taking up the impossible.  May we be a people who look to God for His power and strength to be exalted in our battles.  May we all, by the grace of Christ, be kept from the sin of depending upon ourselves rather than upon God.  Finally, remember that we are all missionaries; though most of us will never be vocational missionaries, we are still called to proclaim His excellencies wherever we may go.  I love you all dearly!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

As God’s children, by grace through faith, we are likewise to cultivate humility in our lives.  But how do we do that?  We know we are supposed to strive for humility, but what does that look like?  How do we go about it?  I would like to answer that question this week by referring you to a book called “Humility: True Greatness” by C. J. Mahaney.  In this text, he gives us numerous personal strategies for developing personal humility.  Here are just a few of them.

(1) Reflect often on the Wonder of the Cross.  Martin Lloyd-Jones said, “There is only one thing I know of that crushes me to the ground and humiliates me to the dust, and that is to look at the Son of God, and especially contemplate the cross.”  John Stott further reflects, “Every time we look at the cross, Christ seems to be saying to us, “I am here because of you.  It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.”  Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross.  All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary.  It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.”

(2) Begin your day acknowledging your need for God.  Your first thought every day should be an expression of your dependence upon God and your need for God.  Sin is always active, it does not wake up tired because it does not sleep.  When you wake, it stands ready to pounce upon your mind and heart.  Engage each day in the battle against sin, and particularly against pride, by acknowledging your need for God’s presence, God’s truth, God’s strength, God’s provision, and God’s protection.  Acknowledge that you have nothing and are nothing and have hope in nothing apart from Him.  These are humbling realities.

(3) Practice Spiritual Disciplines.  Pray, study God’s Word, and worship Him.  These are the means of grace, the spiritual disciplines that nourish and strengthen our our souls.  And if we’re properly motivated, these disciplines will be a daily demonstration and declaration of our dependence upon God and our need for Him.  Mahaney notes that it is so easy to charge into our day motivated by self-sufficiency and confidence in our own abilities.  Such a mindset is so prideful when we pause to consider that we could not exist or even draw a single breath apart from God’s sustaining mercies.  If we would live humbly, we must daily wash away any sense of self-sufficiency by cleansing our minds and hearts at the fountain of life.

(4) Avoid Cosmic Plagiarism.  Every time we claim credit for our lives, our ministries, our work, or our successes, we are committing cosmic plagiarism; we are claiming authorship of that which God has accomplished.  Every good thing in our lives comes down from our Father of light (James 1:17).  Thus, we must guard ourselves by intentionally transferring the glory to God.    When we achieve success, we must praise Him with thankfulness, for He has done it.  When we receive encouragement or words of praise, we should thank the encourager, and then give the glory to God.  You may be the means by which your business has been successful or the means by which your children have been raised correctly, but you do not have any ability whatsoever to transform hearts, to love sacrificially, to labor diligently, or to affect change.  God does it through you.  Only He gets the glory.

Mahaney provides many other practical suggestions for cultivating humility, so I encourage you again to acquire and read his book.  Even more importantly, be a person who is daily studying God’s book.  “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

• Youth will attend Sessions with Adults
• PLUGGED-IN Sessions are planned for children ages K-6th grade
• Nursery available for children ages 0-4
Reservations needed for dinner and for childcare

~ SCHEDULE ~

Friday, September 30

5:15 p.m.     Dinner in Armstrong Hall (sign-up required)
6:00 p.m.     Conference Opening
7:00 p.m.     Session #1 (Adults), Plugged-In (Children)

Saturday, October 1

3:00 p.m.     Opening Assembly
3:15 p.m.     Session #2 (Adults), Plugged-In (Children)
4:15 p.m.     Session #3 (Adults), Plugged-In (Children)
5:15 p.m.     Dinner (sign-up required)
6:00 p.m.     General Assembly

Sunday, October 2

9:15 a.m.     Session #4 or Sunday School
You may select a session to attend or go to your Sunday School class
Sessions:
• Missions 101
• Prayer in Missions Partnerships
• Unengaged People Group: What/Who Is It?
10:30 a.m. Morning Worship
Global Missions Offering
5:00 p.m.     Session #5 (Adults) , Plugged-In (Children)
You may select a session to attend
Sessions:
• 1 Might Be Called to Missions
• Reaching Local Internationals
• Unreached People Group: What/Who Is It?
5:55 p.m.     Meet-n-Greet
6:30 p.m.     Evening Worship

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

If you have ever wanted to see what it was like to serve in the worship ministry or to sing as a part of a great Choir singing some of the most majestic Music of Season (Handel’s Messiah for one!) then Christmas Choir is the place for you.

Starting this coming Wednesday, September 21, Christmas Choir will meet weekly at 6:45pm in the Music Suite. There’s no audition required and this group is open to all with hearts to sing and to serve!

We hope to see you next Wednesday in Christmas Choir!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

She continues by enumerating six shifts in our time that we must understand and embrace in order to live our higher purpose:  (1) Our understanding of who and what we are and what we need to become in order to be able to deal with the complexity of our time is evolving.

(2) Human societies are in the process of re-patterning. Social constructs are dissolving and whole new stories are trying to emerge, such as the rise of women to a full partnership with men across the globe, and many others.

(3) How we conduct business and governance is shifting in the midst of vast ecological and financial changes. This is perhaps the most important social event of the last 5,000 years, because these issues impact almost everything in our lives.

(4) The rise and fusion of different cultures — we are swiftly moving toward a planetary civilization that accentuates the uniqueness of each culture while blending them together. Think of the great fusions of food, of music and of beliefs.

(5) Whole new orders of spirituality are emerging that are not about religion. The new cosmologies are giving us a view of ourselves that we never had before. For the first time ever, we find that we don’t just live in the universe, but that the universe lives in us.

(6) This journey begins by letting go of old beliefs and patterns to make room for the new beliefs and capacities that will empower you to awaken to and live your higher purpose.

I believe that Houston has accurately delineated the current “shifts” in our world, and she has given a secularist’s perspective on how to ride this wave of human advancement.  However, these shifts are cause for alarm among biblical Christians.  There are dozens of biblical pitfalls with her perspective of these “shifts,” but here are some immediate thoughts.

(1) Every human being was created by God, created in the image of God, created to be in relationship with God, and created to serve God by multiplying and exercising dominion over creation. (Gen 1-2, Isa 43:7, Col 1:16)  If humanity at any point in its history aspires to attain greater personal fulfillment and purpose, then we must return to these basic truths of our origins.  Furthermore, the single greatest hindrance to feeling “fully alive” and “fulfilling our purpose” is our sin.  Our rebellion against God has literally ruined our ability to fulfill our true purpose, which is living with God for His glory.  This purpose is preprogrammed into every human being by our Creator; whether we want to acknowledge it or not, He is what we miss and need most.

(2) The dissolution and re-patterning of social constructs and human societies is not a rising tide of societal advancement as much as it is a spiritual reversion being driven by our most basic impulses.  The societal construct of responsible freedom under a moral law that originates with God’s divine law is the most just system that provides the greatest opportunity for human development.  The familial construct of monogamous heterosexual marriage is the best environment for nurturing real love and producing well-adjusted offspring.  Human history has proved over and over again that the abandonment of these original constructs leads to societal ruin rather than advancement.

(3) There are two times in human history where there was only one “planetary civilization.”  In Genesis 6, there was only one world culture, and because of man’s sinfulness, the entirety of that culture was wicked and wholly corrupt (Gen 6:5).  So, with the exception of Noah’s family, God destroyed every single human being on the planet with the great flood.  The second instance was in Genesis 11, where a unified humanity decided to build a monument to its own ingenuity and independence — the tower of Babel.  God’s judgment also came upon them as their language was confused and they were scattered abroad.  One planetary civilization, however enticing it may sound, is a recipe for judgment, because the unavoidable tendency of sinful humanity is to be unified in asserting itself against the governance of God.

(4) The whole idea of new orders of spirituality and the universe within and “letting go of old beliefs” is not new at all.  Israel had the same idea thousands of years ago, and it led to debauchery and idolatry.  Through Jeremiah, the Lord said, “For My people have forgotten me, they burn incense to worthless gods and they have stumbled from their ways, from the ancient paths, to walk in bypaths, not on a highway, to make their land a desolation. . .” (Jer 18:15-16)  Secularists like Houston want us to think that we are our own god, and that biblical faith holds us back from reaching our human potential.  In reality, biblical faith is all that holds us back from death and destruction.

Brothers and sisters, the only purpose we have and the only empowerment we need is revealed to us through the regenerating Spirit of God.  The path of repentance and faith in Christ is the only true path of spiritual enlightenment and fulfillment.  All else is darkness.  I love you all dearly!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Those are powerful words that resonate with all of us, not only because we know where they come from, and not only because we have heard them all of our lives. Those words are haunting and pregnant to us because we all have a desire to answer the basic question of life, “where did I come from?”

Because God has chosen to reveal Himself through His word, we do not have to grope in the darkness after answers. Into that darkness, God spoke.

The earth was dark, void of life, formless and covered with water. And God said, “Let there be light.” A voice! This is not a God who is seen, but a Spirit who is heard. The horrible thought that must be in the background of our minds and the foreground of our hearts, “what if God had not spoken?” Not just in creation, but in general to reveal himself to us. We have no right to hear from God. We do not deserve His voice. What if we had not received this word? If God had not spoken, Morningview Baptist Church would not be here. If God had not spoken, we could not know how we got here, or why we are here.

That God created by speaking is a central idea in the nature and character of God, and thus a central idea in understanding the who, why and how of creation. In Genesis 1:3 we meet the speaking God, and if God has spoken, this reality should change our lives and frame our thinking. Because God has spoken, everything is changed! If God has spoken, then the highest human aspiration must be to hear what he has said. If God has spoken, then we do know, and what we know is the highest and greatest knowledge that man can ever hear. Hearing the word of God is not merely for receiving information, but to receive the living God. And having heard it, we cannot feign ignorance, acting as if we do not know. We are accountable for the hearing. There is no pride in our knowing, for it is known by the mercy of revelation. If God has spoken, we too must speak, and we speak because He has spoken.

This makes a difference, of course, in the life of a believer, who is not only the one who has heard, but instrumentally and day by day, is the one who is being heard. It makes a difference, of course, in the life of the Church, who understands what it means to gather together as the ones who have heard. Therefore, our task is not to go figure out what to teach, or where to find meaning. Our task is to be reminded continually that we have a God who speaks, that we have heard the word of God speaking from the darkness. Do we dare to hear and go on living as though we have not heard?

Grace and Peace,

Reid Ward

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

What does it cost to be a Christian?  The question is not what it costs to be justified, since that costs the righteousness and blood of Christ received by faith alone (Gal 2:16).  Rather, the question is what true Christians must be ready to give up (Lk 14:33).

It costs little to be an “outward Christian.”  Many attend worship services twice on Sunday, and they have a tolerable external morality during the week, such that others would say they are good people (Lk 18:11-12).  But, these things require no real self-denial and sacrifice.  They are no evidence of genuine belief.

To be Christian requires fighting battles, making sacrifices, and running races.  True believers look upon the Lord Jesus Christ and love Him such that more and more, they hate what He hates and love what He loves.

Consider what it costs to be a true Christian:

It costs you your self-righteousness. You must put away pride and high thoughts of yourself.  A true Christian must give up trust in his own morality, respectability, praying, Bible-reading, churchgoing, and trust in nothing but Jesus Christ for his righteousness before God.  “Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord . . . and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness that depends on faith” (Phil 3:8-9).

It costs you your sins. You must be willing to give up every habit and practice that is wrong in God’s sight.  There must be no truce with any sin.  “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good” (Isa 1:16-17; cf.  Ezek 18:31; Dan 4:27).  You must be willing to fight against all known sin: “Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus . . . In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (Heb 12:1-4).

It costs you your love of ease. You must take pains and trouble yourself to run the race and stand guard in every company, in every place, public and private, at home and among strangers.  You must watch your time, tongue, temper, thoughts, imaginations, and conduct in all of life.  There can be no progress without pain. “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied” (Prov 13:4).

It costs you the favor of the world. A Christian must be willing to be ridiculed, mocked, hated, and thought a fool or fanatic by the world.  Jesus said, “Remember the word that I said to you: a servant is not greater than his master.  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.  If they kept My word, they will also keep yours” (Jn 15:20).  Christ Himself was rejected by the world: “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed Him not” (Isa 53:3).

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

We will also welcome back one of our mission partners this year.  Ted will be here in person to lead some breakout sessions and to update us on his work in Central Asia.  Jeremy will also be speaking in one of our evening sessions via Skype.  Leaders from our recent Ecuador Mission Trip will be briefing us on our ongoing partnership with Steve and Carol Thompson.  Hearing first-hand reports of what God is doing in them and through them as they seek to raise up disciples of Christ among their people groups will be a tremendous blessing, and it will also help us develop a more detailed vision of how we will be partnering with them as we move into 2012.

We will also have the blessing of fellowship with them and with each other as we gather for 2 different meals in the course of the weekend — Friday and Saturday evening.  At the Saturday evening meal, we even plan to have some foods from our partner regions so that you will be able to sample local cuisine.  You won’t want to miss it.

Also keep in mind that we will receive our World Missions Offering in conjunction with our missions conference.  In years past, we had the blessing of giving above our normal tithes and offerings to support our Lottie Moon offering for the International Mission Board and our Annie Armstrong offering for the North American Mission Board.  Our combined giving to those offerings was around $20,000.  Last year, we consolidated those two offerings into one World Missions Offering and we received over $32,000.  $25,000 went to Lottie Moon, $5,000 to Annie Armstrong, and the remaining $2,000+ went to directly support our missions partners.  What a tremendous outpouring!

The goal I would like us to exceed with our World Missions Offering this year is $35,000.  We will have the privilege of giving to this offering just as we are receiving hands-on experience and eyewitness reports from those who are serving in the field.  I trust that over the next several weeks, we will all pray diligently and consider carefully how we can make significant financial sacrifices so that we are able give liberally and cheerfully to God’s work among the nations.

On a final note, as we anticipate our upcoming missions conference, I would like us to continue in prayer for our partners from Central Asia, Jeremy and Cyndi.  As many of you know, they are currently stateside because of a pregnancy complication.  Their little boy, Jonathan David, has been diagnosed in utero with spina-bifida.  He is due to be born in mid September.  Please pray for God to heal little Jonathan.  Please pray that Jeremy and Cyndi would be at peace in their hearts, resting in God’s good sovereignty.  Also pray for their work in Central Asia to be strengthened and to continue even in their absence.  As far as we know, our adopted people group there is still completely unengaged, so pray for only doors and faithful indigenous evangelists.

I am truly excited about all that God is doing in and through us, especially how He is shaping and sharpening us as a force for world missions.  So join me in praying for this event and participating in it when it arrives.  It will be an incredible time together!  I love you all dearly.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Sunday, August 28

2:00 – 6:00 p.m. • Pete Peterson Lodge

Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, and all the sides

Adults – $4.00 • Children – $2.00

Family maximum of $14.00

Bring a dessert and a two liter drink or a gallon of iced tea.  Come enjoy this fellowship time with your church family.  There will be no evening service at the church.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

This reality makes me thankful to Christ for the churches and pastors who are teaching the whole truth of God’s Word and training disciples with right doctrine.  By God’s grace alone, we are striving to be one of those churches.  But strengths in some areas can lead to shortcomings in others.  In other words, for most traits we would consider our strengths, there are also accompanying weaknesses.  Standing strongly on the truth of Scripture is a commendable quality, but when one makes absolute doctrinal uniformity the ultimate goal, unbiblical behavior can ensue.  Allow me to explain

Many of us are familiar with the saying, “Not every hill is a hill to die on.”  You might be surprised to know that this saying applies to some doctrinal discussions.  The exclusivity of the gospel, the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, and the substitutionary atonement of Christ are critical doctrines that the church must proclaim even if it has to stand alone, even if it is threatened with reprisals and persecutions.  These are hills to die on.  The doctrines of believer’s baptism, church polity, election, church discipline, and the right proclamation of the gospel are likewise biblical truths that we want to teach and stand upon very firmly and forthrightly.  However, there are smaller issues where we can have fruitful discussion and even overlook honest differences without drawing the proverbial line in the sand.  Not every hill is a hill to die on.

Some make their particular preference for a worship style a hill to die on.  Some have such a strong view of male leadership in the church that they would fight to keep a woman from even praying in the assembly.  Many choose to die on the hill of eschatology.  Others die on the hill of antinomianism by elevating their “freedom” in Christ to levels that disregard or disrespect the consciences of less mature believers.  Their counterparts die on the hill of legalism by elevating their personal laws and convictions above what is stated in Scripture.  The list could go on and on, but you get the picture.  When a person’s convictions are so strong that every hill is a hill to die on, the love and unity of Christ that should characterize us is waylaid and forsaken.

Being in a church with strong doctrinal convictions is a great blessing.  Constantly being at odds over tertiary issues is not.  Being in a church that faithfully proclaims the whole counsel of God’s Word is a gift of God.  Doctrinal arrogance is not.  Studying and understanding and applying Scripture is a joyful and glorious pursuit.  Pridefully correcting another for the slightest difference or misspeak is not. Being a beacon of truth in our community is a testimony to the grace of Christ.  Being unloving toward faithful Christian brethren who do not share all our convictions tarnishes the name of Christ.

Thankfully, I am not writing to a congregation that struggles in this area.  Right now, we are experiencing an incredible sense of unity and love in the life of our church.  To God be the glory!  However, sin is always crouching at the door, so I am writing articles like this one and the one I wrote last week because I want us to protect our unity and love.  Absolute doctrinal uniformity can never be our goal; the glory of Christ must be our goal.  By the grace of Christ, my heart’s desire for us is to be that kind of church.  The kind of church that contends earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3) while at the same time doing nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regarding one another as more important than ourselves (Phil 2:3).  As St. Augustine said, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”  I love you all dearly!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

This past Sunday, part of my sermon lent itself to a brief discussion of eschatology (or the doctrine of the end times).  As I preached that section of my sermon, I stated that eschatology was a third-tier doctrinal discussion.  First-tier issues are those doctrines that we must agree upon to be considered Christians; doctrines like the authority of Scripture, justification by faith, the substitutionary atonement of Christ, the full deity and humanity of Christ, and the trinity of the godhead.

Second-tier issues are those doctrines that we must share agreement on to be in church fellowship with one another; in other words, you can still be considered “Christian” if you don’t agree on these things, but they are clear biblical teachings over which we join or separate fellowship with one another.  These doctrines include believer’s baptism, regenerate church membership, church discipline, perseverance of the saints, election, church polity, and other similar doctrines.

Third-tier issues are doctrines where there is difficulty discerning a single, clear biblical interpretation or doctrines where Scripture allows for freedom of our preferences.  At this level, we can have disagreement yet still have church unity and fellowship with one another.  Such doctrines include millennial views in eschatology, worship styles, church structures, and methodologies of church ministry.

Now, back to the subject of my Sunday sermon, I stated in my sermon that disagreement at this level of third-tier issues is “good,” and I wanted to clarify my meaning at this point.  I was not saying that disagreement in and of itself is good.  Having disagreement with brothers and sisters in Christ over any matter of Scriptural teaching is a result of sin being in the world and limiting the understanding of our minds and hearts.  Sadly, our post-modern culture says that such disagreements and differences in perspective over the idea of “truth” are acceptable and even valuable.  Such an idea is completely contrary to Scripture and to the Person of Christ who has told us that He Himself is “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)

What is good is what can come out of our disagreements when we handle them biblically.  The first good thing is a more faithful study of Scripture.  When we disagree with another believer over a matter of Scriptural teaching, it should turn us into Bereans.  Acts 17:11 says that when Paul and Silas preached at Berea, the people there received the Word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to make sure that what they were hearing was the truth.  Any disagreement between believers should lead us to do likewise.  The basis of our fellowship is the gospel of Christ and the Spirit of Christ, and that spirit of love is what should drive us to intense study, that we may strive together to discern the truth of God’s Word which is our ultimate authority.

A second good thing that can come out of our disagreements is humility.  You all know as well as I how quickly we can boast in our own knowledge, how quickly we can become prideful and puffed up in our viewpoints.  In 1 Cor 8:1, Paul wrote, “Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.”  We can be arrogant about a certain doctrinal position, arrogant about our traditions, arrogant about our worship preferences, and even arrogant about our piety.  In such cases, having brothers and sisters in Christ who disagree with us (or confront us!) and who take us to the truth of Scripture is a good thing.  Thus, God will often put people in our lives who will disagree with us so that we may be brought down from our position of boasting to a position of humility in our understanding.

A third good thing that can come out of our disagreements is dependence upon and rest in our sovereign, omniscient God.  In Scripture, God has given us everything we need for salvation, sanctification, and exaltation.  He has not told us everything we want to know, but He has told us absolutely everything we need to know.  So when it comes to matters that God has not revealed, or something that He has not revealed with the specificity we would prefer, we must trust and rest in Him rather than turning human conjecture into doctrinal dogma.   Logic and reason that is based upon Scriptural truth may lead us to a certain position, but we must be very cautious of speaking in absolutes where Scripture has not spoken in absolutes.  Only God has perfect knowledge, and it is only by His grace that we know and understand anything of spiritual significance.

Remember these pertinent truths next time you find yourself disagreeing with your spouse, your parents, your co-workers, your neighbors, or your fellow church members.  God has made us all different and has given us to one another not as an exercise of frustration, but as an exercise of edification and accountability; so that iron can sharpen iron.  I love you all dearly!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

The same is true for all of us.  None of us has the capacity to be good according to God’s standard.  He requires perfection:  “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt 5:48)  Due to our sinfulness, we are constantly falling short of that standard of perfection: “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.” (Rom 3:10-12)  Therefore, if we are ever going to meet God’s standard of perfection, we must be declared perfect according to the righteousness of another.  We require a perfect substitute who will impute to us His righteous standing.

And that is exactly who Christ is: our righteous substitute.  He perfectly kept the law on behalf of all who believe, and He died as the perfect sacrifice for the same.  We repent and believe, God declares us to be righteous on the basis of what Christ has done.  His righteousness is counted to us, and His life is given to us.  Consider these wonderful texts:

“He made Him who knew no sin {to be} sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor 5:21)

“With respect to the promise of God, he {Abraham} did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform.  Therefore also it was reckoned to him as righteousness.  Now not for his sake only was it written, that it was reckoned to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be reckoned, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom 4:20-5:1)

“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.” (Phil 3:8-9)

These are beautiful truths, brothers and sisters.  We who are intrinsically sinful now stand justified before our holy God because Christ’s perfect righteousness has been imputed to us.  Unfortunately, there are many (like the Rich Young Ruler) who reject God’s offer of forgiveness and eternal life.  We all would if God had not changed our hearts.  Even worse, there are some today who claim to be Christians and Theologians and Pastors who reject this truth of imputation.  One particular heresy is called the New Perspective on Paul.

Briefly, these theologians deny what was recovered in the Protestant Reformation.  Scripture teaches that God graciously empowers the individual to the faith which results in salvation and subsequently to the fruit of good works.  Those of the New Perspective contend that God graciously empowers individuals to the faith and good works which lead to salvation.  In other words, they make works part of what accomplishes salvation rather than works being a fruit of salvation.  The New Perspective denies the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, and teaches instead a future justification upon the basis of the believer’s whole life lived (Faith + Works = Final Salvation).

Sadly, this perspective has been espoused by some in evangelical circles, and among them, the doctrine of justification has been fundamentally maligned.  The truth of Scripture, and more specifically, the truth of imputation, is central to the Scriptural teaching of justification by faith alone through the grace of Christ alone, “not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”  May we glory in Christ alone who has reconciled us to God through His blood sacrifice.  May we boast in His works and His righteousness, which have been made ours in accordance with our faith.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

The following is a list of much needed items.

Self rising corn meal – 2 lb. bags
Self rising flour – 2 lb. bags
Sugar
Jello
Kool-Aid
Powdered Milk (Quart)
Dry Beans (1 lb. bags)
Peanut Butter
Canned Chicken and Dumplings
Canned Meals (ie. Chicken and Dumplings)
Spaghetti Sauce in the can
8 – 16 oz. packs of spaghetti noodles
Size 4 Diapers
Monetary donations are also welcome

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

If you are interested in the membership process of Morningview, plan to be part of the New Beginnings class, Sunday, August 14 from 4:00 – 8:00 pm.  All six lessons will be taught during this time.  Childcare will provided if needed.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

2nd and 4th Monday of every month
Beginning August 22nd from 7:00-8:30 pm
Lynette Smith’s house:  3841 Colline Drive
Teachers: Lynette Smith and Michele Hough

Tuesday Morning Bible Studies

(two different houses)
1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month
Beginning August 16th from 10:00-11:30 am
Ana Thompson’s house:  2324 McKinley Avenue
Teachers: Joy Hicks and Ana Thompson

1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month
Beginning August 16th from 10:00-11:30 am
Rayanne Ward’s house:  5126 Eagle Pass Road
Teachers: Rayanne Ward and Tracey Leary

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

That being said, we as the pastors want to give you a window into what we do in our meetings.  I want to do that by walking you through what was on our most recent meeting agenda.

Item #1:  Prayer — we always begin our meetings with prayer.  We meet monthly and we pray for 1/12 of our membership every single month.  This way, we will have prayed by name for the entire membership over the course of the year.  We also pray for pertinent needs within our membership.  At this last meeting, we spent an entire hour and a half in prayer.

Item #2:  Devotion — right now, we are working through D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ book “Preaching and Preachers” together.  One of us presents an outline of one of the chapters each time we meet to foster discussion and the edification of one another in our roles as shepherds of the church.  This usually takes around 30 minutes.

Item #3:  Approval of minutes from the previous meeting — we keep a record of what we discuss just like we would in any business meeting.  This serves as a reference point of what we have accomplished or decided and of what we may still need to revisit as matters of our leadership of the church.

Item #4:  Accountability time for Pastoral Evangelism — Every time we meet, we emphasize evangelism by sharing with each other our evangelistic encounters from the past month and writing down the names of specific lost persons to pray for.

Item #5: Usually our most pressing matter of business — the one thing that MUST get done.  This month, it was the discussion and approval of all of the candidates for Deacon and Pastor.  Those men will now be put before the church body for congregational approval.

Item #6:  Membership Discussion — at this point in the meeting, we discuss and approve those who are seeking membership at Morningview, we discuss our on-going efforts to follow-up with the few remaining inactive members, and we discuss active needs, crisis situations, and discipline cases among our membership.  We are very careful about wanting to demonstrate both the love and the accountability of Christ in each of these situations, so this item often takes the largest portion of our meeting time.

Items #7 through #12:  Pertinent Matters of Vision, Ministry, and Leadership — the kinds of things that we are currently discussing are Pastor Accountability and Reviews, the format for our upcoming annual Pastor’s Retreat, the ongoing discussion of designating our cooperative program giving, a discussion of our theology and practice of communion, the manner in which Legacy Leadership Ministries (Reid’s Ministry) will come under the auspices of Morningview Baptist, and finally, when our next meeting will be scheduled.  There are often more items (at times we have had close to 20), and we often do not get to discuss all the items and have to table them until our next meeting.  The shortest meeting we have ever had was four hours (which is rare), and the longest was almost seven hours.

That’s what your pastors do in our meetings on a monthly basis, and any member of Morningview is welcome to attend our meetings (though we must dismiss visitors when discussing the private needs/challenges of church families).  Now that you know a little more about what we do, I hope you will pray for us more fervently.  We are very mindful of the sacred responsibility that has been entrusted to us, and we want to be wholly dependent upon the grace of Christ in all we do.

I also want to let you know that at our next Business Meeting (Sunday evening, July 24th), we will offer a time where the congregation can ask any question about matters we are currently working on, you may ask any question that is on your heart, or you may suggest matters that you would like the pastor’s body to consider.  I hope you will prayerfully consider how you can take part in this open forum with the pastors.  I love you all dearly!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

5:00 – 6:15 pm in the Chapel

July 31st, August 7th, 14th, and 21st

The Journey of Faith Class is a four-week course designed for children who are interested in knowing what it means to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. All curious children, K-6th grade, are invited! This class is especially designed for children who think they have already come to faith in Christ and who are interested in seeking baptism and church membership. It will help them come to a biblically grounded assurance of salvation. The Journey of Faith class is prerequisite to any child’s baptism and membership. We’re also asking that at least one parent attend the class with the child. Please register for the course by calling the church office at 272-2304 by July 29th.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

There are many biblical reasons we are to forgive those who have wronged us, but here are three of the most significant ones:

(1) Forgiveness is the clear command of Scripture. In Matthew 18:21-22, Christ taught Peter that there was no limit to how many times he should forgive the brother who sinned against him.  To withhold forgiveness is to directly disobey God’s Word and to quench His Holy Spirit.

(2) We must forgive because our God is a forgiving God. As God’s children through faith in Christ, we are called to reflect God’s character, and He is a forgiving God.  Every one of us has blasphemed His name, spit on His grace, and trampled His holiness innumerable times.  Though we do not deserve it, He has forgiven us, so we must likewise extend this same grace to others.

(3) Unforgiveness does more harm to us and the ones we love than it does to the offender. Some people hurt us without knowing it.  A few people hurt us intentionally and maliciously, and often don’t care.  Some people hurt us, apologize to us, yet we still refuse to forgive.  In all these situations, we can end up harboring a bitterness that literally rots our souls and that even spills over to those closest to us.  “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.” (Heb 12:15)

That is why we must forgive “from the heart.”  These are Jesus’ words from Matthew 18:35.  In practical terms, this means that we don’t just say the words “I forgive you” while still inwardly holding the offense against the person.  Forgiving someone from the heart requires releasing the anger and resentment you have felt toward them in your heart and absolving them of blame and responsibility in your eyes.  Forgiving does not necessarily mean forgetting, for some memories can be hard to erase.  But it does mean that you no longer dwell on the hurt, you no longer hold it against the person, and you make every effort to view the person just as they were before they sinned against you.

Forgiving from the heart is an act of Christ-like love, which Scripture requires us to embody:  “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.” (1 Pet 1:22)  Using the Bible’s own definition, this kind of love includes “Keeping no record of wrongs suffered.” (1 Cor 13:5)  If we throw a previously forgiven sin up in the face of one who has sinned against us again, then we never truly forgave them from our heart for that previous sin.  Remember, God’s example toward us is what we are seeking to emulate in our relationships with others, and He removes our transgression from us “As far as the east is from the west.” (Psalm 103:12)  He also tells us in Jeremiah 31:34 that in the New Covenant, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”  We must strive to embody these same truths.

As I noted on Sunday morning, forgiveness in every situation is mandated by Scripture, but you may not always be able to be reconciled to them.  The person who harmed you may be dead, or they may still be walking in sin and would do more serious harm to you if you allowed them back into your life.  In such situations, rest in God and demonstrate the love and forgiveness of Christ as far as you are able, yet without inviting more harm or abuse.  Also know that this principle does not apply to marriage.  Unless there is biblical justification for divorce, you must forgive from the heart and be reconciled to your spouse.  Marriage is a life-long blessing given by God for your joy and your sanctification.  Marriage provides us with daily opportunities to grow and mature in Christ as we learn to die to ourselves, to forgive as He forgives us, and to love unconditionally.  You are to love your spouse first and foremost for Christ’s sake (not for your sake or their sake), so don’t squander the beauty of what He has given you by being unloving and unforgiving.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Luke 10:38-42 says, “  Now as they were traveling along, He entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.  And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord’s word, seated at His feet.  But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him, and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”  But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (NAS)

Martha was the one who was concerned with serving and honoring Christ through hospitality, particularly through the preparation of a meal.  Mary was the one who wanted to honor Christ by simply sitting with Him and listening to Him teach.  In responding to Martha, Christ commended Mary, because in the precious hours she had with Christ, she chose to be with Him.  Indeed, the greatest desire and pursuit of any disciple of Christ should be close fellowship with Him.  To love God as the first priority of our lives is the greatest commandment, and it is not just incidental that our ultimate inheritance as believers is an eternity in perfect fellowship with our Lord.

I have no doubt that later in the evening, Martha and Mary and Jesus and the disciples enjoyed the delicious meal that Martha prepared.  While fellowship with Christ was the first priority, service to Christ was also necessary and valued and blessed.  We see the same reality when we consider the wider scope of the disciple’s life with Christ.  We know from Scripture that they did not permanently sit at His feet during His time upon earth.  They also traveled with Him throughout the countryside, ministering, healing, casting out demons, and calling people to repentance.  In other words, they did not simply sit and learn, they also were very active in serving and teaching others.

That same kind of balance is needed in the local church; more specifically, it is needed here at Morningview.  By the grace of Christ, one of the greatest strengths of our congregation is our teaching ministry.  We are blessed with teachers who study diligently and proclaim the meat of the Word in our Bible Study classes on Sunday morning.  It is always a joy to learn from dedicated servants, to grow in our understanding of Scripture and the great doctrines of our faith.  However, we are not meant to sit at the feet of great teachers forever.  Part of our maturity as disciples develops as we go forth to serve and apply and impart to others that which we have learned at the feet of Christ.  In other words, it is great to be a Mary, but it is also great and necessary to be a Martha.

One of the particular needs we have here at Morningview is with our children and preschool.  As I have told you before, on a regular basis, over 40% of our Sunday morning attendance is under age 18.  We are a young church with many young families.  That means we have a large number of children and preschoolers.  Thankfully, we are blessed with many excellent teachers and workers in these areas.  They are dedicated men and women who serve the families of our church by caring for our little ones and imparting the gospel to them.  Many of them have been serving in this area for a number of years.  However, these faithful servants also need time to fellowship with a class of their peers and enjoy the rich teaching of the Word.

I know you can see where I am going with this — It is time for many of us to rise up from sitting at the feet of our Sunday School teachers and go into service, particularly in our children’s and preschool areas.  It is time to honor our brothers and sisters who have been serving us by allowing them a season to sit, fellowship, and be fed the meat of the Word.  And we who have been learning must joyfully take up the mantle of service.  Our little ones are a precious stewardship; they are the next generation of disciples and the future leaders of Morningview.  Having dedicated disciples who will faithfully impart the Gospel to them is absolutely critical.

It is great to be a Mary, but we still need Marthas.  Will you heed the call to service?  Will you now pass on the blessing of what you have learned?

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

The fact of the matter is that we far too often flirt with sin.  Sin is like a dark chasm that can so easily swallow us up.  Though we have been warned, we are often like mischievous children, recklessly playing near the edge of the chasm, outwardly trying to prove our strength and bravery, yet inwardly seeking to indulge the lusts of our flesh.  You know what I mean. . .

Perhaps you have been that person who will speak or e-mail those jokes or stories that don’t necessarily have any explicit words, but are laden with impure innuendo.  You like to think you are obeying the Scripture that says, “Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouth” (Eph 4:29), but in the name of humor you are tarnishing the reputation of Christ with your choices.  You once were flirting with impurity, and now you are propagating it.

Perhaps you are a very informed person who relates well with people, and you genuinely enjoy helping and encouraging others.  However, you find it quite easy to use the circumstances and challenges of others as fodder for good conversation.  Because you truly care about those other persons, you like to think that talking about them or their children when they are not present is OK.  Perhaps you even like to think that more people will “pray” for them if they know their challenges.   You may think you are close to the line as regards the sin of gossip, but certainly not crossing it.  In reality, what started out as flirting with gossip and pride crossed the line into sin a long time ago.

Perhaps you are a person who has struggled with lust, and maybe even pornography.  You have put some safeguards in place and you are trying hard to keep your mind and heart pure.  However, you think it is alright to view sultry movies and other media as long as they are not explicitly pornographic.  You think it is alright to view lingerie catalogues and racy shows since there is “technically” no nudity.  The fact of the matter is that flirting with such things has given birth to full blown adultery in your heart, and you need to take more drastic steps to cut yourself off from temptation.

These are just a few examples of how we can all flirt with sin, but I hope you see the pattern I was trying to establish for you.  Flirting with temptation inevitably becomes sin in the heart, and that sin is often born out in one’s actions.  As children of God through faith in Christ, we should never flirt with such spiritual disaster; rather, being mindful of our own weakness, we should stay as far from sin and temptation as possible.   To that end, let me encourage you with the following.

1.  Guard your time with the Lord.  Scripture reading and prayer are the sustaining staples of Christianity.  They nourish your soul with truth and with the very presence of Christ.  They remind you of God’s promises and of the surpassing value of being conformed to Christ.  We make ourselves more susceptible to temptation and sin when we fail to pursue Christ as our first priority.

2.  Seek and cherish accountability.  Whether it comes from your spouse, from an accountability partner, or from your church family, accountability to other Christians who love you is integral to healthy Christianity.  As Ephesians 4:25 says, we are members of one another; none of us is an island unto ourselves.  Thus, we should welcome the insights and even the loving reproofs that come to us from those who love us.

3.  Focus on what will build your spiritual maturity.  1 Corinthians 6:12 says, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.”  We have freedom in Christ to partake of a great many things, but not all things are profitable.  And, depending on our particular weaknesses, many things that we are free to partake of can open up doors to serious temptation.  Thus, don’t flirt with what may be lawful, yet unprofitable for you.  Focus steadfastly on what will draw you nearer to Christ and increase your joy in holiness!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Tuesday, June 28

12:00 Noon

The speaker for Prime Timers luncheon will be Jane Mobley, Master Gardener at “Southern Heirloom Gardens”.  Please sign up in Sunday School or by calling the church office at 272-2304.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Even in christianized culture, this label can mean many different things. Someone can be classified as a very spiritual person if they have an ardent belief in God and if they live a very moral life, yet they may never pray, never attend church, and their ideas of God and religion may not even be tied to the Bible. Conversely, someone may be called a very spiritual person if they attend church regularly and serve in leadership, if they speak all the proper Christian cliche’s, and if they send their children to a Christian school. Yet that same person may rarely pray, may never read Scripture, and may be indulging a whole host of hidden sins. In spite of outward appearances of spirituality, such a person does not love God.

In our culture, the word “spiritual” is generally used to reference personal devotion and adherence to any religious ideology. But as biblical Christians, we really need to recover and reinstate a more biblical meaning for this word. “Spiritual” should be a term used to denote someone who is literally “of the Spirit of God.” Among the members of the Trinity, God the Spirit is particularly the agent of our spiritual regeneration (our re-birth in Christ), and He is also the originating agent of God’s revealed Word, the Bible. Thus, to be “of God’s Spirit” necessarily means that a person is “of God’s Word.” To state it another way, a truly Spiritual person is a thoroughly Scriptural person.

So how exactly do we define “Biblical Spirituality?” To answer that question, I would like to provide a perspective given in a book I am currently reading. It is a book by Peter Adam entitled “Hearing God’s Words: Exploring Biblical Spirituality.” In the first chapter of his text, Adam gives us four points that compose the shape and structure of biblical spirituality (pages 44-45). They are:

1. Biblical Spirituality’s content and focus is God in Christ — It shows us God’s great plan of creation and salvation, how God revealed Himself in His deeds and words, how He spoke through law, prophets and wisdom, as He pointed forward to Christ, and how Jesus Christ fulfilled God’s plan by His saving death and resurrection, and will finally complete God’s saving plan at His return.

2. Biblical Spirituality’s practice is hearing the Word of God by faith — It is how God speaks to His people and His world today, as He addresses us with words He spoke long ago at the time of His revelation leading up to and in Christ and His messengers, and has preserved as His personal, powerful, effective, universal, relevant and sufficient Word to us, to be heard and obeyed by faith.

3. Biblical Spirituality’s experience is that of meeting God in His Spirit-given words — As we read the Bible, we hear the voice of God. We are challenged to change our world-view, our lives, our relationships, our desires and our actions; we are comforted, enriched, enlightened, given hope, stretched, empowered and changed by the living and enduring words of the living God.

4. Biblical Spirituality’s result is trust in Christ and our heavenly Father — As we grow in trust, thanking and praising God for His grace in Christ, praying to Him and obeying Him, loving His truth and His people, growing in the fruit of the Spirit and in godliness, serving God in His church and His world, using the gifts He has given us, bringing glory to Him and waiting for the return of Christ.

I know this is a lot of detail for a definition to contain, but such detail is given to protect right understanding. True spirituality is a biblical spirituality — a spirituality grounded in and grown by a knowledge of God that is given by His Word. To be the people of God or to be children of Christ means to be a people of “the” book, to be a people characterized by fidelity to Scripture. Thus, let us cultivate this area of our devotion. Love God’s Word, drink deeply of His truth, be nourished by His Word. I love you all dearly!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Saturday, June 4th at 9:00 am

In the Big Room

Purpose: To talk about Summer plans, Promotion plans, and Family Ministry in the Fall.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

The answer to this question is no different from what it means to love anyone.  What does it mean to love your husband or wife, or to love a parent or a child, or to love a good friend? Love to Christ is not substantially different from love for any person.

If we love Christ, we like to think about Him.  He is often present in our thoughts.  It is the same between a true Christian and Christ.  Eph 3:17 says that Christ “dwells in his heart.” True Christians think thoughts of Christ.

If we love Christ, we like to hear about Him.  We find pleasure in listening to those who speak about Christ.  True Christians most enjoy sermons that are full of Christ, and they enjoy the company of those who speak of Christ.  “Did not our hearts burn within us, while He talked with us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures” (Lk 24:32)?

If we love Christ, we like to read about Him.  The true Christian delights in the Scriptures because they speak of Christ.  It is not wearisome to read a letter from a loved one.  “You search the Scriptures . . . it is they that bear witness about Me” (Jn 5:39).

If we love Christ, we like to please Him.  We are happy to find out what He likes and what He dislikes.  We are willing to deny ourselves to please Him.  To someone who loves Christ, the Ten Commandments are not burdensome, if they are what pleases Him.  “If you love Me you will keep My commandments” (Jn 14:15); “And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 Jn 5:3).

If we love Christ, we like His friends.  Even before we meet a friend of a friend, we are inclined to like him.  True Christians regard all other Christians as friends because they are friends of the Lord Jesus Christ. “I have called you friends” (Jn 15:15).

If we love Christ, we are jealous about His name and honor.  We do not like to hear anyone speak against Him.  We feel jealous to maintain His interests and reputation. “Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

If we love Christ, we talk to Him.  The true Christian has no difficulty in speaking to his Savior.  We tell Him all our thoughts.  We have no hesitation about telling Him anything that is on our mind.  We are not happy until we have spoken our minds and hearts to our friend.  We ask for comfort in difficulty.  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:6-7).

Finally, if we love Christ, we like to be with Him.  Thinking, hearing, and talking are all important, but if we really love a person, we want to be near him.  The true Christian wants to hold communion with Christ without interruption.  The true Christian longs for that day when he will see Christ face to face. “Surely I am coming soon.  Amen!  Come Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20)!

These are the marks of true love.  It is no hidden or secret thing that is hard to understand.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Attention Crew Leaders….a very important meeting will take place for you on Wednesday, June 1st.  During this time, you will receive a packet of information helping you to be better prepared for the excursion as we blaze a trail into the heart of gold territory.  So dust off your boots and git ready to mine for true gold – Discovering the rock of ages.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church