My friend Caleb Davenport is currently running for the Ohio Senate. I want to take a second to encourage anyone in Wayne, Stark, and Summit Counties to back his campaign. Caleb is a member of the congregation I serve and his Biblical convictions advance the priorities we hold dear. His decision to do so came as a result of the need to stand for life and liberty, something the current seat holder has not done. At the top of his list is his support for the Ohio Heartbeat Bill, which could virtually wipe out abortions in Ohio. It would protect children in the womb as soon as their heartbeat can be detected, which typically occurs in the 3rd or 4th week. His opponent hands drip with blood because he has not backed this critical piece of legislation. Davenport also has pledged to defend our freedom of conscience when it comes to our religious convictions. His opponent has introduced legislation that would mandate business owners to violate their conscience and require them to do business with homosexuals. All of this goes under the false flag of "anti-discrimination." But what it amounts to is a huge infringement on one's first amendment liberties and, essentially, a state ordered religion. The Biblical values also extends to the sphere of commerce and integrity in the marketplace. As an entrepreneur himself, Caleb already knows quite a bit about how government intrusion can take the life out of the economy. As a Christian he knows the results of making government the All Saving god. If you value life and liberty, I want to encourage you to back Caleb's campaign. Visit his website and connect with his campaign Facebook page. You can help advance righteousness in the land.
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For two weeks I had been helping a man who was essentially homeless. At first I had him doing some chores around the house. I gave him food and paid him a fair wage for his labors. As our relationship progressed I saw that he had some expertise in washing, waxing and detailing cars. I encouraged him to pursue these gifts and attempt to make a business of it. I began to help him in this. I allowed him to use my supplies and hose. I made flyers for him to pass out and gave him tips on how to get a business going. I set up a website for him, a facebook page, and did a good deal of promotional work for him. The people of Providence Church also assisted. They were kind enough to offer more than simple prayers (which they most certainly did). They brought their cars in for him to spiff up to help "get him on his feet" and they offered him a great deal of encouragement/counsel. The deacons were also ready to help in more substantial ways if his condition necessitated it. Throughout it all I was able to give this young man a substantial amount of counsel. Each day we would work through relational problems he was having. I talked to him about the gospel and what it meant to follow the Lord. He would listen as I explained how he needed to adjust certain priorities and repent of certain lifestyles. All this is to say that we had a great ministry going and there was true compassion being demonstrated...until Job & Family Services stepped in! That's right. The State of Ohio gave him a food stamps card. Ever since then, I have not seen or heard from him. I've called him twice at the place he had been staying. They said that they had not seen him much. I figure that means he is shacking up with his girlfriend again, and has re-entered that volatile relationship. Why work when you can get your cake and eat it too from your local tyrants? To be sure, the young man I was assisting is culpable of sin in the matter. Yet the gods of this age should not be pardoned in the least. They are now guilty of having killed this man's desire to work and they have given him license to live a sexually promiscuous lifestyle. People need to recognize that the state is a religion. They do not want people being exposed to Christian compassion. They will bribe them with food and money to keep them from having to honor Christ or be exposed to His Word. 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 As we wrap up our series on preaching, we want to make sure we conclude on a high note. What better way to do that than by talking about the gospel! Over the years I've experienced two different extremes when it comes to the gospel and how it fits into a sermon. In my early days I attended a church that never really mentioned the gospel. Christ was pretty much absent from every sermon that was ever preached. So the messages were mainly moralistic. Later, I attended a series of churches where the gospel was preached every Sunday. It was good at first because I had been deprived of it for so long at my other church. However, I came to find that the gospel presentation was ordinarily tacked on to the end of the message and really didn't have anything to do with the message that was just preached. What's more, in these churches I found that the gospel was not really even for me! It was typically directed towards the unbeliever as a call was issued to him to embrace the Savior. Our aim at Providence Church is to preach the gospel every Sunday because we know it is important for everyone's spiritual development, even the Christian's. As a matter of fact, we believe that if Christ is not preached, then we have not preached a truly Christian sermon! But how do you do that without tacking the gospel on at the end of the message? The answer lies in the expository method. We believe that the gospel should rise naturally from the text itself. Jesus said that the whole of the Scripture bears witness to him (John 5:39). At another time he took time to interpret the things concerning himself in the law and the prophets (Luke 24:27). This means that every text of Scripture finds its culmination in Christ. It doesn't matter if it is the deep recesses of Leviticus or the heavy arguments of an epistle, every line finds its fulfillment in Christ. So as you come to Providence you will not just hear sermons that are practical. You will hear sermons that are guided and shaped by the gospel. Better yet, you will find how the gospel should guide and shape your own life. When you are trying to figure out which restaurant to attend, you want to make sure you choose one that will provide the best meal.
The same can be said for the church you choose. You want to choose a church where you are sure to receive the best spiritual nourishment. But what makes for the best soul food? We believe it is a church that is dedicated to expository preaching. In our last post we began to introduce expository preaching. We contrasted it with topical preaching, and said that expository preaching was a superior form of preaching because the topic and points are drawn straight from the text (and not simply from the preacher's interests or preferences!). Today, we want to further show how expository preaching is the best way of examining the Scripture and feeding the flock of God. The word exposit is not one that is tossed around a lot today. It may help to know what it means. Exposit simply means "to explain." Thus, in expository preaching, the preacher is seeking to explain the meaning of a single text of Scripture. In the book of Nehemiah we see an example of this form of preaching. In Nehmiah 8 we read that the people of Israel had gathered together on a special occasion to listen to Ezra read from the book of the law. Ezra also had helpers with him whose job was to "give the sense" so that all the people could understand what had been read (v. 7-8). Supposedly, this is how it would go: Ezra would begin by reading a portion of the Scripture. He would then pause so that his attendants could explain what it meant to the people. Then Ezra would read another portion, and it too would be opened up so that the audience could have a deeper grasp of what it taught. This is the Biblical grounding for our practice of expository preaching. Our goal is to help those in the congregation intimately understand each part of God's book. So each Sunday a portion of Scripture is read, and then, the minister seeks to explain what it means so that the congregation can have a secure grasp on what God has said there. For example, the minister might get up and read a parable from one of the gospels. After it is read, he will seek to explain the meaning of that parable in simple terms. He will move line by line through the text and give the sense of each part so that the hearers may have a firm grip on what the Lord was trying to communicate in that parable. In our next post, we will talk a little more about how one "gives the sense" of Scripture. There is a three step method that we typically use when explaining a passage. For now, you can check out some expository messages by listening to any of oursermons that we have posted here on our site! I just posted the first article in a series I'm going to be doing on expository preaching over at the Providence site. This one simply introduces expository preaching and topical preaching. If there is one thing we are serious about, it is articulating Scripture in a clear and biblically sound way. We believe that expository preaching encapsulates this goal best. You can learn why by staying tuned in to this series. 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! 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! This is a pic of my desk each Lord's Day. I am greatly blessed to be able to stand here and deliver the Word of God to the people of Providence Church. They are a kindly congregation who eagerly listen and are ready to take the truth of Scripture to heart. I love this pic too because it expresses something of the church itself. It is a massive piece of furniture, expressing the congregation's focus on the whole counsel of God. It is something of an antique too, representing their desire for the old paths and not new fads & falsehoods. Lastly, you can see a cup ring in the polish. Since I don't take water when I speak (for fear of spilling it mainly!), I think that is symbolic of the men who stood here before me. We are where we are as a congregation because faithful men had led the congregation in years past. “The education of children for God is the most important business done on earth. It is the one business for which the earth exists. To it all politics, all war, all literature, all money-making, ought to be subordinated; and every parent especially ought to feel, every hour of the day, that, next to making his own calling and election sure, this is the end for which he is kept alive by God - this is his task on earth." -- Robert Lewis Dabney (1820-1898) With the increasing secularization of the public school system it is becoming all the more imperative that parents take seriously their role in raising their children. One of the most important is seeing their children raised in the fear of God. One of the best ways to ensure your children are properly discipled is through home education. If you would like to learn more about home education, please feel free to email me. Or, if you would like to connect with other homeschool families in the area check out these links: Providence Church Ashland/Richland Homeschool Network |
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