May 20, 2012

9:30 a.m. Morning Service

Guest Speaker, Dr. Les Ollila

Chancellor of Northland International University

. . .

11:00 a.m. Bible Study for all ages

. . .

4:00 p.m. HCS Graduation Ceremony

Commencement Speaker, Dr. Les Ollila,

Chancellor of Northland International University

My family and I emigrated from Laos when I was one year old.  We lived in a refugee camp in Thailand for five years waiting to come to America.  During our time there, God had a plan for us to come to America at just the right moment.  In 1991, that moment came in a form of an approval for us to finally leave the camp.

My family moved around for a few years in the States.  We lived in four different cities before we got to where we live now; this is where I first heard about the Gospel.  Looking back, I now know that God had it already planned even before I was even born.

When I was in third grade, God planned for two people to knock on my house door.  Through this bus ministry, my two younger sisters and I were able to attend Awana and then the Sunday services at church.  That was the first time that I heard that Jesus, the perfect Son of God, came to earth to die for my sins, and that He conquered death and rose again from the grave, and now lives on the right hand of God.  He is the only One that can save us from our sins and that all the other gods are idols because they do not live.  One passage that made me realize that idols cannot save is from Jeremiah 51:15-19 (NKJV):

15 “He [God] has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, And stretched out the heaven by His understanding. 16 When He utters His voice-There is a multitude of waters in the heavens: ‘He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries. 17 Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge; Every metalsmith is put to shame by the carved image; For his molded image is falsehood, And there is no breath in them. 18 They are futile, a work of errors; In the time of their punishment they shall perish. 19 The Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the Maker of all things; And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance. The LORD of hosts is His name.”

I did not fully understand my need of Jesus to cleanse me from my sin until I was in eighth grade.  The youth group went to an evangelistic meeting one evening and there I realized that my sin was too great for me to bear on my own.  There is no good work that I can do to get rid of it; only Jesus, the sinless One, can be the perfect sacrifice that God will accept.

That evening, I went forward to ask Jesus to come into my heart and be my Savior.  My life has never been the same since that evening.  I was baptized a year later in my home church and have since then dedicated my life to the Lord for Him to use it for whatever service He wants.  I know that God does not need me to do His work, but He allows me to.  It is a privilege to serve Him because He loves us as His children and wants the best for our lives.  The hardest part is to
trust and obey, which we must do each and every day of our lives.  Although it is hard to trust and obey at times, it is comforting to know that “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it”
(I Thessalonians 5:24, New King James Version).

As a newlywed, I was training for the ministry and working second shift in a nearby factory. One January night in 1972, I was stopped at a railroad crossing. I hardly noticed three men in the shadows until one of them opened the passenger door and said, “Goin’ that way?” motioning toward the plant. I said, “Yes.”  They climbed in, and I drove. Then I felt the cold steel of a muzzle against my neck and heard the unmistakable “click” of the safety switch of a semi-automatic handgun. “Not that way. Go straight!” The gunman in the back seat, a teenager, did most of the talking. I complied.

Other victims of crime will well understand the adrenalin rush. I thought of everything from using karate to jumping out of the car. “If you guys were Christians, you wouldn’t be doing this,” I managed to say. Unhappy with my response, they grunted and cursed.
During that ride, the three men repeatedly threatened my life. I was resigned to die if that was God’s will.  When one of the men said, “Stop the car and get out,” I thought, surely this was my “appointed time.”(1)
At age fifteen, I had faced the fact that I had sinned against the “glory of God.”(2)  I understood that the remedy for my rebellious heart was not self-reformation or culture or even religion. I needed the remedy that God clearly sets forth in the Bible. I needed Jesus! As the Bible says, the “wages” for my sin is death.  The rest of the verse says, “…but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” (3) But just knowing these facts will not give us eternal life. One must RECEIVE that promised GIFT.(4) When I truly understood the Gospel (good news) of God, I accepted God’s Son as my personal Savior. He saved me, changed me, and made me ready for Heaven.

Listen to the interviews with Gordon Terpening (below)

That night, I truly thought I was going to Heaven. But my captors drove off. The driver, unfamiliar with a manual transmission, stalled the car several times. As I watched this spectacle, I was even more surprised when the driver found reverse, and rapidly backed up to where I stood in awe!

The gunman put me in the back seat with him. We headed out of the city. I spoke to him as though he were my captive, not my captor. “You can be a changed soul as I am. You don’t need to live a life of sin.” He attempted to silence me by striking me in the face with his gun.
“Take your clothes off,” he whispered.  Repulsed by the thought, I said, “I’ll have to take my shoes off first.” Since I had escaped death to this point, I wondered how or IF God would spare me again. But God had a plan.

Laying my shoes up behind the rear seat by the window, I placed them where they wouldn’t fall through two empty radio speaker holes. “What’s that?” asked the gunman. I replied, “That goes into the trunk.”
In retrospect I believe God used my comment to spare my life. Later, he said, “Stop the car! Let’s put this guy in the trunk.” On a residential street, the driver unlocked the trunk. The gunman motioned, and I obliged. Now here I was, in this dirty, gasoline-smelling trunk at the whim of three criminals. Why hadn’t I escaped when I had a chance?
But God had prepared me for this night. Months earlier, I was frustrated, when one hot summer day, I couldn’t open my car trunk. But since I had some perishable food in the trunk, I had no other choice but to remove the rear seat. Flashlight in hand, I climbed over the gas tank. Seeing how the lock mechanism worked, I turned the inside activator, and the trunk opened. Interestingly, the lock never failed to work again.

Why hadn’t I jumped earlier?

I had no flashlight now, but the taillights lit the inside. Holding the lid, I turned the activator. The trunk opened slightly, and I peered out. This was no place to jump out of a speeding car. I was shoeless. No houses were in sight. Realizing that the car was slowing to a stop, I closed the trunk.  The doors opened and I heard footsteps. The trunk opened and the three stood there silently. I expected to die.   Why hadn’t I jumped earlier? What were bruises compared to bullets? Suddenly another car approached; they slammed the trunk on me and sped off again.
This was my third chance; I was not going to ask God for a fourth. After obtaining my shoes from near the speaker holes, I put them on and opened the trunk. The car stopped; I jumped out and ran zigzagging toward a lit farm house. I heard shouts and curses. I expected to hear gunfire, but instead they left.
On the porch of that house sat a man who looked at me with suspicion. I told my story to this old gentleman, but I saw fear in his eyes.
Suddenly, I heard someone running toward us. My heart sank. Someone shouted, “What’s up, Gramps?” These two men were not my captors! Instead, God had caused the old gentleman’s grandsons to witness my crisis. With mouths agape, everyone listened to my story. After being convinced of the truth of these events, one of the grandsons called the authorities who picked me up, took my statement and returned me home.  Later, I found out that the criminals had used my car to rob a convenience store.
After the men were caught, I was called as a witness. Testifying against the criminals, I told the judge my story, including the parts of giving my captors the gospel of God’s forgiveness. The judge told me that I had the right answer. But it is really God’s answer for our sin problems. We are all sinners who need God’s saving grace! I escaped the penalty of all my sin at fifteen. I do not know if my captors ever escaped that penalty by accepting God’s payment for their sins.  Jesus paid the penalty so that we would not have to pay for our sins in hell forever.
How about you? Have you escaped the penalty of your sin? You can escape as surely as I. But “how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?”5 God has an escape for you too, and He is lovingly reaching out to save you. Escape today before it is too late!

1 Hebrews 9:27
2 Romans 3:23
3 Romans 6:23
4 John 1:12
Romans 10:9, 10
II Corinthians 9:15
5 Hebrews 2:3

Listen to these audio interview with Gordon Terpening to hear more about this remarkable story:

In this audio message about the life of Joseph, we will learn how God orchestrates “do-overs,” to bring us to Himself.

Why do some woodpeckers have tongues that encircle their heads?

How does a Venus flytrap work?

Psalm 111 reminds us to take pleasure in the study of God’s wonderful creation.

To listen to this audio message, click here.

Click here to listen to an audio message 

based on Mark 5:21-43.

What will it profit a man if he gains

the whole world and loses his own soul?

This is the most important question

you will ever answer

All the Wealth in the World

Here is the question for you: “what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” Seriously. Think about it. In 2010, Forbes magazine listed five billionaires as the richest men on earth. The wealthiest man is from Mexico and is worth more than $53 billion dollars. Yet we know that death comes to all – not even the richest man on earth will escape death: “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”1

So what if you owned it all – all of the wealth in the world? Estimates indicate that you would then be worth more than 50 trillion dollars! You would be the most wealthy, most famous, most powerful person on earth! But you would still be faced with these questions from Jesus Christ:

“What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” and “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?”2

Lose His Soul?

What does it mean to say a man “loses his own soul?” Having a soul means that you continue to exist beyond the death of your body.

You will be somewhere forever.

The Word of God teaches that there is a place of everlasting life and blessing as well as a place of eternal shame and contempt. For instance, in the Old Testament, God used the prophet Daniel to write, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.”3 Those who will be imprisoned in this horrible place will be sentenced justly by God to this eternal fate with the words, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:”4 The Bible refers to this as “the second death.”5

To lose your soul means that you would be eternally separated from God in that horrible place of eternal torment – the Lake of Fire.

Is There Any Hope?

There is hope. God’s Good News is hinted at in the question, “or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Jesus Christ asked that question and it is the most important question you will ever answer. Remember that you have an appointment at the judgment (“it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”1) What could you possibly give in exchange for your human soul?

To answer this question, we must first answer another question: why is it necessary for anything to be given in exchange for a man’s soul?  The answer is that man is a rebel against God. Created by God, and blessed with glorious freedom, man disobeys God’s commands and chooses his own way. In so doing, man shakes his fist in the face of God. The Apostle Paul wrote, “although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”6

The Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, wrote, “your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”7 Every one is a sinner 8 and this separates every person from the God of life. As the Lord told Ezekiel, “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die.”9 Separated from the God of life, you are headed for death and the eternal fires of the second death.

The Exchange

Do you see how urgent this question becomes, “what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

“What will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

The Good News is that God has given you a way – He has provided an exchange for you. The Apostle Paul explained it this way: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 10

This is very Good News! God offered Someone who was completely righteous as a Substitute for sinners. He offers to exchange His righteousness for your sin! Who is this Person whom God has offered to exchange places with us?  The Lord used the Apostle John to give a glorious answer to this question: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” 11

Will You Accept the Exchange?

God offered His Son, Jesus Christ the Righteous, as a Substitute for your sin. God’s Son, Jesus, became a man. He lived the righteous life you should have lived, fulfilling everything that God requires of you. Then, on the cross, He died the rebel’s death you should have died. After three days, He was raised from the dead to show His victory over sin and death.

How Is This Exchange Applied?

The Bible portrays this exchange as a life-changing event founded on the promise that God will save you if you trust Him. The Apostle Paul explained it this way: “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” The promise for you is that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 12

Do you believe that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, was put to death for your sins? And will you repent of your sin and rebellion and trust Christ as your Lord today? Why not call upon Him right now? With the Words of Scripture call out to the Lord, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” 13 For eternal life, trust Jesus Christ the Righteous as your Lord today. If you will call on Him, He promised to exchange your sin for His Righteousness!

For more information, go to www.glimpsesofcalvary.com or email info<at>cbcfindlay.org. We would like to help you draw close to the Lord. Please let us know how we can help you.

1 Hebrews 9:27
2 Mark 8:36-37
3 Daniel 12:2
4 Matthew 25:41
5 Revelation 21:8
6 Romans 1:21
7 Isaiah 59:2
8 Romans 3:10; 3:23
9 Ezekiel 18:4
10 2 Corinthians 5:21
11 Romans 10:9
12 Romans 10:13
13 Luke 18:13

Calvary Baptist Church

Pastor Gordon Dickson

2000 Broad Ave.
Findlay, OH 45840
info [at] cbcfindlay.org
419.422.6842

Listen to interviews at

http://www.glimpsesofcalvary.com/this-is-my-story

Even though my parents claimed to be Christians and took us to church every Sunday, their relationship was very volatile.  Arguments erupted all too frequently, and, often, my parents’ anger with one another spilled over onto their children.  Even during relatively peaceful moments, an undercurrent of high tension coursed just below the calm appearance.

Another constant source of fear, odd as it may seem now, was the Cold War.  I spent countless nights in the 1970s and early 80′s huddled under the bedcovers afraid to fall asleep fearing this would be the night the Russians would invade, imprison my parents, and persecute the rest of us for being Christians.

As I grew older, fear of a Communist “takeover” gave way to dread of nuclear war.  I began reading all I could find about the United States’ military equipment, particularly fighter jets and missiles, in hopes of finding some measure of comfort against that threat.

Worse than these, though, was my fear of hell.  Having grown up in a church that preached the Bible, I was well aware of my spiritual condition.  Sunday school memory verses such as Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and Romans 6:23a, “For the wages of sin is death,” coupled with the many sermons I had heard detailing the judgment awaiting the unrighteous cemented in my mind exactly what I could expect when I died.

In order to relieve this particular terror, I prayed repeatedly for forgiveness, but my prayers had everything to do with escaping consequences and nothing to do with repentance.

I was so self-centered, I felt like the victim in the situation since I faced eternal punishment.  In my mind, God owed me salvation.  I had no concern that my sin was a violation of a glorious, holy God and His law.  I didn’t really even want to spend eternity with Him in heaven; I just didn’t want to go to hell.

Meanwhile, I had found other ways of trying to numb my nagging fears.  Popularity, rock music, movies, girlfriends, even substances became my gods.  While I probably couldn’t have articulated it then, I was trusting in the momentary satisfaction they provided, but I could not find lasting peace.

Eventually, even the temporary peace I could sometimes muster seemed always in jeopardy.  The approval of my peers began to seem hollow, relationships with girlfriends were full of problems, and entertainment media was losing its kick, but the real blow came when I was 19.  That year my parents separated and eventually divorced.  Even though my family life had not been happy, it had been stable enough that I never had any physical needs or wants.  Now, though, I basically had to support myself.

I didn’t know then why these things were happening, but God used them in my life.

Through verses like Romans 5:8,

“But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

He began to show me that the work Jesus did on the cross was not something I somehow deserved, but was an initiative of love and grace that He undertaken on my behalf.  Through verses such as II Corinthians 5:21,

“For [God] made [Jesus], who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

I began to understand there is no real way to be acceptable to God apart from Jesus’ sinless life, death, and resurrection.  I began to realize that trust in anything but Christ’s payment for my sin was worthless and just another offense to a loving God who commanded that we have no other gods before Him.

I was sitting in a Sunday night church service shortly before my 21st birthday when all of these realizations surfaced in my mind, and, like the rebellious son in Luke 15, I came to myself.  What I needed was a restored relationship with God!  All my fears—fear of missing out on fun, fear of losing the approval of my friends, even the fear of hell—receded into the background.

I don’t remember what our pastor preached about that night, but after the service I met with a counselor, and, after talking through some Scripture with him, I prayed once more for God to forgive me.  This time though, I was repentant of the sin I had committed against His holiness, and my faith was resting solely in what Jesus had done.  I finally understood what it meant to accept the offer God makes to all in Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”

One of the results of the peace I have with God through salvation is freedom from the fears that had plagued me for so long.  Sure, there are times that I worry about this problem or that, but the lasting dread that has no answer is gone.  In addition, I now realize that the situations that caused me such concern were not my real problem.

No matter what my circumstances were, I would never have found lasting comfort outside of a relationship with God.  If you find yourself obsessed with fear or anxieties the same way I was, hear the words of Jesus Christ:

“Come to me, all you that labor
and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.”
(Matthew 11:28)

The God of all Grace gives you the answers! Click here for an audio message on 1 Peter 5:5-10.

Is it special because of the goodness of man, or the promise of God?

In this Christmas series, Pastor Dickson explains why Christmas is so special. Listen carefully, for without Christmas, life would be a nightmare.

Click here to view this series of messages.

Gene had gone out to the van.  I was ready to go, but he came back in the house and said, “I’m sick.” I wanted to take him to the hospital, as I suspected a heart attack. He wouldn’t go. A few minutes later he got up from the chair, put on his coat, and went to our van. He didn’t speak. I drove to the Findlay Hospital, and he was there for two days. The doctor told me that Gene was a time bomb ready to go off. He had gone through heart attacks many times. I was praying. I knew it was going to be bad, but I also knew that Jesus was with us.

God’s grace not only sustains and comforts us during bad times but also more importantly gives us eternal life.

The Bible says that Jesus “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows”; but He was also “wounded for our transgressions.”(1)

Our transgressions, or sins, have separated us from the Holy God; therefore, when we die, we have to pay for our own sins in hell. The Bible says, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”(2)

We cannot have eternal life unless we believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose again from the dead; we also need to confess our sins to God and humbly accept Him as our Lord. Gene and I have trusted Christ and have the comfort that “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”(3)

This is the reason that God answers the prayers of His children.

Gene was taken to St. Vincent Hospital Toledo where the doctors prepared him for surgery. We all told him we loved him and were praying. Four bypasses later, the doctor said, “He did well. Three arteries were 100% blocked; one was 95% blocked. He will be fine, but you can’t see him for two or three days.” The rest of us came home to Fostoria. Later, his sister and her husband and my sister left for southern Ohio. I was alone, but I knew that God was my comfort “who comforts us in all our tribulation.” Gene and I are very close, and I missed him. I wished I had been able to see him.

The hospital called to say that Gene had had a stroke. Our pastor took us up to see Gene, who was having seizures. For days he lay as if he were dead. They took brain wave tests every day. They said he was just barely alive. We prayed, knowing God’s Words of hope and mercy.  That’s all we could do. It was all in God’s hands.

Days later he moved a little. He was trying to find his hand. His right side was paralyzed, and he was blind. He never spoke. It broke my heart. Sometime later he spoke, but not coherently. I went day after day to be near him.

One day we arrived at the hospital, and I saw many people in Gene’s area. I thought he had passed away. Our pastor comforted me and said he would see what was happening. He soon returned to report that there were medical students observing Gene because of Gene’s near death condition.

Then one day Gene began to talk and his sight returned! He was sent for rehabilitation. There I noticed a lot of people near my husband’s room, and they were told he was dying. I was there alone, and I was very upset. He was transferred to St. Vincent’s again and quarantined. Having contracted a highly contagious bacterial infection, he was full of fluid; he also had pneumonia along with blood clots in both lungs and legs. There were more days of waiting, more days of prayer.

After a total of thirty days, he came home with home health care. After three months, he was off the oxygen. I had been told he would be home bound the rest of his life, that he would not be the same, and that the breathing machine had been in too long, damaging his mind. I said, “With God’s help, he’ll be up and about.” Earlier, the surgeon had told me, “It’s in God’s hands, keep praying. Wait upon the Lord.” When the surgeon saw him later, he had tears in his eyes and said, “See what God can do?” Day by day God did the healing process. Three years of recovery. God gave me strength, and I promised Him with His help, watch, and care, that I’d devote my life to care for Gene.

To God be the Glory: He hears prayer and heals. We will never forget. God did not spare His Son from the death of the cross so that you and I could go to heaven. Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior?

1Isaiah 53:4
2John 3:3
3Romans 8:32

“If Jesus Had Not Come”

A Musical Drama by Ken Collier and Mac Lynch
Directed by Dr. Gene Trantham
Sunday, December 18, at 6:00 p.m.

One of the Lasseter family’s Christmas traditions is watching the old black and white film, It’s a Wonderful Life. A famous line in the film reads, “One man’s life touches so many others. When he’s not there it leaves an awfully big hole.”
If the absence of an ordinary human life would leave an “awfully big hole,” just try to imagine what the absence of the life of Jesus Christ would be like. His absence from our lives would not only be sad, it would be tragic, as the Lasseter family soon discovers. This musical drama causes us to consider how rich we are because Christ has come!

Musical selections include works by Felix Mendelssohn, Dan Forrest, Craig Courtney, Brigette Smisor Shevy, and Mac Lynch.

The public is welcome. A nursery will be provided.

Christmas Eve Service, 6:00 p.m.

Christmas Day Service, 9:30 a.m.

Pastor Gordon Dickson
Calvary Baptist Church
2000 Broad Ave. in Findlay (on I-75)
419.422.6842
www.glimpsesofcalvary.com

In November 2007, my world crumbled…

The doctor told me that I had Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow. How could this be? I was physically active, reasonably athletic and fairly strong. Since I had seen my sister die from this very same cancer some ten years earlier, I thought that in a matter of months, I would die also.

Having been raised in a Christian home, I was very aware of how the grace of God should be demonstrated in a believer’s life. The Bible shows us over and over the glory of God, but it was because of man’s rebellion against Him that the sentence of death was placed on all mankind. The Bible also tells us that Christ paid this penalty with His own life, and took my sins upon Himself. Though I had received Christ as a young boy, I had been living my life “my way.”

I believe that God brought this cancer into my life to show me that I had not yet fully embraced Christ as the Lord of my life. I started not only reading His word but studying it as well. As I studied, I started highlighting passages that seemed to be speaking directly to me. These passages revealed promise after promise of God’s mercy, wisdom, joy, and peace.

As treatments progressed in early and mid 2008, a stem cell transplant was recommended. My wife and I knew that this would involve a lengthy hospital stay. We went back home and started memorizing the verses that I had highlighted in my reading.  Through those verses, Christ-honoring music, and the prayers of numerous faithful Christians, God in His mercy saw fit to bring me through this ordeal. These were times of anxiety, pain, hallucinations, hospital-borne infections, blood poisoning, and long dark nights.

Through all of this we were able to recall the verses that we had memorized.

We realized that it was because of the Lord’s mercies that we even have the quality of life that we do. Lamentations 3:22, 23 says that “it is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness.”

From the beginning we had prayed for the Lord’s direction and asked for wisdom. Psalms 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

A “multitude of thoughts” were racing through our minds. Using II Corinthians 10:5 and Psalms 94:19, God helped us to put those thoughts in order. We needed to bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” so that His Word could be a “delight our souls.”

Through all of the trials of the hospital stay, all these Scriptures and more kept coming to mind. During one especially dark moment, Jeremiah 33:3 came to mind: “Call unto me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you know not.” We had no idea how the Lord would lead us from that point on.

Not only did we see God’s promises through this trying time, but the more we claimed those promises, the more peace that He gave. Isaiah 26:3 states that God “will keep [a believer] in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him, because he trusts in Him.”

When I started to have hallucinations (because of a medicine), Joy put on some Christian music CD’s. One of the songs that played was “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” The third verse goes “Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide, strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine with ten thousand beside.” The calm and comfort that those words and music brought were immeasurable.

During the “night seasons” referred to in Psalms 16:7, God’s grace was so evident in the way that He sustained me. Another song that became precious was “He Giveth More Grace.” “When we have exhausted our store of endurance, when our strength has failed ere the day is half done, when we reach the end of our hoarded resources, the Father’s full giving has only begun.” The chorus goes on to say that “He giveth and giveth and giveth again.”

Through everything that happened, change was taking place. He showed me that in order to be obedient to Him, I had to replace satisfying self with serving the Savior. Also, two things became evident; God is always Good, and God is always Able—able to save, able to deliver, and able to do “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”1

As you read this, I want you to know that not only is it a benefit to know Jesus as your Savior because He will do the things I have explained, but it is also a necessity in order to have eternal life. If you have not yet experienced the wonderful, life-changing power of the gospel, then you are still in rebellion against Him and are still under the curse of death.  “There is none righteous, no, not one.”2 The Bible says that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”3 Christ has paid that penalty for you. If you believe by faith in His death on the cross as a payment for your sins, He will give you eternal life. He can do this because He is the Holy God and also because He rose from the dead to conquer sin and death. You also need to repent and confess your sins to God and admit that He is the only way to gain eternal life. Being a good person is not enough to give you access to heaven. God says that eternal life is a free gift; it is “not of works, lest aould boast.”4 Won’t you consider the promises and warnings of God today?  You can have an abundant, purpose-filled life AND eternal life AND a Friend during trials. “There is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother.”5

1 Ephesians 3:20
2 Romans 3:10
3 Romans 6:23
4 Ephesians 2:9
5 Proverbs 18:24

First Audio Interview with Bill Logan

Second Audio Interview with Bill Logan

Third Audio Interview with Bill Logan

If you are like most of us, you feel a bit overwhelmed with your responsibilities and the hurried pace of modern society. But the Lord enables us to carry through on His Commands, if we will trust Him to do so.

This is where the Frontline program comes in. This practical system of discipleship is designed to  help coordinate:

• Exciting Weekly Club Meetings

• Organized Bible memory

• Family devotional guide

• Practical learning activities

• Creative games

• An appealing fun time for children

• A coordinated discipleship emphasis  for parents and leaders — providing unity that will help us build young lives.

When do Frontline Clubs meet?

Each Wednesday evening, October through May

How do I register?

Call the church office at 419.422.6842 or send an email to info@cbcfindlay.org

What do I need to purchase?

The Frontline Student Books

$10 per semester. ($8 for 3 or more children.)

The Frontline Family Guide $9.95

For interesting daily family devotions

Clubbers uniform

Summary of Clubs and Uniforms

Scouts                          Marchers

3 & 4 yrs.                     K 5 & 1st grade

Yellow vest                  Yellow vest

Keepers                       Sentinels

2nd-3rd girls              2nd-3rd boys

Yellow polo shirt        Yellow polo shirt

Defenders                  Protectors

4th-5th girls               4th-5th boys

Red polo shirt              Red polo shirt

Sentinels                   Armor Bearers

6th grade girls           6th grade boys

Blue polo shirt            Blue polo shirt

Re-read the puzzle to be sure that you understood it and while you are thinking about it, I would like to help you with your problem-solving skills.

The Problem with Assumptions

So many of life’s puzzles are difficulties that we impose upon ourselves. Seriously. For instance, the puzzle above is a puzzle only because we make certain assumptions. It’s one thing to wrestle with the puzzle like the one above; it is quite another to wrestle with
life’s puzzles and problems.

Changing Your Assumptions

When you understand this, you understand why the Bible puts such an emphasis on the renewal of the mind. “Renewing the mind” helps you to challenge the assumptions that you have made or that have been forced upon you. Part of the problem of evil is that our lusts are “deceitful lusts.” That means that our hearts are perfectly capable of fooling us and frequently do so. As you know, the enigma of evil harbors horrible consequences for you and for all humanity. And the reason that we seem to bumble and fumble our way back into the same problem is that our assumptions lead us to do so.
So how do you learn to “think outside the box?” The whole world system is trying to force you into its mold – including its assumptions. Isn’t it time to break out? Isn’t it time to go back to “square one” and take a new look at some old assumptions?

Three Steps to Permanent Change

To hear the answer to the Hittite Puzzle in a message about these three steps, click on the player below.

Heaven?

Can it be bought by our good works?

Or do we have to be brought to God?

Find The Answer in this audio message from 1 Peter 3.

Suffering?

For doing what is right?! This Answer is for you!

What would it be like to know that someone took your seat on that day of hellish tragedy?

After all, if there is a sin which God will not forgive, shouldn’t you find out what it is and avoid it at all costs?

In this message from the Gospel of Mark,  you can find the answer to this important question.

Did you see these balloons at the Hancock County Fair? Why do they ask, “What Is Your Life?”

Helium-filled balloons are a lot like life — here today and gone tomorrow!

You may have noticed that helium balloons deflate a lot faster than balloons filled with air.  Scientists tell us that this is because helium atoms are lighter and smaller than the oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the air — so they escape more quickly. And when the balloon is all stretched out, it’s easier for those helium atoms to escape.

Helium balloons are a pretty good illustration of life, don’t you think? So “what is your life?” This question for you is found in the Bible,  and it is a question that you must think about –

“…yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”  James 4:14.

So whether is it a diagnosis of cancer, an automobile accident, kidnapping, or a nuclear holocaust ,we know life is short. Why not find the answer to this question that God is asking you? He asked you this question so that you could find the answers that He has provided for you. If you are like most people, you are thinking, “I don’t have time to think about ‘religious stuff’.” Here is the problem: Most world religions are about things that people try to do to get close to God; Biblical Christianity is about trusting the things that God has done to get close to you! Wouldn’t you like to know what God has done to get close to you?

It’s questions like these that lead us to The Most Important Questions in your life.

To illustrate how short your life is, think about it this way. What if one lifetime were like one year? How would you plan it? Click here.

Life is so short! Other people have wrestled with this question of “What Is Your Life?” If you would like to read their stories — and the answers they found — click here.

I lived most of my childhood gripped with fear.  Even though my parents claimed to be Christians and took us to church every Sunday, their relationship was very volatile.  Arguments erupted all too frequently, and, often, my parents’ anger with one another spilled over onto their children.  Even during relatively peaceful moments, an undercurrent of high tension coursed just below the calm appearance.

Another constant source of fear, odd as it may seem now, was the Cold War.  I spent countless nights in the 1970s and early 80s huddled under the bedcovers afraid to fall asleep fearing this would be the night the Russians would invade, imprison my parents, and persecute the rest of us for being Christians.  As I grew older, fear of a Communist “takeover” gave way to dread of nuclear war.  I began reading all I could find about the United States’ military equipment, particularly fighter jets and missiles, in hopes of finding some measure of comfort against that threat.

Worse than these, though, was my fear of hell.  Having grown up in a church that preached the Bible, I was well aware of my spiritual condition.  Sunday school memory verses such as Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and Romans 6:23a, “For the wages of sin is death,” coupled with the many sermons I had heard detailing the judgment awaiting the unrighteous cemented in my mind exactly what I could expect when I died.

In order to relieve this particular terror, I prayed repeatedly for forgiveness, but my prayers had everything to do with escaping consequences and nothing to do with repentance.  I was so self-centered, I felt like the victim in the situation since I faced eternal punishment.  In my mind, God owed me salvation.  I had no concern that my sin was a violation of a glorious, holy God and His law.  I didn’t really even want to spend eternity with Him in heaven; I just didn’t want to go to hell.

Meanwhile, I had found other ways of trying to numb my nagging fears.  Popularity, rock music, movies, girlfriends, even substances became my gods.  While I probably couldn’t have articulated it then, I was trusting in the momentary satisfaction they provided, but I could not find lasting peace.

Eventually, even the temporary peace I could sometimes muster seemed always in jeopardy.  The approval of my peers began to seem hollow, relationships with girlfriends were full of problems, and entertainment media was losing its kick, but the real blow came when I was 19.  That year my parents separated and eventually divorced.  Even though my family life had not been happy, it had been stable enough that I never had any physical needs or wants.  Now, though, I basically had to support myself.

I didn’t know then why these things were happening, but God used them in my life.

Through verses like Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  He began to show me that the work Jesus did on the cross was not something I somehow deserved, but was an initiative of love and grace that He undertaken on my behalf.  Through verses like II Corinthians 5:21, “For [God] made [Jesus], who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” I began to understand there is no real way to be acceptable to God apart from Jesus’ sinless life, death, and resurrection.  I began to realize that trust in anything but Christ’s payment for my sin was worthless and just another offense to a loving God who commanded that we have no other gods before Him.

I was sitting in a Sunday night church service shortly before my 21st birthday when all of these realizations surfaced in my mind, and, like the rebellious son in Luke 15, I came to myself.  What I needed was a restored relationship with God!  All my fears—fear of missing out on fun, fear of losing the approval of my friends, even the fear of hell—receded into the background.

I don’t remember what our pastor preached about that night, but after the service I met with a counselor, and, after talking through some Scripture with him, I prayed once more for God to forgive me.  This time though, I was repentant of the sin I had committed against His holiness, and my faith was resting solely in what Jesus had done.  I finally understood what it meant to accept the offer God makes to all in Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”

One of the results of the peace I have with God through salvation is freedom from the fears that had plagued me for so long.  Sure, there are times that I worry about this problem or that, but the lasting dread that has no answer is gone.  In addition, I now realize that the situations that caused me such concern were not my real problem.

No matter what my circumstances were, I would never have found lasting comfort outside of a relationship with God.  If you find yourself obsessed with fear or anxieties the same way I was, hear the words of Jesus Christ:

“Come to me, all you that labor

and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.”

(Matthew 11:28)

Calvary Baptist Church

2000 Broad Ave.

Findlay, OH 45840

info@cbcfindlay.org

419.422.6842

Listen to more interviews at

www.glimpsesofcalvary.com