July Events and So Forth

Sunday, July 2 - AGAPE SUNDAY

We will have breakfast together at 9:00, fellowship, and Pastor Mark will be leading us in our Bible study on indwelling sin from the book, The Enemy Within by Kris Lundgaard.

Tuesday, July 4 - Independence Day.

If you don't have family or other plans, you should join me. I have plans! Talk to me about it! At Morning Star everybody has a family to go to during the holidays!

Sunday, July 16 -

We will be visited by Dr. Joel Tetreau, pastor of Southeast Valley Baptist Church in Arizona. He is coming to particpate in a discussion with us about Global Grace and the possibility of his church partnering with us in this endeavor. He will speak for us. Joel is a friend of mine. I know that you will enjoy him. He is very down-to-earth, committed, happy, and humble. We will take up a love offering for this brother.

Sunday, July 23 -

Our supported missionaries, Bob and Bonnie Bixby to Bordeaux, France (my parents and responsible for this brood) will be with us for this day. Many of you have already met my parents. I am looking forward to having them here in my home, but also to hearing them update us about their ministry in France. As usual, we will also be taking a love offering up for them.

Tuesday, July 25 thru Friday, July 28 - VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

Vacation Bible School is an excellent time for the children to invite their friends and for our church to reach out to the children in the community. Many parents willingly send their kids to VBS. We want to take advantage of this disposition to get the Gospel into their homes. Jeremy Scott will be directing the VBS this year.

Grace is the Motivation for Obedience

Today I listened to this message from a brother I do not know. The reccommendation comes from a friend of Kurt Musgrave's who was in Kurt's wedding. The short sermon is a very simple and encouraging explanation of the work of grace in sanctification. For those of you that listen to messages throughout the week (may your tribe increase!), this is one you might want to put in your files.

Toothbrushes for the Needy

Dr. Jack Mitchell wrote this note to me in response to the more than one thousand toothbrushes we sent to him for his ministry to the poor with dental needs.

Dear Bob & Mark (also Jeremy but I don't have his current e-mail address),

We want to thank you again for the hundreds of toothbrushes sent to us by the wonderful people of Morning Star Baptist Church. We say hundreds but it might be more like a few thousand! We lost count! You don't know what a blessing it was for us to see those packages arriving almost daily for several days. We were able to take hundreds with us to Arizona for our ministry on the Indian Reservations and have sent a thousand plus ahead for our ministry in Mexico which starts next week. In addition, we have a good start toward the 1000 we would like to bring to Cameroon in October!

It's hard for us to imagine how a simple thing like a toothbrush can bring such joy to those who receive it and how it can open the door for a gospel witness. We're so thankful that you all have made it possible for us to give these out to needy folks around the world.

Please convey our sincere thanks once again to all at the church. You all are such a great encouragement to us!

Yours in Christ,

Jack & Jennifer

Dr. Jack Mitchell
Grace Dental Mission
635 Methuen St.
Dracut, MA 01826

Will we have a "Patriotic Sunday?"

Many churches traditionally convert the Lord's Day closest to the 4th of July into a Patriotic Sunday. At Morning Star Baptist Church we will do little more than thank our gracious Heavenly Father for our country. Simply put, we will not have a "Patriotic Sunday."

Let me briefly explain.

First of all, let it be known that I am deeply grateful to be an American. I consider it a blessing to have been born in the Western Hemisphere, particularly in the USA. Many blessings, spiritual and material, have been heaped upon this undeserving person merely because of where Wise Providence placed me.

But the Church of Jesus Christ is not American. The Church of Jesus Christ is the blood bought people from every tribe and every nation and the local church is a local picture of that spectacular reality! Even as small as we are, Morning Star Baptist Church includes in its family people from Germany, Mexico, Canada, France (Okay, so Anouk represents both places!), and Ireland! These individuals are co-inheritors of ours of the Heavenly City!

I concur with Dr. Kevin Bauder from Central Seminary who said:

The church in this world is an outpost or colony. It exists among worldly governments, but it has no part with them. When we enter the church (i.e., when we assemble with a true congregation of Christ), we no longer occupy the ground of any worldly nation. We now inhabit a small, anticipatory outpost of the New Jerusalem. (You may want to read both of these excellent articles which speak well to my own thoughts on the subject: Part One and Part Two.

The above quote is from Part Two.

It is possible (and right) to thank God for our country (no matter what country we are from). It is, in my judgment, a bit of a stretch to take the LORD's Day and HIS church and tranform it into an exclusive national celebration wherein we sing songs TO our country, pledge solemn vows TO our country, and thereby not only exclude our beloved brothers and sisters from other countries, but cloud our faith-anticipation for the Heavenly Country.

I will watch the fireworks. I will cheer for the USA Soccer team. I will be grateful to have a blue passport. I will be delighted to see the merciful hand of God on this country. But on the Lord's Day with His Church, I will delight most in the common bond I have with Argentines, Africans, Russians, Chinese, and anybody from any nation who is part of the blood-bought Assembly.

The World's Largest Truckstop

When we pray for safety we sometimes forget to thank God for safety when we arrive at our destination. As we rolled into Rockford we gave thanks to God for safely bringing us home. On the way down and up we stopped at the self-proclaimed "World's Largest Truckstop." Pastor Mark was so impressed that he even bought a hat! (Observe him pointing to his hat). The rest of us were able to keep our composure even in the presence of such greatness, but we did concede to having our picture taken. Chris and I think that we have seen larger truck stops.

Whether or not it is true, we do not know. But we do suspect a possible reason for the huge advertising besides the obvious one which is to draw people in to shop their wares. I think that it is there to provoke conversation (ridicule, debate, wonder, etc.) in the car to help alleviate the boredom of crossing Iowa. If travelers get worked up into a lively conversation they might not notice that all they've seen for hours on end are cornfields. Brilliant idea. Must have been concocted in the highest echelons of state power.

Anyway, we are going to share some of the things we learned in our evening service this Lord's Day.

The Conference

 

It has been very enlightening. Thank you for your prayers. Please pray for us tomorrow as we drive back. The conference was for a gathering of leaders who are fully committed to relief work in a time of crisis. We learned a lot. 

The Duane Scotts Have Arrived in Thailand!

Here is an email that Duane sent:

Hello All,

We have arrived in Thailand! The flight went pretty well. I think I (Duane) struggled more than the kids! They did really well. The 11 ½ hour flight to Tokyo was pretty rough, but the 6 hour one to Bangkok went smooth. The kids slept almost the whole way on that one.

We were able to spend the first two nights in a nice hotel in Bangkok and were able to pick up the stuff I had sent FedEx. Both of our co-workers, the Webers and Beckmans are here to help us out, which is great. I couldn’t imagine doing it alone.

Right now we are about 3 hours east of Bangkok in Kabinburi where the Beckmans and Webers are working. We will be here through the weekend and then head back into Bangkok next week to look for a place to live.

We are really happy to be here and all are doing well. The kids are worn out but taking everything in stride. Thank so much for your continued prayers.

With love and appreciation in Christ,

Duane and Hannah

Corporate Prayer - a Gift from the Father of Lights

As a pastor I don't want to guilt-trip anybody. But I do speak from my heart when I say that I regret that you are not at the church prayer meeting. I regret it for your sake. From time to time we have such sweet fellowship in prayer, and I felt that tonight was one of those nights. We read the book of James and then fervently prayed to the Lord for wisdom and provision for our church. There seemed to be real freedom and sincerity. My heart is often so warmed after praying with the believers.

The leadership is discussing alternate days and times for prayer because we believe prayer to be one of the core activities of the local church. In other words, it is not an option for believers. Corporate prayer is God's plan for believers. Obviously, Wednesday night is not ordained by God and I know that some of you simply can't make it at that time. That's why we are investigating other possibilites.

But, having said that, I often leave the midweek prayer fellowship - especially when we pray as one group - with a heart full and warmed toward God. But there is also a part of this pastor's heart that is disappointed: disappointed more of you aren't experiencing the same joy as I do.

I write this that your joy might be full!

Contending for the Faith

Our own Pat Berryman unknowingly or knowingly opened a can of worms when he posted his thoughts on "Who killed Jesus?" on his blog. There is nothing new under the sun, but the contemporary attempts to undermine the true nature of the doctrine of atonement are so subtle. Certain teachers, wishing to give the impression that they are champion defenders of God's reputation are suggesting that the teaching that God sacrificed His Son is "cosmic child abuse." Thankfully, sound Bible teachers such as John MacArthur (see JMac on this subject)and John Piper among many others are willing to stand by the plain facts of the atonement. Not only was Jesus Christ the spotless Lamb of God, but He had to be the High Priest who offered that Lamb! Thus, He said, He gave Himself up. He never was the victim of men. God the Father gave up His Son to bear His own wrath against our sin. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son." John Piper is actually on sabbatical in Cambridge, but he writes a very straightforward defense of his (our) Father's wrath, a wrath that was so justified and righteous that the only satisfaction would be in the offering up of His only Son. I like John Piper because he is so devotional, so earnest. John MacArthur is good too.

In the meantime, I stand in dumbfounded awe that God would give up His Son for me. Abraham had faith enough to sacrifice his son for God. But God had brought the unworthy Abraham into a granted covenant with glorious blessings. On the other hand, God LOVED undeserving sinners enought to sacrifice His Son - even while we were yet in our sins. O, thank you, Lord!

The Cross-centered Church

While I don't necessarily agree with Carolyn Mahaney on everything (obviously - and I hope that is assumed about anything I link to), I do whole-heartedly endorse her spirit. Here is the quote that I used for my message on Fathers Day. Some of you asked for it. I don't care if you schedule or don't schedule. I do hope we embrace the same attitude that she exhibits before she gives her opinion. This is a good read.

Music I enjoy

This particular CD is a blessing to me. Simple music. Nice guitar accompaniement. Solid lyrics. Worshipful. Brian's voice is pleasing to listen to. It's not operatic. (Some people don't like that). It's not twangy country. (Other people don't like that.) It is pleasantly "every day." There are twenty tracks. The first ten are with the lyrics. The last ten are just the music. If you want good, Christian music with a devotional bent, check this out. You can hear it here.

Operation Renewed Hope Conference

This coming Thursday, Mark Garard, Chris Metras, Jeremy Scott and I are planning to drive to Kansas City, MO for a conference hosted by Jan Milton of Operation Renewed Hope on evangelizing during a time of national crisis.

I have been asked to speak on the topic of Evangelism and Jeremy has been asked to be a part of a panel discussion.


Please pray for our safety. We intend to drive in my car (thanks, Chris and Margaret for sharing your vehicle with Jennie during my absence), and we will make the drive back on Saturday. The conference goes all day Friday and part of Saturday. We would also appreciate your prayers for us as we prepare for the Lord's Day this week because, obviously, the latter part of the week is completely swallowed up!

(The picture was taken at the National Leadership Conference in Lansdale, PA this past February)

Pray for Jess Miller

Jess Miller, the son of Terry and Jan Miller, has been suffering physical difficulties. So much so that he was hospitalized last week. After a myriad of tests (and still no answers), he was released to go back home. Terry and Jan went down last Friday to help watch the children so that Jess can rest while Natalie holds down her job.

For those of you that don't know, Jess has just completed his first year at BJU Seminary. They were members of Morning Star Baptist Church prior to their move to South Carolina.