Friends of Faith Baptist of North Chili,
In our Wednesday evening Bible study we have been admiring Noah’s patience and perseverance as he built the ark — a 100 year project — then entered in with his family when everyone else chose not to. His trust was quite obviously in the Lord and it showed in his obedience to God’s revealed Word. That came to mind when I read in Psalm 32:16-17, “No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.” We may have modern equivalents for these things, but the principle holds true. Our safety and security is in trusting the Lord’s Word not our own strength or devices. Noah showed an enduring and constant faith in the Lord’s ability to save. He wasn’t up and down, on and off, but just steadily worked at his assigned task (building the ark), raising a godly family, and preaching to his unbelieving neighbors. May his tribe increase!
Next week (May 7-9), Lord willing, I will be attending the Basics Pastor’s Conference at Alistair Begg’s Parkside Church near Cleveland (Basics 2007 Pastor’s Conference). We will then be taking a week of vacation to attend our daughter, Janie’s, graduation from Kent State University. So, no FaithFriends e-mail next week. Sorry.
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TIME FOR A SMILE
Here are some tidbits of military wisdom from a variety of sources (some of them may have some application to spiritual warfare):
“A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what’s left of your unit.”
-Army’s magazine of preventive maintenance.
“Aim towards the Enemy.”
-Instruction printed on US Rocket Launcher
“Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate. The bombs are guaranteed to always hit the ground.”
-U.S.A.F. Ammo Troop
“If the enemy is in range, so are you.”
-Infantry Journal
“It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.”
-U.S. Air Force Manual
“Try to look unimportant; they may be low on ammo.”
-Infantry Journal
“Five second fuses only last three seconds.”
-Infantry Journal
“Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid.”
-David Hackworth
“If your attack is going too well, you’re walking into an ambush.”
-Infantry Journal
“Any ship can be a minesweeper… once.”
-Anon
“Don’t draw fire; it irritates the people around you.”
-Your Buddies
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Sunday, May 6, 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 will look at 1Samuel 18-19 in which we read about Saul’s initial and then growing resentment of David. The phrase, “God works in mysterious ways” comes to mind.
* Morning Worship – 10:45am
* From John 3:16-21, this Sunday morning’s message title is “God Loves… Man Hates.” From one of the most familiar passages in Scripture we are told “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” As we come together to worship the Lord, let’s see clearly this truth – God loves the world; man hates the Light. What a contrast!
* Evening Celebration – 6:00pm
* To prepare ourselves for the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper we will be examining the command, “Remember Me” from I Corinthians 11:24. Does it strike you as odd that Jesus might think we would forget Him? How can you forget One Who gave His life for you? And yet, we know ourselves well enough to know there is not only the potential of forgetting, but the near certainty of it. The solution is right here – “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Will you join us for this necessary exercise?
Sunday, May 13, 2007 (Mother’s Day)
* Morning Worship – 10:45am
* Dan Noyes will be preaching from John 15:3 – his message is titled, “Women and Children First.” Dan says, “What has struck me is how the famous motto of the HMS Birkenhead was uniformly and historically adopted by Christians, but rejected by the unsaved. There are numerous examples from pagan nations where men let their wives and children drown only so they could save themselves.” This will be a look at the sacrificial love of Christ.
* Evening Celebration – 6:00pm
* Dan Noyes’ message will be “Defining and Living your Purpose” from the book of Titus. We’re going to walk through Titus and examine the vital role everyone has in the local church and in the home. It will be a verse by verse study through the various duties and responsibilities outlined in Titus.
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That’s all for this edition of FaithFriends. 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