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Worship Service
Sun. 9:30am – 10:30am
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Sun. 10:45am – 11:20am
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Wed. 6:30pm – 7:30pm
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Thurs. 3:00pm – 5:30pm
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Thurs. 6:00pm – 8:00pm
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:52 — 44.8MB) Subscribe: Neh. 9:17-36
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can also download our service at Baptist-Christian at iTunes. Nehemiah is leading the Israelites in spiritual revival to turn their hearts back to the God Who created them! Turning from sin to God is harder than turning from God to sin! Repentance acts against our pride causing us to put off sanctification while testing God’s patience with us. We dare not continue to that testing lest we force God’s hand to discipline us for our sins. Let’s continue to learn what turning back involves:
- WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE OUR OWN SIN! Read verses 16, 17a. Here is where repentance gets sticky. We don’t mind helping others acknowledge their sin, but when it comes to declaring our own sin, we often balk, don’t we! 2 Cor. 10:12 and 2 Tim. 4:3, 4 tell us why that is. Christians often say “I’m not as bad as…” We must come to the point we understand we are as bad as… But not as Good as Christ! With such an attitude revival is impossible whether individually, corporately, or nationally. In Ps. 32:1-7 we learn confession really is good for the soul. Even in our sinfulness, God is faithful/loyal to us/not forsaking us, yet all the while reaching out to us in His infinite love. Why? Because He wants us to repent by confessing our sins so He can forgive our guilt.
- WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT GOD IS OUR LOYAL PROVIDER. Read VERSES 19-25. It is God Who guides us day and night. Remember, sin pushes but God leads. He never goes so far ahead of us we can’t reach Him, and He always makes His presence known. Just like God knew where Canaan was and knew how to lead Israel there, He knows where He wants you to be and will lead you there if you let Him. God can’t abandon us! Isn’t that a wonderful truth! If we are lacking in life, it is because we are refusing what God is offering, but never because He fails to offer! You must accept what God offers and provides if you expect Him to lead and bless you. Why? Because God only gives us what is the very best for us. To Whom do you look for your daily provision?
- WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE GOD AS OUR RIGHTEOUS JUDGE! Read verses 26-31. You will notice that when Israel rejected God, He punished them. That concept doesn’t set well with our current don’t-offend-anyone theology! God however, has an entirely different system. He wants us to understand that sin, disobedience, rebellion, and all those other unpleasant words are all egregious offenses to Him. Every sin has a consequence and we must understand we will pay that consequence- always! God administers His punishment with the very specific purpose of restoring us to fellowship with Him, usually at a higher level. Finally,
- WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE GOD’S JUSTICE AS BENEFICIAL! Read verses 32-38. Here Nehemiah appeals to God’s mercy. God doesn’t get His kicks out of making people suffer—we bring it on ourselves because of our stubborn hearts. All God’s judgments are designed to show us our error, to point us to the right path, to keep us from going astray, and to restore us to the place where God can shower us with blessings. Are you ready to acknowledge God in these areas of your life?
If we can help you call us at (574) 643-9419.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:24 — 49.9MB) Subscribe: Daniel 6
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can also download our service at Baptist-Christian at iTunes. Read 6:1! Dad, do you think of yourself as a kingdom protector? A satrap was a kingdom protector. Darius appointed 120 men to protect his kingdom from loss through anything that would threaten it. If you read Gen. 1:26-31 you will see God established man’s rule over the earth or kingdom. Gen. 3:16 explains how sin affects the order God established in marriage. It often makes a man rule over his family in tyranny rather than heart love as explained in Eph. 5:21-33. The point is that God sees husbands and fathers as guardians over a kingdom called family. The essence of Daniel’s life is in verse 3, “Daniel distinguished himself…by his exceptional qualities. Notice at least three of those qualities to which Daniel committed his life.
- UNCONDITIONAL PURITY. Read 1:8; 6:4, 21, 22. No matter what it cost Daniel, he purposed never to defile himself with what the world offered – even if it was the best the world had to offer! Here’s a question Dad: if you son or daughter were away at college or on their own, out of your sight, would they be so committed to a life of moral and spiritual purity the world couldn’t influence them? Answer this question: do they see you NOW as a man of unconditional moral and spiritual purity? Ask them! Some might think Daniel was a zit infested geek who spent his entire life with his nose in a book! Read 1:3-7. In today’s language Daniel was hot! It is naïve to think Daniel wasn’t “tempted in every possible way” during his life. He could have been the ultimate party animal, but he chose to be unconditionally pure! Daniel was taught so well by his parents that his desire/decision to live a life of unconditional purity was rooted so deeply in his heart that it ruled his soul! Is that what you are teaching your family kingdom? Daniel also lived a life of
- UNCEASING PRAYER! Read 2:17 and 6:10. In general men have way too many excuses for not praying. There are innumerable excuses, but only one reason men don’t pray – they don’t wantto! The reason is that to pray to an Almighty God a man must bow, which is submission in its simplest form; submission in its simplest form is “you before me!” That’s the rub for a man! Only a man whose heart truly belongs to God will bow, submit, and take a back seat to others. How about you? Are you willing to submit before God in unceasing prayer for your kingdom? Notice also Daniel lived a life of
- UNCOMMON PROSPERITY. Read 1:15-17, 20; 2:47-49 and others. Remember, God delights in showering blessings on His people in Niagara proportions. In order for that to happen, a man can’t let the pursuit of prosperity take priority over their pursuit of moral and spiritual purity and prayer. Read Prov. 27:19 and ask yourself what your family sees you reflecting to them. No matter how “bad” you think you’ve messed up, it is NEVER too late to start living a life of distinguished quality as a man of God. The hardest part is deciding to start! God will even help you do that if you bow before Him! Why not start today?
If we can help, call us at (574) 643-9419.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:16 — 51.6MB) Subscribe: Nehemiah 9:5-15
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can also download our service at Baptist-Christian at iTunes. Immediately after the people confess their sins and sinfulness, the Levites called them to prayer. Perhaps now more than ever all Christians should let their lives be directed by prayer. Notice that Israel
- ACKNOWLEDGED GOD AS CREATOR-5, 6. Don’t miss that God’s names are to be exalted about all blessings and praise. The reason is that God is the Giver of all blessing and praises, which are themselves revelations of God’s character. God is acknowledged as Maker of everything. God made us on purpose for a purpose, therefore, to see Him as our personal reactor is really the normal way of life for a true Christian. Is that how you see God on a daily basis? You were created in Christ Jesus to do good works God planned in advance for you to do, and it’s important that you understand and live your life from that perspective. Notice also that they
- ACKNOWLEDGED GOD AS COVENANT-MAKER – 7, 8. From a Biblical perspective a covenant “denotes a gracious undertaking entered into by God for benefit and blessing of Man.” Here the Abrahamic Covenant is pertinent because 1st only God walked between the pieces of the animals. This means only He is responsible for the terms of the covenant; 2nd that covenant ultimately becomes our salvation covenant, meaning only God is responsible for keeping us saved, not us by any works. It is interesting to note that Isa. 58 refers to Messiah as a covenant-people which can mean God is more than just a covenant maker, He is The Covenant! Since God can’t contradict or go back on His word, His covenants are eternally binding! Israel also
- ACKNOWLEDGED GOD AS DELIVERER – 9-12. From what was Israel delivered? Oppression and suffering not just from Assyria, but as far back as Egypt. Here God’s omniscience is being referenced. His all-knowing is stated in “You saw, You heard, You knew, You led.” We also see God’s omnipotence in “You sent signs, miracles, you hurled the army into the sea…” God’s omnipotence means He will always deliver us from the evil one to where we are to go. His omniscience means He will always deliver us at exactly the right time. Israel also,
- ACKNOWLEDGES GOD AS LAW-GIVER – 13-16. Note in verse 13 how “God came down to speak…” It is an unfathomable condescension for God to talk to sinful Man, but He did. If we understood this, we would be much more careful how we mistreat our Heavenly Father. All God’s laws are just and right and good. Our salvation frees us so we can see them as pleasurable and acts of His great love for us, rather than seeing them as burdensome! Until we recognize God as our only Law-Giver, we will continue to set other gods before Him so He must increase His “rebuke, and correction in righteousness” toward us until we repent. Examine yourself and see where you are not acknowledging God as Who He really is. Then bow in humble, prayerful worship before Him and tell Him you want Him to lead you back to Him!
If we can help you with answers to our spiritual questions call us at (574) 643-9419.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:14 — 44.2MB) Subscribe: This week we continued our study on Nehemiah 9:1-3.
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can also download our service at Baptist-Christian at iTunes. It is interesting to note the ninth chapters of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel are all devoted to prayers of confession for national sin that ask for God’s grace. It’s also interesting to note this national event involved all 50,000 Israelites. The “all” in that statement is the point. Because of their national sin, God had reduced His nation from millions to just 50,000. It makes one wonder how quickly God could reduce a nation of, say, 250 million people for their national sins! If ever America needs national revival, it’s now! Let’s consider some of the most important elements of personal, or national, revival.
- A CONVICTION OF SIN! Verse 2. Since we’ve nearly done away with sin today, it is hard to be convicted, isn’t it! How do we know Israel was convicted? The people fasted. See Isa. 58:1-5. Even though the words “convict/conviction” never appear in Scripture, the words translated rebuke, reprove, etc. all carry that meaning. True Biblical conviction is revealing sin with the intent of leading to repentance. The work of the Holy Spirit in “convicting of sin” (John 16:5-9) means this: the Holy Spirit convicts both the saved and unsaved of their sin of rejecting Christ! When a Christian refused to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, they are in truth rejecting Christ! Think about it! Notice that Israel was also
- CONVULSING IN THEIR SOULS! Verses 1, 3. We might say they bottomed out. Everything they had was taken from them until all they had left was their physical life. When God removes all the obstacles we build between Him and us, we are not only convicted of our sin, we are also conscious of our sin. In this case the idea is that Israel was so conscious of their sin, the conviction made them sick to their stomachs! Have you ever been there? Perhaps we should go there sometime? There was also
- CORRUPTION THAT MUST BE SEPARATED! Verse 2. See Isa. 58:6, 7. The point here is that fasting without prayer is like a body without a soul-dead! Fasting with prayer is serious before God IF it is for the purpose of repenting the way God tells us too! Here Israel separated herself from all ungodly corruption that had become part of her daily life before the Lord. The theological term for that is sanctification!! When done God’s way it leads to
- COMMUNION WITH THE SAVIOR! True communion with God is prayer in an attitude of worship. How long has it been since you worshipped God in prayer? A soul that is starved from sin and sinfulness finds it’s nourishment in life-giving prayer to God Who reaches down to it in redeeming love to draw it out of the deep waters and set it in a spacious place, because God delights in it! The song writer is correct: “Oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!” How about you dear reader? Are you ready to begin moving back toward God in true spiritual revival? He’s ready to receive you and revive your soul with His mercy and grace.
If we can help you with your spiritual questions, call us at (574) 643-9419.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:47 — 44.7MB) Subscribe: Nehemiah 9:1-3
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can also download our service at Baptist-Christian at iTunes. It is interesting to note the ninth chapters of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel are all devoted to prayers of confession for national sin that ask for God’s grace. It’s also interesting to note this national event involved all 50,000 Israelites. The “all” in that statement is the point. Because of their national sin, God had reduced His nation from millions to just 50,000. It makes one wonder how quickly God could reduce a nation of, say, 250 million people for their national sins! If ever America needs national revival, it’s now! Let’s consider some of the most important elements of personal, or national, revival.
- A CONVICTION OF SIN! Verse 2. Since we’ve nearly done away with sin today, it is hard to be convicted, isn’t it! How do we know Israel was convicted? The people fasted. See Isa. 58:1-5. Even though the words “convict/conviction” never appear in Scripture, the words translated rebuke, reprove, etc. all carry that meaning. True Biblical conviction is revealing sin with the intent of leading to repentance. The work of the Holy Spirit in “convicting of sin” (John 16:5-9) means this: the Holy Spirit convicts both the saved and unsaved of their sin of rejecting Christ! When a Christian refused to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, they are in truth rejecting Christ! Think about it! Notice that Israel was also
- CONVULSING IN THEIR SOULS! Verses 1, 3. We might say they bottomed out. Everything they had was taken from them until all they had left was their physical life. When God removes all the obstacles we build between Him and us, we are not only convicted of our sin, we are also conscious of our sin. In this case the idea is that Israel was so conscious of their sin, the conviction made them sick to their stomachs! Have you ever been there? Perhaps we should go there sometime? There was also
- CORRUPTION THAT MUST BE SEPARATED! Verse 2. See Isa. 58:6, 7. The point here is that fasting without prayer is like a body without a soul-dead! Fasting with prayer is serious before God IF it is for the purpose of repenting the way God tells us too! Here Israel separated herself from all ungodly corruption that had become part of her daily life before the Lord. The theological term for that is sanctification!! When done God’s way it leads to
- COMMUNION WITH THE SAVIOR! True communion with God is prayer in an attitude of worship. How long has it been since you worshipped God in prayer? A soul that is starved from sin and sinfulness finds it’s nourishment in life-giving prayer to God Who reaches down to it in redeeming love to draw it out of the deep waters and set it in a spacious place, because God delights in it! The song writer is correct: “Oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!” How about you dear reader? Are you ready to begin moving back toward God in true spiritual revival? He’s ready to receive you and revive your soul with His mercy and grace.
If we can help you with your spiritual questions, call us at (574) 643-9419.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:43 — 48.3MB) Subscribe: Nehemiah 8:1-12
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can also download our service at Baptist-Christian at iTunes. You remember the whole point of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem was so the people would return to worship God in the Temple. Nehemiah offers us some insight into actually putting our beliefs into practice. Let’s consider first
PREPARATION TURNED INTO PRACTICE! Read verses 1-7. A person can prepare forever, but until they actually do something all the prep is for naught! People have all kinds of excuses for not putting their faith into practice. We know Ezra read the Law from daybreak until noon. Scripture doesn’t tell us whether or not he read it just once or several times in those hours. However, had God known we could read Scripture just once and get it, He would have told us something like “read this once and I’ll see that you have it for life.” Since God didn’t do that,
1.) Repetition/expounding is necessary. That means we read, reread, and re-reread, our Bibles to understand. Then we need to tell someone else what we’ve read. Why? When we share with others, we are solidifying the Scriptures in our own mind. The more often we share, the better we understand.
2.) We see results/expectations from the Word. Practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes permanent. Only perfect practice makes perfect! What results do you expect from Scripture? Heb. 4:12 tells us it is alive and powerful. It either draws us to, or drives us from our God! What is the desire of your heart (results) when you repeat Scripture?
3.) There must be a response/expression of the Word (verses 5-6). Does reading the Scriptures draw you in or drive you away? The immediate answer in your heart when you read that is the truth in your life. A person knows in their heart the real answer. The wonderful thing is, no matter what the answer, God always plants the idea that we can change our heart for the better. That desire also comes at the very best time for us to act to receive the greatest blessing. What could you possibly tell God that would over-ride His perfect planning and preparation for you to advance in your Christian walk? Notice second that
PENITENCE TURNED INTO PRAISE (9-12). Far too many people think to live a dedicated life to Christ means giving up anything that might be remotely fun or cause happiness. This passage teaches us these folks experienced:
1.) Rejoicing after reconciliation. We have studied that reconciliation means completely changing to a new standard. For the Christian that new Standard is Christ! When these people heard the Law of God they knew they had to abandon their ungodly lives and return to a Godly lifestyle. The Word had accomplished its cleansing work in their lives and created that desire to return to God. Notice also
2.) Reformation followed reconciliation. After reading verse 17 we might say they celebrated like they did in the old days of Acts 2. Today we tend to keep both our defeats and victories to ourselves thinking they are no one’s business. Remember we are all in this together as one body held together by every supporting ligament… (Eph. 4-6). In all this remember God meets us where we are and leads us to where He has prepared for us to be.
If we can help call us at (574) 643-9419.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:07 — 50.5MB) Subscribe: Titus 2:3-8
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can also download our service at Baptist-Christian at iTunes. Scripture teaches us that mom’s really are teachers! Read Prov. 1:8; 6:20. God has given us many examples throughout the Bible of Godly moms. Worldwide the family is being “redefined” to be whatever a Godless world wants it to be. Moms aren’t the whole problem, just half of it in many cases. Paul tells Timothy to teach sound doctrine to older women so they can teach younger women. Godly women are to display four character qualities.
- SOBER IN CHARACTER. v. 3a. Outward behavior reveals a person’s true inner character. It’s impossible to hide the true roots of our life very long. The word “reverent” meant a life fit or qualified for the temple. Anyone who then ministered at/in/near the Temple had to be sober in character. The easy way to get it is to read Eph. 4-6. The first character quality of a godly woman is a life and lifestyle that reflects she is a true woman of God in her heart! Such women are not sanctimonious, prudish, stuck up, irreverent in their speech, or gaudy in their appearance or immodest in their dress. A woman who is sound in character is one who quiet fellowship with God through her daily quiet time in reading the Word and in prayer, affects and influences her husband and children. A Godly mom is also
- SOUND IN CONVERSATION. v. 3b Both the NIV and NKJV use the word “slanderers.” It is translated from the word diabolos which is the same world translated Devil! The reference is to a person who finds fault with the demeanor and conduct of others by spreading gossip. Women of God disregard and dispose of such destructive lies. A Godly mom can always find something positive and/or good to use as encouragement to her husband, children, and grandchildren. A Godly mom is also
- SOBER IN CONDUCT. v. 3c. Cretan women were commonly addicted to wine. They use it as an escape mechanism to solace old age. Timothy was to teach that Christian women were to dignify and uphold agedness as a sign of wisdom, knowledge, and experience that would benefit younger women and they learned to be Godly servants. Women of God understand that their conduct is a reflection of their heart. Read Prov. 27:19. A woman of God know the gospel not only purifies her heart, but her habits also. Finally women of God
- TRAIN YOUNGER WOMEN. v. 4. Older Christian women are to teach younger Christian women to become women of God! Why? So no one can malign the Word of God (V. 5). Every mom with daughters should be teaching them how to be women of God. Moms with sons should be teaching them how to treat women, from a woman’s perspective. One of the most effective ways for women to teach their children is to ask their husbands to pray for them, and to support them in their daily Christian walk. Of course he can only do that if he is himself a man of God walking daily with the Lord.
If we can help you with your spiritual questions or concerns call us at (574) 643-9419.
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