East Frankfort Baptist Church Pastor's Blog: January 2017

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Worship Minimovie: God of Second Chances

Worship Minimovie: True and Better

Friday, January 27, 2017

EFBC and Reaching College Students

Our good friend Brian Hinton who serves as the campus minister at Kentucky State University has written an article at the Kentucky Baptist Collegiate Ministry website wherein he mentions East Frankfort Baptist Church. Here are a few highlights.

It’s that time again! Students are going back to campuses. Students are wondering will I get along with my room-mate this semester? They are busy trying to understand their syllabi and their instructor’s emphasis for each assignment. Some maybe transferring from a different campus or maybe starting school for the first time. And amid all this, we know there is a spiritual component that needs to be addressed as well. Statistics tell us that ninety-five percent (95%) of the close to 900,000 people in Kentucky, aged 12 to 24, do not profess to be an active Christian. And for those who are currently active in church, statistics tell us that 60% of those students will be walking away from their faith after high school. Based on the facts there is only one logical question, “how does my church reach college-aged students?” The answer is always found by looking to Jesus (Heb 12:2). Let’s look at how Jesus called his first disciples in Matt 4:18-22 (Mar 1:16-20, Luk 5:2-11, Joh 1:40-42).

Regarding East Frankfort and our sister church Buck Run Baptist Church, Hinton says:

Students need food, love, and to experience family away from home. Buck Run Baptist Church initially began ministering to both the KSU men’s and women’s basketball team through families in their church welcoming students into their homes. East Frankfort Baptist Church began ministering to the KSU baseball team with a church sponsored Wii baseball game against the team. Reaching college students is easier than you think but you must be willing to…… “walk by the Sea of Galilee”.

Read the rest here.

I am grateful for our partnership with Brian and we continue to pray for his ministry at KSU and beyond. I am also grateful for his kind words about our church. We still have a lot of work to do. Let's continue to work to God's glory staying focused on the good news of Jesus.

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Worship Minimovie: 99 Balloons

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Worship Minimovie: Sanctity of Life Sunday

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

January 22, 2017 | Genesis 1:26-27: From Conception to Burial and Why the Imago Dei Matters

Here is the sermon from Sunday evening where we focused on the imago dei ("the image of God") in light of Sanctity of Life Sunday. Our text was Genesis 1:26-27.

²⁶Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Audio
Notes

Monday, January 23, 2017

January 22, 2017 | Mark 4:26-34: The Kingdom of God is Coming. Wait For It Y'all

Yesterday we continued our series in Mark by looking at Mark 4:26-34. Below you will find both the audio and the notes.

²⁶And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; ²⁷and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. ²⁸The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. ²⁹But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

³⁰And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, ³²yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.”

³³With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; ³⁴and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.

Audio
Notes

For more:
January 10, 2016 | Mark 1:1-15: Jesus is the Gospel, Stupid
January 17, 2016 | Mark 1:16-20: The Correlation Between Repentance and Obedience, or, If Jesus Jumped Off a Bridge Would You Follow?
January 17, 2016 | Malachi 3:13-4:6: Is it Vanity to Worship God?
January 24, 2016 | Mark 1:21-28 - This Means War!
January 31, 2016 | Mark 1:29-45: Rusted and Weathered
February 7, 2016 | Mark 2:1-12
February 14, 2016 | Mark 2:13-17: God Helps Those Who Cannot Help Themselves
February 21, 2016 | Mark 2:18-22
February 28, 2016 | Mark 2:23-28
March 6, 2016 | Mark 3:1-6
March 13, 2016 | Mark 3:7-19 - How to Change the World
March 20, 2016 | Mark 3:20-35
January 1, 2017 | Mark 4:1-20: The Parable of the Soils, Part 1
January 1, 2017 | Mark 4:1-20: The Parable of the Soils, Part 2
January 15, 2-17 | Mark 4:21-25 - Hide It Under a Bushel?: The Beauty and Blessing of Taking the Gospel Seriously
January 15, 2017 | John 9
January 22, 2017 | Mark 4:26-34: The Kingdom of God is Coming. Wait For It Y'all

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Worship Minimovie: Light of the World

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

January 15, 2017 | John 9

Here is the sermon from Sunday evening where we studied the healing of the blind man from John 9.

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. ²And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” ³Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ⁵While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” ⁶When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, ⁷and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. ⁸Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?” ⁹Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.” ¹⁰So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?” ¹¹He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.” ¹²They said to him, “Where is He?” He *said, “I do not know.”

¹³They *brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind. ¹⁴Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. ¹⁵Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
¹⁶Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them. ¹⁷So they *said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.”

¹⁸The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, ¹⁹and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” ²⁰His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; ²¹but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.” ²²His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. ²³For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

²⁴So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” ²⁵He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” ²⁶So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” ²⁷He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?” ²⁸They reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” ³⁰The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. ³¹We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. ³²Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. ³³If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” ³⁴They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out.

³⁵Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” ³⁷Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” ³⁸And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. ³⁹And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” ⁴⁰Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” ⁴¹Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Audio

For more:
January 10, 2016 | Mark 1:1-15: Jesus is the Gospel, Stupid
January 17, 2016 | Mark 1:16-20: The Correlation Between Repentance and Obedience, or, If Jesus Jumped Off a Bridge Would You Follow?
January 17, 2016 | Malachi 3:13-4:6: Is it Vanity to Worship God?
January 24, 2016 | Mark 1:21-28 - This Means War!
January 31, 2016 | Mark 1:29-45: Rusted and Weathered
February 7, 2016 | Mark 2:1-12
February 14, 2016 | Mark 2:13-17: God Helps Those Who Cannot Help Themselves
February 21, 2016 | Mark 2:18-22
February 28, 2016 | Mark 2:23-28
March 6, 2016 | Mark 3:1-6
March 13, 2016 | Mark 3:7-19 - How to Change the World
March 20, 2016 | Mark 3:20-35
January 1, 2017 | Mark 4:1-20: The Parable of the Soils, Part 1
January 1, 2017 | Mark 4:1-20: The Parable of the Soils, Part 2
January 15, 2-17 | Mark 4:21-25 - Hide It Under a Bushel?: The Beauty and Blessing of Taking the Gospel Seriously
January 15, 2017 | John 9

Monday, January 16, 2017

Let's Go Krogering: How to Support Our Students By Shopping at Kroger

Here are directions for connecting your Kroger Plus card to our youth fundraising account. Once you connect to our account, you'll only have to reconnect each August. Thanks for your help! Let's Go Krogering!

To Use the Kroger Community Rewards Program:

Simply encourage your members to register online at krogercommunityrewards.com
Be sure to have your Kroger Plus card handy and register your card with your organization after you sign up.
If a member does not yet have a Kroger Plus card, please let them know that they are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger.
Click on Sign In/Register
Most participants are new online customers, so they must click on SIGN UP TODAY in the ‘New Customer?’ box.
Sign up for a Kroger Rewards Account by entering zip code, clicking on favorite store, entering your email address and creating a password, agreeing to the terms and conditions
You will then get a message to check your email inbox and click on the link within the body of the email.
Click on My Account and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step.
Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards information and input your Kroger Plus card number.
Update or confirm your information.
Enter NPO number or name of organization, select organization from list and click on confirm.
To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see your organization’s name on the right side of your information page.
REMEMBER, purchases will not count for your group until after your member(s) register their card(s).
Do you use your phone number at the register? Call 800-576-4377, select option 4 to get your Kroger Plus card number.
Members must swipe their registered Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to their registered Kroger Plus card when shopping for each purchase to count.

January 15, 2-17 | Mark 4:21-25 - Hide It Under a Bushel?: The Beauty and Blessing of Taking the Gospel Seriously

Here is the sermon from yesterday morning taken from Mark 4:21-25 entitled Hide It Under a Bushel?: The Beauty and Blessing of Taking the Gospel Seriously.

²¹And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? ²²For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. ²³If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” ²⁴And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. ²⁵For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”

Friday, January 13, 2017

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

January 8, 2017 | John 4:1-42

Here is the sermon from Sunday evening where we discussed a practical guide to personal evangelism. At the end of the day, we cannot find success at personal evangelism unless we do personal evangelism.

Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John ²(although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), ³He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. ⁴And He had to pass through Samaria. ⁵So He *came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; ⁶and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

⁷There *came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus *said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ⁸For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. ⁹Therefore the Samaritan woman *said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) ¹⁰Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” ¹¹She *said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? ¹²You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” ¹³Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; ¹⁴but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

¹⁵The woman *said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” ¹⁶He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” ¹⁷The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus *said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; ¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” ¹⁹The woman *said to Him, ^"Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. ²⁰Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” ²¹Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ²²You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. ²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” ²⁵The woman *said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” ²⁶Jesus *said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

²⁷At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?” ²⁸So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and *said to the men, ²⁹“Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” ³⁰They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.

³¹Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” ³²But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” ³⁴Jesus *said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. ³⁵Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. ³⁶Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. ³⁷For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

³⁹From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” ⁴⁰So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. ⁴¹Many more believed because of His word; ⁴²and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Audio

Monday, January 9, 2017

January 8, 2017 | John 20:19-21 - Just Win One: Vision 2017

Sunday morning we discussed what we trust God will do in our midst as individuals and as a church this year. Below you will find our vision for 2017 we entitled "Just Win One." I want to remind everyone to pray fervently for the five people you wrote down on your list to engage and reach this year.

¹⁹So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”