All Grace Blog

Some Key Principles For The New Year

2012-01-14T09:00:00.001-05:00

"To whom much is given much shall be required." Luke 12:48"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."James 4:17"But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Job 23:10

These are timeless principles and are worth our consideration as the New year unfolds.God bless you all this year!!!!

God's Presence At Berean!

2011-12-03T10:46:00.003-05:00

We have enjoyed many wonderful blessings from the Lord in the past three months at Berean! On Wednesday night we have been going through an amazing book by Chuck Bentley The Root of Riches. The blessing that this book has been to our mid-week church family has been tremendous. Anyone who may wish to increase their income in these tough economic times or who is wanting to have another job to supplement their income should definitely read this book. Bentley's book will clarify many important biblical issues for you and will give you a proper perspective on money, wealth, and the pursuit of happiness. Many people do not have a biblical understanding of these important subjects. This book challenges the reader with this provocative question, "What if everything you think about money is wrong?" Read the book and you will find that much of the teaching on money today is warped with the world's wisdom rather than the wisdom that is from the Lord.

Our attendance at our mid-week service has exploded! Our morning Bible study has also been such a blessing to all who have been coming. The spirit in our church has been the best it has been in years. I am so grateful to the Lord for His presence and blessing among us. These have been days of joy and encouragement from the presence of the Lord. Peter, the apostle, talks about such days as these in Acts 3:19, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord."

When there is unity and love in the family of God it makes all the difference in the world. We have been enjoying such blessings these past months and Pastor Stewart and myself have been very excited about the things we see happening and developing in our church family.

The recent visit of our friends from Brazil was a breath of fresh air from Heaven! We have been so blessed to have such wonderful friends as these dear brothers as well as our wonderful friends from England and Wales. I cannot praise the Lord enough for all that He has done through the years through His servants who have come among us. Dr. Edgar Andrews, Pastors Vernon Higham and Dewi Higham just to name a few of those choice servants of the Lord whose ministry among us has been so powerful and compelling.

We look forward to having Chuck Bentley coming this year to minister to our flock as well. May all of us as Bereans give our Lord praise for the wonderful things He is doing in our midst. When He is present there are certainly times of refreshing that gently stirs within our hearts.

God bless you all,
Pastor Robert L. Dickie

Guests from Brazil arriving November 13th!!

2011-10-28T17:27:00.002-04:00

I am very excited to have several guests visiting with us from Brazil this November. We had two wonderful brothers from Brasilia last June and now two more are coming over in a couple of weeks. Please keep this date open and plan to attend. The connection we have had with the church in Brazil has been very exciting. God is blessing and I give Him praise and adoration for blessing our church and bringing us a fresh vision and purpose to our flock. Praise His name. Yours in Christ, Pastor

George Washington on choosing your friends

2011-07-28T20:23:00.002-04:00

“Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for ‘tis better to be alone than in bad company.” George Washington

The Bible reminds us that bad company corrupts good morals. When people choose to associate with people of questionable ethics, character, and morality it will be a short while until they themselves lose their ability to be objective and discerning of good character and integrity. The pernicious influence of ungodly friedships slowly erodes the foundations of good judgement. Choose your friends wisely. Be a lover of good men. Better to walk alone than be corrupted by those whose values reflect the flesh rather than the Spirit. This is wise counsel for all of our youth who are heading to the university this fall.

The Carnal Christian

2011-07-23T02:40:00.003-04:00

"Many who regularly occupy church pews, fill church rolls, and are intellectually acquainted with the facts of the gospel never strike one blow for Christ. They seem to be at peace with his enemies. They have no quarrel with sin and, apart from a few sentimental expressions about Christ, there is no biblical evidence that they have experienced anything of the power of the gospel in their lives. Yet in spite of the evidence against them, they consider themselves to be just what their teachers teach them -- that they are 'Carnal Christians'. And as carnal Christians they believe they will go to heaven, though perhaps not first-class, and with few rewards."

This is a quote by Earnest Reisinger a Reformed Baptist. His comments ring true for far too many today who claim to be the followers of Christ. Those who belong to the Lord will have real and abiding fruit to give evidence of the Spirit's work in their lives.

If a person is content to be a carnal, lukewarm, indifferent Christian he may find in the day of judgement that he is no Christian at all.

I have known professing Christians who were masters of deception and manipulation. They could lie without conscience, deceive without blinking an eye, were able to quote Scripture to suit their purposes, and could put on the robes of an angel.

The Church of Jesus Christ should not be surprised that there are those in her midst that have such powers to mislead. Satan himself can transform himself into an angel of light.

What the church needs today is for wise and godly leaders who have wisdom to see through the phoniness of false prophets and wolves in sheep's clothing.

Dear Berean family beware of the carnal Christian!!!

2011-06-28T02:09:00.002-04:00

Dear Berean Family,
I want to encourage all of you to look forward to this summer with a great deal of expectation that if we all walk with God, live in the Spirit, and die to self daily that we will experience a great time of blessing and revival from the Lord. Over the years I have stressed to all of you who have sat under my ministry to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and to put off the flesh. The sign of a spiritual Christian is one who is filled with the Spirit and who lives a life of humility, godliness, kindness, patience, and meekness. I am apalled when I see professing Christians living careless lives, gossiping, complaining, backbiting, and displaying the attitudes that are unbecoming of a child of God. This is not what we have stressed at Berean over the years. I exhort our congregation to seek the Lord in holy worship and humble prayer so that we might enjoy precious times of fellowship and blessing from the Lord. God bless you all as you seek the Lord daily. My prayers are with you all. Yours in Christ, Pastor Dickie

"Pray For Us" Hebrews 13:18

2011-04-11T01:45:00.007-04:00

Prayer is a part of the Christian life and the walk of faith. We pray as a natural response to grace in our soul. Just as a child born begins to breathe a person who is born again from on high will instinctively begin to commune and pray to God. It is a fact of our spiritual life. But many Christians have gone through times of doubt, despair, and cynicism. When a father told Ravi Zacharias that he was sinking into despair because he had prayed that his parents would live long enough to see their grandchildren, that his marriage would be successful, that his children would come to know the Lord, and when none of these things came to pass he sunk into despair and wondered if it was worth it at all to pray. He said he was turning away from God. But Ravi Zacharias said, “Turning away from God to what?” What do people turn to if they abandon the Lord? God does not always answer our prayers as we want. And we must not forget that we live in a fallen world that contains much heart ache and pain. Knowing that God is on the throne should be a comfort to us no matter what we face or experience in life.

Evangelist D.L. Moody recalled his visit to Scotland and asking some little school children what it meant to pray. Here is his story: “D. L. Moody making a visit to Scotland in the 1800's and opening one of his talks at a local grade school with the rhetorical question, What is prayer? To his amazement, hundreds of children's hands went up. So he decided to call on a lad near the front, who promptly stood up and said, "Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, in the name of Christ, by the help of his Spirit, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies." This is the answer to question #78 in the Westminster Catechism. To this Moody responded by saying, "Be thankful, son, that you were born in Scotland."

What should you pray for in your pastors, elders, and deacons today?

1. That they might be filled with the Holy Spirit.
2. That they might be kept from the evil one.
3. That they might know God and the power of His indwelling.
4. That they might walk with God.
5. That they might be faithful in His Word.
6. That they might be broken and humble before the Lord.
7. That they might know the will of God for their lives and that they would know that all things work together for good to them that love God and who are called according to His purpose.

2011-02-27T22:48:00.001-05:00

Special Announcement!!

Dear Berean Family,

I am writing this letter as your Pastor to inform you of the change that will be taking place during our PM Service. I really feel the Lord has laid this upon my heart, and I am extremely excited about the implementation of it. We decided to move forward with this change after much prayer and discussion with the leadership of our church.

The change I am referring to will begin on Sunday, March 13th. On this day, instead of coming together for worship in the sanctuary for the second service, we will be breaking into smaller groups for Bible study. My prayer is this will create more participation and cultivate more fellowship within our body. I will be selecting topics and materials to coordinate the discipleship and education of our flock. With each group sharing in the same discussions, this will add to the spiritual development of our church.

The Discipleship Group will be meeting in the chapel during the second service. This group consists of those who are between the ages of 19-35. Pastor Eric Stewart will be heading up this group along with deacons Dave Purdy, Neal Ruffner and Rick Wagner. For anyone that falls into this group, if you have any questions, please contact one of these men.

The Ambassadors will be meeting in the sanctuary for their Bible study. There is quite a broad age range for this group; 36-59. Deacon Matt Zimmerman will be leading this group along with Chris Pittenturf and Paul Britz.

The Senior Saints will be meeting in the fellowship hall for their time together. Elder Norm Walworth and Elder Mark Paul will be leading this group.

Please be very prayerful about this change. I think this is a much needed change in our efforts to help knit us together as the body of Christ. All three groups will begin by going through the study “What is Reformed Theology?” by R.C. Sproul. This is a very in- depth look into the great reformed faith that we love and cherish.

The class will begin at noon and end at 1 pm each Sunday. There will be a welcome, prayer, a half hour video, discussion and question period. I am very excited about this and invite all of you to join me in prayer and that the Lord will encourage many who now leave after the first service to stay and grow in the Lord together.

Please keep me in your prayers as I minister in Brazil. I will hold all of you before the throne of grace daily. God bless you and I will see you in a week.

Sincerely, In Christ,

Pastor Robert L. Dickie

2011-02-25T02:04:00.002-05:00

Saving Faith Leads To Holy Living!

Here is a quote from one of the old saints on holy living. Few people today practice walking with God and trusting Christ to deliver them from sin.

"Saving faith, always has a sanctifying and comforting influence. The true believer does not divide righteousness from sanctification, nor pardon from purity. The believer comes to Christ for the forgiveness of sins for the right purpose; and that is, that being freed from the guilt of sin; he may be freed from the dominion of it. Knowing that there is forgiveness with God that He might be feared, he does not believe in remission of sin so that he may indulge himself in the continuance of sin. No, no; the blood of Christ, that purges the conscience from the guilt of sin, also purges the conscience from dead works, to serve the living God. They that come to Christ in a scriptural way come to Him for righteousness, that they may have him also for sanctification; otherwise, the man does not really desire the favor and enjoyment of God, or to be in friendship with Him who is a holy God. The true believer trusts Christ to make him holy as well as happy, and hence draws virtue from Him for killing sin, and quickening him in the way of duty. The faith that can never keep you from sin will never keep you out of Hell; and the faith that cannot carry you to your duty will not carry you to heaven. Justifying faith is a sanctifying grace. It is true, as it sanctifies it does not justify; but that faith that justifies does also sanctify. The sun that enlightens has heat with it; but is is not the heat of the sun that enlightens, but the light thereof; so the faith that justifies has love and sanctification with it; but it is not the love and sanctification that justify, but faith as it trusts Christ."

Here are some warnings for all of us to consider:

1. It is the devil's trick to fool us with a sense of security because we can talk theologically and know the language of the saints. This is no true sign of grace.
2. Some professing believers can fool themselves and others with pious speech while living scandalously in secret.
3. The fruit of the Spirit is the evidence of the Spirit's presence.
4. Where there is a deep love for Christ there will also be a deep love for the brethren and a sincere desire to humbly walk with God.
5. C. H. Spurgeon once said, "The prayerless soul is a Christless soul." Beware of having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.

2011-01-14T18:49:00.002-05:00

The End Does Not Justify The Means

As we move into the New Year we need to remind ourselves in all of our dealings with others that the end does not justify the means. This is a pragmatic view of life. Christians must always be controlled by the Holy Spirit and be committed to keeping the laws of God and the teachings of Christ. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans that we should never do evil in order that good may come of it (Romans 3:8). It is flawed thinking to conclude that we can do something that is either dishonest or unbiblical and then try to justify it on the basis that something good might come from our questionable actions.

As we live out the principles of our faith we must be sure that whatever we are doing we can do it with a clear conscience and that in the day of judgment we will not be ashamed. I urge all of my Berean family and friends to remember that we seek not the approval of man but the approval and favor of God. The peace of God is the result of faithful obedience to His Word. Here are several exhortations to follow:

1. Always tell the truth!

2. Do not tell half truths as if they are the whole truth. (This is a form of deception and lying)

3. Be committed to obedient and holy living.

4. Make sure that you are not being deceptive with others and then explaining your actions away by using he end justifies the means argument.

5. Live your life with the Judgment Seat of Christ always before you. (We are going to answer to God!)

6. Allow the Holy Spirit to search your lives. Be tender before the Lord and allow His eye to search every corner of your hearts.

7. Remember that every hidden and secret sin will come to light one day.

2010-12-31T23:34:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year!

May the Lord bless you all with a wonderful and a Christ centered New Year. As this last day of 2010 was drawing to a close I was meditating on the reasons why so many Americans turn every year to gods and religions that are empty of truth and meaning. I think the curse of our times has been what A. W. Tozer once said, "The curse of everything today is that it has to be funny. If it is not funny, it is not popular."

In much of our Christian world in the West we have lost the sense of God's majesty and God's mystery. We have so trivialized our faith that we have removed the awe and wonder from it. Hence, many have sought for mystery, majesty and fulfillment in the false gods of the age. It was St. Augustine the bishop of Hippo who said, "Thou hast created us for Thyself and we are restless until we rest fully in Thee." Many Christian pastors and leaders have so trivialized the faith of our fathers and misrepresented it that they have been part of the problem of gutting the faith that they were sworn by a holy oath to defend and to proclaim.

Let us return to the worship of the Most High with humble hearts filled with praise and adoration for the finished wonders of His sovereign grace. May we find joy and peace in Christ. May we find our hearts filled with happiness and joy from the only fountain that can satisfy the spiritual thirst of our souls--the fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins!

"Change from glory into glory,

Till in heaven we take our place,

Till we cast our crowns before thee,

Lost in wonder, love, and praise."

Charles Wesley

2010-11-29T21:15:00.003-05:00

Christian humility

I have been delivering a series of messages on Wednesday night on Spiritual leadership. One of the most important aspects of a true spiritual leader is Christ-like humility. I trust that the comments that follow on humility will be a blessing to all of you. May the Lord use all of us in His service.

Humility in the life of a leader

Another spiritual quality that a leader needs is humility. Those who are involved in serving and leading in the Kingdom of God must be people filled with meekness and true humility. As far as the world is concerned humility is a quality that is neither appreciated nor sought after. Most people, who have not been touched by God’s grace, have little respect for humility in a leader.

A true spiritual leader is known, not by self-advertisement, but by self-abasement. Jesus prepared His disciples for leadership by giving them a lesson on the importance of humility, “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” John the Baptist also taught us that a spiritual leader has his focus on Christ and not on himself. John wrote, “He must increase but I must decrease.” John 3:30. The spiritual leader must point people to Christ and willingly attribute all the praise for his labors to Him and not draw attention to himself. Jeremiah the prophet said, “And seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not…” Jeremiah 45:5. Someone once said, “Great men never think they are great and small men never think they are small.” One sign of pride in a leader is when he parades his achievements around so others will know what he has accomplished. A spiritual leader does not forget what Proverbs 27:2 teaches, “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger and not thine own lips.”

How important is humility? James the apostle wrote, “But he giveth more grace, Wherefore he saith, GOD RESISTETH THE PROUD, BUT GIVETH GRACE UNTO THE HUMBLE.” James 4:6. The opposite of humility is pride. James tells us that God resists the proud but pours out His grace on those who are humble. This should illustrate how important humility is for the spiritual leader. John Stott from England said,

“At every stage of our Christian development and in every sphere of our Christian discipleship, pride is the greatest enemy and humility our greatest friend.” John Stott, “Pride, Humility & God,” Sovereign Grace Online, September/October 2000, http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/sgo/v18no5/prt_pride.html.

Solomon also reminds us of the dangers of pride, “Pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18.

Just what is humility? How can we define or explain humility? Here is a definition,

“Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness. That’s the twin reality that all genuine humility is rooted in: God’s holiness and our sinfulness. Without an honest awareness of both these realities all self-evaluation will be skewed and we’ll fail to either understand or practice true humility.” C.J. Mahaney, Humility, (Multnomah Press, 2005), p. 22.

The most effective way for a spiritual leader to demonstrate humility is to devote himself to serving others for the glory of God. Cyprian, the bishop of Carthage, one of the early church fathers who was martyred for the faith, wrote this prayer prior to his martyrdom:

“Almighty God, who resists the proud and gives grace to the humble: send thy Holy Spirit and let that mind be in us, which was also in Christ Jesus, that we may be meek and lowly of heart and never by our foolish pride provoke thine indignation… Teach us not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think; to be modest in speech, just and merciful in action and benevolent to all. Let us prefer nothing to him, who preferred nothing to our salvation; but grant us that adhering inseparably to his kingdom and standing bravely by his cross, we may be found faithful to death, and at the end may be admitted into the joy of his most blessed presence. Amen.”

2010-10-22T23:23:00.010-04:00

Reading The Apostolic Fathers

I have enjoyed reading the Church Fathers in recent days. Here is a prayer by St. Augustine of Hippo when he was contemplating the love of God.

"You only I love; you only I follow; you only I seek; you only am I ready to serve. Because you alone are justly Lord, I desire to be under your rule. Command, I ask you, as you will, but heal and open my ears that I may hear your voice. Heal and open my eyes that I may see your beckoning. Tell me where I must go that I may see you; and I hope to do all that you command. Receive, I pray you, your fugitive, most clement Father and Lord. Enough have I served your enemies whom you have put under your feet. Enough have I been the plaything of deceits. Receive me, your servant, now fleeing from these things." Augustine

Here is another prayer by Cyprian, the martyred bishop of Carthage.

"Almighty God, who resists the proud and gives Grace to the humble: send thy Holy Spirit and let that mind be in us, which was also in Christ Jesus, that we may be meek and lowly of heart and never by our foolish pride provoke thine indignation, but, receiving into humble and thankful hearts the gift of thy providence and of thy grace, may thereby be continually refreshed. Teach us not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think; to be modest in speech, just and merciful in action and benevolent to all. Let us prefer nothing to him, who preferred nothing to our salvation; but grant us that adhering inseparably to his kingdom and standing bravely by his cross, we may be found faithful to death, and at the end may be admitted into the joy of his most blessed presence. Amen." Cyprian

The preciousness of these men and their writings fills us with great reverence to their amazing devotion to Christ. Many of the Church Fathers died as martyrs. The pride, arrogance and worldliness of many modern day professing Christians stands in stark contrast to these great men.

I am humbled and convicted of sin when I read their Christ exalting words and hear of their undying devotion to the Lord. May the Lord of glory fill us all with the gentle and meek spirit of these men and use us to walk with God in lowliness and holiness.

Pastor Dickie

2010-10-13T02:58:00.004-04:00

Dear Berean Family, I have been working on a series of messages on Wednesday night on Spiritual Leadership. I have been blessed in the preparation of those messages. One subject that burned in my heart this week in preparation was the need for spiritual passion in our love and devotion to Christ. I am going to share a few quotes that I came across that I trust will be a blessing to you all on being passionate in our devotion to the Lord Jesus.

The apostle Paul writes to the church at Philippi and says, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prized of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14.

In his booklet on True Discipleship, William MacDonald described the zeal and passion that is necessary for the minister of God who would be a spiritual leader,

“A disciple can be forgiven if he does not have great mental ability. He can be forgiven also if he does not display outstanding physical prowess. But no disciple can be excused if he does not have zeal. If his heart is not aflame with a red-hot passion for the Savior, he stands condemned.
After all, Christians are followers of the One Who said, ‘The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.’ (John 2:17). Their Savior was consumed with a passion for God and for His interests. There was no room in His train for half-hearted followers.
The Lord Jesus lived in a state of spiritual tension. This is indicated by His words, ‘I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished.’ (Luke 12:50). And again by His memorable utterance, ‘I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” (John 9:4).
The zeal of John the Baptist was attested by the Lord when He said, ‘He was a burning and a shining light.’ (John 5:35).”

Jim Elliot the martyr who died in Ecuador was a burning and shining light like John the Baptist. When Jim Elliot was meditating on Hebrews 1:7, “He maketh his ministers a flame of fire,” he wrote in his journal: “Am I ignitable? God deliver me from the dread asbestos of ‘other things’ Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be a flame. But flame is transient, often short lived. Canst thou bear this my soul—short life? In me there dwells the Spirit of the Great Short-Lived, Whose zeal for God’s house consumed Him. ‘Make me thy fuel, Flame of God.’”

Here's my prayer tonight, "O Dear God, where are those spiritual leaders whose love and devotion to the Savior burns like a torch in the night? Where are those men whose brokenness, tenderness, humility, and godliness set them apart from the carnal, fleshly, and worldly hirelings that fleece Thy sheep? Give us, O Lord, such pastors and leaders whose only desire in life is to be faithful to Thy Son and His gospel of sovereign grace. We ask this in Jesus name, and for His glory alone, Amen."

2010-09-28T21:08:00.002-04:00

Coming Events!

We are praying that Pastor Vernon Higham from Cardiff, Wales may be able to be with us at Thanksgiving. We are waiting word from the Higham's. We have been so fortunate to have this special man of God with us over the last twenty years. Whenever we have the privilege of having Vernon and Morwren it is always a blessing. In the new year we also may have John Blanchard with us for our Easter weekend. Please keep these two dates on your calendars and plan to attend the services at Berean at that time.

My Sunday morning series on Isaiah is coming to an end. I have been overwhelmed by the positive emphasis that this book has given us. There can be no doubt that the Lord has a wonderful plan for His people in the coming years. Oh that the Lord would fill the earth with His glory and gospel and saturate it as the waters cover the seas.

This coming month of October we will be having our missions emphasis month. Let's pray and expect the Lord do great things for us as we support and pray for missions. In January I will be returning to South Africa to preach at the Black African Pastor's conference. Your prayers are very much appreciated.

God bless all of you,

In Christ, Pastor Dickie

2010-09-17T00:21:00.003-04:00

The Judgment Seat Of Christ

We all have a date with destiny and the Lord when we die. Every child of God will stand before the eternal King to give an account of their life. This is an awesome thought. I find it hard to believe that so many Christians live as if that day will never come. Many professing Christians persue things that will matter little in that great day.

Momento Mori- "Remember that you must die." This Latin phrase should be our constant thought. If we have been justified by grace and have disciplined our lives we need not fear death or that meeting when we shall stand before the Lord face to face.

Do not waste your life. "Only one life to live, twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last."

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement." Hebrews 9:27

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." II Corinthians 5:10

What will be revealed about you on that great and fearful day? The Spirit of God is calling all of us to surrender our lives in holy devotion to the Lord of the universe who died on Calvary for our sins. This is the only noble life. This is the only true goal. May our passion be to live for the glory of God with our eyes on eternity.

May God's richest blessings be upon you all,

Love in Christ,

Pastor Dickie

2010-07-19T16:19:00.005-04:00

Dear Berean Family,

In these days we need to be vigilant as there are heresies sweeping the Christian church that are dangerous and destructive. One heresy is The Word of Faith Movement. I have an excellent article by Gary Gilley on This Movement. Gary Gilley is an author that we use at Evangelical Press in England. His writings are always concise, penetrating, and helpful. If any of you would like to see some information on this please let me know and I will send Gary Gilley's article to you. A good book to read on this subject is Man As God by Curtis I. Crenshaw. Crenshaw is a Reformed theologian. This is a Reformed analysis of this movement.

I have been alarmed recently at the serious departures that many Christian pastors and theologians are making in the areas of worship, doctrine, and even Christian practice. This is a time for the Lord's people to stand tall for truth. My prayer is that the Reformed faith will be defended and proclaimed far and wide.

I love the Five Solas of the Christian Faith:

1. Sola Fide- by faith alone

2. Sola Scriptura- by the Scriptures alone

3. Sola Christus- by Christ alone

4. Sola Gratia-by grace alone

5. Soli Deo Gloria- to the glory of God alone

We should defend these historic positions of the Christian faith. Having these solas as a compass or guide serves to protect us from falling for the fads, heresies, and new and dangerous trends that pop up on the scene from time to time. This is why having a firm faith in the historic creeds and doctrines of grace such as Calvinism will protect the church from making mistakes in these crucial areas.

Dear Bereans, stand resolute against all heresy. God be with you.

In Christ, Pastor Dickie

2010-07-15T23:55:00.002-04:00

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24.

A favorite quote of mine is, "You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." However true this may be we need to remember that we can never, ever, fool God. The wise man in proverbs tells us that, "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." Proverbs 15:3

May our daily prayer be that the Sovereign God of the universe would search our hearts and and show us our sins that we might humbly confess and forsake them. Only in this is there peace and confidence in the future.

Live my dear Berean friends with the understanding that the Lord sees and knows who you are and what you do.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Dickie

2010-07-12T23:13:00.004-04:00

We are moving rapidly through the summer. It is hard to realize how fast the summer is passing by. All of this reminds me of how quickly time is rushing by bringing us closer every day to eternity. I am awed by the responsibility I have to preach the whole counsel of God to those who sit under my ministry. The great day of judgment will cause all of us who are pastors to tremble. In the near future I plan to bring a series of messages to our church on spiritual leadership. After nearly 45 years of ministry I have witnessed the rise and fall of many Christian leaders within the church. I hope I can share some of my observations with my Berean family so that we can all watch over our personal relationship with Christ and not make the same mistakes that so many others have made. Let us remember that to whom much is given much is required. May we all pray for wisdom and grace to live lives that are pleasing to the Lord that we have vowed to serve. Holiness, obedience, humility, and Christ likeness are the hall marks of those who would lead others in the Christian church. God bless all of you and may the Lord shine upon us at Berean! Our best days are just ahead.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Robert L. Dickie

2010-03-13T09:52:00.003-05:00

Home From England!

Had a wonderful trip with Rev. Bill Tipton. I was able to minister in several churches and encourage a number of pastors and Christians over in Great Britian. I had a profitable trip and board meeting with Evangelical Press. Much was accomplished and we are going to be printing a number of excellent books that I know will be a blessing to the Christian world. We also met with several pastors who go to Africa with me and had some wonderful fellowship and discussed plans for future conferences in South Africa. I am planning a conference at Berean sometime soon to encourage a positive world view for evangelism and outreach around the world. So over all I must praise the Lord for His goodness to me in these travels. Bill Tipton has been a friend for 45 years. I have been so blessed by his fellowship and his godly life. I praise God for such a faithful friend. Bill enjoyed England. This was his first trip over the pond!

2010-01-18T14:38:00.002-05:00

Africa Conference 2010

Thank you for your prayers while we were in Africa!

We have returned safely and praise the Lord for His protection and blessing on our trip to South Africa. I spoke at two conferences and at three churches. We distributed a number of my books , What Bible Teaches About Worship and Living For Jesus. It is difficult for me to say how the Lord worked in our ministry. I will simply let the Lord reveal to us on the great Day what He was pleased to accomplish through our labors in Africa. I prayed and worked very hard to exalt our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And I trust that the Lord was pleased to honor those unworthy efforts to serve Him.

I want to thank all of our Berean family for your prayers and support while we were away. I would also like to thank the team that went with me, Ben Dickie, Norm Walworth, Max Sharp and our assistant pastor Eric Stewart. They were tremendous. And the Lord gave us safety along the way. We landed at J- Burg and my first message was in Centurion which is north of J-Burg. Next we flew to Port Elizabeth and ministered to the Black Pastor's Conference. We then drove down to Cape Town for a few days. I unfortunately got sick with the flu and but recovered to be well enough to fly back to J-Burg and then preach at a conference on worship Bethany Baptist Church near Pretoria. The following day I spoke at Birchleigh Baptist Church in Johannesburg and at Constantia Park Baptist Church in Pretoria. I praise the Lord for whatever blessings and mercies He bestowed upon those messages and at those services.

We finished our trip with a visit to the Kruger National Park. That gave us a few days to rest and enjoy ourselves before the 17 hour flight home to Atlanta.

We are very tired but spiritually refreshed and glad to be back home with our families and with the Berean family.

I long for the Lord to open the windows of Heaven and to pour out His Spirit upon all the nations of the earth. May we all join in prayer to seek His blessing to that great end. God bless you all, In Christ, Pastor Bob

Worship Conference in Centurion South Africa

2010-01-10T16:12:00.004-05:00

Pastor Dickie gave four sermons yesterday at a conference in Centurion, South Africa on Worship. There was a large turnout from a number of different churches in the surrounding Johannesburg communities and positive feedback from many people in attendance as the Lord came down and spoke to their hearts.

The service was held at Bethany Baptist and they filmed all four talks of the conference. Norm Walworth ordered the DVDs and we will be able to burn copies back home in the States for those that wish to hear the message the Pastor shared.

The picture above was taken at the service today at Pastor Irving Steggles church. (Pictured left to right: Norm Walworth, Pastor Steggles, Pastor Bob Dickie, Ben Dickie, Max Sharp & Pastor Eric Stewart)

Pastor Eric Stewart had the opportunity to take the pulpit at Pastor Irving Steggles church this evening, while Pastor Dickie went to Constantia Park Baptist Church to share the Gospel.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers during our travels!

Sincerely,

Ben Dickie

Port Elizabeth Pastor's Conference

2010-01-10T16:00:00.004-05:00

The Pastor's conference had a great turnout and the men were blessed with the word. Norm Walworth is sitting here by the book table listening to a sermon by Pastor Dickie. These Pastor's our hungry for teaching and were taking advantage of the books that Evangelical Press brought to the conference.

Pastor Ronald Kalifungwa from Zambia is pictured here with Pastor Eric Stewart, Pastor Bob Dickie and Norm Walworth.

Pastor Kalifungwa is one of the most notable preachers in all of Africa and the Lord is using him in a powerful way in training other Pastor's who are eager to learn the Doctrines of Grace.

African Pastor's Conference 2010

2010-01-04T05:05:00.005-05:00

We had our fist service at Bethany Baptist Church in Centurion, South Africa (near Pretoria).

Please keep us in prayer!

Monday and Tuesday we will be at Port Elizabeth speaking at a Black African Pastor's Conference.

Our desire is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ!

Soli Dei Gloria

God Bless,

Pastor

2009-12-29T18:24:00.002-05:00

African Pastor's Conferences 2010

I am leading a team from Berean Baptist to South Africa in January. Please check the Pastor's Blog for updates and pics on our trip. Ben Dickie and Eric Stewart plan to post some photos and updates from time to time.

The topics that I will be sharing with our dear friends in South Africa include worship, prayer, and the subject of brokenness before the Lord. I thought that you might find some of these thoughts and quotes on brokenness and spirituality a blessing to your soul. Read and may the Lord bless each of you!

* In a world where self confidence and self reliance are celebrated it is important to remember that broken people who are have humbled themselves before God and find their strength in Christ are those who have been greatly used by the Lord.

* "Modern Christianity is simply not producing the kind of Christian who can appreciate or experience the life in the Spirit...the decline of the knowledge of the Holy has brought on our troubles." A. W. Tozer

* "A glimpse of Jesus will save you, but to gaze on Him will sanctify you." Manley Beasley

* "If you lay yourself at Christ's feet he will take you up in his arms." William Bridge

* Every great man of God or woman of God has passed through times of trial, brokenness, and what is often called the wilderness experience.

* The crushing sorrows and burdens of life may be overwhelming at times but they produce in our lives the things that make us truly useful to God--brokenness, desperation, humility, repentance, tears, tenderness, and patience.

* "God will never come to his right unless we are totally reduced to nothing, so that it may be clearly seen that all that is laudable in us comes from elsewhere." John Calvin

* "Unbelief makes the world a spiritual desert, where no divine footsteps are heard, where no angels ascend and descend, where no living hand adorns the fields, feeds the birds of heaven, or regulates events." F. W. Krummacher

* "Suffering so unbolts the door to the heart that the Word has an easier entrance." Richard Baxter

* What the church of Jesus Christ so desperately needs today are men and women who walk with God in the power and gentleness of the Holy Spirit.

Trials and tribulations are often used by the Lord to mold our hearts into His image. These hard Providences that we often pass through will teach us the importance of brokenness before the Lord. Never forget that broken people are precious to the Lord. A broken and contrite heart He will not despise.

God bless all of you!

Pastor Dickie

2009-12-23T19:18:00.008-05:00

Dear Bereans,

I trust that you will all have a Merry Christmas!

keep your eyes on the Lord Jesus.

Remember as you gather as families with friends and loved ones to worship Him.

I would like to ask all of you to keep me in prayer as I head to South Africa on the 31st to speak at the African Pastor's Conferences. Our goal is to encourage our brethren over there to preach Christ in the context of the Doctrines of Grace. May the Lord be pleased to bless us with a strong moving of His Spirit and bring revival and reformation to that part of the world.

My love and prayers are with you all.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Dickie

Online Sermon & Online Calendar Companion

2009-11-03T18:07:00.006-05:00

We at Berean Baptist Church have used two wonderful tools in our ministry. These tools are Online Sermon and Online Calendar Companion. Sermon Companion allows us to upload our weekly messages online and enables us to catalogue them by speaker, topic, date, or series. We also use Sermon Companion on our website for Emmaus Road Academy. Calendar Companion allows us to manage our activities and upcoming events. One unique feature with Calendar Companion is the ability to notify people by email of upcoming events. These are two wonderful tools that will greatly enhance any website and Christian Ministry and they have been a blessing to our congregation here at Berean Baptist Church.

Listen to our sermons and follow our events here:

Berean's Online Sermons

Berean's Online Calendar

I want to encourage all of our brothers and sisters at Berean to utilize these tools in their interaction here at Church and with our Academy. I want to challenge all of you to listen to the weekly messages if you have been shut in, away traveling, or not able to attend our services for any other reason. I am greatly encouraged that because of Sermon Companion many people around the world in Europe, South America, and Africa are listening to our weekly messages! Praise the Lord!

Sincerely, Pastor Dickie

2009-10-15T13:38:00.003-04:00

Always Do Right!

When I was a student many years ago in college a slogan was posted in our dormitory that read, "It is never right to do wrong in order to get a chance to do right." Many people today are good at justifying poor behaviour if it leads to some good opportunity or end. I have never forgotten, however, the quote on the dormitory wall. I would encourage all of you to read this quote over and over and reflect on your life. Time is rushing by at such a fast pace. We will all be standing before the Lord before we know it. I pray that all of you will keep that moment in your mind. Let us not justify any gossip, slander, unkindness, mean and unloving spirit, or any un-Christian behavior in our lives. I have often seen people in life do some of the most unkind and un-Christian things and then casually say, "I didn't do anything wrong." We must not deceive ourselves. Always do right! I have always believed that the Lord will bless kindness, patience, generosity, meekness, thankfulness, and love. These are common ingredients in the Christian life. But sadly these things are missing by many who claim to be the people of God. May it never be so in our lives.

My vision and desire for all of those who sit under my ministry is this:

1. Be filled with the Spirit.

2. Follow the golden rule!

3. Be conformed into the image of Christ.

4. Walk with God in humility and kindness.

5. Be considerate of others.

6. Love one another with agape love.

7. Live in the continual practice of praise.

8. Be devoted to the gospel of sovereign grace.

9. Love the people of God for they are indwelled by the Lord of glory.

10. Be passionate in your love and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ.

God bless you all!

Love, Pastor Dickie

2009-10-03T18:04:00.005-04:00

Dear Bereans,

Recently I spoke on prayer in the morning service as we have been going through the book of Isaiah. As I reflect on what it means to live the Christian life there are two things that stand out to me that are of utmost importance. The two most important aspects of living for Jesus are prayer and Bible reading. These two activities are critical to true discipleship. Neglect either of these two duties and you will greatly hinder and impair your relationship with God.

One of my favorite books on prayer is by E.M. Bounds entitled, Power Through Prayer. I encourage all of you to read it. My message last Sunday on Hezekiah's prayer gives a number of suggestions and encouragements on prayer. If you did not hear that message you can listen to it on Allgrace.com.

Let me encourage all of you to enjoy the special privileges of drawing near to God in the Word and in prayer. You will be blessed if you seek the Lord with all of your heart.

“If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land". II Chron. 7:14

"Call unto me and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not". Jeremiah 33:3

“Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer.” D. L. Moody

"Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things.” Andrew Murray.

Our praying, however, needs to be pressed and pursued with an energy that never tires, a persistency which will not be denied, and a courage which never fails." — E.M. Bounds

God bless you all, and keep on striving to walk with God as the days and years of our lives pass.

Yours in Christ, Pastor Dickie

2009-09-16T22:31:00.008-04:00

The wonderful, incredible, and amazing Bride of Christ!

The Church of Jesus Christ is His precious Bride. This last month as I spent a time resting, reading, and seeking the face of God in the Word and in prayer I jotted down on a note pad various words that came to my mind that described the Church. This list is by no means exhaustive but it captures the essence of many of the ways the Church functions in our lives. I trust this is a blessing to all of you.

The Church is:

1. A Workshop

2. A Refuge

3. A Compass

4. A Foundation

5. A Temple

6. An Army

7. A Hospital

8. A Repair Shop

9. A Bakery

10. A Winery

11. A Library

12. A Hiding Place

13. A Kitchen

14. A Light House

15. A Home

16. A School

17. An Oasis

18. A Bride

19. A City

20. A Kingdom

21. A Dwelling Place

22. An Anchor

23. A Blazing Fire

24. A Witness

25. A Body

Now if you can think of other words that describe the church share them here as well! As I thought of each of these words I was able to think of many verses that could be applied to these descriptions and I thought of various ways that these words could be descriptive of the Church.

A great word of thanks to all of you for your prayers and encouragement during the last month when I was away. And I want to thank the office staff, our elders and deacons and of course Pastor Eric for all their labors for the Lord. Amen!!!

The pictures are of Kings Chapel in Cambridge, England.

My love to you all, In Christ, Pastor Dickie

2009-08-14T15:21:00.004-04:00

Dear Bereans,

I trust that you are all well and enjoying your summer. Mary and I have been resting and spending our time off relaxing, reading, and meditating on the things of the Lord. I am looking forward to coming back in September to resume the ministry among you all. Thank you for all of your prayers and thoughtful words during this time of spiritual rest and refreshment. One of the things that I have been doing is editing and revising a book on the blood of Jesus that I am planning on publishing through The Emmaus Road Press. I am almost done with this project and I am very excited because I believe this book will be a great blessing to all those who read it. Keep me in your prayers as I finish this project.

Recently I was meditating on the text in Matthew's gospel 25:21 that reads, "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." These words were from the Lord Jesus. They represent what we trust you will all hear when you stand before God in the day of judgment. I want to share some thoughts with you on this text.

A life "Well done" is a life that was:

1. Lived for God's glory.

2. Filled with the Spirit.

3. Focused on the Lord Jesus Christ.

4. And conformed to the image of Christ.

This is the essence of a "Well done" life.

A "Good and faithful servant."

1. Only God is good in the absolute sense.

2.We are good only so far as we have been justified by God's grace. If God declares or pronounces us good then we can rejoice indeed!

3. Faithfulness is seen in our obedience to the calling of God and the will of God. We have been called into fellowship with His Son. We have been called to be saints, Romans 1:7. God's will for us is summarized in Micah 6:8 and Romans 12:1-2.

4. We are servants. First of all, we are servants to the triune God. And secondly, we are servants to our brothers and sisters in Christ. One of the great characteristics of the children of God is that they are servants. The attitude of joyful and humble servanthood characterizes all those who have been indwelled by the Holy Spirit.

"Enter into the joy of thy Lord."

1. It is the Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom.

2. The Father is filled with joy at His Children's spiritual blessings and prosperity. When we enter the eternal state with all of its many blessings and privileges it will bring the Lord great joy.

3. The Lord Jesus went to the cross and suffered it's shame, reproach and the wrath of His Father with joy because of the knowledge that this death would secure eternal blessings for those the Father had given to Him. Hebrews 12:2, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Here are some questions that this text calls us to ask:

1. Will you hear these precious words on the day of judgment?

2. Does our conscience, our friends, and the Holy Spirit confirm to us that we are "good and faithful servants?"

3. The joy of the Lord is not just a future in heaven. It is also a present reality right now as we daily walk with God. Is this the reality we are living in right now?

2009-08-01T19:36:00.003-04:00

Some Thoughts On Walking With God

Dear Bereans,

This month I am taking some time off to rest and replenish the spiritual wells of my heart. While I am away from Church I will be praying for each of you. I thought that as I am absent from the Church that it might be good to give some practical advice on walking with God that each of you might seek to pursue in your daily walk with the Lord. Here are some thoughts that I have had recently about the kinds of things that we each need to work on in our walk with the Lord. I am not putting these in any particular order but just as they come to my mind as I type this up for you.

1. To walk with God we need to live in the atmosphere of prayer and praise.

2. Walking with God means also that we must live in the Word. The Scriptures must nourish our souls on a daily basis. Feast on the Word of God!

3. Those who walk with God will develop a hunger for the Lord's presence. Do you hunger and thirst for the Living God? Walking with God means we are learning to live in God's presence.

4. Those who walk with God will be servants. Being a servant to our fellow man is not only an aspect of walking with God but is also part of what it means to be Christ like. Who have you served lately?

5. Be approachable! Those who are walking with God must not be angry or distant to those who would draw near. Are we the kind of people that others do not hesitate to approach with questions or concerns?

6. Be pleasant to be around. What kind of person are we in our interactions with those that we work or live with? Are we pleasant or are we snippy, feisty, and hard to live with? Do people enjoy our presence or do they sigh with relief when we leave?

7. Those who walk with God must also be good listeners. Jesus was a good listener. We must follow His example. Are you patient to listen to those in your family and those that you work with? Do you listen with good eye contact? Some people are always talking about themselves. They dominate every conversation with all that they have done, their accomplishments and what they think. Hey, let's each stop and just for once be good listeners to those around us!

8. Be an encourager. Nothing is more delightful than to be around those who are positive and uplifting. I cannot imagine someone truly walking with God who is not also an encourager. Jesus was such with His disciples. There are just two kinds of people: those who build up and those who tear down. Which one are you?

9. Show your love to those you live with by a tender touch or a hug. Today, in our world, we need people in the body of Christ to be huggers. Give those around you a hug. A smile would be a blessing as well! Those who walk with God have learned and experienced His love and must therefore share that love with others.

10. The people who walk with God must look for ways to affirm and to edify others. This is a discouraging world. What the Church often needs is to have a good number of praise warriors. Not just prayer warriors but praise warriors. Praise uplifts and encourages us.

11. I think that those who walk with God will also be those who will often be heard to say, "I love you." These words need to be heard every day in our homes and with those that we live and work with. How often do we say this to our wives, husbands, children or friends?

12. Those who walk with God will not poison those around them with negative words, rude behavior, scowling looks or a critical spirit. Those who walk with God will be filled with the fruit of the Spirit. You know...love, joy, peace, etc.

13. Those who are walking with God will not be a wet blanket to dampen every one's hopes and spirit. They will like a light to brighten up the room into which they walk. Let people see the light of Christ in our lives.

14. Finally, those who walk with God will be leaders. They will lead others to be like Christ. Study the New Testament and pour over its pages searching for every clue on how our Lord lived, walked, responded and behaved in His every day life. Let us all desire to be like the Lord Jesus Christ.

These are just some practical thoughts on what is involved in walking with God. May we each strive to walk with God every day so that our lives will be a blessing to all those around us.

2009-07-21T11:59:00.002-04:00

Dear Bereans, please check out this link. Ken Ham of AIG had some nice things to say about you after his visit with us a few weeks ago! I am so proud of my Berean family. Keep up the good work of living for Jesus. You shine like lights in the night of this unbelieving world.

http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/aroundtheworld/index.php?s=homeschooler

2009-07-15T09:11:00.002-04:00

Dear Bereans,

I would like to take this opportunity to share with each of you some of the major principles that have shaped my philosophy of ministry over the years. It has been my joy to serve the Lord in a number of different churches across the country. I have served the Lord in Flint, Michigan, Midland Michigan, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and then Grand Blanc, Michigan. I have been here in Grand Blanc since 1982. During these years I have tried very hard to live up to the principles that I have found in the Word of God. I trust that these thoughts that I will share with you will not only bless you but help you to think biblically in every area of your life.

1. Live for the glory of God. This is the most important principle that we can use to shape our lives and our decisions. Paul says, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Whenever I make any decision for my life or for the Church I always ask myself, "What will bring God the most glory?" God's glory trumps everything in my life. That is the most important thing. We should all live with this foremost in mind in all that we do both in or out of the Church.

2. Let love be prominent attribute in your life. Jesus said, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John 13:34-35. Love is the one way that we can show the world that we belong to Christ. Love must be the most visible characteristic in our lives. Love should manifest itself in the following ways.

* Love your enemies.

* Love those who oppose you or disagree with you.

* Be patient with those who are stubborn and hard to work with.

* Be forbearing with those who are difficult to work with or who might annoy you.

* Be kind to those who are often unkind or mean spirited.

* Don't speak behind some one's back by gossiping, backbiting, or slandering people.

* Be slow to criticize, complain, grumble or pout.

* Be swift to forgive.

* Don't hold grudges, keep score, or judge people by what happened in the past.

* Give people the benefit of the doubt.

* Be approachable. That means be a good listener, empathize and care for people.

3. It is more blessed to give than to receive. This is taught to us by the Lord Jesus and was quoted by the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 20:35. I have felt that God's people must learn the wonderful principle of what I call "godly generosity." God Himself was the most generous giver when He gave His Son to be our Savior. Being generous to the poor, the needy, and those people that we are able to bless when it is in our power to do so makes us truly godly. Generosity is just one attribute of being a godly Christian. If we are to err let it be on the side of being gracious and generous to our brothers and sisters in Christ. I have always tried to put the needs, the concerns, and the feelings of other people before my own. This is one principle that I have tried to follow over the years. One of the ways that I have tried to demonstrate this was by taking care of the Lord's servants. I have been on the receiving end of unjust criticism, hateful remarks and misrepresenting attacks. I have known the betrayal of those that I thought were friends. I have felt the wounds that unkind words can cause. Because of this, I have tried to be a friend to other ministers in a way that I often needed, but many times never received. Therefore, I have sought to honor God's servants every way I can. When we have been privileged to have some of the choice servants of God in our midst at Berean Baptist I have tried to have our church show them the respect, kindness, and generosity that is becoming to a servant of God. Of course this applies to all the body as well. Let us seek this godly and generous spirit to all that we meet in life both in the ministry and to all the family of God. Whenever we have an opportunity to help, to serve, to honor, to be thoughtful to those in the body of Christ we should do so and do it with joy. It is a shame when people look at some in the Church and say they are like Scrooge. Let us be like Christ!

4. Live in the spirit of praise. It is very important that we all live in the atmosphere of praise. God inhabits the praises of His people. That means when God's people praise Him He is pleased to draw near. This is one way to ensure that the presence of God is with us. We must be a praising people. It is always easier to be negative, critical, mean spirited, and be a complainer. Why is this so? I would suggest it is because it is in our fallen nature to be this way. Oddly, some people have actually thought that a critical spirit is being godly or Christ like. I think this is a mistake. There are times, to be sure, that we must correct, rebuke, and confront sin in the lives of those in the church. But we must aim at being a people that are positive, friendly, loving, and gracious with all that we meet. If you read the book on legendary coach John Wooden entitled "Wooden" one of the main things that comes out of that book is that this gracious Christian coach and gentleman lived in this manner. Wooden over and over again makes comments about this attitude of complaining, whining, and grumbling. We need to be seen as a different people. We are the people of God and need to live in the spirit and atmosphere of praise. I have tried to do this myself and I urge all of our church family to aim at this noble goal of being a people known for their praise and love of God. Let us live our lives in the habit of praising God. This means that we should not be found praising God while at the same time we are tearing our brothers or sisters down by our criticism and complaining.

5. Learn to die to self on a daily basis. Dying to self is one of the principles that I have tried to live by over the years. Dying to self means simply means we do not live by putting our wishes, our wants, our needs, our feelings before others. We must learn to die to these things. We must live by the great principles of Christ and always think of others first before we think of ourselves. It is not easy to die to self. It is very natural to demand our rights. It is a part of our fallen nature to want to seek revenge, to get even, to keep score, and to put our feelings first. But this is not the Christ like thing to do. Let us all aim to so live before a holy God that we will seek to die to self on a daily basis. The body of Christ is greatly honored and esteemed when its members live in this way. The great Christians of history have been people who have practiced this virtue of dying to self. Our heroes should be godly Christians who have modeled this noble behaviour that makes us like the Lord Jesus Christ.

6. Be filled with the Spirit. It should be the goal of the Christian to be filled with God's holy Spirit on a daily basis. Paul the Apostle lists the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. When a Christian is filled with the Spirit these fruits will be visible in their actions and daily life. This is crucial to everything that we do. Most of the problems we face in our marriages, our work, our families, and in all of our human relationships can be traced to a lack of being spiritual in this sense of having our lives conformed to Christ. A spiritual man or woman will have great advantages over the person who lives in the flesh. To be filled with the Holy Spirit means that we must ask God to fill us on a daily basis. We must pray and ask the Lord to take control of our lives, to enable us to live in the power of His holy Spirit and in the power of his presence. This is not an option. Every Christian must seek to be filled with God's Holy Spirit every day of their lives. The future and the glory of the Church depends on our obedience here. Many times the quarrels, the disputes, the wrangling, and the fighting in the Church are due to the fact that the parties involved are not filled and walking in the Spirit. Let us make sure that this is our daily goal. No one should serve in the Church in any capacity if they cannot make this commitment to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to walk in His power and in His presence on a daily basis.

These are just some of the principles that I am trying to live by. No one is perfect. We all make many mistakes and have many failures to be forgiven from and to overcome. But if we will seek to live for Jesus by implementing these simple principles we will see the glory of God fill our Church. To this grand end may we all live.

God bless you all.

Pastor Dickie

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-03T00:12:00.004-04:00

I want to wish the church family a happy 4th of July. Travel safe and enjoy the holiday! We have a wonderful country and none of us should take it for granted.

One of the things that has made this a great country has been the powerful and convicting preaching of the Word of God. We need the Lord to raise up a mighty army of faithful preachers who will declare the whole counsel of God to our generation.

As a pastor I am always examining not only my life but the fruit and the actions of those who sit under my ministry. Here are some of the things that we all need to practice in our lives. If we are a holy people then this nation will have the kind of citizens that will lead it forward in this century.

1. We need to be spiritual people who display the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Gal. 5:22-23.

2. We need to be a people who walk with God in our daily lives.

3. We need to be prayer warriors for our families, our church and our nation.

4. We need to be committed to being honest, faithful, dedicated and compassionate in our dealings with our neighbors and friends.

5. We need to fear God and not man.

6. We need to live for the glory of God.

7. We need to practice the presence of God in our lives.

8. We need to abhor all that is evil and to love all that is good and pure.

9. We need to forgive our enemies and those who have hurt or disappointed us.

10. Most of all we need to love the Lord Jesus Christ supremely.

On this holiday may our blessed Lord have all the glory! In spite of all the concerns that we have as Americans let us never forget that as my late brother in law Del Fehsenfeld used to say, "As long as God is on the throne revival is as possible as the sun rising tomorrow morning!"

Keep the faith, and keep your eyes on Christ!

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Dickie

2009-06-26T16:16:00.004-04:00

Filling the earth with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea!

Last January I had the privilege of preaching in South Africa at an African Pastor’s Conference (APC). I have been invited to attend once again this coming January. While I am still praying and seeking the Lord’s will in this invitation I would ask each of you to pray with me that the Lord would continue to bless the conferences and raise up an army of godly men filled with passion and love for Christ.

We have been supporting conferences in South Africa, Brazil, Europe and Great Britain. My prayer is that the doctrines of justification by faith alone and the doctrines of God’s sovereign grace will be spread throughout the earth for the glory of the Lord.

Below is a report of the African conferences that I was able to attend and which we supported financially. I trust you are all encouraged by reading this report.

A Report on the APCs During January 2009
A report by Gary Morrison

Six African Pastors’ conferences were held in South Africa during January. My portfolio was to see that these conferences ran smoothly and that included organizing the display of the books which are sold at subsidized prices thereby bringing very considerable advantage to the pastors. This latter responsibility was made a pleasure by diligent workers at each conference who know the book trade. Cornerstone Baptist Church, Bolton, generously and whole-heartedly supported me in these travels in sunny South Africa. My first pastorate was in Mandini, Kwazulu and with that background I have great sympathy for the needs of African pastors who live in an economic climate very different to ours.

The first conference was held at Mseleni near the border between Mozambique and South Africa, Pastor Choolwe Mwetwa (Central Baptist Church, Chingola, Zambia) spoke very challengingly on ‘The marks of faithful ministry’, and Pastor Raymond Zulu, with the advantage of preaching in his mother tongue, soared wonderfully on the theme, ‘The Word of God as our sure foundation’.

Our second conference at Koinonia Conference Centre was nearby the town of Hillcrest which in turn is not that far from the city Durban. The Speakers included Choolwe, Raymond, Dennis Hustedt (Utah, USA) and myself. The response was encouragingly very positive. Such is the increasing interest and edification that the pastors are calling for an extension to this work to reach the youth and from them so seek to build up a future body of able ministers of the Gospel. We will have our work cut out to wrestle with this challenge and act positively.

Our third stop was in the Eastern Cape in at the city of Port Elizabeth, where Dr Paul Stoltz organized the three day conference. Pastor Bob Dickie (Berean Baptist Church in Flint Michigan USA) also expounded the awe inspiring subject of Worship. We also had an outstanding Q & A session. Some interesting topics were discussed including the role of women in ministry. This cropped up at most of the conferences. It seems to be a recurring theme that may need to be addressed sensitively in the future.

The fourth conference was near the beautiful city of Pretoria. This time the speakers included Pastor Irving Steggles (Birchleigh Baptist Church, Kempton Park). He spoke on revival and delivered the conference sermon (’Motivation in the Ministry’). The conference was a tremendous success under the very capable leadership and organizational skills of Irving Steggles. The Book table ministry was also a great blessing here. The three days and two nights, including six meals cost each person the equivalent astounding sum of 70 Rand (£5.00). This is an admirable demonstration on just how far money given by churches in both the USA and the UK can go towards financing more APC’s in future years.

The fifth conference was in the large Free State town of Welkom. This once rich gold-mining town is now not far from poverty. Even the local fire engines have been repossessed by the manufacturers. The local CESA (Church of England in South Africa which is a reformed denomination) minister, George van der Westhuizen, acted as host to the conference at his church building. There was tremendous response to the preachers Choolwe and Raymond. On a personal note heartbreak and challenge came to me the next day when the three of us visited Morning Star, a crèche for 85 local HIV positive children. What an inspiring work is done by the ladies there, especially Joan Adams who is responsible for running it.

Finally the last of the conferences took place at Newcastle. This was a first time event and was capably organized by pastor Paul Jacobs. Here we saw demonstrated what can be done when a whole church supports a conference like this. This practical backing came from the Newcastle Baptist Church. Apart from the books hardly any subsidy is needed when this takes place. Some were disappointed inasmuch that they did not have enough time to secure enough money to purchase more of the discounted books that were available. In Newcastle they all wanted us to stay on for a second day. Lord willing next year we will.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-20T12:25:00.005-04:00

This Sunday is Father's Day. I want to wish all of the men of our church a happy and wonderful Father's Day. Not all of us have children but all of us have a father. Whether your father is living and has passed away this is a day to pause for a few moments and to thank the Lord for the wonderful gift He has given us in the Fathers that He placed over us. Yes, I believe that every father is a gift from God. Even if the father you have did not or does not know the Lord. The Lord is wise and knows exactly what He is doing. When He gave you your father He knew what was best for you. May we all show our gratitude to the Lord for the wonderful gift of life that came to each of us through the biological father that brought us into life.

I was reading a column by Cal Thomas on his love and respect for his father and it brought tears to my eyes. It caused me to think about my father who passed away back in 1989. The years have come and gone but the void and pain that I still feel at times haunts me. I trust this column by Cal Thomas will be a blessing to you all.

A Father's Day card

Cal Thomas

Thursday, June 12, 2003

He's been gone 20 years this month. Funny how when I write this, I wonder if some readers might think he walked out on us, as many do. No, Dad left us the only way he would. He died in June, 1983.

I still miss sending him a Father's Day card and finding a present beyond the predictable tie he might like. Shopping for a card by an anonymous rhymer that expressed the right sentiment was always a challenge, so I wrote notes and eventually a letter telling him how much I loved him and what he meant to me. He framed it and hung it in his office.

People of a certain age think he was Lowell Thomas - the famous newscaster and Fox Movie tone newsreel narrator of another era. That's because Lowell and I share the same last name and the same profession. But, no, Clinton Samuel Thomas was nothing special to the world, only to his family. And he was special to my brother, Marshall, who was born with a defect diagnosed as mental retardation. How Dad treated my brother taught me a profound lesson. He spent a lot of money on doctors and in search of the right environment for my brother after keeping him at home for years when many suggested institutionalization.

My father survived the Great Depression and World War II, and these experiences burnished his character and honor and made him realize that things are less valuable than people, family and relationships. We never lacked the essential things as I grew up and did not miss luxurious things.

I remember when he took me to buy my first suit and told me, at age 12, how I was becoming a man. I recall the baseball games and the smell of hot dogs and real grass and how good it felt doing guy stuff with him. I inherited no money but got his fishing tackle box. Priceless.

Are too many men too busy to be much more than biological fathers today? Have they convinced themselves that more hours on the job in order to buy more stuff is of greater importance than inhabiting their place in the home and their position as father in the hearts of their children?

My recent high school reunion concluded with a tour of the old building. When we arrived at the gymnasium - where I had played basketball - a classmate asked me what I remembered most about those games. I said that while I recalled a few shots that actually went in, what I remembered most was that my Dad attended every home game. I pointed to where he sat on the upper row. It is an image burned into my heart and mind. One year he promised a steak dinner to the entire team if we beat our arch-rival. We did, and he came through. On that night, my teammates seemed to love him as much as I did.

My father treated my mother with honor and respect. He never let me call an adult by his or her first name and demanded I show respect to my elders. When he let me drive shortly after my 16th birthday, he made it clear he had rules for using his car, just as there are rules of the road. When he said he wanted me back at a certain time, if I wanted to drive again, I returned at the appointed hour until I was able to buy my own car (with his help on the bank note).

Times change, but standards don't. Not a family on my boyhood street experienced divorce. Now divorce is common. Then, a battered woman was a rare occurrence. Now it is far too frequent. Boys were taught by their fathers to respect women. Most guys I knew in high school were virgins, though many lied about it. "Safe sex" meant saving it for marriage.

My favorite picture is of Dad feeding me a bottle when I was 6 weeks old. He is dressed in a suit and a large smile. His right hand holds the bottle, while his left hand is cupped around my shoulders. It is a picture of security and serenity. I wish more boys had fathers like mine. I wish even more that mine was still with me.

2009-06-11T22:39:00.003-04:00

Dr. Edgar Andrews will be with us this Sunday. Dr. Andrews is the former chairman of the science department from the University of London, England. Professor Andrews has been recognized as one of the top physicists in the entire world. We are very privileged to have him as our guest speaker once again. I have been greatly blessed over the years for the deep and personal friendship that Dr. Andrews has given to me. Much of my ministry has been shaped and inspired by his spiritual mentorship. I trust that all of you will be blessed by his ministry with us this weekend.

Our office staff is taking a trip to Tawas for a dinner cruise out to Charity Island. Dr. Andrews will be our special guest and will speak to the staff on Saturday morning.

Last week I spoke at a Leadership seminar for the Team in Louisville, Kentucky. I quoted a poem in my Sunday message and was asked to put that poem on the blog. I trust that you will all be blessed by the words of this poetic rendition of a revival that was recorded many years ago in Texas.

The Ninety Men In The Marshall’s Den

“I’m going to preach and I’m going to teach, to the ninety men in here, (while a storm was raging outside). Of the words of love, from the throne above, and his words rang out loud and clear. I’ll preach for you of a Savior true, and a happy home on high. Where the angels dwell, where all are saved from Hell, and where the righteous never die. And he said a prayer in the prison there, as the ninety bowed their heads, to the old Choctaw and the Chickasaw, to the whites and the blacks and the reds. He prayed for the chief in his unbelief, and the dark highwayman bold, to the robber crew and the bandits too, to the criminals young and old. And he sang a hymn in the prison grim, he sang, “Turn sinner, turn.” “It’s not too late to reach God’s gate while the lamp holds out to burn.” And then from his bed, from the black and the red, a broken outlaw too. With trembling steps to the parson crept, and he shivered as all in the cold. As the lightning’s flashed, and thunders crashed, showed his features pale and stern, as he bowed his head he solemnly said, “I am resolved to turn.” And it seemed to me I will never see, a scene so great so grand, as the white and the red and their darkened friends around that Christian one did stand. While the light came down, like a silver crown, for the promise came to all. For the ninety men in the marshal’s den heard only the Savior’s call. And the lightning’s flashed, and the thunders crashed, showed their features pale and stern. As they all bowed their heads they solemnly said, “We are resolved to turn.”

2009-05-28T12:02:00.004-04:00

Why I Believe The Bible Is The Word Of God

I spoke at a conference last weekend in Orlando, Florida. One of the topics that I spoke on was the subject of why I believe the Bible is the Word of God. Here is some of the material that I covered. I trust that this encourages you and helps you in your defense of the gospel.

Five Ways To Prove That The Bible Is The Word Of God

Text: II Timothy 3:16,

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Introduction:

A few years ago I went to Mississippi to watch the Southeastern Conference track championships. Mary and I had dinner after the meet with the team from Tennessee. Some of the female athletes were telling us about how several of their friends tried to sneak into a movie. They told us that as these students were attempting to sneak in, an attendant approached them and asked, “Excuse me, do you have tickets?” And one of the students replied, “No, we’re looking for the restrooms.” But the other student responded and said, “I can’t lie. We are trying to sneak into the movie.” I thought to myself, “Ah, an honest thief.” This is an oxymoron. An oxymoron is a figure of speech that contains two words or phrases that are seemingly contradictory. It is like saying a “tiny giant,” or a “good serial killer,” an “angelic devil,” or “an honest thief.” Here was a student that could not lie but had no scruples about stealing. The problem with all men is that we have these glaring inconsistencies about our ethics and morality.

The Law of God is like a net, a mirror, and an umpire!

The law of God is like a net, has a way of catching all of us in its meshes sooner or later. The law of God is like a mirror that sooner or later will show us our moral failures. The law of God is like an umpire in the soul that sooner or later will cry, “Your out!” Whether we understand the letter of the law or the spiritual nature of the law with its broader applications, sooner or later we are all crushed by its condemning power. The Bible teaches us that by the works of the law no flesh (person) shall be justified (that is made acceptable to a holy God). The Bible is relevant because it tells us of our sins. The Bible tells us we have offended a holy God who will hold us accountable for our sinful actions. The Bible, with its laws, convicts us of sin and shows us our need of a Savior. But when people reject the Bible, they we won’t listen to its message for their lives. This is why it is so important to believe in the Bible and to trust its contents.

The English word Bible comes from the Greek word biblia, biblia, and means books. The word Scripture comes from the Latin word scriptura and means writings of a sacred nature. Jesus Christ referred to the revelation of His Father by two different phrases:

1. The Scriptures
2. The Word of God

In this text, the word inspiration comes from the Greek word “theopneustos”, and means God-breathed. What the apostle is telling us here is that the Word of God was given to us by the Lord and is His Word that was breathed into the minds of those who were used to write it. This is a very special book that we have in our hands today. Let us never take the Bible for granted. It is a God-breathed book.

There are many different world religions and so-called sacred writings. But I believe that the Bible alone is the Word of God. If someone was to ask me why I believe the Bible, one answer is because the Bible claims to be the Word of God. Jesus Christ taught that the Old Testament was the infallible Word of the living God, and He promised and predicted the coming of the New Testament. John 14:25-26. 16:13. Some people might respond that to believe that the Bible is the Word of God because it claims to be is circular reasoning. They may say this is simply nonsense. Just because a man claims to be a pumpkin does not make him one. Just because I claim to be a basketball and was dribbling sown the street and came in here tonight does not mean that I am really a basketball. In philosophical terms, this is called an informal fallacy, (an informal fallacy is an argument whose stated premises fail to support the conclusion). But in the case of the Bible, the Bible not only claims to be the Word of God, it authenticates it’s own truth claims, i.e. it proves itself to be the Word of God. For example:

1. The Bible claims to be the Word of the eternal and living God

more than 3000 times. (it contains the phrase, “Thus saith the
Lord”)
2. The Bible is self authenticating, i.e. it has its own intrinsic
authority.
a. The Bible has one theme from beginning to end.
b. The Bible has no contradictions within its pages even though it was
written over a period of 1500 years by 40 different authors.
c. The Bible contains both internal and external evidence
to authenticate and prove its divine message and truth claims.
d. There is no evidence that the text of the Bible has been corrupted
after 2000 years of being copied and passed on to each new
generation. The ancient Jews kept tabs on every letter, syllable,
word, and paragraph. The science of Textual Criticism demonstrates
the accuracy and the reliability of the Bible.
3. When the Bible was written, it was the only book at that time
that claimed to be the written revelation of the eternal God. Since then
there are two other books that also claim to be the Word of God, The
Koran and the Book of Mormon. But do these books have any
supporting evidence to verify their truth claims?

There is a wonderful old poem entitled--

“The Bible”

Though the cover is worn, and the pages are torn,
And places bear traces of tears,
Yet more precious than gold is this book worn and old,
That can shatter and scatter my fears.
When I prayerfully look in this precious old book
As my eyes scan the pages I see,
Many tokens of love from the Father above,
Who is nearest and dearest to me.
This old book is my guide, tis a friend by my side,
It will lighten and brighten my way.
And each promise I find, soothes and gladdens my mind,
As I read it and heed it today.

How do we know that this precious book is the Word of God? By this question we are trying to discover if the Bible is reliable, God-breathed, trustworthy, inspired, and indeed the living Word of God.

There are many skeptics who tell us that this precious old book cannot and should not be trusted. Skeptics such as:

1. Voltaire- a pseudonym of Francois-Marie Arouet a French skeptic.
2. David Hume- a Scottish empiricist philosopher and agnostic.
3. Karl Marx- a Jewish atheist who was a communist.
4. Sigmund Freud- an Austrian psychologist and atheist.
5. Friedrich Nietzsche- a German philosopher and atheist.
6. George Santayana- an American philosopher and poet and atheist
who held to the notion that to believe in anything, including self is irrational.

7. Richard Dawkins- British atheist and author who is making an all out attack on the

Bible and Christianity.

If I was asked to defend the Bible, or to explain why I believe that it is the Word of God, I would use five basic arguments. If, after considering these five arguments, you are convinced that the Bible is the Word of God, then you must also accept that the message of the Bible is to be trusted and believed.

Our Theme: Five Ways To Demonstrate That The Bible Is The
Word Of God

Our Outline:

I. Prophetically
II. Historically
III. Scientifically
V. Morally
V. Dynamically

If you would like to hear the full message on this text I plan to preach on this point this Sunday at our second service. You can listen to the message by clicking on our online sermons at Allgrace.com

2009-05-19T12:53:00.004-04:00

Answers In Genesis Conference

At Berean

Was A Great Success!

I want to praise the Lord for the wonderful conference that we had at Berean Baptist Church this past weekend of May 17th. We were privileged to have had with us Ken Ham from Answers In Genesis. The conference was a tremendous blessing to all who attended. I was told we had well over 700 people in attendance! Not everyone could stay for all the services, but with many coming to the different services we probably had nearly a thousand different people throughout the day.

The important thing, however, is that those who came were given some tremendous materials and inspiration to help repair the foundation of the Christian faith that has been so badly eroded in our day. Ken Ham set forth the proper presuppositions that believers need to know when defending their faith to this Post-modern generation. The messages will be posted on our web sight at allgrace.com. You can listen to them by clicking on online sermons.

The one challenge I want to leave with our Church family is that we must not treat Sunday's like this one as a form of Christian entertainment. We need to be doers of the Word and not just hearers of the Word. This conference will be a great success if we each absorb the material and if we share what we have learned with others. This means keeping the information flowing, and continuing to invite people to Church and sharing the gospel with others. Ken Ham's messages were powerful and convicting. If you did not attend please listen to them.

I would also like to thank all the office staff that worked so hard to plan, organize, and to make sure that this conference was a great blessing to our Church family. We had a small army of volunteers and workers at Church on Sunday morning that did a marvelous job as well in serving around the Church. A special word of thanks goes to several of our elders who gave several thousand dollars to pay for all the expensesof the conference. Sacrificial giving for the glory of the Lord is laying up treasures in Heaven! From my heart I thank all those who served, who came, who gave offerings, and who invited others to join us for this special day.

Next fall we are hoping to have Dr. John Blanchard back with us. This AIG conference will be an inspiration for the upcoming conference with John Blanchard!

God bless you all.

In Christ,

Pastor Dickie

2009-05-01T10:54:00.002-04:00

Please be praying for our upcoming meeting with Ken Ham from the Creation Museum in Kentucky!

Answers In Genesis Conference At Berean Baptist Church, May 17, 2009.

Ken Ham will be with us at Berean Baptist Church to share with our congregation and friends a seminar that will help us to bring reformation to our land by reclaiming the foundations of our faith which are based in the Bible. Ken Ham is one of North America's most popular speakers, best-selling authors and radio host. I want to invite all of you to attend and if possible to bring at least one person with you to hear this seminar.

The purpose of this conference is to help you to be able to answer some of the most-asked questions about the Bible! You will discover biblical truth and the reliability of the Scriptures. In this Post-Modern age, where the Bible is continually under attack, you will find your faith in the Word of God strengthened and enriched. Please plan to attend.

The topics of Ken's messages are:

1. "The Relevance of Genesis in Today's World."

2. "The Loss of Biblical Authority and the Age of the Earth."

3. "Defending the Christian Faith in Today's World."

4. "How to Reach the Secularized World with the Gospel."

See you all on the 17th of May!

In Christ,

Pastor Dickie

2009-04-11T18:06:00.004-04:00

I want to wish all of you a wonderful Easter!

Here is an outline of an Easter Message that I gave to the church last year. I trust it will be a blessing to all of you.

Why Seek Ye The Living Among The Dead?

Text: Luke 24:5, “…Why seek ye the living among the dead?”

Introduction:

The resurrection is the crowning proof of the deity of Christ. It is this great doctrine that separates everything else from Christianity. We have often stated that if the resurrection had not taken place there would be no gospel. The importance of the resurrection can be stated by the following points:

1. The resurrection proves the deity of Christ
2. The resurrection assures us of acceptance with God
3. The resurrection is at the heart of the gospel
4. The resurrection is the very foundation that the gospel
stands upon

The Arrogance Of Unbelief

When we attempt to share our faith in the Deity of Christ and in His resurrection, we find that many people have a deep-seated bias and hatred towards the gospel. They often oppose the Christian faith without really considering the evidence for it. For example, if we asked some of these people questions such as, “Do you know why we believe the Bible to be true?” or “Do you know why the Bible alone is the Word God?” or “Do you know what the evidence is for the resurrection of Christ?”-- these people would, for the most part, have to answer “No.” And many times they display a rudeness, arrogance, and contempt for the Christian faith that is hard to explain, except that there is this deep-seated bias and prejudice against it. This reminds me of a story I once read about a lion in Africa who went around to all the other animals asking, “Who is the king of the jungle?” The story goes like this: A lion in Africa went up to the big, fat hippo and said, “Who is the king of the jungle?” and the big fat hippo replied, “You are of course!” And the lion went over to the giraffe and said, “Who is the king of the jungle?” and the giraffe replied and said, “You are, O mighty lion.” Then the lion went over to the baboons and said, “Do you know who the king of the jungle is?” and the baboons all stood still trembling in their tracks and said, “You are, O great one of the jungle.” And the lion went over to the big rhino and said, “Who is the king of the jungle?” and the rhino replied, “We all know that you are, O mighty lion!” And finally, the lion went over to a big elephant that was walking along the river where the trees and water meet, and the lion said to the elephant, “Who is the king of the jungle?” And the elephant reached down with his long trunk and wrapped it around the lion and picked him up and slammed the lion against one tree and then another. Then the elephant slammed the lion to the ground and dragged him all around in the dirt, and then picked him up again and slammed him back into the trees again. Then he threw the lion back down on the ground and slammed the lion up and down in the dirt. Finally, the elephant picked the lion up and threw him into the river. The lion came out of the river all wet, humbled, and very subdued. He shook off the water, got his bearings. and then said to the elephant, “Hey! Just because you don’t know the answer to the question you don’t have to be rude about it!” I understand that for many people, who are not Christians, there is arrogance in their unbelief. This arrogance is very hard to understand since they have not considered the evidence for the gospel of Jesus Christ. This arrogance is just biased unbelief.

In our text this morning, we have the statement from the angel, “Why seek you the living among the dead?” In this account by Luke, the women came to the tomb of Jesus very early in the morning with spices that they had hoped to use to pour on the Lord’s body. When they arrived, they found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. As the women stood near the tomb very perplexed, two angels appeared to them and asked this great question, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” This is a very relevant question for everyone to ask themselves, as well. This is the question with two options. These two choices or options are open for all of us to choose.

Our Theme: The Questions With Two Choices

Our Outline:

I. Choice One: Seek Christ, The Risen Savior, And You Find Life
II. Choice Two: Seek The Dead And Find Death

I. Choice One: Seek Christ The Risen Savior And You Find Life

A. Jesus Christ is the risen and the living Son of God.

1. The resurrection proves this.
a. The resurrection is the rock of Gibraltar of the Christian evidences.
b. Everything stands or falls on this one crucial point.

2. Why would the early Christians tell their opponents, as did the Apostle Paul, that this was most crucial point of Christian evidence? By doing this they left themselves open to attack at precisely that very point. Of course the answer is that they had certainty that the resurrection can stand the scrutiny of all and any enemies.

B. Christ, as the risen Savior provides life for each of those who come to Him by faith.

1. Abundant life- John 10:10, “…I am come that ye might have life and have it more abundantly.”
2. Spiritual life- John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
3. Eternal life-I John 5:11-12, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

C. Those who seek Christ find this life.

II. Choice Two: Seek The Dead And Find Death

A. The women in our text made a serious mistake; they sought Christ in an empty tomb.

1. All the world’s philosophies are like empty tombs.
2. All the religions that reject the divinity of Jesus Christ are also empty tombs.

3. These philosophies and religions are empty because they have no Christ in them and they

have no gospel in them.

B. Those who make a similar mistake find death.

1. Any religion or philosophy that has no Christ has no hope of offering spiritual life to those

who seek life there.
2. These religions and philosophies are just empty tombs where only death and despair can

be found.

C. There is only one way to heaven and to eternal life.

1. It is Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by

me.”

D. The bottom line is this—anti-Christian philosophies and religions only produce death.

1. They are based on dead works that cannot satisfy either the law or the justice of God.
2. They are based on dead ideas that have had their origin in men rather than in God.
3. And how about many churches that are dead? Jesus warned against the dead and corrupt

teachings of the Pharisees. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are

like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of

dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness" Mat 23:27. Any church that has departed from

teaching the gospel of justification by faith alone is a dead church. Any church that does

not have a pastor who is filled with the Spirit is a dead church just like this whitened

sepulcher that Jesus mentions here.

4. There are denominations that are dead. This is because they have left the historic

Christian faith long ago.

5. There are seminaries that are dead. In many of these places they kill the prophets and

bury the word. They are not seminaries but cemeteries.

Conclusion:

The message of these two angels draws a distinction between life and death. The question has two choices, choose life or choose death. The angels said, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” This is the great question that we must ask ourselves today. I cry out to this generation, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?”

2009-03-29T13:44:00.013-04:00

Home From Malta!

I have arrived home from the Island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea. I went there with elder Chris Brady and my son Bob III. The purpose of this trip was to visit pastor Paul Mizzi, who is a Reformed Baptist pastor of Trinity Evangelical Church in Malta. We had a delightful time with Pastor Mizzi and the people of his church. Paul and his brother Joe have come to faith in Christ and were once Roman Catholics. Malta is at the center of the Mediterranean Sea. On a pap Malta is just below Sicily. Malta was the sight of two great sieges in the past. First, in 1565 the Muslim army and navy attacked the Island in the Great Siege of Malta. That battle had tremendous significance as all of Europe held its breath. The outcome of that battle would shape Europe for the next 400 years. The Island held out and the advance of Islam in Europe was prevented. Then second great siege was during WWII. The Germans bombed Malta but could not break the spirit of these courageous people.

Today the Island of Malta is strategically positioned between Islamic northern Africa and Europe. The country of Malta is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic and stands in need of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The ministry of pastor Paul Mizzi is greatly needed for the gospel of Christ to be given to the people of Malta. This is a great mission field and is wide open for the preaching of the great doctrines of grace, especially Justification by faith alone. We are hoping to establish a good relationship with these dear brothers and sisters in Christ to help them in their ministry on this beautiful and historic Island.

Ken Link, a dear brother in Christ from England, made his 100th visit to the Island to show us around and to be our host. I am deeply grateful for his help, service, and friendship that we developed during this visit. I trust that we will be able to see Ken in the future and to enjoy fellowship in Christ once again.

Paul's brother Joe wrote a wonderful Little book on Catholicism titled Test All Things. I am going to order a number of these books and would encourage all of you at Berean to read it. This book will not just help you to understand the Roman Catholic faith and its many errors, it will also help you to understand true historic gospel of God's sovereign grace. After reading this book on the flight home from Malta I found that these were the main questions that need to be answered by those who would witness to their Catholic friends.

1. Is the Bible alone our guide to salvation, or do we need the traditions of the Church to teach and guide us as well?

2. Who is the foundation of the Church, Jesus or Peter?

3. Does the Bible distinguish between mortal sin and venial sin?

4. How is a sinner justified before a holy God?

5. Does baptism play a part in a sinners salvation and regeneration.

6. Do earthly priests have power to forgive men of their sins?

7. Is the doctrine of purgatory taught in the Bible?

8. Is the sacrifice of Christ complete and final, or do we need a weekly sacrifice at Mass to save us from our sins?

9. Does the Bible teach us to pray to Mary or to worship Mary?

These questions are at the heart of the debate between Roman Catholicism and the true gospel of Jesus Christ. To be wrong on these questions and issues is to put one's soul in grave and serious danger. The book by Joe Mizzi will answer these questions and give us wonderful insights into the gospel of the New Testament. I highly encourage all of you to read this book. I will try to have copies at the church as soon as possible.

I want to thank all of you for praying for us while we were gone, and I would like to thank Pastor Eric, the elders, deacons, and staff at Berean who kept the ministry moving as we were gone. Next week I plan to have Chris Brady give a brief report of our trip.

God bless all of you!

Pastor Dickie

2009-03-13T10:51:00.004-04:00

Where Have Our Values Gone?

I am greatly concerned that in our country today we are seeing our moral and spiritual values slipping away from us. I am posting an article that sheds some light on the decline of Western Morality. While the aritcle makes many good points let me remind my readers that only a true revival of the preaching of the doctrines of grace and a mighty stirring of God's Spirit will stop the erosion of our nation's integrity, faith, and morality.

The Decline Of Western Values
By
Dennis Prager

With the decline of the authority of Judeo-Christian values in the West, many people stopped looking to external sources of moral standards in order to decide what is right and wrong. Instead of being guided by God, the Bible and religion, great numbers -- in Western Europe, the great majority -- have looked elsewhere for moral and social guidelines.

For many millions in the twentieth century, those guidelines were provided by Marxism, Communism, Fascism or Nazism. For many millions today, those guidelines are ? feelings. With the ascendancy of leftist values that has followed the decline of Judeo-Christian religion, personal feelings have supplanted universal standards. In fact, feelings are the major unifying characteristic among contemporary liberal positions.

Aside from reliance on feelings, how else can one explain a person who believes, let alone proudly announces on a bumper sticker, that "War is not the answer"? I know of no comparable conservative bumper sticker that is so demonstrably false and morally ignorant. Almost every great evil has been solved by war -- from slavery in America to the Holocaust in Europe. Auschwitz was liberated by soldiers making war, not by pacifists who would have allowed the Nazis to murder every Jew in Europe.

The entire edifice of moral relativism, a foundation of leftist ideology, is built on the notion of feelings deciding right and wrong. One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.
The animals-and-humans-are-equivalent movement is based entirely on feelings. People see chickens killed and lobsters boiled, feel for the animals, and shortly thereafter abandon thought completely, and equate chicken and lobster suffering to that of a person under the same circumstances.

The unprecedented support of liberals for radically redefining the basic institution of society, marriage and the family is another a product of feelings -- sympathy for homosexuals. Thinking through the effects of such a radical redefinition on society and its children is not a liberal concern.

The "self-esteem movement" -- now conceded to have been a great producer of mediocrity and narcissism -- was entirely a liberal invention based on feelings for kids. The liberal preoccupation with whether America is loved or hated is also entirely feelings-based. The Left wants to be loved; the conservative wants to do what is right and deems world opinion fickle at best and immoral at worst.

Sexual harassment laws have created a feelings-industrial complex. The entire concept of "hostile work environment" is feelings based. If one woman resents a swimsuit calendar on a co-worker's desk, laws have now been passed whose sole purpose is to protect her from having uncomfortable feelings.

For liberals, the entire worth of the human fetus is determined by the mother's feelings. If she feels the nascent human life she is carrying is worth nothing, it is worth nothing. If she feels it is infinitely precious, it is infinitely precious.

Almost everything is affected by liberal feelings. For example, liberal opposition to calling a Christmas party by its rightful name is based on liberals' concern that non-Christians will feel bad. And for those liberals, nothing else matters -- not the legitimate desire of the vast majority of Americans to celebrate their holiday, let alone the narcissism of those non-Christians "offended" by a Christmas party.

And why do liberals continue to endorse race-based affirmative action at universities despite the mounting evidence that it hurts blacks more than it helps? Again, a major reason is feelings -- sympathy for blacks and the historic racism African-Americans have endured.

Very often, liberals are far more concerned with purity of motive than with moral results. That's why so many liberals still oppose the liberation of Iraq -- so what if Iraqis risk their lives to vote? It's George W. Bush's motives that liberals care about, not spreading liberty in the Arab world.

Elevating motives above results is a significant part of liberalism. What matters is believing that one is well intentioned -- that one cares for the poor, hates racism, loathes inequality and loves peace. Bi-lingual education hurts Latino children. But as a compassionate person -- and "compassionate" is the self-definition of most liberals -- that is not the liberal's real concern. His concern is with an immigrant child's uncomfortable feelings when first immersed in English.
Reliance on feelings in determining one's political and social positions is the major reason young people tend to have liberal/left positions -- they feel passionately but do not have the maturity to question those passions. It is also one reason women, especially single women, are more liberal than men -- it is women's nature to rely on emotions when making decisions. (For those unused to anything but adulation directed at the female of the human species, let me make it clear that men, too, cannot rely on their nature, which leans toward settling differences through raw physical power. Both sexes have a lot of self-correcting to do.)

To be fair, feelings also play a major role in many conservatives' beliefs. Patriotism is largely a feeling; religious faith is filled with emotion, and religion has too often been dictated by emotion. But far more conservative positions are based on "What is right?" rather than on "How do I feel?" That is why a religious woman who is pregnant but does not wish to be is far less likely to have an abortion than a secular woman in the same circumstances. Her values are higher than her feelings. And that, in a nutshell, is what our culture war is about -- Judeo-Christian values versus liberal/leftist feelings.

2009-03-07T21:35:00.005-05:00

Evaluation of The Shack

Dear Bereans,

I want to share with you a brief summary of my review of the novel The Shack. You can receive the entire review by getting it off the book rack in the narthex of the church. Or, if you are out of town, you can request it from our church office at Berean. Just send us an email and I will have it sent to you by mail.

I am writing this review because I believe that this book is very dangerous. It completely distorts the gospel of God's grace and misrepresents many other doctrines as well. I hope that what you read here will be of help to you. Here are a few of the pages that this review contains:

As I began to read The Shack, I was shocked and appalled by what it contained. The review that follows here will be the analysis of my time spent going over this book and studying its pages. I assume the author must have written this book with all good intentions to being a blessing to the body of Christ. Having read this book I am convinced that, whatever the author’s intentions and motives were for writing it, he knew exactly what he was doing. The author is promoting a Christian worldview that is Postmodern, contemporary, and Arminian in its presuppositions.

Let me say up front that this book is an engaging story. It touches the emotions of the soul on a number of very deep levels. This is one of the reasons The Shack has had such an impact on those who have read it. The book is a novel, and the story is very moving. One almost feels he is in a Norman Rockwell or Thomas Kincaid painting when reading this book. All the human emotions of sight, sound, smell, and feelings are utilized to make it a very dramatic experience when reading it. But aside from the popularity of an emotionally gripping narrative, one must ask-- “Does this justify reading a book that is seriously flawed in its theological and worldview foundation?” I think there are many other books that could and should be read that are not filled with the doctrinal errors and the heresies that this book is riddled with. In these days in which we live, we need to give ourselves to reading the best of Christian literature from both the past and the present. I am always a bit skeptical of anything that is being produced in our current culture. We are a culture that has been described as being Postmodern. It is a culture that has embraced, in the area of Christian values and thought, much that is man-centered, Arminian, and has been corrupted by what some have called the cult of Pop-culture.

Author- William P. Young was born in Canada and raised among a stone-age tribe by his missionary parents in Papua, New Guinea.

Synopsis- The Shack is a fictional story that seeks to provide answers to the great question, “Where is God when people suffer with pain, sorrow and disappointments?” Mack, the main character, has lived under the burden of The Great Sadness since the abduction and murder of his daughter four years previous. He then receives a note from God (”Papa”), inviting him to return to the shack — the scene of his daughter’s murder — for a time together. When he returns to the scene, Mack is treated to a weekend encounter with the Godhead. Each member of the Trinity is present: “Papa” - a large, jolly, Aunt Jamima-type, African-American woman (representing the Father); “Sarayu” – a beautiful, sensual woman of Asian descent (representing the Holy Spirit); and “Jesus” - a Middle Eastern carpenter who is portrayed as a silly and almost goofy person. Most of the book is Mack’s dialogue with these characters from this point on. They discuss a number of topics, all of which are to help Mack deal with The Great Sadness from his little girls murder. By the time the weekend is over, Mack is a changed man because of his conversations with the Trinity. This change in Mack’s character is not clearly defined or explained. It is hard to see that Mack has come to what we would call true regeneration by the power of the Holy Spirit. So much has been left unsaid that the reader is left to guess whether or not Mack has been born again.

Dr. Al Mohler, who serves as president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary gave a review of this controversial book entitled, “A Look at The Shack” on The Albert Mohler Radio Program (www.albertmohler.com). Dr. Mohler states of The Shack:

· “This book includes undiluted heresy.”
· “This book simply, by any measure, falls far short of biblical Christianity.”
· “Regardless of intention (I can’t read the [author's] heart), I can tell you that the effect of the book is indeed deeply subversive of the Christian faith, and I think inherently seductive as well.”

2009-02-12T12:22:00.003-05:00

Home From Great Britain

I have returned home from our trip to Great Britain, and we had a wonderful time visiting our friends and attending the board meeting for Evangelical Press.

Mary and Joanna went with me, and we had a delightful time together. We arrived in London and stayed in a motel near Heathrow Airport. After getting some rest, we took a taxi to Windsor and had dinner and later had tea and scones across from Windsor Castle.

The next day we were picked up by one of Dewi’s trusted members of the Tabernacle church, and we were driven down to Cardiff to spend the rest of the week and the weekend with our dear friends Dewi and Mari Higham. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Higham’s home. Dewi is always a blessing to be around and is such an encouragement to my soul! I gave my testimony on Thursday evening in the new church building that the Lord has provided for the Tabernacle, and spoke there on both services on the Lord’s Day. Thursday evening Dewi gave a history of how the Lord provided such a wonderful facility for them. It was also so good to see Vernon and Morwren and the others from the Tabernacle Church in Cardiff.

Sunday night after the evening service, Dewi and Mari drove us over to London where we stayed in a motel for the night. The next morning I was dropped off at the Campus Church in Welwyn Garden City for the Evangelical Press Board Meeting. In the evening, Pastor Steve Bignall drove me over to have dinner with Phil and Kate Jones. Mary and Joanna joined me there, and we had a wonderful meal and time of fellowship with the Jones family…Kate is expecting their first!!!

The rest of the week we stayed with Dr. and Mrs. Edgar Andrews. Fellowship with them is always a delight, as well. We had several outings, and discussed details of Edgar’s new book answering the atheists on their attack on the doctrine of God.

Our flight home was very relaxing, and we are glad to be back with our Berean family once again. As always, when I am away there are many things that have to be attended to, and I am very grateful for the love, help, service and abilities of all of our elders, deacons, and our assistant pastor, Eric Stewart. God bless you all, and thanks so much for your service of love in my absence.

I felt that my trip was successful. I tried my best to exalt the Lord Jesus everywhere I went and where I had opportunity to preach. As always, I have tried to be an encouragement to the Lord’s people. The board meeting also went very well. I am very pleased with the direction of EP in the coming months and years. I send my love to all of the Berean family and to all of the many friends who read this blog.

God bless you all.

Pastor Bob Dickie

2009-01-30T08:32:00.006-05:00

(Jonah calling Ninevah to repentance!)

America Needs To Repent!

With the financial crisis devastating our country, and the new president rolling out a "I hope this works but don't know if it will" economy stimulus plan that will cost tax payers upwards to 800 Billion dollars, it is time for our country to take a hard look at where we are spiritually and consider that maybe some of our problems are related to our spiritual condition.

I believe that faithful pastors everywhere should call this country to repentance. If we, as a nation, would turn from our national sins and the greed and selfishness that is so much a part of the fabric of everyday American life, we would have no problem meeting the financial crisis that we are facing today.

Here are some sobering statistics that reveal the depth of our spiritual problems and the deep sin that has engulfed this nation. Every year Americans spend enormous amounts of money on things that our forefathers would have called vice, sin, and wasteful habits.

1. 286 billion dollars a year is spent on gambling in America.

2. 100 billion dollars a year is spent on illegal drugs in America.

3. 29 billion dollars a year is spent on fighting illegal drugs in America.

4. 22 billion dollars a year is spent on welfare benefits for illegal aliens in America.

5. 79 billion dollars a year is spent on cigarettes in America.

6. 30 billion dollars a year is spent on alcohol in America.

7. 1.7 trillion dollars a year is spent on health care in America, (the vast majority of that is
related to treating people who are abusing themselves with sex, drugs, cigarettes and
alcohol.)

8. 50 billion dollars a year is spent on fighting std's in America.

9. 13 billion dollars a year is lost by shoplifting in America.

10. 15 billion dollars a year is spent on pornography in America.

11. 412 billion dollars a year is spent on the interest on our national debt in America, (this is the
third largest budget in our federal spending!)

If Americans repented of their sins and used their money wisely we would not have a financial crisis.

America needs to repent and turn from its national and personal sins. May God convict America of her sin. May God bless America once again, and may God use each of us to call others to holy living in the days in which we live.

2009-01-20T10:27:00.005-05:00

Return From South Africa!

I have returned from our conference in South Africa. I traveled with Kevin Thompson my son in law and was gone for the past two weeks. We had a wonderful time first in England as I met with several English pastors and friends. I was able to encourgage the brethren over in England and did my best to comfort, edify, and to exhort them to faithful obedience to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I also met with an author who is seeking to publish one of his books possibly with Emmaus Road Press the publishing company that we have begun here in Grand Blanc, Michigan.

We then traveled to South Africa where I spoke in the church of pastor Irving Steggles. It was a wonderful time of encouraging his people as well to have a positive world view that the Lord is on His throne and is doing mighty things among the nations of the earth. We had several opportunities to visit and fellowship with various people in his church to stir their hearts as well to serve the Lord with faithfulness.

We flew out of Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth where I spoke at the APC (African Pastor's Conference). I spoke three times and the Lord came down in an amazing way. I am always hesitant to talk about what may or may not be the perceived blessing of God on my preaching ministry. But let me say that the Lord definitely appeared to come down among that special group of pastors and touch many hearts as I spoke on the subject of biblical worship. My book What The Bible Teaches About Worship was distributed among the pastors at these conferences in South Africa. All of these things give me reason to praise the Lord for all of His many blessings. My hearts desire is to be used of God to exalt His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.

As I was traveling I had this verse on my mind often, "As the hart pants after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." Psalm 42:1

I will make a brief presentation of our trip this Sunday January 25th. Thank you all for your prayers for our safety and for the Lord's blessing on our labors while we were away from our homes here in Michigan.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Dickie

2009-01-08T16:55:00.004-05:00

Dear Berean’s,

I am on my way to South Africa to preach at a Conference. Please keep me in your prayers.

I wanted to post this article on worship with the prayer that it will be a blessing to all of you.

God Bless you all,

In Christ,
Pastor Dickie

Contemporary Christian Music

By: Greg Barkman
The Beacon Beam
September 2008

Ah, the music wars! Conservative, evangelical, fundamental churches (along with some other labels and categories) are divided over music. What styles of music should we use in the meetings of our churches? Is “Contemporary Music” acceptable? Is it preferable? Is it abominable? Is “tradition Music” acceptable, preferable, or is it a hindrance to the mission of the church in 2008? These are the questions. The answers are diverse, to say the least.

By Contemporary Christian Music, we mane a certain style, very different from tradition church music that began in the 1960’s with the “Jesus Movement” and has developed into a widely used musical style in many churches today. Technically, any music written recently is “contemporary”, even if formulated according to traditional concepts of hymnody, but Contemporary Christian Music (or CCM), has developed a style all it’s own. Thus, recently written hymns may be either contemporary or traditional, without any reference to when they were composed. Sometimes this newer style is called “Praise and Worship” music, though I trust without any implication that traditional hymns do not appropriately praise and worship God.

There are generally two arguments to support the new music. The Bible, we are told, contains no instructions for music and therefore music itself is neutral. Music communicates nothing apart from words, so the words, not the music are the important element. We are therefore free to use any musical style. Furthermore, we are commanded to reach unbelievers with the Gospel. Since the un-churched find traditional church music unappealing (so we are told), we need to use styles that appeal to unbelievers in order to attract them to our churches to hear the Word of God.

While it is true to that the Bible contains no specific instructions regarding the composition of music, the “music is therefore neutral” argument does not necessarily follow. Simple observation demonstrates that different styles of music do communicate messages with or without words. Why don’t nightclubs play Sousa marches or classical music? Why don’t upscale restaurants play rap? Because that would send the wrong message, even without words! Obviously, music does communicate. It cannot communicate with the clarity and precision of verbal language, but to say that it is entirely neutral defies reason. We have an example of this in Exodus 32:17, 18. when Moses came down from the Mount with the Tables of Stone, Joshua heard noise in the camp which he misinterpreted as the sound of war. It must have been chaotic. Moses identified the noise as neither the sound of victory, nor of defeat, but singing. Neither Joshua nor Moses could understand the words, but both recognized the music as communicating something significant. As we know, it was the sound of wild partying in connection with the false worship of the golden calf. Nobody thought this as the sound of people worshipping Jehovah! Music communicates general concepts even without words. Shouldn’t we therefore, endeavor to construct our music and words to communicate the same message?

The evangelism argument must also be examined. Where does the Bible indicate that music is an appropriate vehicle for evangelism? Scripture teaches that church music, specifically singing, has two purposes: First, as a means to teach truth to believers, and secondly, as a vehicle to worship God (Colossians 3:16). Conversely, preaching has the twofold purpose of evangelizing sinners as well as edifying saints. Preaching and singing are two different practices. Though both singing and preaching share the goal of edifying believers, only preaching is sanctioned of evangelizing sinners. To use music, an element that God reserved for praise and edification, for evangelism, a purpose that God never intended, is certain to lead to problems.

My analysis does not specify every detail of Christian music. To do so would go far beyond the bounds of Scripture. There is enough flexibility in God’s Word to accommodate Christian worship in every part of the world, with a dizzying array of styles, cultures and musical norms. However, we must begin with a firm commitment to the guidelines that Scripture lays down before we explore the limits of personal taste and expression. After all, if our music is not first and foremost designed to bring glory to God in the way that He prescribes, how can it possibly be right?

2008-12-19T23:10:00.005-05:00

Making A Difference!

As we approach a new year I would like to exhort each of you to spread the gospel of Christ by your life and personal witness. Over the years I have often tried to reach people with the printed page. My suggestion is to pass out the booklet that I have written Authentic Christianity 101 published by Evangelical Press. This is a simple presentation of the gospel that both declares and defends the gospel by an exposition of John 3:16. I was always stirred by the deep love and faithfulness of my father-in-law Del Fehsenfeld. That dear man of God would witness and give out Christian literature everywhere he would go. Even up to the time of his death at the age of 93 he never slowed down in his desire to witness and see people come to faith in Christ. I keep a box of Christian books and materials in the trunk of my car so I have literature, tapes, and Cd's available when I have opportunities to witness for the Lord. Pass out this booklet with the prayer that those you give it to will come to faith in Christ.

You might also give out the book on What The Bible Teaches About Worship, and my new book Living For Jesus, (This book is published by Emmaus Road Press and can be ordered by contacting Berean Baptist Church). My desire in writing these books was to make a difference in our culture which is becoming more secular, worldly, and anti-Christian with every passing day. I trust that all of you at Berean will do your part in helping to stop the hemorrhaging of our spiritual heritage.

As this year comes to an end likes all be committed to making a difference. We can and should do all that we can to serve the Lord in the days that He has given us on this earth.

Pray for our pastors, elders, deacons, and leaders at Berean. It is my prayer and desire that the wind of heaven will descend on our church in a mighty effusion of power and blessing!

May God bless you all and use you to change lives and impact others for our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Dickie

2008-12-07T18:12:00.002-05:00

The Message Of Christmas

Text: Luke 2:1-14

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2:2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 2:3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 2:5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 2:6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

These fourteen verses in Luke’s gospel give us the amazing and mysterious events that surrounded the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The life of Christ is an entire unit and cannot be chopped up into little pieces and bits and isolated from the rest of His life. Every event in His history as the God-man is unique and important. But there are several events in the tapestry of his life that stand out from the rest as the main essentials of His life on earth as the Messiah. Those events would include His:

1. Birth
2. Death
3. Resurrection
4. And Ascension into Heaven

These four events are a concise adumbration of the entire activity of Jesus Christ the God-man. In our text found in Luke’s gospel we have the story of the birth of Jesus. This is one of the most beloved passages that we have in the four gospels. It just would not seem like Christmas if we did not read this precious text and ponder its relevance for our lives today.

Let me give a brief overview of the passage and then come to our theme and outline. First, in verses 1-3 we read of the decree of Caesar Augustus that all of the known world (under the Roman Empire’s influence) should be taxed. The word decree is from the Greek word dogma. It meant something had to be done. The authority of the Roman Empire stood behind that decree or command from Caesar. Four hundred silent years have come and gone since Jehovah had last spoken to His people through His prophets. Malachi was the last prophetic voice heard by the Lord’s people. Earlier in Hebrew history Daniel had made a marvelous prophecy that pin-pointed the exact year and time that the Jewish nation could expect to see the arrival of their Messiah. This prophecy was known as Daniel’s 70 Weeks. Those devout believers, who understood their Scriptures, were expecting the arrival of Messiah in or around the very time that Jesus was actually born. Even though the godly scholars and believers among the Jews were expecting their Messiah they did not know the details of all that would surround this blessed event. Long before the decree of Caesar went forth that demanded all people to return to the city of their birth to be taxed a decree went out from the throne room of heaven mandating that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. The rise and domination of the Roman Empire was not a mere coincidence. The Roman Empire was ordained by God to be the instrument that would play a key role in the birth and the death of God’s own Son Jesus Christ.

Second, we see in verses 4-6 Joseph and Mary made their way to the city of David, Bethlehem, to be taxed. Galilee was in the North parts of Israel. Joseph was described as going up to Bethlehem because Bethlehem was at a higher elevation than Galilee. The journey to Bethlehem was about 60 or 70 miles by way the crow flies. Bethlehem is a prophetic city of importance. Micah 5:2 gave us this wonderful Messianic promise, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

In verse 7 we are told of the birth of Jesus in more vivid detail. Mary gave birth to her son in a barn or stall where cattle were kept and fed. There was no room for them in the inn. Joseph being a poor carpenter and not being any one of prominence was not given any help or assistance. Joseph had to find the best spot in the barn and stall that he could and then assisted his wife Mary in delivering the Christ child. The baby was wrapped in swaddling clothes, i.e. Dirty rags. This itself was fulfilling the ancient prophecy that Messiah would be of humble and lowly birth. How ominous is the statement that there was no room for them in the inn. Is there any room for Jesus in your:

1. Life
2. Heart
3. Home
4. Family
5. Plans
6. Hopes and aspirations
7. Personal and private lives
8. Public life?

Never forget that the baby in this manger was not just another man-child. This baby was the Creator of the ends of the earth. This was the One who gave the lion his roar, the leopard his spots, the elephant his trunk, the zebra his stripes, the robin his song, the flower its beauty and who made the sun, moon and the stars and hung all of the planets in space. This child was encapsulated Deity.

Third, in verses 8-9 we see in the nearby fields there were shepherds who were keeping watch over their sheep by night. Suddenly, out of nowhere appeared the angel of the Lord in the skies above these lowly shepherds. The blazing glory of Yahweh shined all around the angels and this caused a deep reverential fear to overcome these humble men.

In verses 10-12 the angels make a wonderful announcement to these lowly sheep herders. “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” This was a gracious announcement. It was not the sound of alarm of impending doom. It was the joyful news to announce the arrival of God’s Christmas gift. “For unto you…” What precious words these are. The announcement was that there was good tidings of great joy that shall be to all people (Not just Jews, but people of all races, nations, languages, and ethnic backgrounds). The angelic announcement was very specific. It announced the birth of the Savior who was the promised Jewish Messiah. There were three key words in this angelic announcement.

1. Savior- the child born was to be a Savior for His people to deliver them from their guilt and sins.
2. Christ- the child born was to be the promised Messiah that all the Scriptures and prophets foretold.
3. Lord- the child born was not just a Savior, and promised Messiah but was also deity who would be the ruler of the nations of the earth.

The message also told these men that they would find the Christ child in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Finally, in verses 13-14, the angels burst out in the first Christmas carol and sing praises to the new born king.

This is a brief but good summary of the message of Christmas. I trust all of you will have a wonderful Christmas this year. You are all in our prayers and Mary and I, and Eric and Lori pray for our church family during this season.

We love you all!!! Have a merry Christmas!!

Yours in Christ, Pastor Bob

2008-11-26T11:01:00.003-05:00

Praying for you all to have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!!!

Let me take a moment to wish all of you a wonderful thanksgiving this year. We have much to be thankful for. Yes, many Americans are uncertain about the future because of the financial crisis and because of the sad election results that put into office as the president of the United States the most liberal, inexperienced man ever elected. A man who has supported partial birth abortion and seems to take sides with every thing that we as Christians would oppose and find morally appalling.

I came across this article today that I thought I would pass on to all of you. I trust it will be a blessing and a challenge to each of you. This article was written by Mark Alexander the editor of the Patriot Post on the Internet.

“In the aftermath of a momentous election, an election sure to change the course of our nation, it is tempting to despair. On this Thanksgiving, though, let us resist that powerful temptation and instead take stock of the blessings of liberty.

President Ronald Reagan often cited the Pilgrims who celebrated the first Thanksgiving as our forebears who charted the path of American freedom. He made frequent reference to John Winthrop's "shining city upon a hill."

As Reagan explained, "The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man. He journeyed here on what today we'd call a little wooden boat; and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free."

Who were these "freedom men," and how did they eventually blaze the path of true liberty? They were Calvinist Protestants who rejected the institutional Church of England, believing that worshipping God must originate freely in the individual soul, without coercion. Suffering persecution and imprisonment in England for their beliefs, a group of these separatists fled to Holland in 1608. There, they found spiritual liberty in the midst of a disjointed economy that failed to provide adequate compensation for their labors, and a dissolute, degraded, corrupt culture that tempted their children to stray from faith.

Determined to protect their families from such spiritual and cultural dangers, the Pilgrims left Plymouth, England, on 6 September 1620, sailing for a new world that offered the promise of both civil and religious liberty. After an arduous journey, they dropped anchor off the coast of what is now Massachusetts.

On 11 December 1620, prior to disembarking at Plymouth Rock, they signed the Mayflower Compact, America's original document of civil government. It was the first to introduce self-government, and the foundation on which the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were built. Governor William Bradford described the Compact as "a combination ... that when they came a shore they would use their owne libertie; for none had power to command them."
Upon landing, the Pilgrims conducted a prayer service and quickly turned to building shelters. Under harrowing conditions, the colonists persisted through prayer and hard work, reaping a bountiful summer harvest. But their material prosperity soon evaporated, for the Pilgrims had erred in acquiescing to their European investors' demands for a financial arrangement holding all crops and property in common, in order to return an agreed-to half to their overseas backers.
By 1623, however, Plymouth Colony was near failure as a result of famine, blight and drought, as well as excessive taxation and what amounted to forced collectivization.

In desperation, the Pilgrims set a day for prayers of repentance; God answered, delivering a gentle rainfall by evening. Bradford's diary recounts how the colonists repented in action: "At length, after much debate of things, the Governor (with the advice of the chiefest amongst them) gave way that they should set corn every man for his own particular, and in that regard trust to themselves; in all other things to go in the general way as before. And so assigned to every family a parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number."

Property ownership and families freely laboring on their own behalf replaced the "common store," but only after their ill-advised experiment with communism nearly wiped out the entire settlement.

In their simple representative government, born out of dedication to religious freedom, the Pilgrims replaced the rule of men -- with its arbitrary justice administered capriciously at the whim of rulers who favor some at the expense of others -- with the rule of law, treating individuals equally. Yet even these "freedom men" strayed under straits. So could we, if we revert to materialistic government reliance instead of grateful obedience to God. Sadly, we're a long way down that path already.

Closing his farewell address in 1989, Ronald Reagan asked, "And how stands the city on this winter night?" Contemplating our blessings of liberty this Thanksgiving, nearly 20 years after President Reagan left office and 20 generations past the Pilgrims' experience, how stands the city on our watch?”

God bless you all and have a great Thanksgiving!

Love, Pastor Dickie

2008-11-16T13:21:00.006-05:00

Home from Portugal!

We had a wonderful trip to Lisbon, Portugal. The pastors conference went very well. There were around 70 pastors and people at the conference this year. Matt and Cheryl and Abraham went with Mary and me to the conference this year. We had the privilege of meeting friends and Christians in London, Paris, and in Lisbon. When we landed in Lisbon it was such a blessing to have 7 friends from Brasil meet us at the airport!

The purpose of the conference was to ignite faith and hope in the lives of these dear men of God as they labor for Christ in Portugal and around Europe. I trust that the Lord was with us and that He accomplished His sovereign will in our lives as we ministered to these dear brethren in the Lord. I have the strong belief that the Lord is going to fill the earth with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. This is a day when the church must be optimistic and hopeful of the coming of Christ in power upon His people and upon His church. Pessimism and defeatism will not enable the body of Christ to meet the challenges that face us in these perilous times. My prayer for all of you is that you will give yourselves to prayer and to active Christian living so that people may see Christ in you!

Please keep us in prayer as the next trip will be to preach in the African Pastor's conference in South Africa this January. God bless all of you. Yours in Christ, Pastor Dickie

2008-10-11T20:34:00.002-04:00

Living For Jesus

My new book Living For Jesus will soon be available at the church book store. You can order your copy from Diane smith on Sunday morning. My prayer is that this book will be a great aid to all who read it in enabling them to live for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The following lines are from the chapter on loving the Word of God. This will give you a brief sample of what this book is like. God bless you all as you live for our great King!

In his book The Wonders of the Word of God, evangelist Robert L. Sumner tells about a man who was severely injured in a terrible explosion. The man’s face was badly disfigured and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He had recently become a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the explosion had also destroyed the nerve endings in his lips. But one day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. In a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had read through the entire Bible four times.

My father-in-law, an old southern evangelist, Dr. Del Fehsenfeld, used to say:

“Read the Bible through.
Pray the Bible in.
Live the Bible out.
Pass the Bible on.
And you’ll not have any trouble standing on your feet.”

That the Bible will have a powerful impact on our Christian lives and transform us by its amazing message is a fact that none can deny. I suggest that there can be no Christian living without having the Bible as a fundamental part of one’s worldview. Dr. D. James Kennedy records the impact that the Bible had on a man who was a professed and arrogant atheist.

Henry Stanley said that in the 1880’s, when he entered the interior of Africa, he was the most swaggering atheist in the world. In the depths of the jungles of central Africa he came upon David Livingston — a man so mild, so meek, and yet so firm and so definite in his purpose and desire to proclaim the gospel. Stanley lived in that man’s tent for months and listened to Livingston read from his little Bible day by day. As a result, the most swaggering atheist in the world was transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ and was brought to the Savior.

There is a poem about the Bible that I have written on the inside cover of my personal Bible that I use when I preach. This poem encourages, inspires, and challenges me.

The Bible

Though the cover is worn, and pages are torn,
And places bear traces of tears,
Yet more precious than gold, is this book worn and old,
That can shatter and scatter my fears.
When I prayerfully look, in this precious old book,
As my eyes scan the pages I see,
Many tokens of love from the Father above,
Who is nearest and dearest to me.
This old book is my guide, ’tis a friend by my side,
It will lighten and brighten my way.
And each promise I find soothes and gladdens my mind.
As I read it and heed it today.

2008-09-24T08:28:00.002-04:00

Living For Jesus

My new book Living For Jesus is now in print. I will be making it available to the members at Berean in the next couple of weeks. It will also be available at the major next month. It is my prayer that this book will be a spiritual blessing to all who read it.

My intention in writing this was to leave for my family, children and grandchildren a spiritual legacy that would impact their lives. I thought to myself that if I was gone what would I want my loved ones to know about my faith? With that in mind I wrote this book so that the things that matter most to me on a spiritual level would not be forgotten or lost. I trust that this book, which is intended to help ones develop a Christian worldview so they can live for Jesus, will be a great blessing to all who read it. Here are the chapter headings so you can review what the contents will be.

Part I: The Purpose of Christian Living

1. Following the Instructions — “The Creation Mandate”
2. Being a People of Destiny
3. Living for the Glory of God
4. Fearing the Lord
5. Loving the Word of God
6. Walking with God

Part II: The Practical Aspects of Christian Living

7. Using Our Time Wisely
8. Developing a Biblical View of Wealth
9. Nurturing a Biblical Self-image
10. Being a True Friend
11. Understanding the Biblical Purpose of Sex and Marriage
12. Becoming a Servant
13. Striving for Success
14. Building Character in the Christian Life
15. Making a Good First Impression
16. Proclaiming the Gospel of Christ

Part III: The Peace of Christian Living

17. Discovering the Peace of Romans 8:28
18. Living in the Spirit of Praise
19. Preparing for Death

Endnotes
Scripture References
Bibliography

God bless you all...and may you all live for Jesus!

2008-09-02T10:16:00.002-04:00

How To Spend A Day With God!

Dear Berean Family, I read this article recently and found it to be of great help and encouragement in my relationship with the Lord. One of the goals of Christian living should be the development of our relationship with God. This article will encourage you in that endeavor. My prayer for all of you is to obey what Peter exhorted us in II Peter 3:18, "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen." I trust this article will be a great blessing to all of you.

How to Spend the Day With God

adapted and updated from RICHARD BAXTER (1615-1691)

A holy life is inclined to be made easier when we know the usual sequence and method of our duties - with everything falling into its proper place. Therefore, I shall give some brief directions for spending the day in a holy manner.

Sleep

Measure the time of your sleep appropriately so that you do not waste your precious morning hours sluggishly in your bed. Let the time of your sleep be matched to your health and labour and not to slothful pleasure.

First Thoughts

Let God have your first awaking thoughts; lift up your hearts to Him reverently and thankfully for the rest enjoyed the night before and cast yourself upon Him for the day which follows.
Familiarise yourself so consistently to this that your conscience may check you when common thoughts shall first intrude. Think of the mercy of a night's rest and of how many that have spent that night in Hell; how many in prison; how many in cold, hard lodgings; how many suffering from agonising pains and sickness, weary of their beds and of their lives.
Think of how many souls were that night called from their bodies terrifyingly to appear before God and think how quickly days and nights are rolling on! How speedily your last night and day will come! Observe that which is lacking in the preparedness of your soul for such a time and seek it without delay.

Prayer

Let prayer by yourself alone (or with your partner) take place before the collective prayer of the family. If possible let it be first, before any work of the day.

Family Worship

Let family worship be performed consistently and at a time when it is most likely for the family to be free of interruptions.

Ultimate Purpose

Remember your ultimate purpose, and when you set yourself to your day's work or approach any activity in the world, let HOLINESS TO THE LORD be written upon your hearts in all that you do.
Do no activity which you cannot entitle God to, and truly say that he set you about it, and do nothing in the world for any other ultimate purpose than to please, glorify and enjoy Him. "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31.

Diligence in Your Calling

Follow the tasks of your calling carefully and diligently. Thus:
(a) You will show that you are not sluggish and servants to your flesh (as those that cannot deny it ease), and you will further the putting to death of all the fleshly lusts and desires that are fed by ease and idleness. (b) You will keep out idle thoughts from your mind, that swarm in the minds of idle persons. (c) You will not lose precious time, something that idle persons are daily guilty of. (d) You will be in a way of obedience to God when the slothful are in constant sins of omission. (e) You may have more time to spend in holy duties if you follow your occupation diligently. Idle persons have no time for praying and reading because they lose time by loitering at their work. (f) You may expect God's blessing and comfortable provision for both yourself and your families. (g) it may also encourage the health of your body which will increase its competence for the service of your soul.

Temptations and Things That Corrupt

Be thoroughly acquainted with your temptations and the things that may corrupt you - and watch against them all day long. You should watch especially the most dangerous of the things that corrupt, and those temptations that either your company or business will unavoidably lay before you.
Watch against the master sins of unbelief: hypocrisy, selfishness, pride, flesh pleasing and the excessive love of earthly things. Take care against being drawn into earthly mindedness and excessive cares, or covetous designs for rising in the world, under the pretence of diligence in your calling.
If you are to trade or deal with others, be vigilant against selfishness and all that smacks of injustice or uncharitableness. In all your dealings with others, watch against the temptation of empty and idle talking. Watch also against those persons who would tempt you to anger. Maintain that modesty and cleanness of speech that the laws of purity require. If you converse with flatterers, be on your guard against swelling pride.
If you converse with those that despise and injure you, strengthen yourself against impatient, revengeful pride.
At first these things will be very difficult, while sin has any strength in you, but once you have grasped a continual awareness of the poisonous danger of any one of these sins, your heart will readily and easily avoid them.

Meditation

When alone in your occupations, improve the time in practical and beneficial meditations. Meditate upon the infinite goodness and perfections of God; Christ and redemption; Heaven and how unworthy you are of going there and how you deserve eternal misery in Hell.

The Only Motive

Whatever you are doing, in company or alone, do it all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Otherwise, it is unacceptable to God.

Redeeming The Time

Place a high value upon your time, be more careful of not losing it than you would of losing your money. Do not let worthless recreations, television, idle talk, unprofitable company, or sleep rob you of your precious time.
Be more careful to escape that person, action or course of life that would rob you of your time than you would be to escape thieves and robbers.
Make sure that you are not merely never idle, but rather that you are using your time in the most profitable way that you can and do not prefer a less profitable way before one of greater profit.

Eating and Drinking

Eat and drink with moderation and thankfulness for health, not for unprofitable pleasure. Never please your appetite in food or drink when it is prone to be detrimental to your health.
Remember the sin of Sodom: "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food and abundance of idleness" - Ezekiel 16:49.
The Apostle Paul wept when he mentioned those "whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame -- who set their minds on earthly things, being enemies to the cross of Christ" - Philippians 3:18-19. O then do not live according to the flesh lest you die (Romans 8:13).

Prevailing Sins

If any temptation prevails against you and you fall into any sins in addition to habitual failures, immediately lament it and confess it to God; repent quickly whatever the cost. It will certainly cost you more if you continue in sin and remain unrepentant.
Do not make light of your habitual failures, but confess them and daily strive against them, taking care not to aggravate them by unrepentance and contempt.

Relationships

Remember every day the special duties of various relationships: whether as husbands, wives, children, masters, servants, pastors, people, magistrates, subjects.
Remember every relationship has its special duty and its advantage for the doing of some good. God requires your faithfulness in this matter as well as in any other duty.

Closing the Day

Before returning to sleep, it is wise and necessary to review the actions and mercies of the day past, so that you may be thankful for all the special mercies and humbled for all your sins.
This is necessary in order that you might renew your repentance as well as your resolve for obedience, and in order that you may examine yourself to see whether your soul grew better or worse, whether sin goes down and grace goes up and whether you are better prepared for suffering, death and eternity.
May these directions be engraven upon your mind and be made the daily practice of your life.
If sincerely adhered to, these will be conducive to the holiness, fruitfulness and quietness of your life and add to you a comfortable and peaceful death.

9 Reasons For Suffering

2008-08-15T11:52:00.003-04:00

Last Sunday I brought a message on The Great Questions Of The Bible. The question that we considered dealt with the reasons that God allows His children to suffer. Since this is so relevant I thought it might be helpful to share some of this material with you. The 9 reasons that God allows His people to pass through times of sorrow and suffering can be found in my message at http://www.allgrace.com/.

1. Sorrows and sufferings make us like Christ.

a. Jesus was the man of sorrows.

b. When we suffer and are filled with sorrows, we are most like our Lord.

2. Sorrows and sufferings drive us to our knees in prayer.
a. It has been said, “When the barn is full, we don’t often
seek the Lord.”
b. Psalm 130:1, “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O
Lord.”

3. Sorrows and sufferings jolt us out of our indifference.
a. C. S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our joys, but
screams to us in our sorrows.”
b. The Psalmist said, “Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I have kept thy word.” Psalm 119:67

4. Sorrows and sufferings teach us to die to self.
a. Dying to self is one of the great secrets of the Christian
life.
b. Jesus explained the importance of dying to self when He
said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat
fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die,
it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:24.

5. Sorrows and sufferings teach us to be broken before God.
a. Brokenness is similar to dying to self. When we are
broken like the alabaster box the fragrance of the
indwelling Christ flows out to touch the lives of those
around us.
b. Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a
broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
c. In her book Brokenness The Heart God Revives, Nancy
Demoss gives us the traits or marks of true brokenness.

1. Broken people are more conscious of their own
spiritual need than of anyone else’s.
2. Broken people are compassionate people.
3. Broken people have the kind of love that overlooks a
multitude of sins; they can forgive much because they
know how much they have been forgiven.
4. Broken people encourage, and lift up those that God
has placed in positions of authority, and they talk to
God in intercession, rather than gossiping about the
faults they see in others.
5. Broken people yield their rights and have a meek spirit.
6. Broken people are motivated to serve others and to be
sure other’s needs are met before their own.
7. Broken people are motivated to be faithful and to make
others successful.
8. Broken people desire to promote others.
9. Broken people are eager for others to get the credit, and
they rejoice when others are lifted up.
10. Broken people are humbled by how much they have to
learn.
11. Broken people are not preoccupied with what others
think of them.
12. Broken people accept personal responsibility and can
acknowledge where they were wrong in a situation.
13. Broken people take the initiative to be reconciled, no
matter how wrong the other party may have been.
14. Broken people receive correction with a humble, open
spirit.
15. Broken people give thanks in all things; they are quick
to forgive those who wrong them.

6. Sorrows and sufferings test our faith.
a. Jeremiah 12:5, “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they
have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with
horses? And if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst,
they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of
Jordan?”
b. We must learn to walk by faith and not by sight.

7. Sorrows and sufferings reveal our character.
a. How we respond to sorrows and sufferings reveals the
spiritual depths of our souls.
b. Do we respond to trials and tragedies with Christ-like
grace and love, or do we react in the flesh with anger, self-
pity and resentment?

8. Sorrows and sufferings bring Christ near to our hearts.
a. This was seen in Daniel when the three Hebrew boys were
thrown into the fiery furnace and Jesus was seen to be in
the furnace with them.
b. Sorrows and sufferings bring the heart of God close to us.
Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a
broken heart, and saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.”

9. Sorrows and sufferings make God’s promises a blessing to us.
a. Isa. 41:10, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not
dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I
will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness.”
b. John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto
you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your
heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
c. Deut. 33:27, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and
underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust
out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy
them.”
d. Nehemiah 8:10, “Then he said unto them, Go your way,
eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto
them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy
unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord
is your strength.”
e. Romans 15:13, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy
and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hop,
through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

2008-07-31T14:16:00.002-04:00

Home from Wales!

The Team from Berean Baptist church that went with me to minister in Wales is home safe and filled with praise for what they saw the Lord doing among the Lord's people on the other side of the ocean. We had a wonderful trip. We saw many special things on our journey but it must be emphasized that the purpose of the trip was to minister and to serve not to sight see and have a holiday. Our Welsh hosts took very good care of us and we did in fact have opportunities to see many wonderful things and places. But the real joy of the trip was to spend time serving the Lord and being among the Lord's people.

I cannot say enough about the help and leadership that Eric Stewart is displaying in his young ministry. He has been such a blessing and an encouragement to me. He is growing in his faith and in his ability to serve. I am very pleased with the spirit and attitude of this young man of God. The entire Team did a splendid job serving and ministering to the people in Wales. I received many kind and appreciative comments from the folks over there. I prayed that we would be a blessing to them and it appears that that was indeed the case. If this be so I give the Lord all the glory for what He did through all of us while serving His people in that wonderful land.

As always, I was personally refreshed by the ministry and spiritual influence of Vernon and Dewi Higham. These are truly two of our Lord's choice servants. I ask all of our Berean members and friends to uphold them in your prayers as they serve and proclaim the gospel of grace to that place where God has placed them!

The conference at Pembroke, Wales was well attended. There were pastors from both England and Wales present. The singing was magnificent and it greatly encouraged me to see that our worship and praise could be so powerful without having to resort to the cheap music of the pop culture to make it relevant. God moved in our midst. I believe that the Lord Jesus was magnified by the wonderful preaching of Dewi Higham on the great gospel of grace and by Vernon Higham on the Law of Love. Vernon gave a wonderful exposition of the Ten Commandments that was such a blessing to all of us there. The fellowship was indeed sweet and it was such an encouragement to see how God is working amongst the dear flock at Tabernacle Church Cardiff.

I have returned home greatly encouraged and refreshed from being with the Lord's people. Please keep our students in the Emmaus Road Academy in prayer and continue to pray for the Tabernacle Church in Cardiff that God will use them to influence many thousands around England and Wales in the days and years to come. God bless you all. Love Pastor Dickie

2008-07-14T09:13:00.003-04:00

Emmaus Road Academy going to Wales!

I am going to Wales to preach at a conference for two weeks with Dewi Higham. Traveling with me are some of the students from our academy. The students coming with me are Dan Kusky, Scott Schroeder, Brent Campau, Gene Lukonen, Andrew Felten, and Eric and Lori Stewart. Our desire is to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ to the people of Wales and England. I am very excited to have these students traveling with me to the conference this year.

One of the things I am trying to help these students realize is that the Lord is working today all over the earth to fill the world with the glory of His Son! Today, more than ever before, it is essential for Christians to have an eschatology of victory. I meet believers everywhere who have retreated and almost given up any hope of seeing a revival or outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We are truly living in days of unbelief and pessimism.

Jesus told us He would build His church and the gates of Hell would not prevail against Him. We are going to Wales to preach, pray, and to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ by our testimonies, preaching, and all that we do. Keep us in prayer! As we are away may the Lord bless all of you at Berean. God bless you all! Love in Christ, Pastor Dickie

Have a great 4th of July!

2008-07-02T10:44:00.006-04:00

This is a great nation. We have been blessed by the Lord with freedom and prosperity. This 4th of July I urge all of you to give thanks to the Lord for all of His blessings on our country. This time of year should cause all of us to pause and return praise to the One who has been so good to us. As a nation we should repent of any and all sins that may be grieving the Lord. Here are some things that we might take to the Lord in repentance:

1. Repent of our spiritual apathy.

2. Repent of our guilt as a nation for allowing abortion to kill so many innocent lives.

3. Repent of the moral pollution that we have allowed to fill the youth of this nation.

4. Repent that we have elected leaders who have no moral courage to do what is right no mater what the cost.

5. Repent that we have not sought the Lord for a national revival.

I love this country because of our religious liberty. Our forefathers came here to be able to worship God without government interference. We have the greatest government on earth. But it is important that we not take it for granted. To keep this nation great we must be a godly and holy people. May God bless each of you as you celebrate this holiday with your families.

Here are some quotes that should cause us all to think!

"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." Alexis de Tocqueville

“America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

Have a great holiday!

Sincerely,

Pastor Dickie

Visit to 'The Holocaust Memorial' in Detroit

2008-06-17T20:02:00.006-04:00

This week I went with a group from our church to the Jewish Holocaust Memorial in Detroit. It was a very moving experience. We took a tour of the facility and had a wonderful guide who gave us a passionate and informative overview of the Holocaust that happened in Europe during WWII. I could not help but wonder how it is that people could be so cruel and inhumane to other people. We are shocked by the atrocities that Nazism perpetrated on the Jewish population of Europe.

Yet today there are atrocities and genocide being committed every day. Humanity is surely sick. It is my conviction that the precious gospel of Jesus Christ is the only true antidote to the moral ills of our world. When people are changed by the good news of Jesus Christ they are transformed from being selfish, arrogant, mean spirited, and potentially dangerous people to those who are lovers and worshippers of God.

What makes this change happen? It is the gospel of Christ. By the preaching of the gospel men are transformed and made holy. Our lives are turned around and we are given the desire to treat all men with kindness and dignity. This is the miracle of the New Birth. Jesus said, "Ye must be born again." I am greatly saddened by all of the terrible suffering that the Jewish people endured during the Holocaust. And I am saddened by all of the tragic suffering that so many people are facing today. The answer to all of this, however, is to proclaim the unsearchable riches of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ makes the difference in our lives. And Christ is the need for our country and for our world.

When I became a Christian the Lord taught me to love my enemies, treat all men with love and respect, to die to self, and to be like Christ in my dealings with my fellow man. The Gospel of Christ teaches us to walk with God, to be unselfish, to be generous, to be thoughtful, to be compassionate, to be approachable, and to be holy. This is the goal of Christian living. I pray for all of you to know the Lord and to be conformed into His image as you live your life in this fallen world.

God bless you all.

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-13T11:28:00.003-04:00

This Sunday is Father's Day. When Moses was leading the children of Israel through the wilderness he came to the Promised Land. Because of his own personal sins and failures the Lord did not permit Moses to enter into the Land of Promise. But He did allow Moses to help lay the ground work of their entry into the land. One of the things that Moses did was to remind the children of Israel of God's promises and of God's laws. In the Ten Commandments we read that we are to honor our fathers and our mothers. This is found in Deuteronomy 5:16. As we gather in church on this Sunday it is my prayer that we will all take time to thank God for His many blessings and gifts to us and that we will also take the time to thank our fathers for all that they have done for us as well.

Recently I read a wonderful book by Mark DeMoss on leadership principles. The book is called, The Little Red Book of Wisdom. This is a book that every Christian father, and leader should read. I was deeply touched by how tenderly Mark DeMoss spoke of his earthly father. Mr Arthur S. DeMoss died a number of years ago. After his death he left for the work of the Lord a large fortune that he had put into a foundation to ensure that the work of the Lord continued long after he had gone to heaven. Arthur DeMoss was a great man of God. His impact on his son Mark was very evident in this book written by his son Mark. In this book Mark DeMoss tells of three things his dad taught him that he never forgot and that changed his life forever. Here's what he learned from his dad:

1. Give to God the first hour of the day. Arthur S. DeMoss would spend the first hour of every day in his morning watch. He sought after God like a man seeking after some great treasure. His hunger for God made him come to the Lord every day to seek fresh manna from God.

2. Give to God the first day of the week. Arthur S. DeMoss set aside each Sunday to be a day of rest and worship. He made sure his family was in the house of the Lord each week. This was a lesson that Mark DeMoss never forgot. We do our families a great disservice if we neglect to take them to the Lord's house for worship each week.

3. Give to God the first dime of every dollar. Arthur S. DeMoss tithed on all that he made. To fail to tithe is to rob God and to lose many blessings that would have been yours if you had been obedient to God's command.

Arthur S. DeMoss was a man who loved God. May we each be those who love God as well and leave for our families a legacy of love, trust, example, and faithful Christian living so that those who come behind us will see our lives and be led to Christ.

I trust that you will all have a wonderful Father's Day this Sunday!

Book Recommendation...

2008-06-04T12:02:00.003-04:00

May I recommend a wonderful book by Charles Spurgeon? It is C. H. Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership. Every Christian who takes seriously the command to disciple the nations should read this book. There are keys to being a great leader that are often overlooked in many circles that discuss leadership. From a Christian perspective we must consider the things that matter most to God. This book will enable you to focus on these different aspects of leadership that are essential to being a truly great leader.

Here are some of the aspects of spiritual leadership that Spurgeon addresses:

1. Having a passion for prayer
2. Having a faith that endures
3. A committment to holiness
4. A heart for service
5. A love for the Lord and for His Word
6. A willingness to suffer
7. A passion for souls
8. The power of a single focus

Here are a few quotes from this book.

"The best spiritual leaders are those who are always learning. They're the ones who ask, How can I do this better? How can I have a greater impact? How can I inspire the people around me upward and onward in their Christian growth? How can I glorify God more?"

"If any of you should ask me for an epitome of the Christian religion, I should say it is in that one word--prayer."

On the subject of faith Spurgeon said, "Go in for great things, brethren, in the name of God; risk everything on His promise, and according to your faith shall it be done unto you."

On holiness Spurgeon said, "We are watched by a thousand eagle eyes; let us so act that we shall never need to care if all heaven, and earth, and hell, swelled the list of spectators. Our public position is a great gain if we are enabled to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit in our lives; take heed, brethren, that you throw not away the advantage."

I would encourge all of you to purchase this book and to devour its contents. It will be a great blessing and will transform your life and help you to become a better spiritual leader for the Kingdom of God in the days and the years to come. God bless you all,

Pastor Dickie

2008-05-24T19:51:00.003-04:00

Reading The Bible

I want to share with all of you my method of reading the Bible. There are many different ways that people may choose to read their Bibles. One method of reading the Bible is to simply begin in January and read right through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Another method of reading the Bible is to use the Bible reading program that was put together by Robert Murray McCheyne. McCheyne's Bible reading program can be found by googling this on line. The method I use, however, is one that I have found to be very helpful for my spiritual growth and development. Here's what I do each day. Let's suppose we are beginning on January 1st. I begin reading several chapters in the Old Testament at the book of Genesis. I will also read a 5 chapters from the Psalms each day. Next I will also read one chapter from Proverbs that corresponds with the day of the week. Each month I will have gone through the Psalms and Proverbs. When I finish the Psalms and Proverbs I begin again with them. I also begin reading on January 1st in the New Testament at Matthew's gospel. I read several chapters of the gospels each day. When I finish with Matthew I go to Mark, then Luke and finally the book of John. When I come to the end of John's gospel I will go back to Matthew and start once again. So you can see I am continually cycling through the four gospels. Next, on January 1st I also start reading Acts. Everyday I read several chapters in the New Testament. When I come to the end of the New testament I go back to Acts and start all over again. This program keeps me rotating through the Bible on a number of levels. I am continually going through the Old Testament, the Psalms and Proverbs, the four gospels, and the New Testament. Some days I may read more than others. On Sunday, the Lord's Day, I read quite a bit more.

This method is really a feast for me. It is like a smorgasbord of Bible reading. Every month I am going through the Psalms and Proverbs. And throughout the year I am going through the four gospels and the New Testament. The Old Testament takes longer to get through. But by this method I am constantly exposing my heart and mind to the precious Word of God. One should do whatever works best for you. I have found that this method has fed my heart and kept my life enriched in the Word.

My concern is that many people do not read the Bible on a regular basis. I will be finishing my next book entitled Living For Jesus. This book will have an entire chapter on the Word of God and the reasons why ones must immerse their heart and soul in its precious contents. As your pastor and friend I plead with all of you to read, read, read, the Word of God. Do not neglect this precious book. It is food for your soul. God bless you all. Love in Christ, Pastor Dickie

2008-05-17T17:38:00.006-04:00

This Sunday we will be baptising the next group of people who have come through our membership class. I would encourage all of you to be in attendance as this is a great encouragement to those who are coming to profess their faith in Christ. By being present it also blesses each of us and strengthens our faith. How good our Lord has been these last few years in adding to our flock many who have come to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dr. John MacArthur of California gave these reasons why some people have refused to be baptised.

A person who claims to be a Christian and has not been baptized, fits into the following categories.

1. One, ignorance—that is, they’ve never been taught about baptism and that’s very possible in many, many places. From time to time, we have people baptized here who were converted years ago but never were taught the significance of baptism.

2. Secondly, pride is an issue. People who have allowed a long period of time to go since their conversion—they’ve named the name of Christ for a long time, they are involved with the church, they are known as Christian people, they have never been baptized—it’s a little bit embarrassing to acknowledge that failure and that disobedience for such a long time and so they’re not willing to humble themselves, admit they’ve been disobedient, and be baptized. So, it could be ignorance, it could be pride.

3. It could be indifference. There are plenty of people who just can’t be bothered—they can’t find a spot in their daytimer for it, it doesn’t fit into their schedule, it’s not a priority. They know it’s commanded in the Bible, but obedience isn’t the main thing with them—they have other priorities. That’s a sad situation—to be apathetic toward a specific command, to be indifferent toward a very direct command from our Lord, Himself, which brings honor to Him and blessing to the one who is obedient. But, there are people who are just indifferent—they just can’t get around to it, "I’ve been planning to do it, I’ve thought about it; it just doesn’t fit on the priority list."

4. And, then fourthly, could be the defiant people—those who basically aren’t baptized because they are just rebellious—they refuse to obey. Usually those kinds of people are sinning…they’re in a pattern of sin and it would just sort of elevate their hypocrisy if they were to have to come up and give a testimony of their faith in Jesus Christ and celebrate His wonderful redemption on their behalf. So, people who are defiant and rebellious and just won’t be baptized, generally are in a pattern of sinning.

5. Then, fifthly, it’s possible that you’re unregenerate—you’re just not a true Christian, you have no desire to make a public confession of faith in Jesus Christ because you don’t want to be identified with Him in a public way. You may come and you may like to kind of hang on the edges and on the fringes here, but you’re not about to take your public stand with Christ. Those are the only reasons I can think of. Either you’re ignorant, you’re too proud to humble yourself and be baptized, you’re apathetic and indifferent toward that matter of obedience, you’re defiant, or you’re not a believer. That puts the issue squarely where it belongs and it backs you, if you’ve never been baptized, sort of into a corner to sort that out. It could be a combination of several of those things in some cases, but you’re in there somewhere.

Come out to church tomorrow and support all those who are getting baptised! If any of you have not been baptised please let Heather know at the office and we will be pleased to arrange for you to make your profession of faith.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T22:41:00.004-04:00

I trust that all of you had a wonderful Lord’s Day! Celebrating Mother’s Day is always a special occasion. You can hear our messages from today by going to our web site at Allgrace.com. I want to put a special tribute to mothers from Charles Swindoll on my blog. I trust that it will be a blessing to you.

Charles R. Swindoll
Insight for Living

If there's one attitude families are guilty of more than any other when it comes to mothers, it's presumption... taking them for granted... being nearly blind on occasion to the load moms carry. This was reinforced in my mind last week as I was thumbing through a row of crazy greeting cards at a local drugstore. Time and again the joke in the card drew its humor from this obvious attitude that pervades a household: Forget the housework, Mom. It's your day. Besides, you can always do double duty and catch up on Monday!

Like this one: On the front of the card was a beleaguered mother. Draped over her neck were three unmatched socks and at her feet was an enormous stack of unwashed clothes. On the stove was a hot skillet burning the food. A cold, stained coffee pot needed attention. The refrigerator door was ajar and milk had spilled in it. The dishes, naturally, looked like a homemade Eiffel Tower reaching out of the sink. Inside the card was scribbled: "Look, lady, nobody said it was gonna be a free ride!"

But my favorite was a great big card that looked like a third-grader had printed it. On it was a little boy with a dirty face and torn pants pulling a wagonload of toys. On the front it read: "Mom, I remember the little prayer you used to say for me every day . . ." and inside, "God help you if you do that again!"

Jimmy Dean, the country-western singer, does a number that always leaves me with a big knot in my throat. It's titled "I Owe You." In the song, a man is looking through his wallet and comes across a number of long-standing "I owe yous" to his mother . . . which he names one by one.

Borrowing that idea, I suggest you who have been guilty of presumption unfold some of your own "I owe yous" that are now yellow with age. Consider the priceless value of the one woman who made your life possible - your mother.

Think about her example, her support, her humor, her counsel, her humility, her hospitality, her insight, her patience, her sacrifices. Her faith. Her hope. Her love.

Old "honest Abe" was correct: "He is not poor who has had a godly mother." Indebted, but not poor.

Moms, on Mother's Day Sunday we rise up and call you blessed. But knowing you, you'll feel uneasy in the limelight. You'll probably look for a place to hide. True servants are like that.

If you don't watch it, you'll be planning lunch during the sermon. But that would be a waste of time. Especially since you're going to be taken out to eat (which will add to our indebtedness!). But in all honesty, it won't come anywhere near expressing our gratitude.

So, live it up on Sunday. It's all yours.

My advice? Shake up the family for a change. Order steak and lobster.

This week Pastor Eric and I will be heading to a pastor’s conference in California. Please keep us in your prayers. We will see you all next Sunday! God bless you. Love in Christ, Pastor Dickie

2008-05-03T14:16:00.015-04:00

Dear Berean Family,

This Sunday we will continue our series of messages on the Great Questions Of The Bible. In the afternoon service we will continue our study in the book of Hebrews. If you wish to look ahead to the text please read Hebrews 3:1 and Isaiah 44:1-8.

I have ordered a wonderful book that I highly recommend all of you to read. The title is This Way To Godliness by Stuart Olyott. We have 25 copies coming to the Berean book store. Please read this and let me know how it impacts your life. This book is on developing a godly life that is pleasing to the Lord. Walking in godliness is something that we all should have a passion to do. Here is a test for each of you. What does it mean to be godly? Who is the godliest person ever mentioned in the Bible? Is godliness something we do or don't do? Or does it involve both of those things or neither of them?

One important aspect of developing a godly life is the importance of prayer. I read something recently from an interview that a minister had with the late Oswald J. Smith. Dr. Smith made some comments on his early morning prayer time that he referred to as his morning watch. Here are the comments:

"How were you led into your prayer life, Dr. Smith?"

"I was led to observe the morning watch very, very early in my life, soon after I was converted, and from that day to this, I have observed the morning watch. I have written all about this in my book, The Man God Uses. I meet God before I meet man. I spend the first hour alone with God, first of all, pouring over the pages of the Bible, and then walking back and forth, up and down the floor in my study, pouring out my heart in prayer. Iv'e done that 365 days of the year for over 50 years of my life now, and I intend to do it the rest of my life."

Essential to our walk with God and developing a godly life is the habit of spending time with God in prayer. May the Lord enable all of us to develop our morning watch with the Lord Jesus! The book that Oswald J. Smith mentioned, The Man God Uses, was one of the books I read as a young ministerial student. It had a profound impact on my life as a new Christian. This book was one of the books that created in my heart a deep hungr for God. I can remember praying and longing to be a man of God, and also praying to be used by God to honor Him and to glorify His Son Jesus Christ. I would recommend that book as well for you to read.

God bless you all! Have a wonderful Lord's Day and a good week.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Dickie

2008-04-19T20:29:00.004-04:00

This Sunday our message in the 10:00 service will continue with The Great Questions of The Bible series. The text for this week’s message is found in Matthew 20:32. Here in this passage Jesus asks two blind men who called out to Him, “What will ye that I shall do unto thee?” I would like to ask each of you to think about that. If you had the opportunity to ask the Lord for a request what would you ask of Him? Think about this carefully. How we would answer this question reveals a great deal about us. You can listen to my sermon on this text by going to our sermons on line at allgrace.com. I trust that you will have a blessed Lord’s Day this week and that each of you will consider going to the Lord in prayer and giving Him your personal requests for you own soul and for the people that you care for and minister to.

God bless you all!

Pastor Dickie

2008-04-07T22:40:00.002-04:00

Dear Berean Family,

I will be traveling this week to England to attend a board meeting for Evangelical Press. I leave Wednesday and will return the following Wednesday. Please keep me in prayer as I travel. Mary will be going with me and we will have the privilege of seeing Dewi and Mari Higham in London. While I am away I will keep you all in prayer. I am pleased that we have such wonderful deacons and elders who are so competent and spiritual to watch over the church. And of course I cannot say enough about Eric Stewart who has been such a help to me and a great assistant. Eric continues to develop and shows tremendous ability to step up to the challenges of a growing and hungry church. Keep Eric in prayer as I am away this week.

I am finishing up work on my next book on Christian living. I am praying that this book will be a blessing to all our church family and that it will enable our brothers and sisters to grow in the grace that is in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I will keep you posted on when this book will be available for you to read. I am hoping that it will be ready by June or July.

I leave you with the challenge of Colossians 3:1-16 one of my favorite passages in the New Testament.

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 3:6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 3:7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 3:14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

2008-04-05T09:10:00.003-04:00

Great is Thy Faithfulness!

"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him."

Our God is a great God whose Word is full of precious promises to those who have put their faith and trust in Him. Tomorrow’s message will be on the text in Lamentations chapter three that teaches us that God’s faithfulness and mercies are new every morning. It is my desire that all of you will be encouraged and blessed by the words of Jeremiah the prophet from this text. When we are going through difficult times in our lives it is wonderful to remember how gracious and kind our heavenly father is. Indeed, His faithfulness to each of us is truly great. Pray over this passage and come prepared to worship and to give God glory for all of His many blessings in your life.

I also want to share with the Berean family that my dear friend and fellow worker in the Gospel Pastor Jim Jones went home to be with his Savior on Friday. I am deeply moved to think that my dear friend is in the presence of Jesus today. O how blessed he is to have this wonderful inheritance in Christ! I smile when I think of his joys around the throne with all the redeemed in glory. May we each so live our lives so that when our time of promotion arrives we too, like Jim Jones, will have a triumphant home-going. God bless you all. I look forward to seeing in the Lord’s house tomorrow. Yours in Christ, Pastor Dickie

2008-04-02T19:37:00.004-04:00

Dear Berean Family,

We have come through the Easter holiday and are swiftly heading towards summer. As I have contemplated our future as a church I have felt led to share with you the great need for all of us to live our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. Especially we need to remember the importance of allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us with agape love. The Apostle Paul taught us the importance of agape love in our lives by giving us I Corinthians 13. This chapter is powerful in its challenge to our lives. Here is the text from I Corinthians 13:

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

In this chapter Paul shares within the first five verses that without (agape) love all the things we may be trying to do for Christ mean nothing. For example if we 1. Speak in tongues. 2. Have the gift of prophecy. 3. Have the gift of faith to trust God for great things. 4. Give all your goods to feed the poor. 5. And give your body to be burned, but have not love it profits us nothing. Someone said this is 5-1 = 0. God’s math is not different from ours but His prospective certainly is. This equation means that if I have these 5 gifts mentioned above but lack love it equates to zero in the eyes of God. Let us not forget then the importance of true agape love that comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Please read this chapter and meditate on the qualities that Paul tells us are the signs and evidence of the Holy Spirit’s working in our lives.

If we fail to apply the teachings of this chapter to our personal lives and to our church family and how we interact with each other we are really not any different from the Corinthians. The Corinthian church was known for its strife, division, lack of love, judgmental attitude, and pride. May we not be modern day Corinthians. Rather, may we be Spirit filled Christians who display the love of Christ in our daily lives. God bless you all as you seek to live a life filled with the fragrance of the love of Jesus Christ.

2008-03-22T15:17:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow we will celebrate Easter together at Berean Baptist Church. I want to wish all of you a wonderful Lord's Day as we gather together. The importance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ cannot be stated too much. The following quote is from my sermon notes that I will be using tomorrow.

The resurrection is the crowning proof of the deity of Christ. It is this great doctrine that separates everything else from Christianity. We have often stated that if the resurrection had not taken place there would be no gospel. The importance of the resurrection can be stated by the following points:

1. The resurrection proves the deity of Christ
2. The resurrection assures us of acceptance with God
3. The resurrection is at the heart of the gospel
4. The resurrection is the very foundation that the gospel
stands upon

The Arrogance Of Unbelief

When we attempt to share our faith in the Deity of Christ and in His resurrection, we find that many people have a deep-seated bias and hatred towards the gospel. They often oppose the Christian faith without really considering the evidence for it. For example, if we asked some of these people questions such as, “Do you know why we believe the Bible to be true?” or “Do you know why the Bible alone is the Word God?” or “Do you know what the evidence is for the resurrection of Christ?”-- these people would, for the most part, have to answer “No.” And many times they display a rudeness, arrogance, and contempt for the Christian faith that is hard to explain, except that there is this deep-seated bias and prejudice against it. This reminds me of a story I once read about a lion in Africa who went around to all the other animals asking, “Who is the king of the jungle?” The story goes like this: A lion in Africa went up to the big, fat hippo and said, “Who is the king of the jungle?” and the big fat hippo replied, “You are of course!” And the lion went over to the giraffe and said, “Who is the king of the jungle?” and the giraffe replied and said, “You are, O mighty lion.” Then the lion went over to the baboons and said, “Do you know who the king of the jungle is?” and the baboons all stood still trembling in their tracks and said, “You are, O great one of the jungle.” And the lion went over to the big rhino and said, “Who is the king of the jungle?” and the rhino replied, “We all know that you are, O mighty lion!” And finally, the lion went over to a big elephant that was walking along the river where the trees and water meet, and the lion said to the elephant, “Who is the king of the jungle?” And the elephant reached down with his long trunk and wrapped it around the lion and picked him up and slammed the lion against one tree and then another. Then the elephant slammed the lion to the ground and dragged him all around in the dirt, and then picked him up again and slammed him back into the trees again. Then he threw the lion back down on the ground and slammed the lion up and down in the dirt. Finally, the elephant picked the lion up and threw him into the river. The lion came out of the river all wet, humbled, and very subdued. He shook off the water, got his bearings. and then said to the elephant, “Just because you don’t know the answer to the question doesn’t give you the right to act so immature!” I understand that for many people who are not Christians, there is arrogance in their unbelief. This arrogance is very hard to understand since they have not considered the evidence for the gospel of Jesus Christ. This arrogance is just biased unbelief.In our text this morning, we have the statement from the angel, “Why seek you the living among the dead?” In this account by Luke, the women came to the tomb of Jesus very early in the morning with spices that they had hoped to use to pour on the Lord’s body. When they arrived, they found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. As the women stood near the tomb very perplexed, two angels appeared to them and asked this great question, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” This is a very relevant question for everyone to ask themselves, as well. This is the question with two options. These two choices or options are open for all of us to choose.

2008-03-20T17:10:00.000-04:00

I want to wish all the Berean family and friends a wonderful Easter holiday. This Friday we will meet at the church for our Good Friday Service. On Sunday morning we will have our 26th annual Sunrise Service at 7:30 AM at Crestwood Cemetery. Our Easter Services will be at our normal times. A special breakfast will be served at church at 8:15 AM. God bless all of you and never forget that the blessings we enjoy in life are because He lives!

The Importance of Worship

2008-03-01T02:23:00.008-05:00

As the Pastor of Berean Baptist Church I have the responsibility to watch over the flock who worship every week together with us. Along with Pastor Stewart and our other elders and deacons we pray that our church will be a spiritual haven on earth for those who walk with God. I am painfully aware, as your pastor, that there is a cultural war raging in our land. That war has many battle fields. One of these battlefields is within the local church. On the battle field of the church there is being fought a war over how we should worship our God. I have written a book entitled, “What The Bible Teaches About Worship.” This book was not written over night. It reflected years of study, prayer, contemplation, observation, and concern over the trends that I had seen develop within the Church of Jesus Christ. I pray that everyone at Berean will read this book and will try to follow the suggestions that I set forth there.

Today, I am putting an article by Elizabeth Eliot on our blog that describes the need to sing the great old hymns of our faith in our worship. Elizabeth Eliot was the wife of Jim Eliot who was martyred by the Auca Indians in Peru many years ago. Anything that you can read by Elizabeth Eliot is worth its weight in gold. I trust this article will be of encouragement to you.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HYMNS?

Many of the churches my husband Lars and I visit on our travels seem to know nothing of the great old hymns that have instructed, comforted, and enriched the church for centuries. Hymns constitute a crucial part of worship, but not by any means the whole. In churches which use almost exclusively what are called "praise songs," that part of the service is usually referred to as "Worship," as though prayer, preaching, offering, and listening were something else. May I lodge a plea to those who use overhead projectors to make sure that some great hymns are displayed in addition to the praise songs? Hymns will get you through the night.
In January of 1956, when five women were waiting with bated breath to find out whether our husbands were dead or alive, I lay in bed in Nate Saint's home, my little daughter Valerie sick in a crib beside me. The hymn "How Firm a Foundation," with those magnificent words taken from Isaiah 43:1-2, sustained me, especially stanzas 2, 3, and 6, memorized when I was a child in our daily family prayer time:

"Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
"When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trials to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake!"

Everywhere I go I try to point out what a tragic loss is the disappearance of these powerful aids to spiritual stamina. A true hymn has rhyme and meter, a logical progression from the first verse to the last, and I feel like jumping up and down and "hollering" to get my message across, but I try to keep it to merely begging and imploring folks to get their hands on a good hymnbook. Where to find them? they ask. Perhaps they are moldering in the church basement. More than likely they've long since been dumped - "Young folks don't like hymns," we're told. But of course they don't like them - they don't know them. Alas!

But help is on the way. In the USA Try 'Trinity Hymnal,' Great Commission Publications, 3640 Windsor Park Drive, Suite 100, Suwanee, GA 30174 (800-695-3387). May I suggest that you keep it with your Bible wherever you've arranged your quiet time?

Elisabeth Elliot

(I would simply say that every Christian should keep their hymnbook handy and use it every day in their personal devotion and worship to God. God bless you my dear Bereans!)

2008-02-26T15:25:00.003-05:00

This past weekend I was speaking in St. Louis, Missouri. On Sunday I took as my text Luke 13:1-5 and spoke on the subject of Repentance. There were approximately ten thousand people present and the Lord seemed to come down among us. Whatever results we received I will give all the glory to the Lord.

This Sunday at Berean Baptist in Grand Blanc, Eric Stewart will be preaching in our first service and Chris Smith will be speaking in the second service. I will be away speaking to a large Spanish group in Palm Springs, Ca. Your prayers and intercessions will be greatly appreciated. We will be giving out the booklet Authentic Christianity 101. This is a booklet that both defends and declares the gospel of God's sovereign grace.

Let us not forget that these days are the opportunities for all of us to shine for our Savior and God Jesus Christ the Lord. May we be faithful in exalting Him and proclaiming His gospel to the ends of the earth. I will be back in the pulpit at Berean on March 9th and we will be having communion on that Sunday as well.

God bless you all and may we remain faithful in the service of our King!

Dewi Higham visiting!

2008-02-15T12:51:00.005-05:00

This Sunday, February 17th, Dewi Higham will be with us for the second service at 12:00 P.M. Dewi is a great friend of our church. Dewi pastors the Tabernacle Church in Cardiff, Wales. Every time I hear him speak, my heart is always blessed. Plan to come and hear him share the precious Word of God.

I plan to speak on the subject of the New Birth out of John chapter 3. My great concern is that many people may be trying to live the Christian life while having never been born again. This message will be given during the first service at 10:00 A.M. I am praying that the Lord will speak to all of our hearts and reveal to each of us our need of Christ. My prayer every Sunday is this: "O Lord, in mercy, open the eyes of our souls that we might see our need of Jesus." God bless you all. As you get ready for the Lord's Day, read John 3:1-18.

Sincerely,

Pastor Dickie

A Glorious High Throne

2008-02-08T13:07:00.000-05:00

I am currently preaching and teaching through the book of Hebrews on Sunday afternoon. I highly recommend that you read Dr. Edgar Andrew’s book on Hebrews called A Glorious High Throne published by Evangelical Press.

The book of Hebrews shows us the superiority of Jesus over all the Old Testament types and shadows. It is my prayer that you will all come away from this study with a new and deeper appreciation for both the Word of God and for the Lord Jesus Christ. Each week as you come to church read the section in Dr. Andrew’s book that we will be looking at. This will help you prepare to hear and receive the Word more powerfully to your soul. My prayer is that this study will bless and impact all of us at Berean. James reminds us, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” This Sunday we will be looking at Hebrews 2:5-9. Focus your attention on two things here:

1. “What is man that thou art mindful of him?” What does this teach us about Ourselves and about Christ?

2. What did the author mean in verse 9 when he said, “…that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man?” Does this verse teach a universal atonement?

God bless you as you read and prepare for Sunday’s message.

The Book That Changed History

2008-02-07T21:16:00.003-05:00

By Jay Rogers

It is subversive literature. It has led to the overthrow of governments, sparked mass migrations across oceans, and more than once changed the course of history.

Governments - from the 16th-century English monarchy to the Communist Soviet Union - have gone to great lengths to restrict or even prevent its printing and distribution. Yet it has outlasted its enemies. It is the most popular book ever printed. No other has been translated into so many languages and few have had such impact on the development of those languages.

It is, of course, the Bible, portions of which have been translated into 1,946 of the 5000 languages of the world. This includes 318 languages into which the entire Bible has been translated. No other book even comes close to these numbers.

The collapse of Communism in Eastern and Central Europe has led to an unprecedented hunger for the Bible. In China, the lifting of restrictions by the government have led to the printing of 3 million copies of the Bible in Chinese. Bible publishers expect that Cuba will be one of the next strong fields of interest as that nation redefines its freedoms in the 1990s.

The interest of individuals in the Bible has often changed the course of history. Cultural historian David Hall of Harvard University argues that "the history of spirituality in Europe and America coincides closely with the printing of the Bible and its dissemination."

The work of a 14th century monk, John Wycliffe, did much to reform the political structure of England. He laid the foundation of reform of not only the Church but also the State. He resolved to introduce the common people to the New Testament by translating it into the vernacular of the Saxon peasants.

Before the 15th century, every Englishman who could read was able to question the teachings of the Catholic Church with regard to both civil and ecclesiastical government. Because of the perceived threat of Wycliffe's followers, the Lollards, who distributed and taught from English New Testaments, the Catholic Church banned translation of the Bible in 1408. The only copies that continued to exist in English were hand copies of the Wycliffe originals.

In the 1440s, Johannes Gutenburg began experimenting with novel, mysterious ways of approaching printing. Skilled in engraving and metal working, Gutenburg invented movable typeset and printed 200 copies of the Latin Bible. By the time Martin Luther was born in 1483, Germany had several large printing presses capable of printing hundreds of books at a time.

In 1521, William Tyndale, an Oxford scholar, began to translate the Bible into English. He did so because he was shocked to find that the people of England were so scripturally illiterate. Tyndale translated the entire Bible into English, printed copies of his version at Antwerp, and illegally smuggled the Bibles into England. In 1535, he was betrayed by a fellow Englishman and was burnt at the stake. His last words, reportedly, were "Lord, open the King of England's eyes!"

Consider that in 1525 in northern Germany, only 5 percent of the population was literate. Yet 150 years later in New England, 95 percent was literate. This great advance was the result of the Protestant Reformation which began to dominate the religious life of northern Europe. The basis of the Reformation was Martin Luther's teaching on the Priesthood Of All Believers: "Every Christian is a Priest before God and is capable of interpreting the Bible for himself with the aid of the Holy Spirit." Luther was also responsible for translating the entire Bible into the German language.

In turn, every Christian wanted to own a Bible and felt responsible to learn to read in order to more effectively commune with God. The result of this teaching brought on what some scholars believe to be the highest literacy rate of any society in the world: Puritan Massachusetts of the colonial period (1620-1775).

It may surprise some to know that the Puritans, although never a large group, have done more to influence the shape of government in the world than any other group of people in modern history. The Puritans were the architects of a new form of government - Christian self-government with union - which later became the basis for America's form of government. This was the end result of the Puritan's belief that the Bible holds principles that are applicable to every area of human life.

Today, there is a resurgence of interest in the Bible and reading the Scriptures in America. A 1990 Gallup poll found that 42 percent of Americans view the Bible as God's Word, up from 38 percent in 1978. Asked if they read the Bible daily, 17 percent of the people in the same survey said they did, versus 12 percent in 1978. In 1990, 21 percent of those polled said they belonged to a Bible study group, compared with 19 percent in 1978. Although not gigantic shifts, these results indicate that interest in the Bible in America is on the upswing.

The Book That Has Survived Its Enemies

The Bible, like no other book in history, has withstood vicious attacks from its enemies. Many have tried to ban it, burn it and outlaw it ... from the days of the Roman emperors to the present-day tyrant-dominated nations.

Sidney Collett, in All About the Bible, says, "Voltaire, the noted French infidel who died in 1778, said that in one hundred years from his time Christianity would be swept from existence and passed into history. But what has happened? Voltaire has passed into history, while the circulation of the Bible continues to increase in almost all parts of the world, carrying blessing wherever it goes.

"For example, the English Cathedral in Zanzibar (present-day Tanzania) is built on the site of the Old Slave Market, and its communion table stands on the very spot where the whipping post once stood! The world abounds with such instances ... As one has truly said, 'We might as well put our shoulder to the burning wheel of the sun, and try to stop it on its flaming course, as to attempt to stop the circulation of the Bible.' "

Concerning the boast of Voltaire on the extinction of Christianity and the Bible in 100 years, Geisler and Nix point out that "only 50 years after his death the Geneva Bible Society used his press and house to produce stacks of Bibles." What an irony of history!

In 303 A.D., Diocletian issued an edict to destroy Christians and their sacred book: "an imperial letter was everywhere promulgated, ordering the razing of the churches to the ground and the destruction by fire of the scriptures, and proclaiming that those who held high positions would lose all civil rights, while those in households, if they persisted in their profession of Christianity, would be deprived of their liberty."

The historic irony of the above edict to destroy the Bible is that Constantine, the emperor following Diocletian, 25 years later commissioned Eusebius to prepare 50 copies of the scriptures at the expense of the government.

The Bible is unique in its survival. This does not prove that the Bible is true, but it does prove that it stands alone among books. A student seeking truth ought to consider a book that has the above qualifications.