Urgent Prayer Requests
* Cynthia Wordlaw, need for a kidney, plus applying for a job at Menards
* Tom, home has significant storm damage
* Pete & Brenda, their health & personal needs
* Brazel family
* Mueller family
* Marilynn Norvell
* Aaron Wordlaw and his arthritis
* Dennis fighting kidney failure
* Gene & Lois Schulze at home
* Mark & Julie Johnson and the situation with their Illinois home
* Anne Overton’s family
* Rachelle in California
* Our church and need for revival
Upcoming Activities
1. Bible Study (Brief Books) & Prayer Meeting, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
2. Sunday school, Sunday, 9:15 a.m.
3. Worship Service including the Lord’s Supper, Sunday, 10:30 a.m.
4. Discipleship Training, Sunday, 5 p.m.
Deacon Elections
Our deacon election process for the year begins in August with Deacon nominations. Dan’s term as an active deacon expires at the end of the year. To fill his role, you may nominate another man (or Dan once again) to serve as our 3rd deacon beginning in January. Be much in prayer concerning whom you will nominate next month.
Sermon Extras
1. Verse 2: “… to declare to you the Gospel of God”. “Declare” is a simple word meaning “to speak”, “to say”, or “to tell”. The phrase “to you” means “face-to-face to you”, translating the same preposition found in John 1:1, “…and the Word was WITH God…”. That’s the way the Gospel is to be shared: face to face, personally, for the Gospel is very good PERSONAL news!
2. Verse 3: “For our appeal”. Several translations render this phrase “for our exhortation”. The specific word here is paraklesis (para – “along”; klesis – “called”) from the same word translated “Comforter” when describing the Holy Spirit. The word has several related meanings and refers to one who is called alongside another. Such an individual is a counselor, a comforter, an encourager, an exhorter, a Helper. In this specific context, “exhortation” is an excellent choice since Paul’s exhortation was the Gospel, that good news which exhorts us to turn from sin and to turn to Christ!
3. Verse 4 uses the same word twice. In the ESV it is translated as “have been approved” at the beginning of the verse and as “tests” at the end of the verse. The word, “dokimazo”, means to examine or test as one deals metal with fire. To pass such a test is to be approved. Paul indicates he and his cohorts have been examined and accepted by God for the positions they hold and have been forever approved. Plus Paul indicates we need to please God for it is God who continuously examines our hearts.
“God tests ours hearts … and he is the only one whose approval matters in the end of the day.”
A. T. Robertson
Statement of Faith
Bethesda’s statement of faith is “The 1963 Baptist Faith and Message” and may be read at http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfmcomparison.asp. Here is article 11:
XI. Evangelism and Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
Hugh Mackail’s Farewell
“Now I begin my intercourse with God, which shall never be broken off. Farewell, father and mother, friends and relations; farewell, the world and all its delights; farewell, meat and drinks; farewell, sun, moon and stars. Welcome, God and Father; welcome, sweet Lord Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant; welcome, blessed Spirit of grace, and God of all consolation; welcome, glory; welcome, eternal life; welcome, death. O Lord, into Thy hands I commit my spirit; for Thou hast redeemed my soul, O Lord God of truth!”
Last words spoken from a scaffold in Edinburgh, 1666
Pastor’s Postscripts
I was once asked what I thought was the mission and vision of our church. So, here are my responses, completely my own and not officially adopted by our church.
As Pastor of Bethesda Baptist Church, I see the mission and vision of our church as follows:
Our Mission
Bethesda Baptist Church exists to glorify Jesus Christ by engaging the lost with the truth of God’s Word and equipping Christians to grow in their love for and service to Jesus.
Our Vision
As a local church in one of the fastest growing counties in Missouri, Bethesda Baptist Church will be a witness for our Lord Jesus Christ by faithfully proclaiming the Word of God, demonstrating the love of God to our members and the community, supporting other churches and servants of God in their work, and planting Biblical churches wherever God leads.
While these are not official statements of our church, they should provide you with my thoughts relative to our church. I firmly believe all we do must revolve around the Word of the Lord. The local church has the responsibility to share the Lord Jesus through His Word with each other and with the lost world. And, brother and sister, you and I ARE the church.
So, are you sharing His Word with those around you?