Friends of Faith Baptist of North Chili,
Friday (that’s, tomorrow) evening, we’ve scheduled a Family Game Night with our sister church, Bethel Baptist of Bergen. It begins at 7pm and you are encouraged to bring a snack — chips and/or a dessert to share. Hayes Hall will be open for volleyball and basketball, plus we will have a quieter area for board or table games (bring your favorites – no poker!). Something for everyone – active games, quiet games, food and fellowship. Hope to see you here!
Last Sunday night we had a great time with our first “Ask Pastor” service. Let me share one of the questions and answers: “When it comes to salvation, is faith a work?” We confidently assert that we are saved by God’s grace through faith and that it is not (at all) of works. So, when we preach that God does all of the saving–all you need to do is believe, are we making belief a work or activity on which our salvation depends?
My answer to that question was that faith (the verb form of that word is translated “trust” or “believe”) is not a stand-alone concept. We speak of faith, but it is always faith IN something (or someone). Genuine salvation is based on faith in Christ (see Galatians 2:16 “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”)
So, my point is that if our faith, trust or confidence is in Jesus Christ, then we are not trusting our works or human effort to gain righteousness and eternal life. However, if we are trusting our trust, or if our faith is in our faith, then we are depending on human effort (trust) for our salvation. So, trust Christ, not your faith and you will be justified according to God’s Word. I also believe that Ephesians 2:8 states that even our faith is a gift from God, so it is error to think like we can personally generate a faith that has some magical ability to justify. Jesus Christ justifies – trust Him!
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TIME FOR A SMILE
You always suspected this was the case…
A passerby noticed a couple of city workers working along the city sidewalks.
The man was quite impressed with their hard work, but he couldn’t understand what they were doing.
Finally, he approached the workers and asked, “I appreciate how hard you’re both working, but what on earth are you doing? It seems that one of you digs a hole, and then the other guy immediately fills it back up again.
One of the city workers explained, “The third guy who plants the trees is off sick today.”
Now, don’t you feel smart today?
Tiring of the inconvenience of the drive from airport to country cottage, a man equipped his small plane with pontoons so he could land on the lake directly in front of his cottage.
On his next trip, he made his approach down the airport runway as usual. Alarmed, his wife cried out, “Are you crazy? You can’t land this plane here without wheels!”
The startled husband abruptly yanked the nose up, narrowly averting certain disaster. Continuing, he landed the plane on the lake without mishap. As he sat there, visibly shaken he said to his wife, “I don’t know what got into me. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life!”
And with that, he opened the door and stepped out, falling into the water.
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Sunday, March 4, 2007
* Family Bible Classes – 9:30am
* The Adult Class (meeting in the auditorium) continues the study “Crises and Crowns” — the Old Testament biographies of Samuel, Saul, David and Solomon. This week we finish Lesson 2 and begin Lesson 3 which covers 1Samuel 7-12 and is about Israel’s demand for a king. How will this turn out?
* Morning Worship – 10:45am
* From John 1:35-42, this Sunday morning’s message title is “The First Followers.” This portion of John’s Gospel gives us the record of what preceded Jesus’ call to four fishermen, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18-22). Before they left all and followed Him, they first met Him and were told “Come and see” — an invitation to discover Jesus, listen to the truth and draw the only proper conclusion, “We have found the Messiah.” There are implications for us in terms of our evangelism as well as our discipleship. Come and “see” with us.
* Evening Celebration – 6:00 pm
* Back to our study of Micah, we will examine Micah 3-5 in a message titled, “Micah’s Promise.” We will be blessed as we see the contrast between depraved man’s leadership and the wise and wonderful leadership the Lord provides.
* We will also celebrate the Lord’s Supper
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That’s all for this edition of Faith Friends. Pray with me that God’s people will be equipped and encouraged and the lost will hear the good news of the Gospel and trust Christ for their salvation!
Your faithful Minister of the Word,
Pastor Harriman
www.fbcnorthchili.org