Winter newsletter 14 15

 

Dec 3 - Grant Welsch Dec 12 - Kim Vernet Dec 16 - Carol Lefaive Dec 16 - Sue Deteso Dec 17 - Kristy Walsh Jan 22 - Leslie Ma To stay up to date on all events sign up for our weekly email at FellowshipBibleBurlington.com

MAKI

NG D ISC

To Know Him

71 Center St Burlington, MA 01803

IPLES

and Make Him Known

P

A RE

C

G HIN

E TH

G

P OS

EL

W I N T E R

N E W S L E T T E R

In This Issue That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, - Philippians 3:10

02 04

Knowing God Pastor Dave Welsch

Upcoming Events

FELLOWSHIP NEWS

1

05 Life as Service Pastor Legrand Lamb

Update 07 Missons Update on the Bahay Sibol

Community - Discipleship - Growth Make Sunday Mornings a priority in your home, start by committing to joining our Adult Bible Class on Sundays at 10am. It’s a time of practical, in-depth group study of God’s Word.

Children’s Home

WINTER 2014

Sundays at 10am 10

 

1. Seek God in His Word

What People Pray For

God has revealed himself to us through his Word, so if we want to know Him, what he is like, how he works then we must read his word. We certainly may learn something about God through our experiences, and through the world around us but the reality is those are very imperfect teachers only the Bible is promised to be our perfect guide to knowing God. To know God better a great place to start is the Psalms. Not only are the psalms easy to read but they repeatedly tell us about the character of our God. In the Psalms we see who our God is, He is Our Rock, Defender, Shield, the Mighty One, Shepherd, Our Fortress, Tower of Strength, Hiding place, Rock of my strength, Stone, Cornerstone, Maker, Redeemer, Deliverer, Savior, King of Glor y, My Lovingkindness, Our Cup, Strength, Refuge, Stronghold, and Our dwelling place.

So make it a priority to read a psalm a day, write down what you learn about God in each psalm. Write down how what you learn about God affects your relationship with God today and your life. Understanding that God is my refuge and hiding place in times of trouble affects how I handle difficult days in my life. Instead of running from God in trials I know to run to God because he is my refuge, my safe place.

1.Give from anywhere at anytime 2.Easily view and print your giving records 3.Setup automatic recurring gifts 4.Give with a debit or credit card

2. Know God through the Intimacy of Prayer Prayer is not just an opportunity before us to bring a list of our wants and desires before‌ cont on pg 4

FELLOWSHIP NEWS

3

Give Online Giving a try today at www.FellowshipBibleBurlington.com

WINTER 2014

8

Get your kids in the Word!

“And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

- John 17:3

by Pastor Dave Welsch

It is easy for us to know about God, to have some concept of what He is like. We hear about Him at church, we have our preconceived ideas of what he is like but do we really know Him? It is remarkable to think that God wants to know us. No other major religion presents a God who desires to have a personal relationship with His followers, the God of the Bible isn’t just seeking for our obedience or our service He is seeking to know us personally. Jesus said in John 17 that eternal life is knowing the only true God and His Son. Salvation has accomplished many things, it has given us forgiveness of sins. I don’t have to pay for my sins because Jesus already has. Salvation also gives us a new life, a new purpose and new direction in life. By saving me God has made me different so I naturally live different but thats not all that salvation does. It also tears down the veil and brings down the wall that separated me from God.

R E G I S T E R Y O U R K I D S T O D AY AT WWW.FELLOWSHIPBIBLEBURLINGTON.COM/AWANA FELLOWSHIP NEWS

WINTER 2014

“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” - Ephesians 2:14-16

Christ has broken down the dividing wall and has reconciled us to God the Father. Now we have the incredible blessing of being able to enter into the holy presence of God and commune with Him anytime we want. We are not in need of an earthly high priest or any man to go to God on our behalf, we have full access to our God. The question is do we capitalize on our access?

Here are some practical ways that we can grow in our knowledge of God ….

cont. on pg 3

2

In our lives we are always serving someone. We are are either serving self or Christ. Matthew 6:24 says accurately, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” When we serve self, we live a wasted life. But when we are foolish enough to submit our lives under the Lordship of Christ, He can do far more with it than we could ever imagine for His glory!

One day a little boy brought his lunch with him as he went to hear Jesus teach. The boy could have kept his lunch to himself, but he had enough faith to share it when he heard of the great need. He believed that Jesus could use his lunch for greater purposes and he was right. Jesus took his lunch and miraculously used it to feed the multitudes.

That is what Christ does with our life when we offer it to Him as a sacrifice of praise. If we hoard ourself, and time and resources we live an absorbed life that is truly a waste. But when we spend our life as a poured out offering before the Lord, we will find that it is in His strength that we find true life. You see, Jesus doesn’t want our stuff, He wants us. When we give our life, and time, and resources to Christ and entrust Him with it, He is able to multiply it in ways that you and I could never imagine for His glory. Missionary Ruth Stull said it like this, “If my life is broken when given to Jesus, it is because pieces will feed a multitude, while a loaf will satisfy only a little lad.” I think she has it right. We see that by nature of who we are in Christ, servant hood is the calling of all believers.

When we truly understand this, we see that service is not a means to replace the finished work of Christ with our effort, and to gain favor with God before salvation or after salvation. We don’t serve the Lord “in order to”, but “because of” what Christ has done.

When I graduated from seminary, I received a very unusual gift after I had shaken the president’s hand. As I was about to leave the platform and descend down the steps, I received a decorative towel that was meant to be a reminder that we are to follow in our Lord’s steps in serving others. It was such a nice towel that I set it aside in a nice place and admired it. To be honest with you though, I wasn’t sure what to do with it, even though it was a great reminder of our calling to servanthood!

To be a follower of Christ is a call to be a conduit of the gospel and to serve others! Because of Christ’s sacrificial death and perfectly righteous life, He is the standard bearer for us as followers of the One who gave His life away for others.

Today, as the called out church we have this defined job description for our lives. Our culture says, “Live your life for yourself, and what makes you happy. Live your life for the weekend. Live your life for tomorrow (retirement) and enjoy the last few years of your life doing your favorite hobby.” But, as we look closer in the Scriptures we see that the message of Christ is completely opposite and incompatible with that message. Is retirement wrong? No way. Is it wrong to waste your life dreaming of tomorrow, the weekend, or retirement? Absolutely. You see, how we spend our time each day is ultimately how we spend our life. Life is made up of moments and hours and minutes, and all of these precious moments are designed to be lived as praise and service for our Creator God. (Ps.100:2, 1 Cor. 10:31) By the very nature of our position in Christ, and in what He has done for us, we are called to the life and ministry of service simply because we are followers of Christ. To put it another way, to be a Christian is to be a servant.

5

FELLOWSHIP NEWS

WINTER 2014

Christ trains us to see as He sees and to view with eternal eyes instead of temporal eyes. Biblical service leads us to train our eyes outward. Instead of thinking we can actually do to much for Christ and His bride the church, maybe we should try. We will find that when we invest ourself in His work, it is an eternal work. I think God’s message for me was not to place that towel on a shelf somewhere, but the admonition, “Go ahead and use your nice decorative towel. It’s okay to use it, and get it dirty.”

About the Author Legrand Lamb is the Assistant Pastor at Glen Iris Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. He and his wife Charity have two children.

Legrand is an avid college football fan and he loves to read. Legrand spoke at Fellowship in July of 2014, you can listen to his sermon on our website.

Updates from our Missionary Family “…pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ” - Col 2:3

United States 1. Eric and Diane Briscoe- Open Air Campaigners- Evangelism & Training – Eastern US. Pray for outreach over the Christmas season.

2. Tim and Linda Beachell- Child Evangelism Fellowship- MA Director- Praise for summer outreaches to 1,442 children with 113 saved. Praise for fall fair outreaches to 2,921 with 162 saved. Pray for mentoring of a new MA Director in the next few years.

International 3. Chris and Sherry Waye- Vision Baptist Missions- Church planting- London UK- Praying for a place for church plant Downham Baptist to meet, talking with London City Mission. Pray for small struggling churches in UK that have no pastors.

4. John and Marion Andrews- Pioneers Int’l- Media outreach & leader to N. Africa focusing on 4 countries. Pray for 8 teams across N. Africa and for believers facing severe persecution in N. Africa. Pray for a replacement to work in Marseille and for Marion whose father died in October and for her children’s clubs.

5. Phil and Elin Henderson- New Tribes Mission- Mozambique- Returning after 2 yrs. Praise for Callie enjoying Rift Valley in Kenya, translation of Titus for Miwinika people, pray for funds to purchase a new truck.

a religious Santa Claus or genie in a bottle no, prayer is us fellowshipping and talking with our God. Prayer is us pouring out our hearts before our Maker. Taking our greatest fears, deepest hurts and struggles to the God of healing. It is the essential element that takes Bible Study from simply an academic exercise to a spiritual experience.

The heart cry of the child of God should be that which the Apostle Paul cryed out in Philippians 3:10

“That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,”

Our greatest desire as Christian shouldn’t be the pursuit of the perfect life or happiness but the pursuit of truly knowing our God. A knowledge that is not limited to academics or theological knowledge but a knowledge that comes from abiding in His presence. May our face be enlightened with the glory of the presence of God as Moses was when he came down from the mount.

Upcoming Events

6. Calvin and Minsy Houser- Baptist Missionary Assoc.- Philippines- Praise for a safe return in July, purchased a car, safe housing. Purchasing land for Bahay Sibol Children’s Home, baby boy due Nov 1st. Pray for language learning.

Bahay Sibol - Home of Hope Progress “Bah Sibol is a future children's home in the Philippines. We are seeking to show the love and grace of Jesus Christ to the orphans in our city and beyond.”

Missionaries Calvin and Mindy Houser

Like Bahay Sibol on Facebook to stay current with all the latest news and updates.

Dec 7 - New Adult Bible Class at 10am Starts Dec 17 - Awana Kids Christmas Party Dec 21 - Christmas Worship Service Special Presentation from the Kids Choir

Dec 21 - Christmas Candlelight Service at 6pm Jan 7 - Wednesday Bible Study and Prayer Starts Stay Updated on all Events and News through our website FellowshipBibleBurlington.com and by liking us on Facebook!

7

FELLOWSHIP NEWS

WINTER 2014

4