February 2019 OBB

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ON THE ROAD

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STAFF ITINERARIES

MATTHEW LITTLE February 2 Willimantic Community Chapel Willimantic, ME Concert February 3 United Baptist Church Dover-Foxcroft, ME Sunday Morning Service February 4, 11, 18, 25 CEF Youth Center Blaine, ME Extension Classes

nbbi.ca/encounter

March 15-17

Youth Ministry Coach, Brent Finchum, his wife, Stacy, and their four children, live in Birmingham, Alabama. Over the past decade of serving churches, Brent has had the opportunity to minister to thousands of students and leaders, both in the U.S. and abroad. with Brent Finchum

February 1............................... Roger Black

Living Waters Bible Conference

HOMEGOING Ruth (Creighton) Somers, who attended NBBI in 1972-1973, passed away on November 19, 2018. Please pray for her husband, Dennis, an NBBI grad of 1974 and their extended family.

VACATION WITH A VISION 2019

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pring

CONFERENCE

Bill Boulet

Hunter May

2019

Spring Conference is right around the corner. Join us as we celebrate this year’s grads and sit under the teaching of experienced instructors of God’s word. Bill Boulet is our keynote speaker this year, and we will be having special music from Hunter May. May 2-5, 2019

New Brunswick Bible Institute 2335 Route 103 Victoria Corner NB Canada E7P 1C7 Phone: (506)375-9000 Fax: (506)375-1800 Website: nbbi.ca Email: nbbi@nbbi.ca

JUNE 24-29 & JULY 1-6

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GOD’S PURPOSE

OUR PASSION

OPEN BIBLE BULLETIN VOL. 60 NO. 2 FEBRUARY 2019

CHAPELSPEAKERS

BIRTH October 3, 2018 - to Isaac (’13) and Kaitlyn (Hathaway, ’15), a daughter, Penelope Rose.

ea ts

February 15-17

JOHN HOAG February 4, 11, 18, 25 CEF Youth Center Blaine, ME Extension Classes

FAMILYLIFE

NB

u n BI Re t tr e r

with Tom Brown Tom served in youth and children’s ministry for over 10 years. Tom desires to share God’s Word in a relevant way that allows youth and children to grow in their relationship with Him. Tom is now the pastor of Hartland First Baptist Church in Hartland, Maine.

DAVID DOHERTY February 3 Open Bible Campus Church Victoria Corner, NB Worship Service February 7, 21, 28 Open Bible Campus Church Victoria Corner, NB Prayer Meetings

February 6............................. Ethan Parker

Mount Trabor Bible Camp

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New Brunswick

Bible institute

Printed in Canada

FOCUS

BY KEITH MCMAHON Hope To Live By

WHO IS I T?

Larry Rushton’s

Lois (Gaudette) Gardiner

Lois, and her husband Robert, both graduated from New Brunswick Bible Institute in 1962. She now lives in Fort Mills, South Carolina.

Editor........................................Larry Rushton Writers... Faculty, Staff, Students & Alumni Typist........................................Brenda Cabral Layout & design...............................Joseph Fellows Copy proof.................................... Rose Meed Printer....................................... Merritt Press

Canadian publications mail product sales agreement #40012001

Have you ever found yourself asking, “How do people without Jesus get through something like this?”

There are so many daunting situations in life that are common to all of us, sickness, death, relational loss, financial stress, the hard effects of aging, the uncertainty of one’s future, and the list goes on and on. None of us are exempt from the challenges of life. We are living in broken bodies, in a broken world. Since the fall of Adam, every generation has experienced the horrible effects of sin. Life is filled with pain and sorrow. Many things do not turn out the way that we wish they would. Surely, hopelessness should abound.

We, who know Jesus as our Saviour and who walk closely with Him, can find in Him great hope during great calamity. Genuine followers of Christ understand Him to be the One Who saves our souls from Hell. He has paid the price of what our sin costs - death. He died in our place, experiencing the punishing wrath of God, in our stead. He rose from the grave three days later, demonstrating that

He alone was an acceptable sacrifice for our sin. For those of us who have received Him by faith, He has placed His own righteousness upon us. We now have a right standing before the Father. He has gone ahead of us to prepare a glorious place for us to live for eternity. For all of this, we have confidence in Him, we have hope in Him and we rejoice!

much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love.

Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:3-9 (NKJV)

So, today we can have hope. Not a hope that everything wrong in our lives will get better. Rather, a hope that there is much more than this present life that we look forward to. The Apostle Peter spoke of this to first century believers, who were enduring increasing persecution for their faith.

If your heart is heavy today, may you find great hope in what God has promised you for tomorrow.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being

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ollege for a

March 28-30

DAY

nbbi.ca/cfad

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PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE Pain on the Pathway of Life

BY MATTHEW LITTLE

C.S Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our joys, speaks to us in our difficulties, and shouts to us in our pain.”

Pain has often been that convenient excuse that has kept man from seeking God. Many have said, “If there is a loving God than why does He allow so much pain?” I would never want to minimize the pain of others for I certainly do not know what each person has been through. However, I will say that pain is necessary because it reminds us that we are wounded and broken. The only thing that would be worse than pain, is having it but not being able to feel it. To not feel pain and suffering would make us numb to our brokenness and sin.

In Genesis 3 everything was falling apart. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and chose to listen to Satan therefore God had to punish them. Man died physically, and spiritually. But God

Student Testimony

By Andrew Brillinger

Student Body President

D

uring one of my final days at work this summer, I found myself thinking of the transition I would soon have to make from work back to school. I was looking forward to the upcoming school year and excited for a welcomed change in pace. As I thought about arriving back and catching up with many staff and fellow students, I thought it best that I be ready to share something that God had taught me over the summer.

As I reflected back on the events of

also put a curse upon this planet and man would now find that nature would not cooperate but rather would fight against him. God gave this specific message to Adam, “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.” (Genesis 3:17) What most fascinates me about this verse is that God cursed the earth for Adam and Eve’s sake. Does this make sense? How could it benefit man to have the ground cursed? For man to be fallen is bad but for him to be fallen and not feel it is far worse. Although our lives are often filled with pain, that pain has an ultimate purpose; it reminds us that we are broken by sin and need the healing power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The gospel saves us from the penalty of sin but it also saves us from the ongoing power of sin in our lives. Never forget that Jesus still carries the scars of that fateful day he went to the cross. Zechariah 12:10 says, “…they shall look upon me whom they have pierced….” But why does Jesus still carry those scars?

First, so that you can have confidence that He knows what it is like to suffer.

Second, because scars are a reminder that there was a wound that is now healed. Maybe you are suffering today with physical pain or grief. Never forget that God sees glory in the grief, potential in the pain and salvation in the midst of the struggle. Jesus knows what it is to be wounded but He has also made a way for you to be healed. “…with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5b. His wounds have made a way for yours to be healed.

the summer and focused in on the different ministry opportunities that I had experienced, I realized that there were many times when I had distanced myself and shied away from opportunities to witness and serve others for the sake of the gospel. The excuse? Every time: it wasn’t convenient. “I’m busy, maybe next time.” “That would make me feel too uncomfortable.” “That means I would lose ______.” “Is it really necessary?”

All of these thoughts helped give me a false sense of being justified in opting out of serving those whom God had placed in my sphere of influence.

When we consider the teachings of Jesus, He never tolerated half-hearted sacrifices (Luke 9:57-62) or selfish

reasons for avoiding those around us.

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), both the priest and Levite passed by on the other side of the road. They went out of their way to avoid the injured and dying man. How self-centered do we have to be in order to feel that it’s okay to ignore all the hurting people around us? However, the Samaritan “had compassion on him.” He went out of his way to care for the man, regardless of the inconvenience.

God is continuing to teach me that opportunities to serve and witness are not limited to when it’s convenient. The times that I find it the most inconvenient may prove to be the times that are most important.

NBBI CHRISTMAS 2018

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