Stephanie here, just writing about some neat upcoming events that our Women’s Ministry SEEDS is hosting. The one right around the corner is Face-To-Face Friday  on May 31st, 7-9pm, where JPBC women are getting together to share what the Lord is doing in each other’s lives and to pray for one another. Light refreshments including banana splits will be provided along with guided discussions. Come comfortable and casual.

RSVP to the hostess of the gathering nearest you and offer to bring an essential component of a banana split!

• South/East: Jennifer Scruggs
  
• In Town: Jennie Sue Minor
  
• West/Ivy: Kathy Hassell 
  
• North: Kirsten Keyser

Recap:

Who: Ladies of JPBC
What: A Good Time of Fellowship
When: Friday, May 31st, 7-9pm
Where: Around town
Why: Why not?!

~

Coming Up:

Revive Our Hearts Tour: Lynchburg

• “An Evening with Nancy” – June 18 at 7 p.m.  FREE!
• Revive Our Hearts Radio Recording – June 19 at 8:15 a.m.  FREE!
• Women’s Ministry Leader Luncheon – June 19 at 12:30 p.m.

Thomas Road Baptist Church, 1 Mountain View Rd., Lynchburg, VA 24502

photo: stephanie k. marvin

From Pastor Keith:

I find that my ability to worship is related to my preparation for worship. As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, I want to recommend a devotional book by Piper that I think will prepare you and your family to anticipate and experience worshiping the coming of Christ better. I pray God blesses you this season with the joy that comes from above.

Good News of Great Joy

by John Piper

Take home message: God always works for His glory and for His people’s good.

God delivered Israel from Pharaoh by making a way through the sea and then defeating Pharaoh in the sea. God sought to get glory over Pharaoh and to make His name known in Egypt (14:4, 17-18). He hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he pursued Israel, not yet accepting that God was fighting on Israel’s behalf (14:25).

When Israel saw Pharaoh, they grumbled to Moses and did not trust God to be faithful to them. With fearful and complaining hearts, they cried out,“Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? . . . It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Ex. 14:11,12). These are harsh accusations for any occasion but are especially troubling since the Israelites had witnessed God protect them through the ten plagues in Egypt.

Moses’ words to Israel are good for us to hear in the midst of trials and temptations. Fear not. Stand firm. See the salvation of the Lord. God’s people must learn to wait on Him. We must learn to not blaspheme while we wait. Even while Israel was complaining against God and accusing Him of evil, He remained faithful to them. God provided a way through the sea to demonstrate to His people that He was with them and would save them. He fought for Israel.

The deliverance through the Red Sea was the definitive salvation in the Old Testament. We read in Isaiah 43:16-25 the LORD saying, “Behold I am doing a new thing.” He is contrasting the “new thing” with the Red Sea deliverance, the new being better than the old. The deliverance is declared in vs. 25, “I, I am He, who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”

God, whose covenant name is “I AM”, will blot out the transgressions of His people. Though they refused Him the worship He deserves, rebelled against Him, and resisted His right rule, He offers deliverance that is defined in terms of forgiveness, instead of wrath.

The New Deliverance vs. the Old

First, the enemy in the new deliverance is greater. Israel’s enemy by the sea was a powerful man who could kill the body. The enemies in the new deliverance are sin and death. Our ultimate foe is God, who must judge our sin according to His perfect righteousness. God is delivering us from the wrath that we have brought upon ourselves by being His enemy. We have fought against God and made Him our enemy, who destroys the soul.

Second, the Deliverer in the new deliverance is greater. God’s power saves the people, using Moses as the mediator. Jesus, God’s own Son, is the new deliverer who is greater than Moses, who was only a servant in the house (Hebrews 3:5-6). Jesus is God Himself who blots out our transgressions by being punished as if a sinner on the cross, laying down His life for our forgiveness. Instead of God’s wrath being against us for our sin, God’s wrath was against Christ for our sin, if we believe in Him.

Third, the effect in the new deliverance is greater. Moses’ Israel would be tested again and would fail. Since they continued to resist God, they were not permitted entrance into the Promised Land. God definitively saved them from Pharaoh, but their hearts were still opposed to Him (Heb. 3:15-19). The new deliverance provides a new heart and a permanent salvation. The new deliverance calls us to enter boldly, not into a land on earth, but into the Holy of Holies in the name of Jesus. Moses could not change Israel as he led them. Jesus changes us when He leads us. Moses could not lead the people into the Promised Land, the final destination. The work that Jesus begins in us, He finishes.  He will return and change us into His likeness so that we see the face of God fully, with eyes untainted with sin.

I pray God’s faithfulness encourages you to persevere in trials and temptations.  We must trust Him to be faithful to fight for us.  When we doubt, we only need to look back at the cross.

I am thankful that God has convicted so many regarding a need to pray and trust God more, including myself.  Below are two of the lists that I gave in the sermon.  I greatly desire that JPBC grows in reliance upon God.  We must be a church that proclaims God’s truth boldly and prays boldly so that the proclamation has power.  Please join me in prayer for God to begin a mighty work among us and from us.  If we want revival, we must first repent of our own sin and commit to Christ.  It must begin with prayer.

Why do we not pray?

1. We are too busy—no time to pray.  The more we have to do, the more we should be praying.
2. We are too proud. We have grown accustomed to what w can produce and accomplish.  First, we think we are accomplishing something without the blessing from God.  Second, we content with what we can do rather than longing for what God can do.
3. We treat prayer as a lesser work.   Prayer is not preparation so we can do the real work of the Christ.  Prayer is the real work and the most important work.   We should do nothing that God has not led us to through prayer.
4. We are fearful.  Prayer is a great mystery.  How do I know he is listening?  How do I know he cares?  Will he handle my most desperate calls with love and power?
5. We lack faith.  Ultimately, we do not pray because we do not trust God enough.  We do not believe he can handle our burdens, open up doors, guide and direct us on a better path than we can find on our own.

We must pray for God to increase our faith (Luke 17:5) and ask him for wisdom (James 1:5).

How can I grow in prayer?

1. Pray from Scripture.  Pray through the Psalms that are designed to be models for prayer.  Pray based on the pattern of the Lord’s Prayer, Matt 6:9-13.  Find the prayers of Paul in his epistles and pray through them.  Examples:  Col 1:3-14; Eph 3:14-21.  For a guide through these prayers see D. A. Carson,  A Call to Spiritual Reformation.
2. Pray with a list.  This will give guidance and direction to your prayer time. Use the church’s prayer list and add to it.
3. Pray with the right posture.  How we physically posture ourselves demonstrates and effects our spiritual posture towards God.
4. Pray with others. A healthy diet of prayer consists of praying in the closet and praying with other Christians who will encourage you and teach you to pray.
5. Pray regularly. To pray well takes practice and we never perfect prayer, so we must always practice.  Prayer without ceasing (I Thess 5:17)

A Sunday school class for whole families will be offered this summer.

The class will be using the 2012 Bible Bee material.  The vision of the Bible Bee is to encourage parents as they disciple their children through in-depth study of the Word of God, Scripture memorization, and prayer. The Bible Bee material is designed to help families dig into the Bible in a deeper, more systematic way to encourage accurate interpretation and powerful life application using engaging stories, maps and other visual aids, and step-by-step daily investigative study at three age levels (Primary 7-10, Junior 11-14, Senior 15-18). Plan on a minimum of 20 minutes a day for the study. Younger children are welcome in the class at their parent’s discretion.  A Parent’s Guide, which gives a solid overview of the study and a family discussion guide for weekly family devotions, is available. Children are welcome even if their parents can’t attend but all parents are encouraged to work with their children during the week and make the most of this opportunity for family Bible study and weekly family devotions. Memorizing the 25 Bible Bee Scripture memory passages associated with this study will also be encouraged for those who have no other Scripture memory plan already in place.

Alan Hodge will be facilitating the Sunday school class.  Contact Alan or Ann for costs of materials and how to order. They may try to make one bulk order for those families who are only participating in the Sunday school class and not registering for the actual Bible Bee contest. To see more information about the Bible Bee, go to www.biblebee.org.

With questions, contact Alan or Ann Hodge at:

• alan@hodgeproductsinc.com
• ann@hodgeproductsinc.com

In March Ben Bullard and Jim Kyner went on a vision trip to Ethiopia with Children’s Hope Chest.  Many of you were able to hear of their trip on a Wednesday night in April.  As a body we have been praying about how we might partner with Children’s Hope Chest and care for widows and orphans, and we are ready for our next step.  The next step is to host a launch event.  On Saturday, June 16th you are invited to join us for dinner at 6:00 pm in the fellowship hall.  We will hear specifics from Hope Chest staff and JPBC leaders on how we can support orphans and vulnerable children at Merkato in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  Save the date!

This summer, JPBC is fortunate to send out multiple groups in evangelizing and serving others around the world. This post will highlight Nathaniel Bullard’s upcoming trip.

———-

This summer I’m heading off to Granada, Nicaragua for about a 5 week mission trip (June 9th to July 12th). I’ll be traveling with a friend, David Widder, who has stayed there several times before. We will be interning with an organization called El Puente or “The Bridge” in English. It was started by Charles Kay who used to be a member of Trinity Church here in Charlottesville.

During this trip David and I will be working with the American groups that come to visit “El Puente.” We will lead groups throughout the city and help facilitate group activities during our stay.

The purpose of this trip is that I would become better prepared to take part in God’s global mission to send forth the gospel to all nations. My stay in Granada this summer is going to serve as a learning experience for a long term trip (8 or 9 months) that I will be making in September when I return to Granada. I also hope to explore specific work opportunities that I could take part in when I return.

———-

If you’d like more information about the Nathaniel’s trip to Nicaragua, please contact the office or join us at Our Life Together as we announce prayer updates.

This summer, JPBC is fortunate to send out multiple groups in evangelizing and serving others around the world. This post will highlight Clara Bullard’s upcoming trip.

———-

This summer I am going on a mission trip for two weeks (June 21-July 4) to Ethiopia and Uganda. I will be traveling with a group through an organization called Visiting Orphans (www.visitingorphans.org/). I believe that God has been preparing me for this trip for a long time through a series of experiences and relationships, and that he is calling me now to step out of my comfort zone by traveling across the world with a group of people I have never met to visit his children in Africa. On this trip, my group and I will volunteer with several different ministries (Children’s homes, sponsorship programs, orphanages) in both Uganda and Ethiopia.

I would really appreciate prayer both as I prepare for the trip and while it is in progress. I have never been out of the country before, and while I am excited I am also nervous! I need prayer for specific, logistical things (that everything would go smoothly with the traveling, that my group and I would be safe, that everyone on the trip will be able to raise enough money), for my heart as I prepare to leave (that I would trust God to have everything under control), and for the ministries we will serve in Africa (that we would be able to show the love of Christ to children we are serving there, and that we would learn more about his love from them). Most of all, pray that this trip will give God glory, and that His purposes will be carried out through it.

If you are interested in contributing, here are some options:

• Soccer balls (deflated), pumps, and needles.
• School supplies (notebooks, pencils, pens, etc.)
• Toys/games to play with the kids (bubbles, nail polish, beads and string, board games, etc.)
• Over the counter medications (ibuprofen, band-aids, vitamins, etc.)
• Baby supplies (formula, cloth diapers, diaper covers)
• Clothing (underwear, girl dresses, shirts, socks, etc.).
• Cash or checks – there are many items the ministries need that are either too heavy to carry over in a suitcase (i.e. mattresses) or cheaper to buy in country (mosquito nets, malaria pills). I will have opportunities to use cash that I have brought to purchase things that they need while we are there.

Please note, though, that all of the things I just listed are extras and not things I need to bring. I have enough money to pay for the cost of my trip, and it is not required that I donate anything to the ministries we will be working with – so please don’t feel obligated to donate.

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I am very excited for this trip and can’t wait to see how God uses it.

———-

If you’d like more information about the Clara’s trip to Ethiopia and Uganda, please contact the office or join us at Our Life Together as we announce prayer updates.

This summer, JPBC is fortunate to send out multiple groups in evangelizing and serving others around the world. This post will highlight Steve and Liza Morales’ upcoming trip.

———-

I (Liza) am going to Granada, Nicaragua from July 7-26, on what could be called a “non-traditional” missions trip. I will be living with missionary friends Charles and Sarah Kaye, who founded and run El Puente (thebridgegranada.org). I am there to minister to them and their two children (age 15 and 13), help around the house, assist in the work of El Puente wherever they need me, be a big sister to their daughter, and whatever else God may put in my path during my three weeks there. Aside from financial support, the main thing you all can do for me is pray. I’ll be there for most of the time by myself, and I’ve never been away from home without a family member for more than a week at a time -once-. I would also like prayer for wisdom on how to connect and build relationships with Banks and Willa (the Kayes’ children). The other way you can help is by contributing monetarily to my trip. The total cost will be about $1800 for me and my Dad (he will be there the first week), and any help in that respect that you feel led to give will be greatly appreciated! I’m looking forward to this opportunity to experience a new culture, practice (and hopefully improve) my Spanish in a real-world setting, and getting a bigger vision  of the international church and what God has for my life.

———-

If you’d like more information about the Morales’ trip to Nicaragua, please contact the office or join us at Our Life Together as we announce prayer updates.

1. Do you continue to have faith in the purposes of God even when you have to wait a really long time for them to be accomplished?
2. When your life is in turmoil, are you certain of God’s promise to bless you?
3. How can you intentionally find ways to talk about God’s Word with others (in your home, neighborhood, workplace, or school) on a daily basis?
4. Will you meditate on Colossians 3:12-14 throughout the day rather than just reading it over during your devotions each morning this week?
5. Steve encouraged you to write out the Scripture you’re meditating on in a journal. Are you willing to practice the Spiritual discipline of journaling in order to assist you in meditating on God’s Word?