Our Picks

The point of this topic is NOT to criticize those attending or not attending in person services, but rather to see where our culture is currently at.

How are you currently attending church services?

Psalm 23:2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:.........

From my observations, sheep prefer to lie down in the dirt. Where all they have is grass, they scratch out a bed. When they rise, they immediately defecate and urinate in their bed go about their day and the next night go back to the holes and lie down again. The feces carries the eggs of whatever parasites the sheep may have, which then hatch, climb the blades of grass and are reingested to complete their life cycle. The parasites feed on the sheeps blood and nutrients and make them sick.  The more they eat this, the more their health is compromised. So I can see how a large flock of sheep could foul up an good pasture in a hurry. 

I don't know much about Biblical shepherds but I'm thinking that, in a semi-arid land such as the land of Israel, a "green pasture" would be too precious a commodity for a shepherd to waste by letting the sheep bed down in one. So I'm thinking that Biblical shepherds, wise ones, would lead the flock to a barren area to lie down so as not to ruin the good, clean grass. Even though we are inclined to lie down in the "dirt" as well, God has enough good pasture, that his children don't need to lie in the filth of the World. He leads us to a green pasture. Open for discussion. 🙂

We started our church 5 years ago and have yet to add any deacons. We will add deacon(s) when/if we see the need to. 

Some visitors to our church do not understand how we operate without having deacon as they come from churches where the deacons control everything in the church. 

If you have deacons in your church what is there role. I know what the Biblical role is, I'm curious as to how much authority your deacons have.

If you're comfortable telling us, I'm curious as to what the rental cost is for your church if you rent a building. You do not have to give church name or location, I'm curious as to how much churches spend on rental buildings, especially church plants.

I started our church 5 years ago in Connecticut, and we pay $1500/ month for 2,000 square ft. and we got a great price for our area.

I understand that each location will have different rental costs.

Prior to Christs death, Rome had a holiday called Easter - what was this holiday about for the Romans 

I am posting this with permission from the family. One of our members @Alan has gone on to be with the Lord last week. Alan was a great contributor here, and was a blessing and encouragement to many on Online Baptist. Alan will truly be missed on this earth, but he is now with our creator. Please keep the family in your prayers during this time as there are details that need to be worked out. 

Please feel free to comment below on how Alan was an encouragement and/or blessing to you. 

 

This is the official Online Baptist voting poll. If you need another option added to the poll, just let me know. Then media loves pols (when it favors them), but I think they will ignore our poll. 😂

Being part of a small church we always seem to have some sort of distraction. While in a larger church some distractions may not be all that noticeable, smaller churches they become a bigger distraction. 

Our service yesterday started off like it normally does  and everything was going along as planned. My daughter was scheduled to sing the special right before the preaching. We had a guest speaker Jonathan Lyons the VP for Missions for Forgotten Peoples with us. 

In the middle of my daughters special, I noticed a gentlemen coughing a little, then it keep getting louder and more frequent. Then the gentlemen next to him started doing the same thing. I didnt think too much of it as he was offered a cough drop. Then it slowly started overcoming more and more people in our auditorium. I saw my staff frantically moving around trying to figure out what is going on. Next thing I know nearly everyone is in tears coughing and choking. I then suddenly stopped the special and instructed everyone to leave the auditorium to figure out what was going on.

Apparently one of out bus kids was playing with my daughters keys in which there is a pepper spray attached to the chain. Well, he opened it and accidentally sprayed some in the air.  

We're thankful everyone is okay and now the joke is that the pastor (me) is tried to poison the church.  

Those watching out live stream were so confused as to what was going on. Definitely never a dull moment at Highpoint. 

I think I missed the class in Bible College on how to handle this situation. 

A 4 page letter was taped to the door of North Valley Baptist Church in Santa Clara, ordering the California mega-church to shut its doors. The reason? They were in violation of the law for holding indoor worship service, and they will be fined $5,000 for each day they are open. 

The church was accused of holding indoor services, failing to ensure that speakers wore face masks and singing. 

This no longer is about health, but power in the government. The link bellow Pastor Trieber talks about the letters nailed to the door. He starts around the 4:50 mark.

 

https://www.facebook.com/NorthValley/videos/1248618538812764/

 

I have recently heard from many people that "People were saved by looking forward to the cross before and looking back at it after". I have also noticed that the majority of people who have said this were Calvinists. Since the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Christ was obviously not the focus of Abraham's Faith in Romans 4, how do you construct a view of the Bible without considering the dispensation of the scripture you are reading? In other words, what scripture do people use to defend this view of looking forward to the cross? I understand that the Bible starts speaking of a Messiah to come in Genesis, but I do not think Jesus' disciples understood fully what was going on, and they were with Him. In Luke 24

13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.

14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.

16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?

19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:

20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;

23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.

24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:

26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

So how were Abraham, Noah, David or others to know this? 

Does anyone believe that people before Christ were saved by Faith in Christ alone?

Would love some help and clarification here, Thank You! 

Dr. Rebekah "Beka" Horton died Saturday, June 27. Here is the link to her obituary.

While not known as a Baptist, there are few Americans who have influenced the Baptist movement as much as Dr. Beka Horton. She was part of the duo that helped to put Christian schools on the map in America with the A Beka Book Christian School curriculum, and later, Home school curriculum. She, with her husband, started Pensacola Christian School, eventually becoming Pensacola Chrisitian Academy, Pensacola Christian College, Pensacola Theological Seminary, Rejoice radio, and several other ministries, besides the largest Christian textbook ministry in America (A Beka Book).

Her funeral will be held on the campus of Pensacola Christian College Wednesday, July 1, at 10:30 Central Time. If you are interested in viewing the livestream, you can visit this link for more information.

This is a question I get asked ALL the time when knocking on doors...... My current answer is I'm a Biblicist in which they usually say that was not one of the answers, and I say they did not give me enough choices. Then we get into the Bible.

My question is how do you answer this question?

These next few weeks are going to hold changes for all of us as our communities work through the challenges posed by COVID-19. 
In the midst of these uncharted times, we who know Christ, can still proactively practice faith. And even when our world is turned upside down, we can trust that God is in control and that He is working. 
With that in mind, here are seven activities that can help you make the most of this God-ordained time:
1. Pray—Take time to cast your every burden on the Lord every morning and throughout the day. Parents, take time to pray with your children and to spend time with them around the Word of God each day. Pray for your pastor. Pray for your boss or co-workers. We can worry, or we can pray. 
2. Help—Help a senior or a widow. Perhaps this means just dropping something at their doorstep, perhaps writing a note or a card. I’m thankful for the deacons of Lancaster Baptist who are checking in on nearly one hundred widows throughout these upcoming weeks. All of us should jump in to help those who have special underlying needs at this time. 
3. Read—If you’re quarantined or otherwise spending more time at home, this is an excellent opportunity to enrich your life through reading. 
4. Love—Love your family. Be kind to your neighbors. Encourage your coworkers. Reach out to your friends.
5. Worship—Most churches are finding creative ways to assemble through live stream venues or smaller gatherings. (Lancaster Baptist will be doing services via live broadcast at lbclive.tv. A schedule of the services is available here.) Although your church’s normal schedule or meeting location may be disrupted, make worship with your church family a priority. 
6. Continue—The local church is so much more than just an assembly (although it does include assembling). But even when assembly times are unusual, you can still participate as part of Christ’s local church body as you pray, serve, give, and reach out to others. 
7. Plant—A time like this is an opportunity to plant seeds. Just as many of us will plant seeds in a garden in the upcoming weeks, fully expecting a harvest later, so we can use this unusual season to plant seeds of prayer and kindness. Be sure you’re using this time to sow, because God will bless faithful labor for Him. 
View the full article

The Ordinances of Heaven
Job 38:33, “Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? An ordinance is an established law or rule.
Astronomer and mathematician, Johannes Kepler 1571-1630, verified that the sun and the planets are governed by scientific laws, or ordinances. Johannes Kepler was a devout Christian. Kepler believed that God created the universe as the Bible says He did.
Psalm 119: 90 & 91, “Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.”  All of the ordinances of the physical universe were established by God. The ordinances of heaven include: the revolution of the earth the planets, the solar system, the revolution of the galaxy, and gravity. These ordinances were not understood throughout the centuries until scientists verified the ordinances of the solar system.
Johannes Kepler, and other scientists, has verified that the universe and all biological life is based on scientific fact. Evolution is based on randomness not verifiable scientific fact.
Jeremiah 31: 35-37, “Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.”
God established the ordinances of heaven, the physical universe, in Genesis chapter 1. These ordinances will continue until He creates the new heaven and the new earth: Isaiah 66: 22; 2 Peter 3:10-13 and Revelation 21:1
 

With this disease spreading fast the Christian Law Association posted the following a week ago.

https://christianlaw.org/pray-for-healing-keep-fervently-sharing-the-gospel/

Mega churches are cancelling services to help stop the spread of the Coroana virus. Has anyone's church here done anything, and is there a panic in your church/community about all of this?

Me being outside NYC, everyone is in a panic. 

I enjoy taking photos of nature, whether scenery, insects, plants, animals, etc. I wanted to start a thread where anybody who wants can share a photo they took of something in nature.

 

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

I would like to have a poll to see where those that went to Bible College went. Please choose all that you attended.

If I missed your school, shoot me a PM and I will add it. These are in no certain order.

Stats suggest that millennials are leaving “religion” in droves.  According to pewforum.org, only 28% of millennials attend church weekly, 38% a few times a year, and 34% never darken the door of a church each year.  In society millennials seem to get a bad reputation, but what is leading them to leave church?

One of the primary objectives of every generation of the church is to hand the faith and the church over to the next generation. Has the church failed in this objective? The Bible teaches this in Titus 2:4-5 "That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed".

So the question must be asked:  How does the church reach the next generation? Music and technology are probably the two most  things used to reach this generation. We're told that music must reflect the culture of the generation. A.W. Tozer says it best,  “Worship is no longer worship when it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us.” How the church wins people is how they have to keep them. 

What do millennials want? The same thing everyone is looking for. Our time. Our heart. Our attention, along with a chance to actually connect with people. That is one reason why small groups do well with Millennials. Relationship is something every church can be good at. Everyone at your church doesn't need to know everyone. But everyone needs to know someone.

While culture changes, God is the same yesterday, today and forever. We don't need to have our churches reflect entertainment and the culture to draw people to His church. Christ like love still draws people to Christ. 

Please let us know in your comments below why you feel our young people are leaving the church.

Sermon on Depression - Lighthouse Baptist Church: San Diego, California. I have had the privilege of hearing Pastor Doug Fisher preach on numerous occasions at The Summit at Solid Rock Baptist Church in Berlin, NJ. There has been many messages that he preached that has helped me as a pastor and issues that we were dealing with in our church.

 

It seems to be common problem where I am that Sunday morning is the biggest service by numbers, but no matter what your actual numbers are, Sunday evening is about half or less than Sunday morning, and Prayer meeting (Wednesday night for us) is about half again - so only about 25% of the morning service.

Thoughts people?

How can we (biblically of course) find a way to help people see the importance of the other services?

I struggle to understand it personally, because pretty much from the day I got saved I was in every service I could be. It just seemed to be what I should do, but that is apparently not "normal".......

(How surprising is that? I am not normal!!!!! 😂 )

This is from a discussion that came up in our church. We all have had to search for a church at one point in our life. Whether it is going on vacation and looking for a church, or simply just moving to a new location, we mostly had to do research and find a church that is of like faith. 

I know the first thing we do in this age is go on the internet and look  and maybe shoot an email to them, but sometimes church websites are so vague that you don't know the beliefs or style of the worship service, but my question for you is when you first walk into a church for the first time, what are some of the first things you look for?

 

For me the first thing I do is look and see if they have Bible pews, and if they do, I check to see what version they are. Not a fully telling sign, but its a start.

 

Let's start an encouraging thread as it seems that the negative many times is "louder" than the positive in our churches. What is your favorite thing about your local church, what do you love about it?

It is not hard to find the Bible repeatedly warning us about, “self deception”; And our flesh is so deceitful and desperately wicked, that we can and are often self deceived, even when we are “trying to do right”.  It happens all the time.  Our only hope for deliverance from self deception is Hebrews 4:12.

Well one of the chief ways that this happens with IFB’s, is in the are of “standards”.  I once asked a missionary to define “legalism” for me.  His response was, “A legalist is someone who has more standards than I do.”  His answer demonstrates just how dangerous standards can be.

Some of you, may not know the kinds of DANGERS, I am talking about.  But here is a big one.  “When a Christian starts lifting up standards, to guide his behavior, he stops listening to the Holy Spirit!”  In reality, the LORD wants us to be “led by the Spirit”, every waking moment of the day.  But when we start following standards(our own or someone elses), than we allow those STANDARDS, to overrule the Spirit’s leadership.

It is also a waste of time, to try and nail someone down to using strictly “Biblical standards”; Because “all standards” are man-made, because they are all based upon our present interpretation of what the Bible says.  This is true, unless you want to call those things that we are dogmatic about, “standards”.  Things like "the infallibility of God’s Word", should not be called a “standard”, because man’s opinion, has NOTHING to do with it.

 

Today many have no conception of Hell, Sheol in the Hebrew, or Hades , Tartarus, and Gehenna in the Greek language. It is a literal place where men are in the process of dying but never succumbing to death, subjected to incessant agony and physical torment. Churches need to unapologetically preach the clear truth about Hell. Christians need to be able to witness about Heaven to others, and plainly delineating about the horror of an authentic place called Hell. All men must come to terms with an actual place called Hell and the hope of eternity with Christ.
The book of Revelation tells us “He has the keys to Hell and death.” Life and death are in the power of His nail torn hands because His sacrificial death for our sins on the cross took away the power of death, giving us the gift of salvation and eternal life.
The following verse proves His deity over time; past, present and future, He is not bound or limited by time as man is. This verse plainly declares there is a literal heaven and likewise, or opposite, a literal hell.
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. (Revelation 1:18)
Hell has been described as being a place that:
· Man will have a memory that will NEVER fail.
· It is a place that EVERY request will be denied.

· It is a place of HATRED.
· It is a place located DOWNWARD, NOT UPWARDS towards eternity
· A place of Outer DARKNESS
· A PRISON in chains
· It is a place of UNQUENCHABLE THIRST, a thirst for spiritual things of Christ that can never be

quenched.
· It is a place of ever LONGING.
· It is a place of FIRE that is NEVER extinguished.
· A place where the worm DIETH NOT, sinners never die.
· A place of EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION.
· A place of NO REST day and night.
· A place of TORMENT day and night for eternity.

I ask this for your opinions, thoughts, and insights.

 

I sometimes post on another board and (hopefully its ok) I would like to link a thread that is going on over there. NOT so that we can all march over there and say "huzzah! you're wrong!" but rather I would like to have this discussion on here. I will probably be starting another thread I would like to get some more opinions on that is in tandem to this thread but worthy of a secondary set of thought patterns.

 

Without futher ado this is the link:
Click me! 

So the thread there is pretty simple: 

Apparently DBS is "Fractured" due to Riplingers divorces (although Dean burgeon has been a TR-Only group not  KJVO group but anyway)
Ruckman has passed away
Steven Anderson is a menace (which I don't disagree with)
Etc..

Do you see the KJB issue still in full force or not?