What the Lord’s Day Is by Tim Challies

The longer I live—the longer I live out this life as a Christian—the more I see my desperate need of the Lord’s Day. Though it once seemed like the kind of day I could take or leave, I’ve since come to rely on it and to see God’s goodness in giving it. It’s a day we ignore at our peril. As I stood to worship on Sunday, I found myself considering just some of what the Lord’s Day is…

The Lord’s Day is water for the parched runner. This life is a race, and one that leaves us weary and dry as we constantly “lay aside every weight” and “run with endurance” the long race set before us (Hebrews 12:1). Like the stations along the marathon route provide water that will hydrate the body until the next interval, the Lord’s Day offers us spiritual refreshment to keep us going not for the whole race, but at least for the next week.

It is a meal for the hungry pilgrim. As Christians we are pilgrims, people moving purposefully through this life toward the heavenly city that awaits us. Like a kind citizen may provide a meal to the needy pilgrim, the Lord’s Day is God’s kind provision for our spiritual sustenance. It provides what we need and what we cannot generate from within ourselves.

It is a rest for the weary worker. God created us to work upon this earth. But as sin entered the world, so did weariness and frustration, for “the creation was subjected to futility” (Romans 8:20). The Lord’s Day provides a period of rest from our day-to-day labors in which we trust that just as God in Christ has provided for our every spiritual need, he will also provide for our every physical need.

It is a celebration to the sorrowful. Life in a world like this is attended with many sorrows. Sorrows rise up from within as we struggle with our own weakness and sinfulness, and sorrows come upon us from without as we are sinned against, as we endure the suffering of loved ones, and as we witness the brutalities inflicted upon others. The Lord’s Day invites us to a weekly celebration in which we celebrate Christ’s victory on the cross and pre-celebrate his coming return.

It is a reunion to the lonely. Jesus warned that many who follow him would do so at the expense of family relationships and at the cost of friendships. Yet he also offered the assurance that the bond we share in the Holy Spirit is stronger than any other, for it makes us sons and daughters of God himself. On the Lord’s Day we enjoy a weekly reunion in which this diverse family comes together to worship, to encourage, to ensure each one is provided for, and simply to enjoy one another’s company.

It is an education for the ignorant. We enter the Christian life ignorant—we have little knowledge of God and little true knowledge of self. On the Lord’s Day we open God’s Word together and are taught from it. The Word teaches us, reproves us, corrects us, and trains us in righteousness so we are knowledgeable and equipped to live well in this world (2 Timothy 3:16).

It is the training ground for the spiritually gifted. God dispenses gifts to each of his people, and the Lord’s Day provides the most natural training ground to learn how to use them as well as the most natural context to actually exercise them. It is as we gather together that we have special opportunity to use those gifts for the good of others and the glory of God—the one with the gift of encouragement encourages, the one with the gift of teaching teaches, the one with then gift of generosity gives, and so on.

It is assurance for the guilty sinner. Though we are justified by God and are continually being sanctified, we remain sinners who transgress his law each and every day. We continue to feel the shame and guilt of our many sins. The Lord’s Day offers us the opportunity to confess these sins and to be assured of God’s kind and complete forgiveness. Though no man has the right or responsibility to forgive sins, it is the joy of the pastor to lead the church in confessing sins and in assuring those who have repented that they are forgiven.

It is rescue to the unforgiven. While worship services are primarily a gathering by and for Christians, unbelievers are also invited and warmly encouraged to attend. Every sermon ought to include some explanation of the good news of the gospel so those who have never heard or embraced it can repent and be saved. In this way the Lord’s Day acts as a time of rescue in which the lost can be saved.

As life progresses, I more and more find the Lord’s Day not just as the starting point of a new week, but the centre point of my existence. I cannot, will not, could not make it through life without it. I’m eternally thankful to God for so kindly providing and prescribing it.

Friday, April 26, 2019.....

Tonight we host the Live Simulcast of Secret Church with the teaching of David Platt.  This six-hour event begins at 6:00 PM in our Auditorium.  Bring some snacks to get you through and to share with others.

This is a free event.

This Sunday I am beginning a "mini-series" within the larger series on the life of Noah with a few Sundays of preaching about covenant.  "Our God is a Covenant Making and Keeping God."  This mini-series will conclude with the church celebrating the Lord's Supper together in the weeks ahead.

This Sunday night is the last sermon in the series "Restore Your Church" with the last message concerning church discipline.

Also this Sunday night the church will affirm the "Next Level" report.

I will be leading revival services at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Grove Oak Monday through Wednesday of next week beginning at 7:00 each evening.

10 Pastoral Words of Wisdom I’d Share with Young People by Chuck Lawless

I love young people. They keep me young, and they challenge me to be relevant in all I do. As a pastor, though, here are some things I’d like to say to them if I had the opportunity: 

1. Nothing’s private. Not any more – if it ever were. People talk. The Internet makes stuff public. Somebody’s watching in order to gossip. So, don’t live foolishly.
2. The shame of sin lingers long. It really does. Even when you receive God’s gracious forgiveness, regret hangs around. And, the enemy resurrects our sin as often as he can so we’re trapped in grief again. So, don’t let sin rule your life.
3. Today’s experiments can become tomorrow’s addictions. It’s easy to try something for fun—just to get a taste. The “taste” can sometimes lead to habits which become controlling. So, forget about experimenting with stuff when you know better.
4. Employers will check out your social media posts. They’re not interested in hiring somebody whose social profile is a problem. For those of you who sense of call to ministry, churches do the same checking. So, don’t be dumb in what you post.
5. A little money saved early can become a lot of money later on. Compounding interest makes a difference, but you need to start saving early and let the money do its work. So, start a savings account now, and invest wisely.
6. Pornography destroys. It destroys its victims who are treated as slaves and objects. It destroys the conscience. It destroys good, godly sex. It destroys families and ministries. So, stay away from it—and get help from a Christian friend if you’re already doing it.
7. Christianity is a lot of fun. I promise you it is. It’s not so much fun when you claim to be a believer but live otherwise, but it’s a cool life when you’re really following God and trusting Him. So, don’t believe the lies that Christianity is dull and stifling.
8. Travel as much as you can. It’s good for you to learn about different cultures and meet new people. You’ll better understand God’s heart for the world, and He might just call you to be a missionary somewhere. So, set aside money and time to leave home occasionally.
9. Your body won’t always be invincible. Just trust me on this one—you won’t always be able to eat all you want, exercise as little as you can, and sleep as much as want without some long-term effects. Your bad habits will eventually catch up with you. So, make good choices today: take care of yourself physically.
10. We old people are wiser than you think. We make mistakes, but life’s taught us some things. Actually, all of us had to learn this same lesson when we were younger and didn’t trust older people, either. So, don’t just write off what we say.

Easter... April 21, 2019

This "Good Friday" turns into the glorious Easter as we anticipate our gathering this Sunday for the celebration of Resurrection Sunday.

As we gather, we will sing and celebrate the Risen Lord Jesus.  We are the ONLY people, as believers in the Lord Jesus, that have a living Saviour and King - after He died!!!!
We have reason to celebrate.

We will read Scripture to be comforted again of the reality of the Resurrection and how it affirms our sins have been forgiven and there is a coming resurrection of all believers.

Then we will turn to Mark 16 to examine the question of the ladies who first visited the tomb that morning "Who will move the stone?" only to discover it had been already been moved.

What stone in our life needs moving?  The good news is...that stone has already been moved.

This Resurrection Sunday:
9:00 - Sunday School
10:15 - Worship
No evening services

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards

Yesterday morning, I preached about the wrath of God displayed against sinners through the Flood, but also shared how Jesus the Ark saves us.  But I thought it would be helpful to hear the common language of the "flood" from Jonathan Edwards' famous sermon in 1741 "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."  His text was Deuteronomy 32:35.

The black clouds of God’s wrath are hanging directly over your heads. They are full of a dreadful storm with its loud thunder. And if it were not for the restraining hand of God, it would immediately burst upon you. For now the sovereign pleasure of God holds back the rough winds; otherwise they would come with fury, and your destruction would come as a tornado, and you would be blown away like dry chaff.

“The wrath of God is like great waters that are temporarily dammed up. They keep rising higher and higher until they find an outlet. The longer they have been dammed up, the more rapid and powerful will be their flow once they are let loose.

“It is true that judgment against your evil works has not been carried out yet, but in the meantime, your guilt has been building up, and every day you are storing up for yourself more wrath. The waters are constantly rising, and nothing but the mere pleasure of God holds them back. They are unwilling to be stopped and are pushing with great force to break free.

“If God were just to lift His hand from the floodgate, it would immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God would rush forward with unbelievable fury and would overtake you with unlimited power. Even if your strength were 10,000 times greater than what it is; in fact, if it were 10,000 times greater than the boldest and most powerful devil in all of hell, it would not be able to withstand or endure it.”

The Gospel According to Noah....The sermon this Sunday at Rainsville First Baptist Church

You may think the title of this message is sacrilegious.  The Gospel only belongs to Jesus.  But when you look at the Scriptures, the Gospel is called The Gospel of the Kingdom, the Gospel of the grace of God, The Gospel of God, the Gospel of His Son, the Gospel of peace, the Gospel of your salvation.  And twice is called Our Gospel and then three times (Romans 2:16; 16:25 and II Timothy 2:8 Paul calls it “my gospel.”

So let me ask…what is your gospel?  What is the gospel according to you?  Because that is the gospel that saves or damns you…what you believe and act on.

In this glorious story on the life of Noah, we clearly see the Gospel preached and illustrated.

II Peter 2:5 reminds us Noah preached the gospel.  So what gospel did he preach?

John MacArthur said there are only two points to the Gospel message:

1. He judges sinners.

2. He rescues sinners from judgment.

So every person is either under the judgement of God or has been rescued from the judgment of God.

This Sunday morning at Rainsville First Baptist Church in the 10:15 worship service we will examine "The Gospel According to Noah."  

Tomorrow and Sunday afternoon are the last two days of the spring Puppet shows.  Both days there are shows at 3:00 and 6:00.

A Simple Strategy to Pray for Non-Believers by Chuck Lawless

This week, I’ve been teaching about prayer and evangelism. Many, if not most, churches are not reaching many non-believers. If you want your church to begin changing this pattern, at least lead them to pray for lost people. Based on the Bible’s teaching about non-believers and evangelism, here’s a simple strategy for praying for specific non-believers.

1. We must pray for each other to be bold witnesses: “Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel” (Eph 6:19).

• PRAYER:“God, give me boldness, and grant (another believer) courage to be a witness, too.”

2. Non-believers must hear the gospel: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?” (Rom. 10:14).

• PRAYER:“God, let (a non-believer) hear the gospel today. Give me courage to be the gospel spokesperson.”

3. They are following the enemy: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:1-2).

• PRAYER:“God, please give life to ___________, and free him/her from the power of the prince of the air.”

4. They are blinded by the enemy: “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:3-4).

• PRAYER: “God, open the blinded mind of ___________.”

5. They are in the domain of darkness: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13).

• PRAYER: “God, deliver ___________ from the kingdom of darkness.”

6. They are under the devil’s power: “to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18).

• PRAYER: “God, please open ___________’s eyes. Free him/her from the devil’s power.”

7. They are caught in the devil’s trap: “and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will” (2 Tim. 2:26).

• PRAYER: “God, release ___________ from the devil’s trap.” 

8. They must repent and believe: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

• PRAYER:“God, bring ___________ to repentance and belief. When You do so, we’ll give You the glory.”

Use this prayer guide, fill in the blanks with names of people you know, and trust God to hear you on behalf of non-believers.

Was the Flood Global? - April 7, 2019

This Sunday at Rainsville First Baptist Church I will continue the series of messages "As Were The Days of Noah...So Will Be" as we will examine the issue of the flood from Genesis 6-8. 

What size of boat was the ark?  How many animals were possible in the ark?  And most importantly, was the flood local or global?

This is a very important question to consider in our day.  It was not until the 1800s that anyone really questioned a global flood.  But today you will find most people, even Christians, questioning if the flood was global.  Evolutionists that demand the earth is million and million years old certainly do not believe in a global flood.

“There was a flood 4,000 years ago is not provable.  In fact, the evidence, for me at least, as a reasonable man, is overwhelming that it couldn’t possibly have happened; there’s no evidence for it.”

That quote is from Bill Nye, a world renown evolutionist, made in a debate with Ken Hamm on February 4, 2014.

So where do you stand?  Join us this Sunday morning as we look further into this subject.

Here are some excellent resources where you can find answers:

Answers in Genesis

Creation Ministries 

Institute for Creation Research

Our Spring Puppet shows begin this Sunday afternoon going unto next Sunday night.  

For a complete listing of shows and ticket information, click here.