Celebration Abstinence

Feb 9, 2008 is an opportunity God has given us to reach and challenge teens to cling to Jesus during times of peer pressure! I’m sure that I really don’t have to persuade you to understanding the importance of this conference. Just for example – Texas is in the top 10% of teenage pregnancy in the USA!

Please pray for this day and for our speakers as they encourage our youth to celebrate abstinence. We as a church will also be challenging those who may be practicing sexual immorality to recommit their lives to Jesus. Pray for those who will be there who may not have a relationship with Jesus as we share the Gospel Message to them. Pray lives will be transformed by the saving blood of Jesus Christ!

This conference is free!

A Resolution

I pray that God has blessed each of you with the New Year! I had a great time at the lock-in! I didn’t think that I could make it through the night but with God’s Grace, I made it! Many of you are probably reflecting on last year and maybe even considering regrouping some of the resolution’s you didn’t complete or failed to achieve. I have to be honest – I’ve been thinking about it too… But the more I pray about it, I’ve realized resolutions for me have been personal goals that I never acheive. Therefore, I believe I’m only going to make one resolution this year. With all that I have, all I want to do this year is to honor God with my heart, soul and mind. You see the Bible teaches that God honors those who will honor Him!

1Samuel 17:45Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

Life Application: David came to face Goliath with one intent – Honor God, and God honored David. You see, no matter what your resolution is this year – if it’s to read the Bible, don’t read it because you want to. Read it to give God honor and glory. If you want to lose weight, don’t lose it for you, lose it to glorify God. If it is to become a better witness, church member, employee or husband, wife, and the list can go on… Do it to honor God. God will honor your resolutions, if they are to honor Him!

Prayer:Father, thank you for another year to serve you. Forgive for the past when I made personal goals and resolutions for myself. Help me to honor you this year. In all of my choice makings, whether it be person, ministerial or even in my family life. Let me honor YOU. I pray this in the most beautiful name on Earth, Jesus Christ… Amen.

Looking Back

Wow! Where in the world did this past year go? Let me ask you, have you given thanks to our Great God above? If you haven’t – let me encourage you to thank God for allowing you to be apart of His service.

I have to be honest, we have had a great year at HSMBC! God has blessed us in so many ways. We have seen families and individuals transformed by the saving power and blood of Jesus Christ. I gave a challenge to our church to minister to someone or win at least 10 people to the LORD a month. Again – because each of you want to honor God through your service God has blessed. Through your desire to Connect to life we had over 19 baptisms and over 30 families join our church in just this past year alone. God is Good!

I pray that God will continue to bless because of the willingness for Him to recieve honor and glory through your motivation. I am proud to be your pastor. I am fired up about this up and coming year. We have lots going on. Let me share with you about the new series that I will be bringing in January. It’s about Building His Kingdom. The blue-print is the Word of God and the Kingdom is you, your family and the community around you.

I hope each of you have a great new year – If you can help at the Lock-In; please let Brother Aaron now. I love each of you and I am so proud to be your pastor.

 - Prayer -

Father, thank you for letting me be apart of your Work. To be around others who want to glorify you is so exciting (you’re Word says iron sharpens iron). Thank you for letting me experiance your Word through your people. Thank you for blessing our church. I pray you continue to work in the hearts of your people as we seek to do your will and work by bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the lives of people who live in East Texas. In Jesus name… Amen.

connecting to life…

The past couple of weeks I have been preaching through the series of “Connecting People To Life… ” and about what it means to connect to life. So far we have found that connecting to life means connecting with a healthy prayer life. We’ve found that connecting to life means getting connected to God. Not in a intellectual context but through a intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. What a experience it is to watch the congregation grow in their walk with Jesus because they are drawing closer to Him daily.

We’ve found that connecting to life means – connecting to others. Last week I preached Exodus 17. The Israelites were in a battle against the Amalecks. Moses sat upon a hill and watched the battle and as long as his arms were raised the Israelites prevailed. But when he grew weary and rested the Amalecks prevailed. Aaron and Hur connected to Moses weariness and provided a place for him to rest his arms (upon their own shoulders). What a awesome illustration of connecting to others!

This Sunday I am going to be preaching on Connecting to Service. Jesus gives a beautiful illustration of service in John 13. Showing His humility and servitude by lowering his self to washing dirty feet. The Bible says that Jesus took off his garments, took a towel, and poured water into a basin to wash those dirty feet!  What an illustration of the cross. He saw our dirty hearts and lowered himself to the form of a man by taking off his Kingdom Robe. Being found obedient to the point of death, Jesus poured out his blood…. To cleanse our dirty hearts

Prayer - Father thank you for your Word! Thank you for Jesus! Thank you for the opportunity to connect to you through service. It’s connecting to you that we find life. Help us to become more like Jesus in our decision making and not neglect opportunities to serve others. In doing so, I pray Jesus will be glorified as we share and show Jesus to those who we serve. In the name of Jesus…. Amen 

Missions or Churches?

 I went to the Missionary Baptist Association of Texas Meeting last week, and I’ve got to be honest, I walked away more confused as ever. Not only confused but some discouraged and torn. While I was there you could defiantly feel a division among the brethren over the use of the word missions or churches? We claim to be biblical in our beliefs and practices but I’m wondering if what the percentage of our practices in Associational work are Biblical or traditional?

For instance, since I have been taught to study things out for myself and not take someone else’s word for it, I looked up the word “mission” in my concordance. Want to know how many times it appeared? ZERO!

I typed in the word church. Well it appeared 79 times! I went ahead and made it plural and it appeared… 36 times. So I’m wondering if there is no Bible example of the use of the word “Mission” then why do we call works where we send missionaries “missions”? i.e. Such and Such Baptist Mission. Maybe we really are just traditional? But what’s God say about tradition?

Mar 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

In other words tradition hinders God’s work because were focused on letting tradition become the leader instead of the Holy Spirit! What is the commandment of God? Well there are a bunch of them, but what about in the commandment from the Great Commission? Did Jesus say go start “Missions” or “Churches”? Well since the Bible is infallible and our standard of direction let’s again go see what it says shall we?

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (see anything in there about building a mission? )

Eph 3:21 Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Again how much of tradition must we practice before we leave and reject the commandment of God? No doubt we all want to see souls saved – but are we rejecting those blessing because we are hindering God’s Work through tradition? Maybe, maybe not – I don’t really know. What I do know is I am thankful to be a part of a church and the pastor of a church that wants to see souls saved – new churches getting started and planted all over the world! I am thankful to be apart of a church that will not let tradition hold up the reaching of lost people in our world and come up with ways to share Jesus! I’m thankful to be apart of a church that loves God and His Word!  Prayer – Father, we thank-you for loving us when we don’t deserve it! I pray that your Spirit will move in my heart and to the members of our church that will lead us to someone to share Jesus with today. Help us not to cling to tradition but to cling to you, your cross, your work with passion and excitement. I ask this in the name above all names, the name of Jesus – Amen….

Associational Letter

This is the letter that I presented at the Salem Baptist Association two weeks ago on the subject of missions.

Missions – What is our mission? To see Souls Saved! To See Souls discipled! To See Souls follow Jesus in Baptism! To See Souls leading others to Christ all over the world through the institution called Church! Growing in Small Group settings, learning more about Jesus as they worship Him through individual and cooperate worship! We are reminded of this mission in the Great Commission that was given to us by our LORD – Jesus Christ in Matt. 28. But as we are reminded what the mission is we need also to be reminded how important this mission of going, reaching, teaching, and baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is to God. How important is it? Very Important for God to see people saved, discipled and sharing and winning people to Jesus! He gave us this example through His precious son Jesus! Jesus said – I have come to seek and to save that which was LOST! Luke 19:10. This mission is not something that churches should just support and walk away feeling they have done their part; it’s something each church member should be involved with. Not just in giving their money to a missionary – but each member should endeavor in becoming a Great Commissioned Christian; sharing their faith to every person they come into contact with! Jesus said it best in Acts 1:8 – But YOU shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon YOU; and YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES both in Jerusalem, and in ALL Judea and Samaria, and ever to the outermost parts of the world. Who’s the “you”?  In this context the “you” are the members of His church. Who is the “you” today? Missionaries and each member of a local church! Steve Sjogern analyzed 3 ways in which a church typically relates to fulfilling this mission of winning people to Jesus:

Evasion - churches just separate themselves from the world like the monasteries of the Middle Ages and are neither relevant nor related to the world in any form or fashion. No concern for the world going to hell.

Pervasion - those who seek to battle culture by seeking to overpower the culture by might – political, social, or economic

Invasion - this is what Jesus did in His incarnation. He invaded the world – we are to penetrate the culture with the Gospel!

(Taken from Radically Unchurched by Dr. Alvin Reid pp. 38-40)

• Fact: In 1900 only 21 persons were needed to reach and baptize one lost person. In 2003, 43 church members were needed to reach and baptize one lost person.
• We need to remind our people that while doing this mission we are not a bunch of snobby righteous people who only want to win righteous people – Jesus said in Luke 5:32 I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. We need to have the mind and love Christ has as He saw souls hurting and needing a shepherd.
• It is the heart felt desire of HSMBC to see the Lord’s churches be a part of mission work – Seeing to it that we support our missionaries in the outermost parts of the world as well as providing resources for each member of a local church to become Great Commission Disciples.

Respectfully summitted – HSMBC

New Experience

I was in a deep thought a few mornings ago and this is what I thought: How many people who are members of HSMBC have experienced God? Well, I am convinced a large majority of Christians have never experienced God. Don’t get me wrong – our church members know who God is – they know Jesus came, died for their sins and rose again and if someone would confess with their mouth and believe they would have life. That’s a no brainier for the Christian community. We know that the Bible is God’s Word, but it’s so much more than that!

The Bible is God’s way of expressing to you and me who He really is. In other word’s He doesn’t just want us to know about Him – He wants us to experience Him! Is doctrine important? You bet it is – Bible teaching is the fundamental of who we are as a Child of God. But what good is doctrine if we don’t experience it? Let me illustrate it in another way…

• The Pharisee’s, a group of religious scholars, could recite the books of Moses (sound’s pretty indoctrinated if you ask me.). And in Matthew 23:33 Jesus called them vipers! Wonder why? They knew the Scripture but they hadn’t experience the scriptures.
• In John 3 a man by the name of Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. In verse 9 he asked Jesus how can these things be (referring to Salvation) and Jesus responded in the very next verse: You’re a master in Israel and you don’t know these things? Nicodemus knew God intellectually but didn’t know intimately.

Do you know God intimately because you’ve experienced God? I want to give you a practical exercise. I want to challenge you when you read God’s Word, ask God to let you experience that passage of scripture! Start here:

Psa 46:10,11 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.  Jehovah of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.

God, please allow me to experience you today by knowing that you are God! You knew me before I was in my mothers womb. You’ve experienced me… Help me to experience you. In Jesus name – Amen.

dear abby

One of the things I do when I get to my office in the morning is read the news. I was reading an article about the daughter to the original advice columnist “Dear Abby”. I’d like to share with you some of things it had to say… SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – For years, rumblings have surfaced on the Internet, conjecture about her casual references to “sexual orientation” and “respect.”

Now, Dear Abby is ready to say it flatly: She supports same-sex marriage.

“I believe if two people want to commit to each other, God bless I’m,” the syndicated advice columnist told The Associated Press. “That is the highest form of commitment, for heaven’s sake.”

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20071010/D8S6BRB80.html

I’m not going to attack or judge this article but I will challenge the “God bless ‘em”. With this attitude of cultural acceptance - we ask God to Bless America? We’re kidding right? We’re asking God to bless a nation that is ok with Gay Marriage and abortion! First off the highest form of commitment isn’t to each other – it’s to God! Two people can feel the a totally connected to each other when both have made a commitment to God.

How does God look at homosexuality and the phrase – “God bless ‘ em”?

1Co 6:9, 10 Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men,  nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

**** effeminate – homosexuals

Rom 1:24 Wherefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves:

Gen 19:13 for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxed great before Jehovah: and Jehovah hath sent us to destroy it. 

**** God sending angels to Sodom to destroy it because of homosexuality

Lev 18:21fff – I am Jehovah.

Lev 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

**** enough said….

Lev 20:13 And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

This is what I want to know… How do you ask God to bless that?

* Prayer – LORD, forgive us for having a pagan mentality to be culturally accepting.  LORD, you asked, “would you find FAITH on this earth when you returned” -  by faith, please give us the strength to take a stand upon your WORD, because it is right. Help us to love others but help us to not be afraid to correct what is wrong according to your righteousness. In the precious name of Jesus – Amen.

Saved

What’s the next best thing to accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior? I believe if there was such a thing it would be leading someone else to Jesus Christ. There is nothing that I enjoy more than sharing the wonderful news of Jesus to someone who need’s Jesus. When was the last time that you shared your FAITH?

Wed Night = Family Night

I’m excited about the new ministries that are taking place at Hsmbc. Yesterday, our FAITH Evangelism strategy kicked off.  For the next twelve weeks we have representatives of the Missionaries Messengers, New Generation, and the Crusadors SS Class who have committed to reaching the Lost of the Hughes Springs and East Texas area. I encourage you to be in prayer for these soldier Christians.

Our Sunday school classes are continuing to grow and I want to also encourage you to pray as we seek new workers. Many of you know our childrens department is in need of splitting because of the amount of children, therefore we need more workers to meet these needs.

One more ministry that I am excited about is the Wed night services, were calling this night – Family Night. At 5:30 we are meeting together as Families to enjoy Supper together in the Fellowship hall. Cost per plate is $5.00. At 6:45 we are going to meet for our prayer meeting. Then at 7pm we will watch an episode of the Andy Griffith Show followed by life principles from God’s Word in relation to the show. Bro. Aaron will be then taking our Youth to teach them relative lessons as well. We will still have a Bible study in the Sactuary that will be led by Bro. Randy Watkins. This class at the moment is going through the book of Ezekiel.

I’m excited about this night because we are meeting the needs of the community. Teaching people about the life changing power of Jesus, watching them accept Christ as their personal Savior, baptizing them and giving families the resources they need to have a family God would have them to have. I want to encourage you to pray for our church as we continue seek and to save that which was lost…