Austin Gardner

Pastor Johnny Hunt of the First Baptist Church of Woodstock has announced that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will begin treatments in January.

Let me say that I am very encouraged in my heart to believe that they were able to locate this cancer early and Janet and I are now praying for wisdom from Heaven to know exactly what procedure to choose to deal with this cancer, probably around the second week in January. We would appreciate your prayers on this journey.

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Pastor Paul Chappell, Lancaster Baptist Church / West Coast Baptist College, asks prayer for his son, Larry. This is the text of the prayer request:

This past Saturday I received a call from my son Larry, who presently serves as one of our youth pastors at Lancaster Baptist Church. He had received a call from his doctor indicating the need for emergency surgery. A few hours later, we sat with Ashley, Larry’s wife, as the doctors removed a malignant tumor from his body. Larry came through surgery and is presently recovering, but the coming weeks will be critical.

We are praying, and asking you to pray, that the cancer was localized to the tumor and that further tests will reveal that no further surgeries or treatments will be necessary.

Larry is a godly young man with a strong faith. Watching him bear this news and trust the Lord through it has taught me much. We know that the Lord is in control, and we continue to trust His guiding hand. Surely, “He knoweth the way that I take…” (Job. 23:10).

Your prayers for Larry and Ashley and for our entire family are much appreciated.

For those that have prayed for Ethan Howeth we would love to say a big thank you. They have great news. Ethan will be coming home tomorrow. He should check out around 6:30 or 7 AM, go to the doctor, and then home. He really hopes to be at Vision tomorrow night for the Thanksgiving Service but that still remains to be seen.

He was also excited that, Lord willing, he will be at the Youth Service this Sunday night.

I would still like to ask you to be praying that God would provide a van for the Howeths. They will need a van to get Ethan around comfortably.  They are still under a great deal of financial pressure so pray for them that God will meet their needs. Check here to find out more about how to help the Howeths.

Pastor Brent Armstrong sent this picture from China out. I hope that it impresses you as much as it has impressed him and me. Chinese people need the gospel. There are literally millions of them that have never even heard the name of Jesus Christ.

I have several friends already working over there. You could go also. They do not need an English teacher, they need a church planter. Would you consider asking God today if He might have you go to China.

More from “A History of the Baptists” by John Christian.

The Donatists arose in Numidia, in the year 311. They taught:

First, for purity of church members, by asserting that none ought to be admitted into the church but such as are visibly true believers and true saints.

Secondly, for purity of church discipline.

Thirdly, for the independency of each church.

Fourthly, they baptized again those whose first baptism they had reason to doubt. They were consequently termed rebaptizers and Anabaptists.

The Donatists rejected infant baptism and were congregational in their form of government.

It is evident that the Donatists held, at some period of their history, many of the principles which are regarded as axioms by modern Baptists. In their later history, after a stern discipline of persecution, they maintained, as cardinal truths:

absolute freedom of conscience,

the divorce of church and state,

and a regenerate church membership.

The form of baptism, according to Optatus, was immersion.

I am currently reading and studying “A History of the Baptists” by John Christian. I thought that you might like to read along with me on the things that I want to remember and write down.

This particular set of notes come from Christian’s book. It discusses one of the first doctrinal errors that entered the church. Probably the first was “infant baptism!” Baptism is of extreme importance and so the Devil has worked at getting people to believe what the Bible doesn’t say. But for this post I want you to consider the Montanist!

Montanus rose up in about 156 AD as the leader. His most distinguished advocate was Tertullian.

They held to a very strict lifestyle viewing science, art, worldly education and a fun lifestyle as something to be avoided because they belonged to paganism.

The early (old) church had demanded purity so what they wanted was nothing new.

They stated that anyone who had lapsed from the true faith had to be baptized again.

They rejected infant baptism believing that only adults should be immersed.

They rejected church hierarchy and the idea that the bishop had spiritual powers over others.

The Montanists appealed to the strict disciplinarians, stern moralist, and deeply pious Christians

Here is some more information from this web site:

Prophecy was, indeed, the most prominent feature of the new movement. Ecstatic visions, announcing the approach of the second advent of Christ, and the establishment of the heavenly Jerusalem at Pepuza in Phrygia, and inculcating the severest asceticism and the most rigorous penitential discipline, were set forth as divine revelations, of which the prophet was only the bearer, and proclaimed as the direct continuation and final consummation of the prophetical gift of the apostolic age

I am really looking forward to spending time with all of you on Tuesday evening. We had great services yesterday. God blessed us with visitors and decisions in both services.

Now I am looking forward to our special Thanksgiving time together. We will be starting the line around 6:45 pm and eating together. I know that my wife is preparing a 22 pound turkey and dressing. It will be great.

But even greater than that will be the time that we spend after that in praise, thanksgiving, and testimonies. We will have special music and then your chance to glorify God. Don’t miss out on any of it!

Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

Today we fear persecution. The early church responded very differently. They stated that the cruelties only served as a lure to the sect. Under persecution they filled the cities and country with new believers. God give us the courage to step forward and face what ever the devil may hurl at us with boldness and courage.

“All of your ingenious cruelties can accomplish nothing; they are only a lure to this sect. Our number increases the more you destroy us. The blood of the Christians is their seed.” The moral earnestness of the Christians contrasted powerfully with the prevailing corruption of the age, and while it repelled the frivolous and voluptuous, it could not fail to impress most strongly the deepest and noblest minds. This progress extended to every part of the empire. “We are a people of yesterday,” says Tertullian, “and yet we have filled every place belonging to you cities, islands, castles, towns, assemblies, your very camp, your tribes, companies, palace, senate, forum. We leave you your temples only. You can count your armies our number in a single province will be greater.”

From
A History of the Baptists
By John T. Christian, A.M. D.D. L.L.D

page 24

I am a lifetime member of LibraryThing. I enjoy using it very much. Now that I have come back to the states I do not have very many books. I left my library with my son, Chris Gardner, in Arequipa, Peru.

However I try to enter each new book that I get into LibraryThing. It is just a system to keep up with my books and all the information about them. I now purchase many books via the Kindle but I also add them.

I think you might enjoy LibraryThing and so there you go, go check it out. Here is my library for the moment.

Last night I preached a message that would cause all of us not to be so politically correct. I think that we have made a mistake in much of what we do in our churches and as Christians. We are more concerned about impressing those that are not believers instead of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Can you imagine what my wife would say if I spoke to her and said; “Baby, I love you but I do not want to be fanatical about you. I am for you but not whole heartedly, I am surely not against you, but I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I was overly in love with you.” That would be a terrible attitude and cause great heart ache yet that is how we refer to Jesus and our love for Him.

Check out the outline. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comment section down below.

I tell you now that we should be so openly in love with Jesus that if it meant offending someone instead of compromising our faith and love we should just do that. We can not be all things to all men. We must be all for Jesus.

There is no Neutral Ground

I Kings 18:21, Ephesians 6:12

1. You can only serve one master Luke 16:13
   
2. You must choose your friendship James 4:4
   
3. You must choose who you will worship    1Corinthians 10:21
   1. Be careful of anything or anyone that would turn your heart to another god
   2. Solomon’s wives turned his heart to other gods
      
4. You must decide if you are for or against Him Matthew 12:30,  Luke 11:23, 2Corinthians 6:14-7:1, 1Corinthians 5:11, Amos 3:3
   
5. We only go in one direction serving the only the true God of Heaven  Matthew 4:10, Luke 9:62