Before it is blotted out forever, a thank you

BCC Family:

Here is something encouraging that I wanted to share with you, shortly before it is blotted out forever.

I am in the middle of planning another conference for pastors in South Africa this coming August 31-September 1. By God’s grace, it will be my giant privilege to travel there once more for the sake of encouraging my brothers in gospel ministry (something I believe God has built me to do). 

This year, I had the idea of hosting the conference through the seminary, the Evangelical Seminary of Southern Africa (ESSA).  That way the conference will both give me the opportunity to be of some small encouragement to my fellow Pastors, and also shine the light on ESSA and hopefully spur involvement/enrollment/support there. I have invited others to participate in leadership: Nkosi is a South African and an ESSA grad; Sam Machaka is a Zimbabwean and an ESSA grad; and Bud is an American pastor who has moved to South Africa and teaches at ESSA part-time. The Acting Principal, my dear friend Dr. Lubunga W’Ehusha from Congo, will also address the attendees.  And I am working with a fellow from Germany on the details of the conference.  So it is a real multi-national effort.

I was sent a trial version of the promotional brochure to review.  In it, the organizer included a paragraph that I thought would be a blessing to you, the givers of Bear Creek Church and its friends who make this possible:

“The Evangelical Seminary of Southern Africa wishes to express its deepest thanks and appreciation to Pastor Dale Meador and the Bear Creek Church who have made this conference possible. Bear Creek Church has been supporting ESSA for years in various ways, without any personal or financial benefits. This commitment is a shining example of Christian brotherhood (and sisterhood) reaching out across oceans and cultural, social and racial divides.”

I thanked the author profusely and told him I was very grateful for his kindness and that you would be blessed by the recognition.  I asked him to remove this paragraph, but I wanted you to hear it so that you would be thanked for giving money and sending me.  I asked him to remove the paragraph since I don’t want the spotlight on me or us, preferring instead to focus attention on ESSA, which is on the ground there and can be a help to these ministers year-round.  Further, I absolutely do not want to even hint at the need for us wealthy whites to get recognition for helping those “poor African people,” which I know is not on our minds or in our hearts but nonetheless a prideful pitfall and stereotype to be avoided at all costs.

Anyway, I think that the way you people of Bear Creek Church and its friends give is indeed a “shining example of Christian brotherhood (and sisterhood)” and am grateful to work with people who want to reach out “across oceans.”

Keep up the godly work!

Do this for me, will you?  Will you begin praying now that this trip, the Pastor’s Conference and all my other teaching opportunities will be productive in encouraging saints there?  All the work in organizing this will be for naught unless the Lord himself ordains the effort with Holy Spirit power.

God bless!

pd

Resurrection Life

Coming back from church I noticed our sidewalk covered with these and so I asked Jennifer if she’d do a little writing (much nicer than mine), add her touches of beauty, and take what turned out to be a very fun picture. Thinking of our regular time in Romans, and our wonderful Easter celebration, I settled on chapter 8, verse 11 – a perfect reminder of life after, and because of, the resurrection. And don’t you just love TULIP?

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

It was actually much harder to write these letters than I originally thought. We left our little sidewalk art, and I wondered if anyone would come across it and actually think that a combination of time, wind, and random chance created this simple message. Actual life is immeasurably more complex and yet men continue to suppress the truth; believing and teaching that the obvious beauty designed by God just happened. We have life, and the hope of resurrection, because the same God who spoke everything into existence indwells us by his Spirit.

Jesus' Triumphal Entry

Leading up to the celebration of Easter Sunday and the resurrection of Christ, we looked at Jesus’ triumphal entry from Mark, chapter 11.

Your conclusions about these events - and who Jesus is and what he was up to – are more important than any other decision you make, or ideology you adopt, or philosophy you embrace. One author wrote:

If there is only one God who is eternal, all-powerful, all-good, all-loving, all-knowing, and fully just; and He created us in His image, we would be completely fulfilled if we related to Him the way He wants us to, in harmony with His will. As the creator from concept to production line, he would know the most about the perfect purpose of his creations…

..No one else could compete with him regarding his creations' functions or destiny. If He were to say one's destiny is determined by how many hot peppers he can consume, no one could bring greater authority or knowledge to dispute him. If He were to say that one's destiny is determined by how he responds to His loving sacrifice of His Son on behalf of all who are separated by sin from God, He could not be disputed.

What was the background to Jesus’ triumphal entry? It was the week before Passover, Jerusalem was swollen with pilgrims, Jesus had recently raised Lazarus from the dead, the Pharisees planned to kill the both of them, and the Romans were on edge. So, the atmosphere as Jesus rode into Jerusalem was electric.

Concerning this, Zechariah 9:9 prophesied:

Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king is coming to you: he is legitimate and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey – on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey.

And II Kings 9:13 (of Jehu)

Each of them quickly took off his cloak and they spread them out at Jehu’s feet on the steps. The trumpet was blown and they shouted, “Jehu is king!”

The anticipation of this day is expressed in Psalm 118:25, where we read:

“Please Lord, deliver! Please Lord, grant us success!”

In the triumphal entry we see that Jesus is no victim, but is in absolute control, even to the detail of sending his disciples to a place where they would find the donkey he would ride into Jerusalem. As we see from Scripture, this day was long anticipated, Jesus is Messiah and King, he receives their praise, yet nobody understood what was really happening – that Jesus came as a humble servant, ready to die, while the people praise him with wrong expectations.

What do we take away from this event? Jesus saves. He is the long-awaited Messiah; He is not what the people expect (even though Scripture was clear), and His purposeful entry was so that he might die and save us from our sins. Jesus is king. There are so many examples of kings in their history, our ours; ones that do not rule justly, ones that are corrupt, but Jesus is truly the king who deserves the applause, admiration, and praise of his people. Jesus loves the Father, and he loves you. As Jesus knowingly went to his death on the cross, he did so because of his love for the Father – “not my will, but Yours be done.” He was about doing the will of the Father, and his sacrificial death was out of love for His Father – to glorify His holiness and justice and mercy – and his death was to lovingly deliver us from the wrath we deserve. This willing sacrifice demands, and is deserving of our worship. This same Jesus who was in absolute control of the events surrounding this triumphal entry, and his eventual death on the cross, is the same Jesus who is in control of the events of your life. He has a plan and purpose for all who belong to him, and knowing that he is in control brings us great comfort and hope.

Jesus came as a humble servant, on his way to die, but his real triumphal entry is yet to come. He is coming again, and this time it will be on a war-horse instead of a donkey, and as a might king, instead of a humble servant.

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.

And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, “King of kings and Lord of lords.” - Revelation 19:11-16

Bulletin - April 17, 2011

Click here to see the April 17, 2011 bulletin for BCC