Today was another awesome Sunday! We started the service with three baptisms and ended the service with a young man accepting Christ as his Savior! The music was GREAT, which led my father-in-law to say that we shouldn't hire a Worship Pastor, because they would only mess things up. I hope he's not prophetic, but I'm not sure no one could do any better than our volunteers have been doing. At the close of the service, Joe sang his first solo at Emmanuel and knocked it out of the park!
In the morning, I continued the sermon series in James 5:1-6 offering James' "Advice to the Affluent." I emphasized that money is not evil, but the love is money is. James warned against hoarding money, being selfish, becoming rich at other's expense, mistreating people for money, and misusing wealth. God will often "give through us, but not give to us." Our folks were challenged to give to those in need, invest in eternity, and refuse to make money their god. I closed by reminding them that each of us can be rich in Christ as seen in Eph. 1:7, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace."
On Sunday night, I continued the sermon series based on Francis Chan's book, "Crazy Love." If you haven't read it, I HIGHLY recommend it. The book is an easy read, but carries you deep in thought and introspection. The primary focus tonight was to lead people to realize that Christ CAN return any time, so we should live as though we expect Him. What would you do if you knew Jesus would return tomorrow? Francis Chan said in a spiritual sense what Tim McGraw said in the physical sense -- "Live like you were dying." Live ready for Christ's return.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Homecoming 11.1.09
This past Sunday, Emmanuel Baptist Church celebrated our 83rd anniversary! This is the first year that our Homecoming represented a "normal" Sunday service format and the responses have really been good. I've learned that while "showcasing" people from the past is fun, our people are proud of their church and want their returning friends to see what is taking place now. So, outside of some extra music with the One Focus Trio, everything else was pretty normal. I laugh in saying that, because people always respond, "We never have a 'normal' Sunday at EBC."
Heather did a great job leading - as always. Lisa knocked it out of the park with her solo. (For me personally, we could have given the invitation as soon as she finished.) Reports were given celebrating God's blessings in Emmanuel Christian School, Judgement House, Trunk-or-Treat, the progress on our Children's Theater, Ropes Course, etc. God is doing some awesome things at EBC! It was good for our own folks and our guests to hear what's happening and the lives being impacted because of EBC's efforts and God's blessings.
I continued the sermon series moving into James 4:1-10. In a brief summary, James tells God's children to 1) stop fighting among ourselves and grow up! Selfishness, bitterness, failure to forgive, and desires to retaliate are all marks of spiritual immaturity. Christ-followers are to love, forgive, reconcile, restore, and live in unity. James also instructs us to 2) stop warring within ourselves by selling out to our Savior, instead of our sin. He tells us to 3) stop warring against God and calls those who choose other gods spiritual adulterers! James closes by 4) giving instructions on making peace with God (vss 7-10).
We closed our our Homecoming with a potluck feast like you would not believe. We had 14 serving lines setup in our gym and people ate and spent time catching up with old friends.
Heather did a great job leading - as always. Lisa knocked it out of the park with her solo. (For me personally, we could have given the invitation as soon as she finished.) Reports were given celebrating God's blessings in Emmanuel Christian School, Judgement House, Trunk-or-Treat, the progress on our Children's Theater, Ropes Course, etc. God is doing some awesome things at EBC! It was good for our own folks and our guests to hear what's happening and the lives being impacted because of EBC's efforts and God's blessings.
I continued the sermon series moving into James 4:1-10. In a brief summary, James tells God's children to 1) stop fighting among ourselves and grow up! Selfishness, bitterness, failure to forgive, and desires to retaliate are all marks of spiritual immaturity. Christ-followers are to love, forgive, reconcile, restore, and live in unity. James also instructs us to 2) stop warring within ourselves by selling out to our Savior, instead of our sin. He tells us to 3) stop warring against God and calls those who choose other gods spiritual adulterers! James closes by 4) giving instructions on making peace with God (vss 7-10).
We closed our our Homecoming with a potluck feast like you would not believe. We had 14 serving lines setup in our gym and people ate and spent time catching up with old friends.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Trunk-or-Treat
This was our 7th year of hosting "Trunk-or-Treat" at Emmanuel and the community continues to show overwhelming appreciation and support. Our church members decorate their cars (prizes will be awarded this Sunday) and distribute candy from their trunks. In addition, we bring in inflatables, carnival games, ponies, food, etc. and it makes for a great Halloween alternative. This year, we received cards for almost 700 children that registered, and our best count of parents and grandparents brought our grand total to 1,300+ people that walked through in just 1.5 hours! We gave out almost 1,400 pounds of candy and thanks to both our EBC and ECS families who helped provide this. That will make some local dentists happy! They were literally bringing out the candy in wheelbarrows.
Again, I want to say "thank you" to our staff and all of the volunteers from our church family, because none of this would be possible without your help and support. You brought in candy, decorated cars, dressed in costumes, supervised games, prepared concessions, registered guests, setup, cleaned up, and more! No one really knows how much work goes into one of these events, but you do... and thank you! You have really caught the vision for reaching out and making an eternal impact on our community!
Again, I want to say "thank you" to our staff and all of the volunteers from our church family, because none of this would be possible without your help and support. You brought in candy, decorated cars, dressed in costumes, supervised games, prepared concessions, registered guests, setup, cleaned up, and more! No one really knows how much work goes into one of these events, but you do... and thank you! You have really caught the vision for reaching out and making an eternal impact on our community!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Judgement House Report
Emmanuel Baptist Church just concluded our 7th year of Judgement House, and it is a highlight of every year! JH is a nine scene walk-through drama that challenges people to consider whether they have a right relationship with God and whether they are ready to meet Him when they die.
JH involved nearly 140 members of our church family, took months of practice and preparation, and many hours to build the scenes. Our Pastor of Student Ministries, Justin, provides the annual leadership to the volunteers and God used the efforts of everyone for His glory! Volunteers included registration, concessions, security, actors, counselors, tour guides, runners, set construction, cleanup crew, data entry, sound technicians, and more!
We had 1,777 people walk through JH in just 3 nights. Of those, 183 made first time decisions to accept God's gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Another 100 came for assurance or to rededicate their lives to Christ. Each person who made a decision was counseled individually, questions were answered, materials were given for immediately followup, and their names are being provided to the church they listed so the mentoring process can begin.
The stories were amazing and most of these new believers briefly wrote their testimonies, which will be displayed in our Worship Center in the weeks ahead. Those who heard the gospel included a Muslim, a Wiccan, alcoholics, substance abusers, backsliders, and and others in need of God's love. One little girl went through JH on Saturday and was saved. The next night, she brought her grandmother and grandma recommitted her life to Christ. Those stories just go on and on.
Thank you God, for using us to make an eternal impact on the lives of individuals in our local and surrounding communities.
JH involved nearly 140 members of our church family, took months of practice and preparation, and many hours to build the scenes. Our Pastor of Student Ministries, Justin, provides the annual leadership to the volunteers and God used the efforts of everyone for His glory! Volunteers included registration, concessions, security, actors, counselors, tour guides, runners, set construction, cleanup crew, data entry, sound technicians, and more!
We had 1,777 people walk through JH in just 3 nights. Of those, 183 made first time decisions to accept God's gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Another 100 came for assurance or to rededicate their lives to Christ. Each person who made a decision was counseled individually, questions were answered, materials were given for immediately followup, and their names are being provided to the church they listed so the mentoring process can begin.
The stories were amazing and most of these new believers briefly wrote their testimonies, which will be displayed in our Worship Center in the weeks ahead. Those who heard the gospel included a Muslim, a Wiccan, alcoholics, substance abusers, backsliders, and and others in need of God's love. One little girl went through JH on Saturday and was saved. The next night, she brought her grandmother and grandma recommitted her life to Christ. Those stories just go on and on.
Thank you God, for using us to make an eternal impact on the lives of individuals in our local and surrounding communities.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday Summary 10.18.09
Interesting day at Emmanuel. Folks were a little sluggish yesterday... it could have been from temps in the 30's or most likely from Judgement House, which involved 100+ members of our church family that didn't leave until around 10:30-11:00pm on Saturday night.
Our three main worship leaders were out this morning with sickness... one had pneumonia, one had a sinus infection, and one had laryngitis. Sherman pinch hit and did a very good job. Even some musicians were out, but Steven (part of the JH team) jumped right in and played the guitar. A guest singer was the highlight of our music yesterday. He was GREAT! Considering all the surprises and changes, it was a good reminder that our primary purpose and the one consistent element of the service is the preaching of God's Word.
Jeff Huey, the leader of the JH team, preached from 2 Tim. 4 and challenged us to realize that we are in a spiritual battle. He reminded our church that so many are watering down their doctrine and seeking pastors who will "tickle" their ears. He laid out a great challenge and people responded to the altar at the invitation.
All other activities were cancelled yesterday to help us accommodate JH. I'll give you a report on that in a later post.
Our three main worship leaders were out this morning with sickness... one had pneumonia, one had a sinus infection, and one had laryngitis. Sherman pinch hit and did a very good job. Even some musicians were out, but Steven (part of the JH team) jumped right in and played the guitar. A guest singer was the highlight of our music yesterday. He was GREAT! Considering all the surprises and changes, it was a good reminder that our primary purpose and the one consistent element of the service is the preaching of God's Word.
Jeff Huey, the leader of the JH team, preached from 2 Tim. 4 and challenged us to realize that we are in a spiritual battle. He reminded our church that so many are watering down their doctrine and seeking pastors who will "tickle" their ears. He laid out a great challenge and people responded to the altar at the invitation.
All other activities were cancelled yesterday to help us accommodate JH. I'll give you a report on that in a later post.
Never Too Old for God to Use You
I received an e-mail from a friend telling me that the Pastor Emeritus of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Rev. Milton Frazier and his wife Pat, are on a cruise and took time to minister to others on the ship. Evidently, they had no chaplain on board, so Milton preached and Pat played the piano as they conducted a Sunday morning service for approximately 100 people. Not bad for 84 years old.
I often hear people talking about the good old days and what they used to do for God. Now that they are older, they feel that someone else should take the reins and let them retire from God. Just curious... how old do you have to be in order to stop serving Jesus? I know it's older than Pastor Frazier at 84. That should encourage us to take every opportunity God allows for us to share our faith. Regardless how old you get -- don't quit!
I often hear people talking about the good old days and what they used to do for God. Now that they are older, they feel that someone else should take the reins and let them retire from God. Just curious... how old do you have to be in order to stop serving Jesus? I know it's older than Pastor Frazier at 84. That should encourage us to take every opportunity God allows for us to share our faith. Regardless how old you get -- don't quit!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Sunday Summary 10.11.09
Interesting week around Emmanuel. I had a lady tell me that she was not a Christian and when I asked "why," she said that she had wanted to talk to a preacher about it for a long time. I wonder how many preachers talked to her about attending their church, but never talked to her about Jesus. After about an hour, she invited Christ into her life!
The attendance in our services was down slightly today, either because of all the sickness (or) due to the subject matter being addressed in the book of James. :-) I continued the series in James and moved into James 3 -- the tongue. Amazing the word pictures James uses to illustrate his point - Bit & rudder - the little tongue steers the whole body and many of life's doors are opened or closed by the little member called the tongue.
- Fire & poisonous animals - it can cause destruction.
- Fountain & shade tree - when used properly, the tongue can provide refreshment and healing.
Just imagine how different the "church" would be if people started to control their tongues.
Justin met with all those involved in Judgement House this afternoon and our Fellowship Hall was FULL! It dawned on me that nearly 25% of our church family is involved in this evangelistic event. That's exciting! The spots we hold for reservations are now full, but we left space for walk-ins. Please be praying!
Tonight, we introduced strategic planning to our church family. It was interesting to hear the generation gap during the discussion, but all points were valid. The older folks referred to tracts and door knocking, while the younger folks referred to podcasts and satellite campuses. This is going to be a fun and thought provoking activity over the next several months. I'll keep you posted as we discuss our 3, 5, and 10 year plans to reach our community for Christ.
The attendance in our services was down slightly today, either because of all the sickness (or) due to the subject matter being addressed in the book of James. :-) I continued the series in James and moved into James 3 -- the tongue. Amazing the word pictures James uses to illustrate his point - Bit & rudder - the little tongue steers the whole body and many of life's doors are opened or closed by the little member called the tongue.
- Fire & poisonous animals - it can cause destruction.
- Fountain & shade tree - when used properly, the tongue can provide refreshment and healing.
Just imagine how different the "church" would be if people started to control their tongues.
Justin met with all those involved in Judgement House this afternoon and our Fellowship Hall was FULL! It dawned on me that nearly 25% of our church family is involved in this evangelistic event. That's exciting! The spots we hold for reservations are now full, but we left space for walk-ins. Please be praying!
Tonight, we introduced strategic planning to our church family. It was interesting to hear the generation gap during the discussion, but all points were valid. The older folks referred to tracts and door knocking, while the younger folks referred to podcasts and satellite campuses. This is going to be a fun and thought provoking activity over the next several months. I'll keep you posted as we discuss our 3, 5, and 10 year plans to reach our community for Christ.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Style or Substance?
I started as a Youth Pastor in September 1983 -- that means I've now been in ministry for 26 years! That's hard for me to believe, but it's true. Sadly, I can't remember a time when people have been more committed to worship "styles," and willing to ignore "Truth." It appears that there is a growing trend of those seeking to have religious experiences, instead of an authentic relationship with God. In South Florida, I remember a lady telling my wife and I, "I love that in my (her) church, we can go worship God on Saturday night and then our singles group can all go to a bar and party, without the preacher making us feel guilty." She gives a perfect example of a religious experience, without the conviction of sin or the comprehension of a deeper relationship.
Could this be what Paul was warning Timothy about in 2 Tim 3:1-5? "You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money; they will be proud and boastful, sneering at God, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful to them, and thoroughly bad. 3 They will be hardheaded and never give in to others; they will be constant liars and troublemakers and will think nothing of immorality. They will be rough and cruel, and sneer at those who try to be good. 4 They will betray their friends; they will be hotheaded, puffed up with pride, and prefer good times to worshiping God. 5 They will go to church, yes, but they won't really believe anything they hear.
We are seeing this played out as crowds assemble for "worship" on Sunday mornings, but those same people live like hell (vs. 3-4 - liars, troublemakers, immoral, mockers, betrayers, angry, prideful, etc.) throughout the week. Something is wrong! Could it be that the "church" has adopted the mentality of "Lights, action, entertainment"... instead of Holy, Holy, Holy? Could this be a reason we don't see the great revivals of years gone by?
Could this be what Paul was warning Timothy about in 2 Tim 3:1-5? "You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money; they will be proud and boastful, sneering at God, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful to them, and thoroughly bad. 3 They will be hardheaded and never give in to others; they will be constant liars and troublemakers and will think nothing of immorality. They will be rough and cruel, and sneer at those who try to be good. 4 They will betray their friends; they will be hotheaded, puffed up with pride, and prefer good times to worshiping God. 5 They will go to church, yes, but they won't really believe anything they hear.
We are seeing this played out as crowds assemble for "worship" on Sunday mornings, but those same people live like hell (vs. 3-4 - liars, troublemakers, immoral, mockers, betrayers, angry, prideful, etc.) throughout the week. Something is wrong! Could it be that the "church" has adopted the mentality of "Lights, action, entertainment"... instead of Holy, Holy, Holy? Could this be a reason we don't see the great revivals of years gone by?
Monday, October 05, 2009
Sunday Summary 10.4.09
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! Sunday's service with three additions to our church fellowship through baptism. These were all children and kudos to the partnership between parents, the church, and the Christian school. We also have several other children (and adults) awaiting baptism.
The morning message continued in our study of James and discussed the topic of faith and works. The Bible clearly teaches that a person is saved by by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. James 2 addresses the fact that genuine faith produces works and he stresses that a workless faith is a worthless faith. How do you reconcile James' teaching with those who claim to be Christians, but produce no evidence? I have to agree with Evangelist Billy Graham, who stated that the greatest mission field in all the world is found in the pews of American churches. James called believers to live what we say we believe.
During our evening service, we heard testimony of how one of our LIFE Groups is not satisfied to just learn the Scriptures... they are living and applying the Scriptures! Steve Garland, a long-time pastor and returning member of EBC, preached about passionately pursuing Jesus Christ. Steve was a blessing to this pastor who had one of the busiest weeks of my life. It is good to have godly men, mature in their faith, and experienced with the Word of God to fill the pulpit. Thanks Steve.
Following the evening service, the teens and their parents had GAS... Games After the Service. We've got some great teens, very involved parents, and a great youth leadership team! Thanks especially to Justin and Carie.
The morning message continued in our study of James and discussed the topic of faith and works. The Bible clearly teaches that a person is saved by by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. James 2 addresses the fact that genuine faith produces works and he stresses that a workless faith is a worthless faith. How do you reconcile James' teaching with those who claim to be Christians, but produce no evidence? I have to agree with Evangelist Billy Graham, who stated that the greatest mission field in all the world is found in the pews of American churches. James called believers to live what we say we believe.
During our evening service, we heard testimony of how one of our LIFE Groups is not satisfied to just learn the Scriptures... they are living and applying the Scriptures! Steve Garland, a long-time pastor and returning member of EBC, preached about passionately pursuing Jesus Christ. Steve was a blessing to this pastor who had one of the busiest weeks of my life. It is good to have godly men, mature in their faith, and experienced with the Word of God to fill the pulpit. Thanks Steve.
Following the evening service, the teens and their parents had GAS... Games After the Service. We've got some great teens, very involved parents, and a great youth leadership team! Thanks especially to Justin and Carie.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Carolina Family Planning Centers
The opening of crisis pregnancy centers in our community is quickly becoming a reality. This past weekend, we had 40+ people attend the 3 day training event. The representation from churches across our community and the spirit of cooperation from all was amazing! Thanks to Lakeview Baptist Church for allowing us to use your facilities for the training event. Thanks to Tammy, our new Director, for all of your hard work and organization. Thanks to all the volunteers who cleared their calendars for this 3 day event. Finally, thanks to Bob for leading us through.
The CFPC's are scheduled to open in 3 locations by the end of October - Harsville, Darlington, and Florence. Our next meeting is Monday, October 12 from 7-9pm at EBC. During this event, we will divide the volunteers into committees, roll up our sleeves, and dig into the work. Continue to pray that this effort wll truly impact eternity!
The CFPC's are scheduled to open in 3 locations by the end of October - Harsville, Darlington, and Florence. Our next meeting is Monday, October 12 from 7-9pm at EBC. During this event, we will divide the volunteers into committees, roll up our sleeves, and dig into the work. Continue to pray that this effort wll truly impact eternity!
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