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Greetings, everyone! I am looking forward to being back with you, my beloved people, as we gather for worship on the Lord's Day. My deepest thanks to all those who assisted with the worship service last week, especially Bro. Jerry Scott for so ably bringing the preached word on "Grace" (follow the link to listen to the message and you will be blessed as I was), Deacon Don Burns for the reading of Scripture, and Pastor Kyle for putting it all together. It was a blessing to know that you all were in such good hands as my family and I were away to bury my brother. Sunday morning, we were able to fellowship with my friend Jamie Tickel, pastor at First Baptist Joplin, whom we had not seen in many years. If you are ever in the Joplin area on Sunday morning, drop in and see them at 9 am or 10:30 am. Since they were not passing out bulletins, I was not able to get signed "proof" that we were there, so you will just have to take my word for it! Seriously, if you are traveling on the Lord's Day, please take advantage of the opportunity to find and fellowship with a Bible-teaching congregation. (Because of our current circumstances, I recommend calling ahead or visiting their website to make sure they are meeting in person).
TOMORROW IS THE LORD’S DAY! As we assemble tomorrow, we will once again focus on Acts 2. Lord willing, we will examine Peters's sermon on the day of Pentecost as given in verses 14-41. We will at the very least be reading the entire passage since it should be considered as a whole. We will study as much as time permits. If you would, take a few moments to read, reflect, and meditate on the following passages that will form the outline for our gathered worship tomorrow. Click anywhere on the link to bring up all the selections. It will take approximately 10 minutes or so to read them all. Fighter Verses: Psalm 34:1-3 Call to Worship Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18 OT: Genesis 22:1-14 NT: Romans 6:12-23 Assurance of Pardon: 1 John 1:7-10 Sermon: Acts 2:14-41 Benediction: Numbers 6:24-26 THIS WEEK I have been asked to serve as camp pastor for Super C Kids' Camp near Polo sponsored by Midland Ministries, Monday through Thursday. Prayers appreciated as children entering grades 4-6 gather there. I'm not sure how many campers will be involved total, but we have at least one camper from our church going (Keely H.). Temperature checks will be done upon check-in and some throughout the week as needed. Pray for the unction of God's Spirit as the Word is proclaimed to young and tender hearts. COMING UP Tentatively scheduled Member Meeting Sunday evening, July 12, at 6 pm, in the Great Room. FIGHTER VERSES As noted above, our Fighter Verses this week are Psalm 34:1-3. This is the beginning of eight weeks of memorizing Psalm 34 in its entirety. Similar to Psalm 119, this psalm is a modified acrostic, meaning each line begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Usually, an acrostic psalm begins with the first letter (ALEPH) and ends with the last letter (TAW), but Psalm 34 has no line for the sixth letter (WAW) and the line for the 17th letter (PE) is out of order, coming last. I know this information is a little "inside baseball," but I share it as a reminder that David himself was not above using a simple structural device like an acrostic (under the Holy Spirit's inspiration, of course) to compose the psalms. The doctrine of verbal (the words themselves), plenary (full or whole) inspiration of the Scripture includes the use of such devices by the biblical writers. BONUS Remember the toys that used to come with a notice on the box "batteries not included"? It is my belief that the current culture we live in should include a similar notice: "discernment not included." Consider that one of the great benefits of this technological age is the unfettered access to myriad sermons, lectures, conference messages, Bible studies, podcasts, panel discussions, etc., simply by clicking a link on our device of choice. This benefit is both blessing and curse because the technology does not come with a "discernment not included" notice. One thing I hope to be able to do is point you to resources from trusted speakers, writers, preachers, teachers, professors, and the like, that will serve to equip you for Kingdom living and Kingdom ministry under the Lordship of Christ. No human being is infallible, but some are more trustworthy than others. Dr. James White is among the trustworthy and discerning teachers, and I commend to you his message to the G3 Conference entitled "An Exegetical and Historical Examination of the Woke Church Movement." In case you don't know what "woke" means, it is a term used by those on the theological and social progressive left to refer to those who are awakened (that is, affirming and embracing) to the social and racial justice movement as it currently is being advanced by them. White rejects "wokeness," and he does so by means of this examination of Colossians 3. This message is from January 2019. See you in church! Grace and peace, Pastor Greg
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Greetings, everyone! As I write this, I am staying with my family at the Razorback Ranch, an airbnb in Joplin decked out in everything Arkansas Razorback. We feel right at home! Thank you for your prayers as we lay my brother to rest and have his memorial in a hay meadow on the family homestead this morning at 10 am. (For those planning to attend, the closest address is 6000 SE Clem Road, Galena, Kansas). My intention is to stay a few more days to help my parents and return sometime at the end of the week.
TODAY Emily Poston's Graduation party will be 3-5 pm at the June Conley Building today. Stop in and congratulate Emily! THE LORD’S DAY Take a few moments to read and meditate on God's Word in preparation for our worship gathering this week. You can click anywhere on the link to read the entire selection of verses used in worship: Fighter Verses: Galatians 6:9-10 Call to Worship: Psalm 86:8-11 Old Testament: Genesis 21:8-21 New Testament: Romans 6:1-11 Assurance of Pardon: Psalm 86:3-6 Benediction: Numbers 6:24-26 Please pray for Bro. Jerry Scott as he prepares to bring the sermon from God's Word this Lord's Day morning. THIS WEEK Monday: Sunday School via ZOOM at 7 pm. Contact Pastor Kyle for an invitation to join. Wednesday: Midweek Prayer and Praise both live in the Great Room and via ZOOM at 6:30 pm. Come and join us in person, or contact Pastor Greg for an invitation to join . NOTE: We now have the "pro" version of ZOOM available, so we are able to welcome those who would like to join us by standard telephone connection (no smart devices necessary). An added benefit is that our meetings will not "time out" at the 40 minutes mark. We can continue as long as we desire. This is usually about 60 or 70 minutes for the Midweek Service. ICYMI Last Sunday’s Message Pentecostal Power, Part 2 That is all for now. I will try to share more later. Grace and peace, Pastor Gre Greetings, everyone, in the matchless name of Christ!
First of all, let me say thanks to all those who stood in the gap last Sunday as I learned that my brother, Chris, had died. Many thanks to Kyle Bridgman, Kyle Carroll, and Clay Mather for taking care of the service. After my sister and I informed our folks and helped get the arrangements made for the service, I came back home on Monday evening and have been in the office this week. The memorial service for my brother will be 10 am Saturday, June 20, on the family farm near Riverton, Kansas. My intention is to travel back down on Friday, June 19, and remain through the next several days to help the family tie up loose ends and assist my parents with some needs. Jerry Scott will be filling the pulpit for me on Sunday, June 21, and I thank him in advance for his graciousness in agreeing to do so. If you will permit me a personal reflection, Chris was the glue that held everything together, the son who lived nearby and daily checked on my parents, the one who did the lion's share of the farming as my dad became less and less physically able, and the one who had a vision for the restoration of the family farm to its former beauty and productivity. Many of you have experienced the loss of a parent or sibling, so I know you can sympathize with my situation. Thanks to all who have expressed your sympathy in so many ways to my family and me. TODAY MACH 4 Men's Ministry will have a meeting on the Hopewell parking lot at 6 pm. TOMORROW is THE LORD’S DAY! As we gather tomorrow for worship, let us do as Psalm 100 instructs: "Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with Joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, adn not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations." (NASB) Our Scriptures for the morning will be Fighter Verse John 6:35; Call to Worship Psalm 100; Assurance of Pardon Psalm 103:8, 10-12; OT Reading Genesis 18:1-15; NT Reading Romans 5:1-8; Sermon Passage Acts 2:5-13; Benediction 6:24-26 Take a few moments to follow the link and read through the scriptures (which will take about 5 or 6 minutes), then pray for all those involved in the service (musicians, Scripture readers, pray-ers, preacher). Come to the church house prepared to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth! THIS WEEK Monday-Saturday: Please be in prayer for four of our teenagers who will be attending Super C Camp this week at Midland Ministries Campground, Polo, MO. Chloe D., Ruth D., Cydney W., Lexi J., we will be praying for you! Wednesday: We continue to have our Midweek Service at 6:30 pm on Wednesday in the Great Room. This is live and in person as well as available by ZOOM. If you can join us in person, we invite you to do so. If not, please join us by ZOOM on your device of choice. Invitations go out by e-mail, or if you choose, text or FB messenger. Just let us know how you prefer to receive the invite. Friday: MHS Graduation Commencement Exercises for the Class of 2020 are scheduled for Friday, June 19 at 7 pm on the football field. (Alternate date of July 17 in case of inclement weather). Saturday: Our MHS graduate, Emily Poston, invites you to her high school graduation party on June 20, 3 - 5 pm at the June Conley Building. Congratulations, Emily! COMING UP Our Monthly Member Meetings have been suspended along with everything else over the last few months, the last one being in March at our last carry-in dinner. We will be looking into the possibility of having one on July 12, but nothing is set in stone yet. If you would like to see monthly financial statements in the meantime, please contact Marsha Smith, our treasurer, and she will be happy to get a copy to you. ICYMI Last Sunday’s Message Clay Mather preaching Daniel 4 FIGHTER VERSE John 6:35 "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." A PASTORAL WORD As you may already know, I do not often speak of politics publicly, and when I do it is mostly over moral and ethical issues rather than politics strictly speaking. But, with you, I grieve for our nation as many parts of it are torn apart and set ablaze by lawless rioters, occupied by protestors, and divided by the politics of racial identity. It grieves me to see professing Christians divided over these issues. Southern Baptist leaders are speaking to these issues, but not all of them speak for me, and that is as it should be. Our convention comprises some 48,000 independent, autonomous churches with a wide variety of opinions and strongly-held convictions present in them. As Baptists, we are not required to march in lock step on every issue. But as believers, we are required to keep going back to the Bible as our source of authority for all things pertaining to life and godliness 2 Peter 1:2-4. It may be simplistic, but I still believe what I learned in the children's Sunday School song: "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world." With that said, I share with you a couple of links that have been helpful for me to view some of these cultural issues through the lens of a biblical worldview. The sufficiency and authority of Scripture must be paramount as we look at our world, our culture, and ourselves. "Racial Reconciliation" on Ephesians 2:10-11 by Voddie Baucham, president of African Christian University and former pastor of Grace Family Baptist Church in Houston (Almost everything Voddie does is worth watching/listening to, and I highly recommend his ministry to you, not just on the subject of race, but also on the home, on salvation, on creation, on salvation, etc.) "George Floyd and the Gospel" Just Thinking Podcast with Darrell Harrison and Virgil "Omaha" Walker from 5/30/2020 (One take away from this podcast that I appreciate is the statement "Races don't reconcile. Hearts reconcile." I became aware of this podcast through the ministry of Justin Peters, another apologeticist whom I trust and whose ministry has been fruitful in the gospel. Justin was the first one that I am aware of to interview Costi Hinn, nephew off Benny Hinn, after Costi came out of the "prosperity gospel" movement). See you in church! Grace and peace, Pastor Greg |
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