Sunday, August 31, 2008

THIS IS THE LORD'S DAY Sunset, Dusk or



THIS IS THE LORD'S DAY...........ABOUT 7:30 P.M. IN BACK OF OUR HOME
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Sunset, also called sundown in some American English dialects, is the instant when the trailing edge of the sun's disk disappears below the horizon in the west. It should not be confused with dusk, which is the point at which darkness falls, some time after the beginning of twilight when the sun itself sets.
So which would you say this photo is? Sunset or Dusk?
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Dusk refers to the period of time following sunset. Although commonly confused with twilight, dusk is the time frame that occurs either before or after a twilight - when the sky is still generally bright and blue, but there is no sun to accompany it..
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Twilight is the time before sunrise, called dawn, and the time after sunset, called dusk. Sunlight scattered in the upper atmosphere illuminates the lower atmosphere, and the surface of the Earth is not completely lit or completely dark. The sun itself is not actually visible because it has not yet come over the horizon (sunrise) or it has passed below the horizon (sunset).
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I JUST THOUGHT YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW

Friday, August 29, 2008

THE FIRE GUY ERIC

LET US TAKE A LOOK AT THE TRINITY

Who is the Trinity?
Part One



Describing God


God is described with different words in the Bible, a few of which translate into English as LORD, Lord, the LORD almighty, God, God Almighty and so forth. When reading these in different places in the Bible, you become aware that although God is “one” He is also “more than one”—God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost). Together, they are referred to as “the Trinity” or “the Godhead.” On this page we will provide explanations that help people understand God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Trinity.


God is not so complex that He can not be understood. The Bible is written so that anyone can understand Him. The difference is that God is not human, so He can not be described as a human can be described. The gods of every other religion can be described in “normal” terms since they were invented in the minds of men.* Even some “Christians” (actually Christian cults)

invent their own description of God and make Him seem like these other gods (by denying the aspect of the Trinity).


* Romans 1:20-23 (chapter 1, verses 20-23)





The explanation of the Trinity is so simple that most people miss it.


  • If God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were the same, they would not have different names.

  • If they were the same, they would not appear separately as they do in Matthew 3:16,17.
    In spite of being different, they are “one.” (John 10:30)

  • So we understand that the three “members” of the Trinity are different, but have the same purpose.


About 20 years ago, Dr. Harold Willmington (Liberty University) shared an analogy he had heard with his students, comparing the Trinity to a book. For example, a book has length, width, and thickness. The length is not the book’s width, the width is not the book’s thickness. These three dimensions can be described separately, yet they are connected together. If you remove one dimension, you are no longer describing a book. In the same way, the Godhead has three separate members that are connected together, and if you try to remove one you no longer have the Godhead.

God Is One

  • God is described as “one” in Deuteronomy 6:4, 1 Kings 8:60, Isaiah 44:8 and numerous other passages. For example, Deuteronomy 6:4 says “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!” The word for “one” is the Hebrew word ‘echad. (This Old Testament text was originally written in Hebrew). This is the same Hebrew word that is used for “one” in Genesis 2:24—Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

  • In case you haven’t noticed when a man and woman are married they do not melt into one human being, becoming some sort of hybrid. Yet, they do become “one.” We could cite other examples, but we have made our point.

God Is More Than One

  • Genesis 1:26, Genesis 3:22, Genesis 11:7, Isaiah 6:8, and other passages are examples of conversations within which God uses the word “we” or “us.” However, God is not referring to any others (people, angels, etc.) in these verses. Since God is having a conversation, the “we” and “us” must therefore refer to the Trinity. You might say that God speaks to Himself in the plural form.


The Trinity Is God


Matthew 28:16-20 is a passage referred to as “The Great Commission.” In verse 19, Jesus states, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”


Why did Jesus tell his eleven disciples to baptize people in the names of all three members of the Trinity? Why not one or two? It is obvious from this passage that the entire Trinity is God.


LOCAL CHURCHES I HAVE WORK IN

SEVERAL CHURCHES I HAVE WORKED IN
IN 1973-74 VICTORY BAPTIST CHURCH, MY FATHER-IN-LAW PASTOR
Bob Temple, Sr.
Minister of Education and Youth Pastor
PORTSMOUTH BAPTIST CHURCH 2002-2003
Minister of Christian Education and Adult Teacher
BIGELOW CHURCH
Attended from Nov 2003 to Dec 2007
Youth Christian Education 2007
Pastor/Teacher of the
Rivers of Joy Baptist Church
Currently July 2008


I took these photo yesterday.
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I am glad that the Lord has the ability to clean up messes we make.
Working with Pastors is not always pleasant, rarely is with me. My stay in churches has been short lived in those churches where I am not the pastor/teacher.
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WHILE THIS BLOGGER IS ABOUT MY JOURNEY,
I DO ADDRESS EVENTS ABOUT MY JOURNEY
and
Sometimes my journey in ministry gives the impression that I have a hard time working with other pastors. YEP!
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Preachers tend to paint a picture that every thing is just going great in their church, when in fact the opposite is usually true. I generally point out those areas, and as a result, I have been viewed as trouble for the preacher. And my stay is usually short lived.
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Now that I am a Pastor again, I have found that I have the opportunity, to implement some of the very ideas that I had for those churches I was in. I also have found a group of good people who are willing to listen to these ideas. I am looking forward to see how the Lord is going to work His will out for our church, and my prayer is that the Lord has given me the wisdom to not mess it up. AMEN.
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WHEN PREACHERS/PASTORS ARE NOT WILLING TO
TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR MINISTRY ...
THERE USUALLY WILL BE SOME DIFFICULT TIMES AHEAD.
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In more cases than I like to report the church I have worked in, the pastor generally has resigned shortly after I have left. And the pastor that the church hires, generally does not stay for long either in several of those churches.
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Some of the churches have made (if I might say) a good come back.
The churches are doing well, some very well, and the Lord seems to be blessing.
Its really great to see the Lord blessing on those churches.
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I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED CHURCHES, I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED PREACHERS AND I HAVE LOVED THE PEOPLE.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

CHARITY MY WIFE

CHARITY AT HER MOTHERS HOME AND IN THE KITCHEN

Charity loves the kitchen at her Mom's or at home or at Union Mills

AS I WAS THINKING ABOUT MY DAD THIS MORNING, I AM SURE CHARITY WAS THINKING ABOUT HER MOM. AND WHEN YOU THINK OF LENORA YOU THINK ABOUT HER GLASS WARE AND THOSE DINNERS AT HER HOUSE.
CHARITY AND KYLE ON THEIR TRIP TO KANSAS EARLIER THIS MONTH.
HOW DID THIS PHOTO GET IN THE POST?

MY MIND DOES WONDER.



MY DAD AND PREACHING NOTES

MY DAD AND HIS PREACHING NOTES

"TODAY'S TEMPEST" LUKE 8:22-25 and Mark 4:35-41
1954 Everette Whisnant, and R.J. Barber, Sr.
Williamsroad Baptist Church
Roanoke, Virginia

Dad love preaching, Dad loved people, Dad love his family, and Dad love the Lord. I caught that in the short time that I knew my Dad. Dad died in 1966, but he still lives in my heart today, some 42 years later. I have only a few notes Dad had in his bible. I have only a few pictures of Dad. But I have a lot of memory in my mind yet still today.

JUST THOUGHT I WOULD SAY A LITTLE ABOUT MY DAD TODAY.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Pastoral Ministry



Pastoral Ministry




STEPHEN AT LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

A YOUNG MAN WHO IS TO CONTINUE HIS EDUCATION AT LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
Who would have known that one month to the day, and on his mother's birthday, Jerry Falwell would go to glory, heaven, to be with the Lord. April 15th, was my mother's birthday, and we were all in Lynchburg, Virginia to be in the services of Thomas Road Baptist Church, and Stephen was to visit the campus of Liberty University for new student weekend.

April 15th 2007 Stephen knew he would like to attend Liberty University, what he didn't know was that he would be standing beside Jerry Falwell at Thomas Road Baptist Church.

We all didn't know that we would be having Sunday Dinner with Jerry and Macel Falwell at a local restaurant in Lynchburg. Stephen was sitting on one side and I was on the other side of Jerry, talking and having a great time.

I am sure my sister Ellen, could address this event in Lynchburg in great detail, and would be much better than I to express all the Lord had in mind for all of us that weekend.

Those weekend events have lead all of us to a string of events that have been a blessing to all of us. These fifteen months have been a whirlwind for all of us. Now Stephen is at Liberty.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

UPDATE ON GROWBYLEARNING WEB

My sister, Ellen, co-worker on my GROW BY LEARNING WEB has just updated my pages title.
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You will notice "CHURCH" as one of the pages on the Site.
This page will be used for Rivers of Joy Baptist Church.

Ellen is a little older now, but she does look about the same. (I would say look at her legs, but she would really kill me for saying that.) Maybe she won't see this blog.

Ellen was painting our car, yes painting Charity's car when we were married in 1969. The paint job didn't come off.

IF THERE IS A VIDEO THAT I LISTEN TO AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, IT'S THIS ONE BY WINTLEY PHIPPS - THE HISTORY OF NEGRO SPIRITUAL - AMAZING GRACE.

Also Pastor David Jeremiah has done a series of messages on Amazing Grace and John Newton

that has been outstanding. The series has been

Captured By Grace.

ARTIST PAINTS IN 2 1/2 MINUTES

I can't believe this, but this is my first time of getting this to work, and I am still not sure how I did this. But for the first time, this video is good.

A GREAT VIEW OF THE LAND SCAPE


A VIEW OF THE PORTSMOUTH RACEWAY, AND THEN THE NEW BRIDGE AND IN THE BACK GROUND THE HILL SIDES

Monday, August 25, 2008

CAR ART, ELVIS, AND PHILIPPIANS 1:4



By Steve



Okay so I am human, Bill Gothard said in one of the many All Day Pastors Seminar's I did attend in the 80 and 90's.

"Don't let the people in your church think you are perfect and without some faults."

I need to get out those notes.
Of course some folks will ask, "what faults do you have?"


I like Elvis. Sorry about that.

My Dad said once, "If I were to like a Rock and Roll person, I would like Elvis."


It has blessed my heart to know that those who know me best, know that I really love the Lord and I love preaching and teaching. I love to teach others, I love to see others grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul said this: Philippians 1:4
"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy." For Paul it was a delight for him to intercede for fellow believers.
My heart is blessed as I remember you who know me well.
I say with Paul,
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

RIVERS OF JOY BLOG MYCHURCH

Rivers of Joy Baptist Church's blog


REFLECTION ON SUNDAY AND THE LAST MONTH

  1. Sunday's Worship was just wonderful.
  2. Adult Bible Fellowship, Morning Worship, Evening Worship was very good.
  3. Two joined the church. (3) total
  4. New members were already working with us to help accomplish our objectives.
  5. Visitors were still coming after four weeks.
  6. Members are inviting others to come.
  7. Choir is singing both Sunday Morning and Sunday Evening.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT RIVERS OF JOY BAPTIST CHURCH IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS

  1. There were a lot of rumors circulating about me, and causing a few to wonder if I would be the right choice as pastor of the church. Rumors could be: (but I really don't know) Only rumors.
  • The truth. "Did you know that Charles is not a KJV onlyness preacher?" True. While I generally preach from the KJV, I will read from the NKJV or NASV; I do study from other resources, and I will explain the text from the KJV with other translations. There are several articles on the blog about my position on this matter.
  • The truth: "Did you know that Charles believes the doctrine of Election?" True. I am preaching now from I Thessalonians. Note 1:4 "knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God." or "elect." IT IS IN THE BIBLE.
  • The truth: "I heard that Charles was asked to leave several churches?" True, just read my blog and you will read my journey in ministry. Generally I was open as I felt I should. Several pastors have asked me to leave the church, (Charles, I believe the Lord has called you to be a pastor......)
  • The truth: "I have heard that Charles is not perfect, he has made some mistakes." True. If you want to find fault with my life, you can. I would hate to run for President of the United States.
  • The truth: "Charles is not like the founder, Quentin King. True. There is only one Bro. King. I don't think I could be like him; God only made one Bro. King.

Of course I have not asked what the rumors have been.

HERE IS WHAT I HAVE FOUND OUT ABOUT THOSE WHO ARE NOW ATTENDING RIVERS OF JOY BAPTIST CHURCH:

  1. Some have listened to the comments about me, have given me a hearing, and been willing to get to know me, and then made a decision about what they think about me.
  2. Those who are now coming have made Charity and I so very welcome.
  3. I haven't heard any rumors that the people are going to ask me to leave after a month.
  4. There seems to be an excitement about the methods that I have used in the Sunday School hour.
  5. I have heard that the folks really like the sermon outlines, and some even like the preaching. (Even with a few misspelled words.)
  6. They have loved, it seems, the volume of papers that I have passed out in each service. They all have notebooks and seem eager to make sure they have all the handouts.
  7. They seem to love the Growbylearning website, and blogger.
  8. Some have said that they agree with the direction I have suggested that the church could go.
  9. Those who have stayed in the church, know the struggles that the church has had. There has been no hiding of the hurts and problems that the church has had.
  10. This comment I have heard several times, and believe to be the general attitude of the folks. "We believe Charles is the pastor who the Lord knew we needed to have."
  11. I am glad for the open and honest conversation that we have had with each person.
  12. They have supported me and Charity with their attendance and love, and participation in the ministry. And even financially. WOW.
  13. They are giving me a chance to pastor and give leadership and direction to the church.
  14. And WOW it's a wonderful fellowship of believers.

NOW LET ME SAY WHAT I AM THINKING AFTER A MONTH

  1. WOW

Sunday, August 24, 2008

MY MOM.....
MOM IS STAYING WITH ELLEN IN TEXAS
Stephen has all grown up , they were in our church in Altoona, a few years ago.
Ellen, she has grown all up, from those days
in Roanoke, Virginia
She is still working out with her legs.
Click and find out how.
* * * * * * * * *


Words change.

Conversation with Mom about my phone call to Charles.

"Mom, Charles called from his church."

"What did he say?"

"He said he didn't get good reception there, so he had to call me later."

"Oh, he didn't get the church?"

"HUH? What do you mean?"

"Well, you said he didn't get a good RECEPTION."

"Oh my, no, Ma, he meant he didn't get good CELL reception!!!"

We both laughed. Hope U R, too!

Ellen

Friday, August 22, 2008

QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT YOUR PREACHING

WHAT QUESTION CAN I ASK MYSELF OF THE SERMONS I PREACH?
Preaching is designed by God to speak His Word to the people of God.
Of course I have gone fishing in preaching a sermon, but not often, or is that chasing rabbits.
IS THE PREACHING BIBLICAL OR IS IT JUST MY THINKING WHAT PREACHING SHOULD SOUND LIKE?

SO WITH THIS IN MIND

How skeletal is my preaching?

Think with awareness the verbal communication and tone used, as well as the sermon content.

1. INDIVIDUALISTIC.
  • Look at the language. Is "you" always about the personal individual lives of hearers, and how often is "you" (plural) and "we" related to the community? Does the "kingdom of God feature in your language? Can a hearer walk away thinking that Christ's challenge is only about "my life, my purpose, my future"?

2. DESIGNED AT THE HEAD OR HEART BUT RARELY AT BOTH

  • Note how much the pastor: taught with textual references, or did he just tell stories. Identify where head and heart were balanced, to call the church body to be totally, soul, mind, heart, head and spirit engaged?

3. WEAK-WILLED THEOLOGY
  • Was there a theology of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, either explicit or implicit. Where else do you share theological truth to fix on the continuing Christian experience.

4. NONSPECIFIC APPLICATION

  • Consider the illustrations and applications - did they seem to connect specifically with the context? In what ways did the personal relationship of the preacher with church body and surrounding context make the sermon particular rather than general?

5. AVOID CONFLICT

  • Were there issues of anxiety within the congregation that were addressed directly? Were there assumptions that everything in church is bound to be blissful

6. LITTLE COMPLIANCE CALLED FOR.

  • How much expectation of response came through this sermon? Did you identify particular outcomes were prayed over and planned for?

7. NONAPPEARANCE OF A BIGGER VIEW.

  • Was there any connection with larger visions and strategic changes that involve the whole church congregation? Were there applications that revealed the message in God's bigger plan for the church body?

8. SOLE ROLE.
  • Were other people involved in the sermon preparation and its delivery? Were other sources viewed.

9. FEARFULNESS.

  • Were there points at which "punches seemed to be pulled" so that specific Scripture challenges were reduced and overlooked.

10. BIBLICAL HOLINESS DEFECTIVE.

  • In what ways did the sermon challenge the church to live as holy people, expressing Christ's life and love in its witness before the world?

Of course I see a continued need to seek God's purpose in preaching

and I continued to need the prayers of the people in the Body of Christ

HOW CAN I KNOW THAT GOD IS HERE

CHARITY AND I IN OUR OTHER WORK CLOTHS





Jeremiah 29:13

  • 'You will (A) seek Me and find Me when you (B) search for Me with all your heart.
    Cross references:

A Jeremiah 29:13 : Deut 4:29; Ps 32:6; Matt 7:7
B Jeremiah 29:13 : 1 Chr 22:19; 2 Chr 22:9; Jer 24:7

I PERSONAL SHOULD CONFESS I AM SO IN NEED TO WORK ON:


Too often we aren’t really looking for Him…but merely giving quick glances His way… and we really need to confest that sin, and really get serious about knowing the Lord.


Questions for you…if you don’t mind…

  1. When was the last time you came to church & begged God to reveal Himself to you? Or…is it your goal to get in and get out?
  2. When was the last time you prayed over your food and GENUINELY did so with a thankful heart? Or…are you still using that prayer you memorized 20 years ago? ("God is great, God is good, let us hurry up and eat these grapes”)
  3. When was the last time you prayed before reading the Scriptures and asked God to get personal? Or…do you read the Bible to try read you three chapters and see what is wrong with “those other people?”)
  4. When was the last time you allowed God to place HIS passion into you? Or…are you to busy trying to instill your passion into Him? or I don't have time to wait on the Holy Spirit to fill my soul with his presences.

Maybe our prayer needs to stop being for Him to reveal Himself and exchange to pleading Him to let us see what’s He’s already tried to make understandable.


We get serious for about a minute or two, don't we? Then we get back to our troubles, and worry, and frets. Maybe we just need to step back and see what God is already doing in our lives. Give thanks. Praise Him.

STAY A LITTLE LONGER WITH THE LORD TODAY.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

THE WEST WING - BIBLE and Theololgican



(since I do not yet know how to upload a video I will ask you to click on to the clip)

I watched the West Wing from start to finished, and was disappointed when the TV show was ended. Ready. Yep. How is that for a fundamentalist! I didn't say I agreed with the positions that they took on issues. Of course not. But the issues were ways of knowing how they were viewed by a large group of people in our culture.
In this clip, the president address a TV preacher ( of course she is a woman) who has an invitation to the White House, and the president notices her and finally he will address her with a series of biblical questions. Of course he doesn't have a clue that he is taking the scriptures out of context.


There are ways to respond to his questions, but it certainly is a little jolt and makes you uncomfortable listening to them. So my point at the end was to hopefully leave everyone with a sense of "How would I answer those questions?"




In order to answer his question, one should have a understanding of the Bible. Its a skill. Well its a term: THEOLOGIAN.

There are true professional academic theologians, which we are very glad to have, but then because there are "professionals" it should not cause us to not strive to think theologically, and strive to be a theologian.



So the definition from the dictionary of "theologian" an expert in or student of theology. So we can all be a student of theology. The study of God, and all the ologies of study.



There is the well known Chinese quote (below) and then rewrote it with the twist for the church.



  • "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

On the other hand, a Church quote could read like this:


  • "Give a man (or woman) a sermon and you feed them for a day. Teach a man (or woman) to study Scripture on their own and you feed them for a lifetime."
I want to address this issue of


  • "Less successful teachers see students as tanks ready to be filled. Good teachers see students as model constructors who need help in reconstructing the model that is already at work in their head. Learners undergo deep-seated transformations and affect heart and mind and lead to continued growth. So, good teachers see the classroom as a place for intellectual development instead of just absorbing information from the teacher/ master/ scholar. "

  • In other words we as preachers and teachers, there is need to be training and encouraging people to learn the skills to learn the Scriptures .

  • My goal has always had the idea of training young Christians, old Christians, to know how to study and learn the Word of God.

  • Some one said to me the other day, "Charles you taught us in our Adult Bible Fellowship Class" and she mention the point. That is the point to train Christan's to be theologian, so that they can answer the questions Martin Sheen (the president) raised.
I look at the class room as a whole, but also I look at each student as one.

Pastoral Ministry

I was asked in the Wednesday Service: "Pastor do you love what you do?" And I said, "Does it tell that I do?" And the group said, "You can tell you love the ministry."
The teaching of Biblical principles is the key, I believe to pastoral ministry.
Over at Expository Thoughts a question was asked of us pastors:

Pastors: What, if anything, are you going to say to your people before the upcoming election? Or maybe said differently “what have you said or taught on thus far?” Do you ever preach a topical sermon on an issue like abortion as John Piper does each year? How do you address issues without having people assume you are trying to support a specific candidate or party. (footnote: I wish more Democrats were pro-life and pro-family and that the issues they’re debating were not issues at all).

I asked the group on Wedensday: They said they are well able to make up their minds as to who to vote for.

HOW SHOULD A PASTOR/PREACHER/TEACHER BUILD HIS SERMONS

Back in the 1950's H. Grady Davis shifted the metaphor for a sermon. Instead of something constructed by the preacher, a building, it is something grown, akin to a tree. Here is another quote used in McDill's book, 12 Essential Skills (I appreciate these quotes at the start of each chapter).

A sermon should be like a tree. . . .
It should have deep roots:
As much unseen as above the surface
Roots spreading as widely as its branches spread
Roots deep underground
In the soil of life's struggle
In the subsoil of the eternal Word.

McDill, Wayne. The 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1994. 290 Be Careful How You Listen: How to Get the Most out of a Sermon (Paperback) Jay Adams

The more I read the articles on the web, the more I learn how little I know about preaching. While I have been preaching/teaching forty-five years, I seem to sense I have a few more years of getting it right.


While preaching has always been a great passion for me, the desire to dispense the Word of God, has always been a passion.


Sermon preparation has always been a joy, I love the process of learning what God is saying in the text. Sermon delivery of the message has always been a joy. Often in the middle of the sermon, I really sense that the Holy Spirit is giving me understanding that I had not received in the study of the text itself. The passion of what Paul is saying to the church at Philippi or the church in Thessalonica grips my heart.


The comprehension or a proper understanding of what Paul is driving home to the church, fills my mind as I am preaching. And I desire to have that understanding come out in my preaching to the people to whom I am preaching.

  • "The real strength of a sermon is not found in delivery, although that aspect matters much. It is not found in the structure and content. The strength of a sermon has to be located in the roots. So check the roots of your sermons, of your ministry as a preacher. Are they deep into the soil of life's struggle? Are they deeper still in the subsoil of the eternal Word? Let's be sure we are not preaching impressive, but rootless sermons . . . a breeze might just blow them over!" Peter Mead
Too often I think I want the content of the message to be correct so much that I forgo the smoothness of the delivery. I rarely speak without a deep fervor of what I am about to preach. And most of the time, it's when the Holy Spirit impresses my spirit that this fervor is activated much more.



A sermon manuscript is just that, the handwriting, or typed copy of the sermon you are about to preach. I believe that I have adequately prepared. While sometimes I think I have just barely been sufficient in the quality of the delivery of the sermon, I can say that my spirit has been uplifted in the presenting of the message to the congregation. And I do read from my manuscript, while sometimes it seems like I am reading the sermon (which of course I am) may at times be a little distracting( to my wife) to those who are listening. Sometimes I might get a little distracted myself, but I am going to work on this.


While I have said to the people, my prayer is that God will over ride my delivery and supply you with a listening ability that will enhance my preaching, so that the Word of God will be freshly supplied in your mind. That God would improve or add to the strength and beauty of the Word of God. That God would increase the clarity of the message. The root of the message, the fundamental cause, the source from which the message is derived is deeply embedded in my spirit.


I have found that listening to a "man of God" whom I sense in my spirit that they are "man of God" gets my attention. The delivery to some would seem to be dull, but to me it's the message that fills my mind. While others are very emotional in their delivery and have little or no affect on my mind.


Some preachers would be totally correct in their speech, you would never note a flaw in their delivery, they would smile, and gesture all the right ways, but the spirit of the message was dull.

Some speakers were so dominant in their voice, their words seemed to be so powerful on the mind, yet what they were saying was not biblical in the least.


And all this observation does not negate the need for preparation of the sermon or the delivery of the message. After all, people do have to look at you while you are preaching; they have to listen to you; they have to try to understand the words you are saying; and they have to get a sense that what you are saying is what the Lord would have them to understand about His word and Himself, an........



drafted by Charles E. Whisnant and proof read by Charity.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Its Just Not Bibical - Same Sex Marriage


Perfectly normal people who do not have normal sex drives will do some un normal things. In their mind I would think, they believe its as normal as any other marriage. Their minds can be trained to believe a lie about life, marriage and sex, as it is meant to be.



SIN is the system that brings in the belief that God and the Bible is not the means whereby we make our decisions about living, life, marriage and sex. The natural mind is blinded to those things that are spiritual in natural. SIN I believe is the DNA of the nature of man. Within the nature of man is the gene principle that is natural for the mind to be against what God says is right or wrong. Our very being is naturally set against the truths that God has set forth in the Bible. You don't have to be a moral bad person to have this DNA of sin within you. It is in every human person ever born. The truth is every person has a negative desire to be in obediences with just about any law of God or man. Few want to obey the laws of their parents, their government and God's. Its natural to want to go 65 mph rather than the law of 55 mph. Its in the natural of a person. Its natural for the youngest child to disobey what his parents wish for them to do. Babies cry often because they are not getting what they want. Children throw a fit in K Mart when they can not buy a toy of their choice. Its natural, its in the DNA of the nature.



So when they become an adult, they see nothing wrong with doing what they have always desired, if it seems right for them to do, its right for them to do. Its natural for them to see nothing wrong with same sex marriage.



The probem is SIN, its in every person. And of course you don't see your behaviour as SIN.



To solve the probem of SIN is to have a born again change of nature. There needs to be a born again experience. And only through the work of Jesus Christ can a person under go this born again change of nature.




Only Jesus Christ can made the difference in the mind and nature of the person who has a the mindset of set in rebellion against the laws of mankind and God.


And no, the photo above is not from Union Mills, I don't believe my wife, Charity or her sister Debbie would honor a cake as such. I need to ask.

RIVERS OF JOY BAPTIST CHURCH TEAM

RIVERS OF JOY BAPTIST TEAM
OUR DEACON: BILL ALDRIDGE
OUR PIANIST JOHNNY EDWARDS
OUR CHOIR DIRECTOR, CHARTER MEMBER
ALL AROUND CHURCH MEMBER
JIM GRANT


I am thinking I might use this MyChurch blog as the site for the Rivers of Joy Baptist Church news and points of view of the church life.
Since we do not have an offical church web site yet, we might in time.

FOOTNOTE:
I know that our wives are a major part of our team, and without them we would be lost. So next time I will have the photo of our lovely wives.
-




Tuesday, August 19, 2008

THE TWO MILE WALK

YES YOU ARE SEEING THIS CORRECTLY YES, CHARITY IS ON THIS WALK WITH ME, AND ITS TWO MILES

I LOVE THE TRAINS, THIS ONE WAS RATHER CLOSE TONIGHT
.
AFTER A WONDERFUL MEAL, OF REAL OLD FASHIONED CHICKEN WITH THE BONE AND CORN ON THE COB AND MIX VERGIES AND TO TOP IT OFF WITH CREAM BANANA PIE, FRESHLY MADE BY CHARITY: WE HAD TO TAKE A WALK.

THE CHURCH WITH THE RIGHT STUFF 52.2

FIRST THESSALONIANS SERIES—
Pastor/Teacher Charles E. Whisnant

THE CHURCH WITH THE RIGHT STUFF
Series No. 52.2

THE PREACHERS NAMED: VS. 1

IB "Paul". Just Paul
2B "Silas". Leader in the Jersualem church. Acts 15:22, Acts 16:37. Roman Citizen, Prophet. Silas joined Paul following Barnabas leaving with Mark.

3B "Timothy". Converted in Lystgra, Constant companion of Paul. Writer of several NT books

THE CHURCH ESTABLISHED

IB "Unto the church" <1577>. Ekklesia, Gr. term. Related to eklogen "elect". The term is local, and "called out ones." The term has the meaning of "God's elect called out from among the world." Acts 19:39. Assembly of believers. Then it came to mean an congregation which meets for worship, in a location. The result of been summoned you have an elect congregation.

  1. Here ekkleia is used to describe the early gatherings of believers in various geographical locations.
  2. The term is two fold, An event of the assembling (world­wide) of God's people, and it is also a particular local "church," congregation": or assembly."
  3. The Book of Acts, this new community of God,, this congregation appeared as a part of salvation history on the day of Pentacost.
  4. The early fellowship of believers became the "church" in the local geographical sense (Acts 5:11; 8:1,3; 11:22, 12:1; 16:5 and 20:17) Paul used the term 60 times. Paul wrote to local assemblies. (Corinth, Galatia, Thess. etc.)

2B "In" <1722> the Father <3962> and in the Lord <2962> Jesus <2424> Christ <5547>."

  1. "IN" This was to distinguish them from the Jewish synagogues, or any other association in Thessalonica. This group is an elect church, being in Christ, they are in a spiritual organic union with Christ. (Branch and Vine) They "live" in Him, having a living participation with the very life of God (John 15) and the live of Christ.

  2. "In Christ" a term Paul uses a lot. Gal. 2:20. "He in me and I in Him." In God, In Christ, In the Holy Spirit, (vs 6). 2C
PAUL'S CHRISTOLOGY.
  1. "JESUS" {lesou} Saviour. Matthew 1:21. "Messiah His humanity and "Jehovah saves."

  2. CHRIST" {Christo}. To anoint. Messiah, Anointed One, Chosen One.

  3. "LORD" {kurio} used by the Romans in emperor-worship. Paul's view of Jesus Christ was not as the current view was, but as the Risen Christ, and Lord of his life. Creator, Redeemer, and one who rules us.

  4. "IN" as a prep, {en} employed to denote a close personal relationship [Rom 8:9; Gal. 2:20] The Christian is to live and act "in" the sphere of his or her relationship with God. The believer stands firm "en kurio" I Corin. 15:58. Both in The Father and In Christ.
3B "Grace <5485> be unto you, and peace <1515>, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

  1. The church did not bring forth truth, truth was giving to the church by God's mouthpieces.
  2. "GRACE" {charis} favour shown to one who has no claim upon it. Its the kindness of God's heart or some operation of that kindness. Eph. 2:8-10

  3. "PEACE" {eirene} the result of grace. Health, well-being, wholeness, spiritual prosperity. Its inward harmony and well-being been produced by the Spirit of Grace. John 14:27, Phil. 4:7.
4B "We give thanks <2168> always for you all, making mention <3281> of you in our prayers".
  1. "WE GIVE THANKS" (eucharistoumen), pres tense stresses the continual action of giving thanks.

  2. "ALWAYS" (pantote) to GOD (theo) (there is no capitals in Greek.) When you come up in our remembrance, we always give thanks to God for you. "the direction of the memory to some particular object." Maybe a prayer list, daily to pray for

  3. "ALL" Paul encircled them all.

  4. "MAKING MENTION." Rom. 1:9, Eph. 1:16, Philm 1:4.
    Every time they engaged in prayer these converts came into mind.

  5. "GIVING THANKS" The best thing you can do is to give thanks to God. You might have though giving meant money? But to make our money work for God, it has to be given with thanksgiving. Same when we pray, prayer is only effective with God, when prayer is offered up with thanks. Eph. 5:20, Col 3:17, 1:2.

THIS CHURCH WAS AN ELECT CHURCH vs 4.
How does Paul know?
Can Rivers of Joy Baptist Church be an Elect Church!


Footnote: The numbers show the numbers in the Strongs.
This message was preached last at the Rivers of Joy Baptist Church August 2008
Photo: Myself, and Bill Aldridge, our Deacon at the church.

Monday, August 18, 2008

PREACHING AND LISTENING

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor

John MacArthur

The saturation in today’s world of television, movies, and other forms of visual media has had an adverse effect on our ability to listen, think, and reason. It’s as if the entire society is suffering from attention deficit disorder. Sadly, many preachers decided to make major accommodations to the appetites of a generation weaned on media and entertainment; but they left biblical preaching behind.

Have you ever noticed how may television commercials say nothing about the products they advertise? The typical jeans commercial shows a painful drama about the woes of adolescence but never mentions jeans. A perfume ad is a collage of sensuous images with no reference to the product. Beer commercials contain some of the funniest material on television but say very little about beer.


Those commercials are designed to create a mood, to entertain, to appeal to our emotions—not to give us information. They are often the most effective commercials because they make the best use of television. They are the natural product of a medium that offers a surreal view of the world.


On television, reality mingles imperceptibly with illusion. Truth is irrelevant; what really matters is whether we’re entertained. Substance is nothing; style is everything. In the words of Marshall McLuhan, the medium has become the message.


Amusing Ourselves to Death is the name of a perceptive but disquieting book by Neil Postman, a professor at New York University. The book argues powerfully that television has crippled our ability to think and reduced our aptitude for real communication.


Postman says television has not made us the best informed and most literate generation in history. Instead it has flooded our minds with irrelevant and meaningless information. Television has conditioned us only to be entertained and has therefore rendered other critical forms of human interaction obsolete.


Even the news, Postman points out, is a performance. Suave anchormen coolly present brief segments about war, murder, crime, and natural disaster. Those are punctuated by commercials that trivialize the news stories and isolate them from any context. Postman recounts a news broadcast in which a Marine Corps general declared that global nuclear war is inevitable. The next segment was a commercial for Burger King.


We are not expected to respond rationally. In Postman’s words, “The viewers will not be caught contaminating their responses with a sense of reality, any more than an audience at a play would go scurrying to call home because a character on stage has said that a murderer is loose in the neighborhood.”[1]


Television cannot demand a sensible response. People tune in to be entertained, not to be challenged to think. If a program requires contemplation or demands too much use of the intellectual faculties, it will die from lack of an audience.


Television has shortened our attention span. Would anyone in our society, for example, stand for seven hours in a sweltering crowd listening to the Lincoln-Douglas debates? It’s frankly hard for us to imagine that our great-great-grandparents had that kind of stamina. We have allowed television to convince us we know more while actually lowering our tolerance for thinking and learning.


By far the book’s most trenchant message is in a chapter on modern religion. Postman, no evangelical, nevertheless writes with piercing insight about the decline of preaching. He contrasts the ministries of Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and Charles Finney with the preaching of today. Those men relied on depth of content, profundity, logic, and knowledge of Scripture. Preaching today is superficial by comparison, with the emphasis on style and emotion. “Good” preaching by the modern definition must above all be brief and amusing. It is entertainment—not exhortation, reproof, rebuke, or instruction (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16; 4:2).


The epitome of modern preaching is the slick evangelist who overstates every emotion, struts around the platform with a microphone wired to his ear, and gets the audience clapping, stomping, and shouting while he incites them into an emotional frenzy. There’s no meat to the message, but who cares as long as the response is enthusiastic?


Of course, preaching in most conservative evangelical churches is not that exaggerated. But sadly, even some of the best of today’s preaching is more entertainment than teaching. Most churches typically feature a half-hour sermon with lots of amusing anecdotes but little doctrine.


In fact, many preachers think of doctrine as undesirable and impractical. A major Christian magazine once published an article by a well-known charismatic speaker. He mused for a full page about the futility of both preaching and listening to sermons that go beyond mere entertainment. His conclusion? People don’t remember what you say anyway, so most preaching is a waste of time. “I’m going to try to do better next year,” he wrote; “that means wasting less time listening to long sermons and spending much more time preparing short ones. People, I’ve discovered, will forgive even poor theology as long as they get out before noon.”[2]


That perfectly sums up the attitude that dominates most modern preaching. There is an obvious parallel between that kind of preaching and those trendy jeans-perfume-beer commercials. Like the commercials, it aims to set a mood, to evoke an emotional response, to entertain—but not necessarily to communicate anything of substance.


Such preaching is sheer accommodation to a society bred by television. It follows what is fashionable but reveals little concern for what is true. It is not the kind of preaching Scripture mandates. We are to “preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:2), “speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1), and “teach and preach…the doctrine conforming to godliness” (1 Tim. 6:2-3). It is impossible to do those things and always be entertaining.


If the tragic course of modern preaching is to be changed, Christians must insist on biblical preaching and be supportive of pastors who are committed to it. How does a pastor of integrity reach people who may be unwilling or even unable to listen to carefully reasoned expositions of God’s truth? That may be the greatest challenge for today’s Christian leaders. We cannot yield to the pressure to be superficial. We must find ways to make the truth of God known to a generation that not only doesn’t want to hear, but may not even know how to listen.

[1] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death (New York: Penguin, 1984), 104.

[2] James Buckingham, “Wasted Time,” Charisma (Dec. 1988): 98.




Available online at: http://www.gty.org/Resources/articles/10178
COPYRIGHT ©2008 Grace to You

THOSE TWO PREACHERS - TAKEN AUGUST 17, 2008
Charles Whisnant, Bob Temple, Sr.
Rivers of Joy Baptist Church
I mean this was Sunday Evening Service
Suit and Bible and Ties ! !

JESUS WAS GOD IN THE FLESH

FOR A FULL VIEW OF THIS POST GO TO THIS SITE

Jesus Was God in the Flesh

"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me" (Isaiah 43:10).

JESUS

IS

GOD, "YAHWEH"

John 1:3, "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."
Col. 1:16-17, "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

Creator

Job 33:4, "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life."
Isaiah 40:28, "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom."
Rev. 1:17, "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.’"
Rev. 2:8, "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again."
Rev. 22:13, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

First and Last

Isaiah 41:4, "Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD -- with the first of them and with the last -- I am he."
Isaiah 44:6, "This is what the LORD says -- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God."
Isaiah 48:12, "Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last."
John 8:24, "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (NKJV)
John 8:58, "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" See Exodus 3:14

John 13:19, "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He."

I AM

"ego eimi"

Exodus 3:14, "God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’"
Isaiah 43:10, "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me."

See also Deut. 32:39
2 Tim. 4:1, "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge..."
2 Cor. 5:10, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."

Judge

Joel 3:12, "Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side."
Rom. 14:10, "You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat."
Matt. 2:2, "...Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
Luke 23:3, "So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied."

See also John 19:21

King

Jer. 10:10, "But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath."
Isaiah 44:6-8, "This is what the LORD says -- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God."
See also Psalm 47
John 8:12,"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Luke 2:32, "a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

See also John 1:7-9

Light

Psalm 27:1, "The LORD is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear?"
Isaiah 60:20 ,"our sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end."

1 John 1:5, "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all."
1 Cor. 10:, "...for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ."
See also 1 Pet. 2:.

Rock

Deut. 32:4, "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he."
See also 2 Sam. 22:32 and Isaiah 17:10.
John 4:24, "They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.’"
1 John 4:14, "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world."

Savior

Isaiah 43:3, "For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior"
Isaiah 45:21, "...And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me."
John 10:11, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
Heb. 13:20, "May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,"

See also John 10:14,16; 1 Pet. 2:25

Shepherd

Psalm 23:1, "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want."
Isaiah 40:11, "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."


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