My friend, Donald (Part 1)

Every once in a while we have different people come into the church looking for financial help. Usually they are people who are between paychecks or temporarily unemployed, but occasionally they will be a homeless person looking for money for a meal or shower. About three months ago (near the beginning of June) a rather scruffy looking elderly man came in the office asking for money to purchase some used clothes and get a shower at the local YMCA. Since I was the only Pastor in the office that day his case fell to me. I told him that I would be glad to drive him down to the Salvation Army Thrift Store to help him purchase some "new" clothes before dropping him off at the YMCA for his shower (they happen to be right next door to each other). Of course he readily accepted my offer and told me his name was Donald. It took me all of forty-five minutes to help Donald purchase his clothes and drop him off at the YMCA. He kindly thanked me for my assistance and, as I watched him walk away, I assumed it was probably the last time I would ever see Donald again. Little did I know that he and I would get to know each other much better and spend a lot more time together too.

That was fast God!

So I put the car in the shop yesterday because it wouldn't start (I had it towed). I was hoping the problem would not be too severe, but I needed to fix the right rear power window anyway. The towing was free (thank God for AAA), but after a diagnostics test and the power window fix (which most was covered by the warrenty) the bill came to just shy of $250.00. Not a huge amount, but I had to rob the vacation fund to pay it. Needless to say I was feeling a little discouraged becuase we have been saving so dilligently for vacation only to see the fund dwindle due to some recent unexpected expensses. As I was driving home from picking up the car I was praying for God to provide by explaining to Him how diligent we had been trying to be good stewards of our money. I no sooner get back to my office when Janelle calls me and tells me that we just recieved a check for $250.00 in the mail. Wow! That was fast! God had already set in motion a plan to provide for our need even before we had asked for it. Simply amazing! My faith felt so small and I felt so unworthy of God's goodness and grace. Praise the Lord for answered prayer.

Recent Sermons

Here are a few recent sermons I have preached at Bible Baptist Church in Shiremanstown, Pennsylvania.

Stand Strong in Diligence: 2 Timothy 2:14-26

Stand Strong in the Gospel: 2 Timothy 1:8-18

Pilgrim Hope: 1 Peter 2:10-25

Certain Hope: 1 Peter 1:1-2

The Evidence of Prayer: James 5:13-20

The Evidence of Humility: James 4:1-12

The Evidence of Wisdom: James 3:13-18

Song Hunting

One of my favorite jobs each week is to plan our Sunday morning worship service. I love putting together worship sets. Since our services are blended I try to use a variety of hymns, choruses and newer worship songs. I try not to introduce more than one new song a month, but sometimes that is hard with so much good music out there. Here are some of the songs I've introduced recently and some of my favorite places to find music. Enjoy!

Recently Introduced Songs:
Every Promise - Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
There is a Hope - Stuart Townend & Mark Edwards
Jesus Messiah - Chris Tomlin
Let Your Kingdom Come - Bob Kauflin
Romans Doxology
In Christ - Dan Francis

Favorite Places to Find Music:
http://www.ccli.com/
http://www.gettymusic.com/
http://www.igracemusic.com/
http://www.praisecharts.com/

Stop to Pee

I've been a dad long enough now (I'm in my third week) to have picked up on some newborn baby trends. One obvious and basic one is that newborn babies usually cry when a fundamental need is not being met (i.e. eating, going to the bathroom, sleeping). However, I have also noticed that Javin actually stops crying when engaged in satisfying a fundamental need. Just this morning he was screaming his head off while I was changing an already wet diaper and had him naked from the waist down when he began to pee all over himself saturating both his sleeper and changing table pad. Even though I was frustrated with him I couldn't help but notice that he completely stopped crying to pee. It was amazing. He went from full out crying to complete silence in an instant. I think he may have even smiled in satisfaction. But as soon as he finished it was back to full throttle again. I couldn't help myself, I stood there and laughed at him (which he didn't find amusing in the least). Then it stuck me...this isn't a newborn baby trend, its also a big people trend. When we neglect our fundamental needs we get cranky and irritable. This of course is true physically, but its also true spiritually. If we neglect to feed ourselves, change our messes, and resting properly we can get spiritually cantankerous. At least I do. So, thanks to Javin I was reminded of a very simple spiritual lesson. Make sure you stop to eat, sleep, and pee.

Stand Strong in the Gospel

Preached a message from 2 Timothy 1:6-18 yesterday morning as part of our Stand Strong Series. The second half of 2 Timothy 1 is basically Paul's pep talk to young Pastor Timothy. He is exhorting him to stand strong in the Gospel by using himself as an example to imitate (1 Corinthians 11:1). Here were my three points:

1. Be passionate about the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:6-7)
2. Be confident in the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:7-12)
3. Be faithful to the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:13-18)

You can listen to the message by visiting http://www.bbcpa.org/ and clicking on sermons.

What is Communion?

Have you ever asked yourself that question? I have to lead my first communion service this Sunday, so I thought it might be a good question to answer. Perhaps I should also ask, "Why do we celebrate communion?" I know that it is one of the two ordinances of the church (communion and baptism) instituted by Jesus Christ Himself, but what is the significance of it and why do we celebrate it regularly?

A good place to start would be in one of the Gospels where Jesus initiates the Lord's Supper with His disciples. Perhaps Luke 22:7-23 would work. Here Jesus is celebrating the Passover Feast with His disciples in Jerusalem and He introudces them to a new feast, the Lord's Supper. I don't think it is a coinsidence that Jesus uses the Jewish commemoration of God delivering them from Egyptian slavery to introduce a new commemoration of God delivering people from sin. The Passover was a time for both remembering and rejoicing, so too is the celebration of the Lord's Table.

In 1 Corinthians 11:23-34 the Apostle Paul provides us with a clear picture of the purpose and practice of communion. There are two pruposes and two practices.

The Two Purposes of Communion:
1. Remembering the scarifice of Christ on our behalf (1 Corinthians 11:23-25)
2. Rejoicing in the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf (1 Corinthians 11:26)

The Two Practices of Communion:
1. Preparation by examination of our lives in light of the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf (1 Corinthians 11:27-33)
2. Participation by unification to come together to remember and rejoice in the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf.

Communiuon is a celebration and a declaration of the death of Jesus Christ and the power of His resurecttion. As the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corithians 11:26, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes."