Prayer Request: Sermon on Matthew 13

I know I'm delinquent in getting this posted out here, but if you think of us today please pray for my sermon on Matthew 13 today. Pray that God would speak through His Word, and that He would bear fruit in the lives of those who listen. I'm preaching at First Baptist Church Marydel on the Maryland/Delaware border.

In Christ,
Noah

Reflection 12/04/07

Wow, it's been a busy, full, and awesome last four months. As I'm sure you have noticed I haven't been blogging very much. Hopefully someday I can resume more regularly.

For now though I'll just write a little reflection on how things are going. When I was in college I wrote a song called Things Changing. Since it was a jazz tune it didn't have any lyrics, but it was really an expression of how I was feeling at the time. Friends were getting married, graduating from college and leaving, getting jobs keeping them from having the flexibility to get together. I also knew that soon I would be graduating and getting married myself. I was feeling the combination of feelings of being a little scared and excited at the same time about what was about to happen.

Well, last year was a time that I started to have some of these feelings again...the only difference was that I had now been married for about four years, and I had been working for The Principal Financial Group for about three years. I was feeling an increasing desire to give my life to full time Christian ministry, I had taken about 20 credits toward a 94(ish) credit Mdiv program, and was waiting to sell our house...quit my job...and move to Washington D.C. to participate in Capitol Hill Baptist Church's (CHBC) internship program.

Well, the internship is bearing to an end and I'm feeling some of the same stuff I was feeling approaching the internship. A little scared and excited wrapped into one. We are putting our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that it would be best for our growth in grace to stay at CHBC while I finish seminary through correspondence at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. I believe wholeheartedly that a theological education is one of the necessities for effective Christian ministry...not that theological education has to be acheived through a seminary...but somewhere and somehow. I believe that the biblical model for training pastors is in the context of the local church. What good would a seminary education be if one isn't heavily involved with a local church...and what good would involvement in a church be unless one is growing in a knowledge of the Bible, knowledge of theology, and love/knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ? How much more is this true in regard to those who are called to lead, love, teach, exhort, rebuke, sacrifice-self, serve, delight in, shepherd, and pastor a flock of the Lord's sheep.

So there it is! Lord willing, Lindsey and I are going to be staying in D. C. for a few more years. We would appreciate it if any of you could pray for us: (1) that we would grow in humility before the Lord, (2) that the Lord would reveal Himself to us more fully and that we might love His people more, and (3) that in all things Christ would be magnified in our lives. I have learned so much, and I have so much more to learn.

I'm excited to get back to posting. Only one more week of the internship. Crazy!

In Christ,
Noah

DC Lunchtime Evangelistic Talks

I'm headed to the US Capitol building today with Mike Gilbart-Smith for the lunchtime evangelistic talks they do around Wash DC. He is going to be going over Genesis 3 on sin and judgement.

Pray that God would be glorified and that the Lord would change and turn hearts toward Him.

Class At Southern Seminary This Week

In case you're interested I'm not posting anything this week, because I'm taking a class in Louisville, KY this week. If you have the opportunity to pray for me I would appreciate it...three specific things...

1) God's glory
2) Sharp mind to learn things that will be useful for God's Kingdom
3) Safe travel

Thank you!

In Christ
Noah

Prayer Becomes Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!

Here are a few good quotes from David Powlison on "Praying Beyond the Sick List".

"Sickness, like any weakness or trouble, is itself a temptation. Whether you face life-threatening disease or just feel lousy for a couple days, it is amazing what that experience can bring out of your heart. Some people complain and grumble, getting grouchiest with the people who care most. Others get angry—at God, at themselves, at others, at the inconvenience. Others pretend nothing is wrong, denying reality. Others pretend they’re sicker than they are, seeking an excuse to avoid the responsibilities of job, school, or family. Some invest vast hopes, time, and money in pursuing doctor after doctor, book after book, drug after drug, diet after diet, quack after quack. Still others keep pressing on with life, doing, doing, doing—when God really intends that they stop and learn the lessons of weakness. Others become deeply fearful—“perhaps this is the big one”—imagining the worst, And others get depressed."

"When any of these three strands of prayer [circumstantial prayers, wisdom prayers, and kingdom prayers] gets detached from the other two, prayer tends to go sour. If you just pray for better circumstances, then God becomes the errand boy (usually somewhat disappointing) who exists to give you your shopping list of desires and pleasures—no sanctifying purposes, no higher glory. Prayer becomes gimme, gimme, gimme. If you only pray for personal change, then it tends to reveal an obsession with moral self improvement, a self-absorbed spirituality detached from engaging with other people and the tasks of life. Where is the longing for Christ’s kingdom to right all wrongs, not just to alleviate my sins so I don’t feel bad about myself? Prayer pursues self-centered, morally-strenuous asceticism, with little evidence of real love, trust, or joy. If we only pray for the sweeping invasion of the kingdom, then prayers tend towards irrelevance and overgeneralization, failing to work out how the actual kingdom rights real wrongs, wipes away real tears, and removes real sins. Such prayers pursue a God who never touches ground until the last day."

Prayer Request: John & Thelma

Please pray for our brother and sister in Christ. They are going through a very difficult time and give all glory to God. Pray that God would give peace, patience, and joy in the midst of suffering.

Pray that their sole dependence would be in God alone. That God would calm John’s heart that he wouldn’t fight the nurses that are trying to help him. He has Alzheimer’s and sometimes he can fight quite a bit.

Our pastor is being called to be a missionary with the North American Mission Board (NAMB) in Northeastern Iowa. For Thelma this reality causes fear because pastor Mike comes and visits her and John often. The next pastor that our church is praying for will be a bi-vocational pastor (Lord willing). There is fear that the next pastor won't be able to visit them. John doesn’t remember or know pastor Mike often times because of his disease, but Mike was reading Isaiah 55 with John recently and John picked up and started quoting the verse word for word as Mike was reading. What a sweet and gracious providence of God that he has truly written His word on John’s heart even when his mind is leaving him.

Pray that the church would surround them and support them in their need. Pray that they might be a witness to the glory of God to their neighbors, doctors, friends, and family.

We were at Thelma’s house the other night just talking and praying. We were looking at pictures of when they were young. It was great, amazing, and humbling. We are just as they were: young, smiling, vibrant, etc. How quickly time flies…and now she is 87 years old. When I was baptized a few months ago Thelma’s the one that was rejoicing with me and telling me that she was baptized at age 69.

Please pray for John & Thelma. They are beloved saints in the Lord.

In Christ,
Noah

In honor of John here is Isaiah 55:

The Compassion of the Lord
1 “Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
4 Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
5 Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.

6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

12 “For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” [ESV]

Iowa and Religious Liberty!

This post is almost exactly what a good friend Shane Vanderhart posted...I have some comments at the very end.

In Christ
Noah

Shane Wrote May 25, 2007 - A Sad Day for Iowa

Governor Chet Culver on Friday signed into law "a bill making it illegal to discriminate in employment, public accommodation, credit, housing or education based on a person's sexual orientation or gender identity." (Source: Des Moines Register)

The problem with this law isn't that I want gays, lesbians and transgendered (that concept is still ridiculous to me, like we are able to pick our gender) not to be able to be employed, get a loan, receive an education, obtain housing and the like. What I don't like is taking what many would argue is a behavior, a choice, a "lifestyle" so to speak and making it a protected class. Thereby granting them special rights.

As a Christian working for a para-church Christian organization our right to association should have been honored, and at the very least, an exemption given, but that is not the case. Churches are given an exemption for ordained clergy - you have the right not to hire a gay pastor, but churches can not discriminate against secretaries. One might even wonder if a non-ordained ministry director (such as a youth director) is gay if a church would have to hire that person as well.; Catholic & Christian schools also receive an exemption with teachers and administrators, but not other administrative staff. Boy Scouts receive no protection, as I understand this law.

Do we see the problem with this? It is no longer about equal protection under the law, but now it is about forcing their lifestyle on those who find it sinful. If I am in a church, I shouldn't have to hire a secretary who is a practicing homosexual, just like I wouldn't want to hire a secretary who is addicted to drugs. Christian churches, schools and organizations are not in the habit of hiring people with the knowledge of that person living unrepentant of a sinful lifestyle. This is what this law essentially will force us to do when faced with a homosexual unless we have other documented grounds for not hiring that individual. This is deplorable. I'm looking forward to 2008, I for one am going to remember what this year's General Assembly has done and will do my very best to remind those around me a well.

I see three possibilities (I'm sure there are more). For the local church (1) it very well may force a restructuring of Churches (which may or may not be a good thing), (2) it might force a watered down ordination of ministers, or (3) it might force churches to go liberal theologically (proving their credibility or lack thereof as J. Gresham Machen pointed out that liberalism and Christianity are two distinct religions).

This paints a scary picture for para-church organizations, particularly if there is not a requirement for ordination to serve. Also, what of the women in leadership whom, according to conservative theologians (whom I agree with), are not to be ordained? The floodgates are open.

I think that unless a major work of God takes place we are seeing the end of logical reasoning and religious liberty in our country (politics aside!). Can't people see that this is a violation of church and state in the fact that the state is stepping into the church? Man we better pray...

Prayer Request: Virginia Tech Situation

Current numbers are 32 dead and 15 wounded.

Just pray.

In Christ
Noah

Prayer Request: Randy's [a good friend's] Family

I’m posting this with Randy’s permission.

I just spoke with a good friend who needs your fervent prayers.

Randy’s Brother:

He received a message last night from his brother in Denver, CO. He mentioned in the message that he may be having a stroke. Randy tried to reach him numerous times this morning with no success. He also tried the local hospital and his brother was not there. So he called the police. They picked up Randy’s brother, and unfortunately we don’t know too much more right now.

Randy’s Sister:

Also, Randy’s sister is in the hospital in Omaha, NE. She is being treated for OCD, depression, and anxiety. Please pray for her as well.

Randy:

Lastly pray for Randy’s health as he bears the difficult burden of helping his siblings. Pray for strength and God's glory!

In Christ
Noah

Depressed

We're pretty depressed right now...

Please pray for us.

For His Glory
Noah

Prayer Request: Team Going To India Today

Below is a prayer that I modified from The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions [Banner of Truth] for a short term mission trip going to India from our church...

Please pray for Rocky, Jared, Kortney, and Brooke...and the rest of their team.

SOVEREIGN GOD,
Your cause for India, not their own, engages their hearts,
and we appeal to You with greatest freedom
that they might work to set up Your kingdom in every place where Satan reigns;

Glorify Yourself and we will rejoice,
we pray that to bring honour to Your name is their sole desire.

We adore You that You are God,
and we long that others know it, feel it,
and rejoice in this reality.

O that all men might love and praise You,
that You might have all glory from the intelligent world!

Let sinners be brought to You for Your dear name!

To the eye of human reason everything respecting conversion
is a mystery, as dark as midnight,

But You can accomplish great things;
the cause is Yours,
and it is to Your glory that men should be saved.

Lord, use them as You will,
do with them what You will;
but, O, promote Your cause,
let Your kingdom come,
let Your blessed interest be advanced in India!

O do bring in great numbers to Jesus!
Let them see that glorious day,
and give them the grasp for multitudes of souls;
Let them be willing to die to that end;
and while they live let them labour for You to the utmost of their strength, spending time profitably in this work,
both in health and in weakness.

It is Your cause and kingdom they long for, not their own.
O, Lord answer our request.
O that they might be a flame of fire in Your service,
always burning out in one continual blaze.
[From God’s Cause page 177]

Prayer Request: Mt. Hood and Kelly James

This is a picture of Kelly James' mother and brother [see article at Fox news]

In case you haven't heard Kelly James' body was found on Mt. Hood. His older brother Frank James III was my Church History I professor [very small world]. If you have a moment pray for the other climbers, and their families...and that God's glory might be seen in the midst of the circumstances. Sounds like Kelly was a born again Christian, so rejoice in the Lord for his home coming, but pray for his family in their loss.

In Christ
Noah

[HT: Justin Taylor]

Prayer Request--Nate Rowland

Hey guys please pray for a good friend and brother in Christ Nate Rowland.

He has felt God call him out of the education field and into public service as a fire-man [sorry Nate...I don't know the technical title].

Anyhow, he's made it through all of the interviewing...but he has to pass a final physical evaluation.

He has felt spiritual warfare in the form of an attack from the enemy of doubt, restlessness, etc.. So pray for peace in his heart and in his mind that can only come from our Lord!

Prayer Request--Valley Church Intern Jake Bouma

I just saw a blog post from Brandon Mick about Jake Bouma. Here's an excerpt...

"My good friend, Jake Bouma, fell last night while playing a game with the junior high ministry he works with. He is in the hospital right now with some internal bleeding (of the bladder and intestines, I believe). It doesn't sound life threatening, but the doctors are monitoring him. He is in a lot of pain right now. He cannot stand up. They are not sure how they are going to get him home to Des Moines; the camp is in Missouri. Pray that there might not be any more complications for Jake, that his pain would subside, and that he might recover quickly."

Please join with us and pray for healing for Jake's current condition for the glory of God!

In Christ
Noah

Corey and Tiffany Carey: K-Life

This is an excellent local ministry...and our ABF's own Corey and Tiffany Carey are the point man and woman for it. I have heard many great things about how this ministry impacts the lives of Junior High thru High School aged kids.

If you have been sitting at home watching television and thought..."Maybe I should get more involved in what God is doing in our community," this ministry is for you. And the impact is huge! You will learn a lot about God, yourself, and learn to love some other kids. The body of Christ is Glorious!

Pray for a worship leader, more leaders to help with the ministry, and just that God will be glorified and exalted in everything they do.

Their theme verse is:

1 Thessalonians 2:8 "So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. [ESV]"

Check out their website here. I'll be adding this link to the "Friends' Links" section to the right of the blog.

Will you become a fellow worker in the truth at this ministry? Open you heart and mind to it!

In Christ
Noah

Nate and Lori Johnson: Campus Crusade for Christ

Over the last couple weeks we've had the opportunity to have some great ministries share about what God is doing in their midst. The first was Nate and Lori Johnson.

I have their website linked under "Friends' Links." Click here to check it out. I believe they were at about 90% support when they came in...so if God is leading you in a direction to support through prayer, financial, etc. please be open to it.

Brothers in India I: "Alok"

“Alok”

I. Devotion [morning of 3/1/05]

- 2 Kings 18:5-6 "He trusted in the Lord the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses."

- Joshua 1:6-9 "Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Alok found strength in these passages, especially when he and his wife lived in a place that they weren’t familiar with and that they didn’t know what they were doing [they didn’t have a clear vision for exactly how God was going to work in their situation].

Alok shared what he called the “5 C’s” that uneducated people can become teachers of the gospel.

(1) Character… of Christ
(2) Commitment… to Christ
(3) Conviction… of Christ
(4) Courtesy… of Christ
(5) Courage… in Christ

Alok and his wife waited for 8 months where they were living and didn’t know what to do or where to go in order to start their ministry…they were greatly discouraged, yet they continued to depend on the Lord.

People are strong in their other religious faiths [Hindus, Muslims, etc.] and it is hard to win them to Jesus Christ.

He said that God opened a door to reach people through birthday parties and they began to minister to the kids in their community.

As of March of 2005 they had 30 boys and girls every Sunday gathering. They play games, sing songs, and then tell Bible stories.

Alok constantly said, "Our success comes from the Lord!"

Alok exhorted us to, “Be strong and courageous…be careful to obey and careful to do. Continue to meditate on the Word day and night."

II. Bio and talk [night of 2/28/05 and 3/1/05]

The night of February 28, 2005 [my kind-of birthday] I stayed up late with Alok and we talked about a lot of things. He spoke about his wife… he said that they has been married approximately 2 years [in March of ‘05, so now about 3 and a half] They couldn’t have children at the time. He said that he knows if it is God’s will for them to have kids it will be so. He said she had fibroids in here uterus and had surgery to remove them. They have to wait to try to have kids. Alok said he has joy either way. With or without children! He said he will be praying for me. Also asked me to pray for him.

We stayed up late again on March 1, 20053/1/05 [once again my kind of birthday] We talked about life and ministry. He said they have lived in the town where they live about 2 years [now about 3 and a half years]. They hadn’t seen anyone come to faith in Jesus Christ, but he was ministering to approximately 50 kids who he was invited to play music for at the family’s house for a birthday party. He said they cannot share the name of Christ with the children. If they do the families will not let them be with the kids anymore. They meet with the kids weekly and they play games and sing songs with them. They also read Bible stories to the kids, and just love them and minister to them. Alok's wife also sings to the kids.

When he said something about his wife singing he started to tell me how he met her. He met his wife briefly [when they met], and their relationship grew over time by only speaking to each other. They met in March and married in June. He said her parents were strict [with a smile:)], but they knew God had ordained their relationship.

They have approximately 50,000 people in their village and it is mostly Hindu. He said a lot of Western people come there for the mountains [it is close to the Himalayas]. He has a scooter that he drives. He drives the scooter to the villages ministering to people door to door. He drives in the winter, and during the rainy season [monsoon season]. He said during that time in the year his wife cannot go with him because it is too cold so she stays behind. On the scooter he travels up to 2 hours away during all seasons to share Christ with his people door to door.

He would say, "when you come back you have to come to my village and record some music with me." Alok was a music teacher for 6 years before he went to seminary. He’s from Calcutta, grew up in a Roman Catholic church, went to seminary for a Masters degree at William Carey’s Baptist Church. Said his parents were both believers and so are his 4 brothers and 3 sisters [praise the Lord!]. He is 33 [as of March of ‘05]. Both his parents passed away in their 80’s and his oldest sister’s children are older than him!

He really loves his wife and that was such a beautiful thing to see his eyes light up when he spoke of her. He said he first fell in love with his wife by listening to her singing voice. [Below is a picture from their wedding.]

He really wants me to visit him in his home and I said, “If the Lord wills, maybe someday." [It is a desire of my heart, but only if God I may go back and see him. We discussed how no matter what we will see each other at God's throne in heaven one day! What a glorious fact!]

I played a recording of “Awesome God” for him [Kirk Franklin’s version] and his heart was filled with joy. He was taken back by the music. We had a great time talking about God, and our wives, and cannot wait to praise our Lord in heaven together.

Brothers in India

Over the coming weeks I'll be posting some pictures and bios of some brothers in Christ that I met in India about a year and a half ago. I'm mainly doing this for prayer support for them...if you guys could join me in praying for God to bless their lives and ministries that that would be great.

All of these guys are church planting pastors...many of which are the only Christian family [their wife and kids] in their communities of approximately few million people. Unfortunately the email addresses that they gave me don't all work, so I'm currently only in contact with one of them.

In Christ
Noah

Mission to Israel: Part III

Rob Young, Chad & Ashely Tierney all arrived home safe to God's glory from Israel this afternoon. If you catch them ask them about the Locust story...it shed's some major light on the way God used locusts and locust imagery in the Bible [Exodus 10; Judges 6:5; 7:12; Psalm 105:34; Proverbs 30:27; Isaiah 33:4; Jeremiah 46:23; 51:14; 51:27; Joel 1:2; Amos 7:1; Nahum 3:17; Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6; Revelation 9]. Evidently the Middle-Eastern locusts aren't as piddly as the ones we have here!

Desert Locust Schistocerca gregaria

Rob called me about an hour and a half ago. Just wanted to give you an update if you had been praying for this mission trip! God is Good!

In Christ
Noah

Mission to Israel: Part II

Here’s another update from Rob Young and his team in Israel.

Hey guys,

We just got back from a place called ------------, where they have excavated a farming area dating back to the 1st century. [Their main contact] G’s daughter was our tour guide. It was a pretty neat place. One thing she did was read several parables, and the village helped to show the context of the parables (e.g. the types of land in the parable of the sower, etc).

We ate out for dinner last night, and I have never in my life been to any place like this before. We went out late, maybe 8:30pm, and the restaurant was empty at first when we got there. Turns out it also doubles as a Houka bar (where people go to smoke tobacco out of water bongs). But it was in a narrow street, typical in the area with another door that opened into a 1700's building built by the Turks, with
stone arches. It was interesting. It had an old empty well inside which a few of us climbed into, and it was full of fraternity-like couches to sit on (they were filthy just like fraternity couches too). Pictures will really be the only way to describe this place. We had about 3-4 kinds of bread and 6-7 types of dipping sauces, and we got to have some duck and lots of the best olives I have ever had (my mouth felt like I had swallowed a salt shaker when we left).

Anyways, we did some more outreach in another small village just outside ----------- this morning, and I got to go with G [their main contact] for the first time, which was good, because no one that the two of us ran into spoke good English. This has been more of a problem in the villages outside ----------. (Why can't everyone here just learn English!?!?)

There will be a Bible study tonight which we have invited many people to, and Saturday will be the main outreach event at which point several of us will be giving testimonies and presenting the gospel.

Up till then we still have several more times of witnessing and planting some seeds. Saturday morning we will also be doing follow-up with our main contacts. Thank you all so much for your prayers. We can definitely tell that people are praying for us, and there is a deep, deep need for truth here.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Rob

[I have edited out names, locations, and a few other details]

Please continue to pray for Rob and their team…also their wives/husbands/families back home!

In Christ
Noah