This weekend I will be presenting several talks for a seminar on Islam at Richland Correctional. My prison students asked me to do the seminar because they wanted to have the men equipped to do some apologetics with the Muslims they frequently rub shoulders with. I will also be presenting a summary of the talks at our Sunday night Bible study (August 4th, 6:30 pm). If you are interested in learning how to refute Islam, you are more than welcome to join us for the evening. Email me for directions if you need them. The talks include: The Dilemma of Islam; Allah: Uncovered and Exposed; The Sure Way of Salvation
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I just got done printing and folding the materials that we at Providence Church are going to distribute next week at the Ashland Balloonfest. There are a total of 400 gospel tracts and sermon CD's. It isn't much in comparison to the thousands who will be in attendance for the event, but it is enough for the Lord to use mightily. The tracts include "Is God that Picky?" and "Are you a good person?" Pray that the Lord will cause many to read/listen to these and turn to Christ. Ask too, that the Lord will give wing to His Word and do far more than we can ask or imagine! This is a new tract I wrote up and making available. Download and use it if you'd like! When my wife and children go away for the week, I live the stereotypical bachelor’s life. As a result, the house doesn’t typically have that “woman’s touch” that makes it so warm and inviting. On one of these occasions a friend of mine came over to hang out. When we entered the house I did a quick breeze through to clean up the worst of the mess. I didn’t worry that my tidying up left much to be desired. I knew my friend would not be concerned about the smaller things still scattered around the room. Many people view their life with God in the same way. We think that God will accept us as long as our lives are somewhat tidy. We know those whose sins are flagrant and scandalous deserve to go to hell. However, God isn’t so picky as to worry about some of the smaller sins that clutter up our lives… right? Wrong. The Bible makes it quite clear God hates even the smallest infraction of his law, and he will not overlook any of them. Consider the very first sin. Adam and Eve were given only one stipulation. God commanded them not to eat of the fruit of one particular tree in the midst of the vast paradise spread before them. Despite the prohibition they ate the fruit, and the consequences were disastrous. They were expelled from God’s presence, given over to live a life of misery, and condemned to die. All that for eating one little piece of fruit! The Bible makes it clear that God takes sin very seriously. That’s because God is infinitely holy. Since he is infinitely holy, even the slightest transgression of his law is infinitely evil and deserves an infinite punishment. Some will object and say, “But God is a God of love! How can he be that austere?” It is true, God is love. However, we must always remember that God loves his own honor first and foremost. So whatever offends God must be dealt with in such a manner so as to defend his honor. That obviously puts us in a dilemma. If God really is that picky, it means we are all liable to his wrath and curse. Even if we had only one “little” sin for which we were accountable (and, of course, we have many), O what a dreadful punishment that would be! The good news is that there is a remedy for our predicament. The seriousness of sin is dealt with in the cross of Jesus Christ. When Christ went to the cross, he died a painful and shameful death to atone for all sin, be it great or “small.” That means he died in our place. He took the curse that was due to us for our sin and paid the penalty in full. Moreover, Jesus’ life was the tidy life God requires. He never sinned once in all the days he lived. As a result, his life can make us acceptable to God. In essence, Jesus makes it possible for sinners of all sorts to be right with a picky God. And if you wish to be delivered from the sins that still clutter up your life, all you have to do is this: acknowledge that your life does not measure up to God’s perfect standard and turn to Jesus. When you do that, the life Jesus lived will be transferred to you, and all your sin will be wiped away. You will never need to fear standing before God because he will not count one of your sins against you. When he looks upon you, he will only see the perfect life of Christ. If you would like to receive Jesus as your Savior, you can use this prayer as a guide: Dear God, I might not be a murderer or a horrendous villain in the world’s eyes, but I do know that I am a sinner. As such I know too that I deserve to be punished. But I am sorry for the things I’ve done. I pray that you would forgive me. Thank you for sending Jesus to live and die for me. I know that only he could live the life I could not, and I want him to be my savior.
I just got done putting together a gospel tract for our church's use. I'm posting it here just in case anyone would like to use it. [Better yet, you might like to read it and figure out just how good you are!] Are you a good person? By all means, change the contact information and church name. Customize it for your own use as you wish (save changing the gospel of course!). May the Lord bless this word for the conversion of many souls! Tonight was Ashland's annual Christmas parade. This is a pic of the tracts that were distributed. You can read the message here. There were almost 100 of them in all. I made every attempt to hand them to the men first. If ladies were receptive, I certainly didn't hold it back. I made it a priority to make contact with the men though. I commend Calvary Baptist and Aaron and Amanda Wolfe for their work too. Calvary always does a good job of distributing literature. The Wolfe family put together their own float and distributed gospel booklets. What a great job! “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Timothy 1:15 These words are perhaps some of the most stunning words that have ever been written. They comprise a simple sentence, but the concepts are monumental. And if you pause to grasp the significance of them, you will have a greater appreciation for the magnitude of Christmas.
If you read these words correctly, it will sound like an alien invasion. Read it again: “Christ Jesus came into the world.” Doesn’t it sound like something extraterrestrial? In a sense, that is what is being communicated. After all, this verse is talking about the birth of the Son of God! This is part of what makes Christmas so astounding. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ. But this was no ordinary baby; this was God come in the flesh! As God, Jesus is not originally from this world. His rightful dwelling place is heaven. Yet this passage tells us that He left this resplendent home in order to come to earth! But what would possess him to do that? You wouldn’t leave the Hilton Suite to vacation in the slums of New York, would you? Certainly not! So why would Jesus deprive himself of these blessed conditions and take up residence in this sorrow filled world? The verse says that he came “to save sinners.” He left the joys and safety of his heavenly abode so that he could bring life and salvation to people like us. (continued on back) I recognize that this might catch you off guard, but it has to be said. You are a sinner. The truth is we have offended God, and we are guilty of breaking his law. As such, we deserve to be punished. This is the good news though! Jesus came into the world to take the punishment that is due to us for our sin. The whole reason he was born was so that He might provide a way to escape the penalty of sin. When Jesus came into the world, it was for one purpose. It was so that he could die. At the end of his life he was crucified. And there on that cross Jesus endured the wrath and curse of God as the perfect sacrifice for sin. Perhaps now you are starting to see the magnitude of Christmas: God entered history! He took on human flesh! He died to save those who had offended him! More than that, this salvation can be yours! Christmas can come to be even more monumental because Christ can be your savior. You must understand that you will never be good enough for God. Neither can your offenses be overlooked. The only way to be made right with God is by having your sins forgiven. The promise of God is this: if you confess your wrongdoing and trust Jesus, you will be saved. Jesus came into the world for this very thing. otherwise known as... |
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