GNN, Shoals Area Team

Website for FrontlineEvangelism.com

2009-04-22T05:15:00.000-07:00

I have so many blogs, I forgot about this one. You can reach me still at the email and also through FrontlineEvangelism.com

THanks,

Oscar Broome JR
Founder, President

Is your Church a Pleasure Cruiser or Rescue Ship?

2008-09-23T03:52:00.000-07:00

Christianity is not a pleasure cruiser. It is a rescue ship. This video is a must see. We are called to see and save that which is lost. Not just play church and talk abot reaching the lost.

This Video has a lot to do with FrontlineEvangelism. com, through Biblical Preaching and Teaching we are calling all Churches back to it's Main Purpose and that is Winning Souls. There is only a handful of Christian who responds to this call, while others sit comfortable in there padded pews while many go to Hell everyday. Wake Up Christians it is time to answer the Call, get up and go out and Witness. If you don't know HOW, we can train your youth groups, Your Church, to Step Up and Step Out to Win the Lost.

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=5bf25a998d092548550e

Saturday, Aug 22, 2008

2008-08-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

Ekklesia Outreach Team went out today at Colbert Apartments to do some follow-up and also to invite them all to Church.

We also went looking for WO(Witnessing Opportunities). We made several stops as we seen people out on their porches and standing around. We were by the Sheffield Police Department and stop to witness. Me and Jorja went to the people who were standing on the side walk of the Police Department. I witness to Nick and Charnette along with Minister Farris.

Nick, said he had never heard of the gospel. Yes, people in the United States of America have never heard the gospel. This was about a mile maybe from our Church. Nick and Charnette heard the gospel this day. Nick promised to come to Church today and I will meet him at the door at llam.

I will let you know if he really came.

Evangelist Chip Broome
EkklesiaOutreachMinistries.org

Witness to Mormon Elders at Watermelon Festival

2008-08-22T05:11:00.000-07:00

Matthew Cole, Me and my son were at the Watermelon Festival to Witness and hand out biblical Tracts. We were passing out tracts and witnessing to people next to the Mormon booth.

I care about the Mormons I witnessed to and began to speak to them. I asked them what would they tell me that would save my soul, I have 3 Minutes to live. Well if you know the Mormon Teaching it would be impossible for anyone to get saved in 3 minutes. They Preach another gospel and another Jesus. I do not endorse the Mormon Teachings and I assure you they do not endorse the Teachings of the Holy Bible. They sound Christian but they are not. We witness because we care. I did not argue with them or any way be disrespectful. I did invite them to come to my home and I will tell them up front that I will speak to them and tell them the truth about Mormonism. Mormonism is wrong and it is a cult. If you get to talk to them long enough and have a basic foundation on what the Bible says, you will be able to spot the errors very quickly. I urge any of you who want to witness to Mormons(LDS) you must be prayed up and Read up. Get into the Bible and know who Jesus really is.

Hope to have many conversations with Mormons, soon.

You can Now Buy, Evangelism Tracts, DVD's and T-Shirts at Ekklesia Church in Sheffield, Alabama

2008-08-05T07:39:00.001-07:00

You can support this Outreach Ministry by buying Tracts, T-Shirts and Training Video's at Ekklesia Church in Sheffield, Alabama. Phone:256-314-1700 Tuesday-Friday. WE will be buying a lot of different tracts as we sell what we already have. Proceeds will go back into the Ministry to provide more tracts and other Evangelistic products.

you can also go place an order and I can order you anything from Livingwaters.com and save you the shipping.

Evangelist Chip
Outreach Leader/Minister

Evangelism Basic Training Camp

2008-03-06T04:53:00.000-08:00

July 24-26 2008

Are you a Christian that has decided it is time to learn how to share your faith with others? Are you a Christian that has been sharing your faith but want to take it to another level? Are you a Christian that is comfortable sharing your faith in different venues and just want to come alongside others to reach an area with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Are you a pastor who has been thinking about starting or improving a door-to-door ministry? Are you a Christian who is unconformable with the thought of walking up to strangers or friends to share the gospel, but you have a strong desire to pray for people who approach you for prayer? Do you feel called to open air preach but do not know how to start.

Have I got good news for you, and I am not talking about car insurance. The first ever Evangelism Basic Training Camp(EBTC) in Sheffield, Alabama is the answer. The Muscle Shoals Area EBTC is designed to equip each Christian to reach not only The Shoals Area but their own home towns with the gospel of Jesus Christ according to their own gifts and callings. EBTC will have leaders that are experienced in door-to-door evangelism from the host church (Ekklesia Church), prayer station evangelism, open air evangelism, street witnessing, workplace evangelism, and friendship evangelism. You will be trained by experts in each of this areas.
While this is the first all inclusive EBTC of Muscle Shoals Area, many of the leaders have all attended/led at Evangelism Boot Camps before, and all the leaders are experienced in the area they will be leading you in.

We encourage to seek the Lord in fervent prayer to see if this EBTC is right for you. Hotel room, breakfast, and dinner will be provided in the tuition cost. Do not delay only a limited number of applicants will be accepted.

I will be posting total cost of EBTC soon! Christians who live in the area will not be required to stay in Hotel.

Thank You,

Evangelist Chip Broome

This is where I will posting various Articles

2008-02-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

This is where I will posting Evangelism/Christian Worldview Articles. I will also be posting some Adventures in Evangelism Here too.

How long were the days of Genesis 1?

2007-10-28T05:36:00.000-07:00

Were the days of Creation Week of 24 hours duration or were they long periods of time? This article will discuss the Hebrew 'time' words which the author had available to him and what meaning he intended to convey by his choice of the specific words he used.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v19/i1/days.asp

Strangers still refuse to forget little gir.

2007-10-15T03:52:00.000-07:00

Phil Luciano
NEWS COLUMNIST

Sunday, October 14, 2007

The sad, mysterious case of Andrea Gonzalez soon will mark 14 anguishing years with few satisfying answers.

After five years of hellish upbringing, the former central Illinois girl vanished in Franklin County, Alabama, in late 1993. In a story that grabbed national headlines, a massive manhunt came up empty. In a stunning twist two years later, her father and stepmother were charged with capital murder.

But both got off with short prison sentences and have gone on with their lives. And Andrea Gonzalez still remains out there, somewhere.
Police think she likely was dumped or buried somewhere. Yet a few folks wonder if she still could be alive.

Either way, they all remember. They can't forget the sloe-eyed girl with a wide smile that pushed into chubby cheeks.

Soon, the Franklin County Sheriff's Department, which has spent countless hours trying to find Andrea, will permanently memorialize her with a courtyard and marker. Meanwhile, a community that still wants answers prays that
the commemoration sparks memories and courage.

"They're hoping whoever knows something will come forward," says Louise Hinkle, who had no connection to Andrea but long has prodded local media and police to keep the case alive. "It's been a long time."
---
Andrea's long, harrowing road to Alabama began in early 1988, when she was born in Galesburg to Paul and Michelle Gonzalez. A year later, Michelle Gonzalez had a boy, which Paul Gonzalez claimed was not his.

Shortly thereafter, he got work in Russellville, Ala., a town of 8,000 residents in a rural, northeastern chunk of the state. The family moved down there, but the couple had marital problems. Michelle Gonzalez moved with the two kids to Peoria, where she had friends. The couple would divorce.

Michelle Gonzalez had legal troubles and difficulty caring for the children. Over time, Andrea and the boy would spend stretches with foster parents, who noted signs of neglect. Eventually, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services took the children from Michelle Gonzalez after investigating a report that Andrea had been molested by someone else.
Michelle Gonzalez (who reportedly still lives in Peoria, yet I could not locate for comment) would never see her kids again. The boy was put up for adoption, and Andrea was sent to live with her father - who by then had remarried, to Kim Gonzalez.

On the morning of Nov. 20, 1993, Paul and Kim Gonzalez called the Franklin County Sheriff's Department to report that Andrea had vanished while they slept in their mobile home. During the next two days, 400 police and volunteers scoured the area. Bloodhounds found her scent on the porch, but no further - suggesting to police that an intruder had worked open the trailer's flimsy lock and carried off Andrea.

Suddenly, though, the search slammed to a halt. Though Paul Gonzalez had passed a lie-detector test, Kim Gonzalez did not. Police began to take a long, hard look at her.
In interviews with reporters (including me), she blamed the polygraph failure on stress from the disappearance and her ongoing pregnancy.

"I realize it's a long shot, but if anyone has her, please take her to a hospital," she begged the media.
Some folks in the shaken community bought her story and rallied around her. Turns out, she was a pretty good actor.
---
In 1997, Kim Gonzalez voluntarily went to the sheriff's department and admitted to having fatally scalded Andrea in the bathtub. Details would differ, depending on the source: She claimed it was an accident; authorities later depicted Kim Gonzalez as repeatedly abusive.
Paul Gonzalez claimed he had wanted to call an ambulance, but Kim Gonzalez talked him out of it. So he helped her wrap the body in a garbage bag and toss it into a waterway known as the Mon Dye Bottoms Recreation Area.

Divers never found a body. The Gonzalezes were charged with capital murder.
But with no body and no hard evidence - and with increasing finger-pointing between the couple and their lawyers - the case began to unravel.
Prosecutors made a deal with Paul Gonzalez for his testimony against his wife. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and got a 10-year sentence. But he served just two years and reportedly has relocated to his native Texas.

Despite his testimony that pointed to her as the killer, Kim Gonzalez escaped a capital-murder conviction. With her attorneys portraying her as a dim victim of her husband's fast talking, she was convicted of child abuse and got a 10-year sentence. But she served just over two years, and she reportedly is living somewhere in Alabama.

Russellville remains stunned, not only over the short prison terms but also a lack of resolution. Andrea is out there, somewhere.
---
That is why the sheriff's department, based in the county seat of Russellville, will make Andrea part of its new quarters, scheduled for completion early next year. Though plans are still in the works, the complex likely will feature a courtyard paved with black-granite bricks. It also will include a marker - originally crafted and donated by a local artist for Andrea's grave site - etched with the girl's face and name.

Community groups are raising money for the effort. Meanwhile, investigators wonder if the memorial might prompt new tips.

"We haven't given up," says Larry Plott, sheriff ever since Andrea disappeared in 1993. "We hope and pray that one day we can find the body and give a proper burial."
A pair of local residents echo the urgency for continued investigation, via the Web page wheres-andrea.com. The simple site features news links and messages about Andrea.
"This child was never found," one note reads. "How many of you would just give up searching for a missing loved one without absolute proof of their demise?"
Hinkle, the local activist, goes a step further. The Gonzalezes' stories never added up, Hinkle says.
"I believe she was sold," Hinkle says. "It could've been for pornography."

Though Sheriff Plott has seen no such evidence, he says he is open to any possibility. Meanwhile, Hinkle and others continue to search online, looking for traces of Andrea - who would be 19 years old.

In Galesburg, Darlene Chambers, one of Andrea's foster mothers, doesn't know what to believe.
"I don't think anyone is going to know, unless her dad comes forward," Chambers says. "And he's not going to do that."

In nearby Altona, maternal grandmother Garnet Cantrell still hopes for a conclusion.
"After all this time, you'd think someone would come forward," she says. "Someone's gotta know something."

PHIL LUCIANO is a columnist with the Journal Star. He can be reached at pluciano@pjstar.com, 686-3155 or (800) 225-5757, Ext. 3155.

Prevent and Report Child Abuse

2007-10-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

October is Child Abuse Awareness Month. My wife and Teresa her aunt have launched a site dedicated to Missing Child, now an Adult, Andrea was abused and her step-mother said she accidently killed her and dump her body in a Lake here in Russellville, Alabama back in 1993. There were a lot of strange things that went on with this trial and a lot of things that don't make sense. Most people believe that she was sold and she would be 19 years old now.

She maybe in Los Angeles, California. We believe she is missing and maybe still be abused sexually now. They never found the body.

http://www.wheres-andrea.com

Are You Under a Curse?

2007-09-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

"Let's find out if you are Under A Curse or Not! Galatians 3:10-11 says, "All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything that is written in the Book of the Law.' Clearly no one is justified before God by the Law because, 'The righteous will live by faith.'" Are you relying on the fact that you think you're a "good person" to get you to Heaven? If you ARE, the Bible says, you must keep the WHOLE LAW or you are under a curse. Have you fully obeyed God's Law? Let's find out. Have you ever lied before? Have you ever stolen anything at all? Have you ever looked at someone with lust? If you have broken just these three of God's Laws, then you are a liar, a thief and an adulterer at heart. YOU ARE Under A Curse! The Curse that is upon You is that you will go to Hell should you die in your sins. That's the bad news. The good news is that, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us..." 2,000 years ago, Christ live a sinless life and died on the cross for us. The Just died for the unjust. Christ fulfilled the Law by perfectly obeying it. If you will Turn from your sins and put your Faith in Jesus Christ, your sins will be Washed Away by the Blood of Jesus, you will be Reconciled to God and you will no longer be under a curse. You will be saved from Hell and the power of sin by the Grace of God. Don't rely on keeping the Law (being a "good person" or doing "good things") to get into Heaven! You won't make it! Turn from your sins ONCE AND FOR ALL and put your Faith in Jesus Christ TODAY! He will Empower you to live a life of holiness and purity! Do you think that you are already right with God? GO TO: www.heaven-or-hell.us OR www.checkyourself.us

The "Jesus" of the Cults

2007-09-17T03:21:00.001-07:00

By Ron Carlson and Jason Carlson

In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus’ disciples came to him and asked, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” In responding to this question, it’s very interesting what Jesus identified as the foremost sign of his second coming and of the end of the age, “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”

Today we are seeing the fulfillment of this warning sign as never before. Our world is literally flooded with false “christs” and false messiahs. It is estimated that there are over 1,000 cults in America alone with some 25-30 million followers! And each of these false cults promotes their own man-made version of “Jesus Christ” who is not the Jesus of the Bible.

So, who is the “Jesus” of the cults?

Jehovah’s Witnesses say that Jesus is actually Michael, the Archangel. He was the first creation of God. He came to Earth as a man, died on a stake, and rose from the grave invisibly as a spirit. Jesus then returned invisibly to Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1914 to head-up the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.

Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) teach that Jesus is the spirit brother of Satan. He was once a human being like you and I, but through good works he evolved spiritually to become a god. However, Jesus is just one god amongst a pantheon of gods, all of who were once human and evolved to become gods themselves. Jesus was born to Mary through physical incest when his father god had sexual relations with her. And Mormons teach that the blood and cross of Christ is foolishness and cannot fully atone for our sins (ever notice how there’s no cross on any Mormon church or temple?).

Christian Science and Mary Baker Eddy say that Jesus was only a man and that Christ is a Divine idea. Furthermore, Jesus never did any supernatural miracles; he simply showed people their mental illusions of sin, evil, illness and disease. Christian Science says that Jesus did not die and his resurrection was only in a spiritual sense.

Sun Myung Moon (the Korean messiah) claims that Jesus was a man who failed his divine mission and he, Rev. Moon, is the second coming of Christ to unite the world under the banner of the Unification Church.

The Bahai say that Jesus is only one of nine great world manifestations; he is not a unique path to salvation and all religions are basically the same.

Unitarians believe that Jesus was a good man who was mistakenly deified by his followers.

Freemasonry teaches that Jesus was only a moral teacher. He was no better than Buddha, Confucius, Moses or Mohammed. They deny that Jesus was the light of the world and claim that Freemasonry is the true light of humanity.

Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard claim that Jesus is a false dream.

Spiritists say that Jesus is an advanced medium in the 6th sphere of the astrological projection (wherever that is?).

Unity teaches that Jesus is a man who perfected a divine idea.

Rosicrucians claim that Jesus is a manifestation of cosmic consciousness.

Maharishi and Transcendental Meditation says that Jesus was an enlightened guru who never suffered or died for anyone.

The more you study the false cults, the more you realize that the “Jesus” of the cults is not the Jesus of the Bible. All of the cults promote their own false, man-made versions of Jesus Christ; they are counterfeits and cannot save anyone.

So, who is the real Jesus?

In John 1:1 we read, “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” A few verses later in John 1:14 we learn, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

In Colossians 1:15 Paul tells us that Jesus “is the visible image of the invisible God...” In Colossians 2:9 Paul says, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form…”

The real Jesus is the one true God of all creation. He is the second person of the eternal Triune Godhead. He loves us so much that He broke into human history and split history into B.C. and A.D. to personally reveal Himself to us. The Bible says that Jesus came to “seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10; John 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:8-9). And as Acts 4:12 declares, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Have you put your faith in the real Jesus Christ?

Getting to Know God

2007-09-17T03:14:00.000-07:00

September 16, 2007 - Sunday

By Mark G.

Today we started a new series with our youth at church. We are beginning a study on the attributes of God. I have been becoming more and more concerned with the fact that very few people seem to know what God is really like. Most people these days are quick to talk about His love (and they describe it inaccurately), but leave out many other of His characteristics. That leaves us with an incomplete picture of who God really is. So over the next few months, we are going to be looking at some of His attributes. We will be looking at such things as His holiness, love, justice, faithfulness, and wrath, to name a few. I thought I would share my teaching outlines with you with some additional thoughts thrown in. I hope you are blessed as you see what God has to say about Himself. I pray that we are drawn to love and worship God more and more as we begin to see Him as He really is. The first one we are going to look at is the holiness of God. Before you look at my outline, I wanted to borrow a quote from Charles Spurgeon that sums up how I feel as I struggle to teach on our infinite God.

"The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father. There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. Other subjects we can compass and grapple with; in them we feel a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought, "Behold I am wise." But when we come to this master-science, finding that our plumb-line cannot sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its height, we turn away with the thought, that vain man would be wise, but he is like a wild ass's colt; and with the solemn exclamation, "I am but of yesterday, and know nothing." No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God. We shall be obliged to feel—

"Great God, how infinite art thou,
What worthless worms are we!"

But while the subject humbles the mind it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe. He may be a naturalist, boasting of his ability to dissect a beetle, anatomize a fly, or arrange insects and animals in classes with well nigh unutterable names; he may be a geologist, able to discourse of the megatherium and the plesiosaurus, and all kinds of extinct animals; he may imagine that his science, whatever it is, ennobles and enlarges his mind. I dare say it does, but after all, the most excellent study for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity. Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity. And, whilst humbling and expanding, this subject is eminently consolatary. Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrows? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead's deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead." Charles Spurgeon

OUR GREAT GOD PART 1

(Selected Scripture)

1 Samuel 2:2- There is no one holy like the Lord, indeed, there is no one besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.

Scripture continually describes God as being holy. What exactly does that mean, though? Holy means "set apart". So, God is completely set apart from mankind. He is higher in every way. He is completely and utterly perfect. He has no faults or weaknesses in any way. He is set apart from everything sinful. Every characteristic of God hinges on His holiness. I say that because every one of His characteristics is infinitely higher and set apart from our sinful ways. Let's begin to look at some things that illustrate that God is infinitely more holy than us.

GOD IS HOLY IN HIS SINLESSNESS

James 1:13- Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

1 John 1:5- This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

Matthew 5:48- Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Psalm 119:142- Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth.

Habakkuk 1:13a- Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You can not look on wickedness with favor.

It is not just a case of God always choosing to do the right thing. He is right. It is impossible for Him to do wrong. Everything He does is right and holy. Righteousness and holiness is who He is, not just what He does. Not only is He set apart from sin, but He is set against those who sin.

GOD IS HOLY IN HIS VIEW OF SIN AND SINNERS

Psalm 97:2- Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

Psalm 7:11- God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

Psalm 5:4-6- For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.

Deuteronomy 25:16- For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the Lord your God.

Psalm 11:5- The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates.

We often hear the phrase "God loves the sinner, but hates the sin". Yet these verses and others teach that God not only hates sin, but hates those who sin. The verses above plainly say that He hates them and goes so far to say that they are an abomination to Him. God cannot give His love to people that are sinful without something being done about their sin. Sin is so sickening and loathsome to Him that on our own we simply cannot come to God. He is too holy to accept sinful creatures. Sinful creatures would be destroyed by the very presence of His holiness. Even holy angels cover their faces in the presence of His holiness (Isaiah 6). When we realize how God views us and our sin, it should make us tremble with fear. Especially since the Bible includes these verses: Romans 3:23- "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:10- "There is none righteous, not even one." Isaiah 64:6a- "And all of our righteous deeds are like filthy rags." Psalm 130:3- If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" It is no wonder that Romans 5:10 says that we are enemies of God, since we are all sinful.

GOD IS HOLY IN HIS PUNISHMENT OF SINNERS

Romans 1:18- For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

Isaiah 13:9- Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation; and He will exterminate its sinners from it.

2 Thessalonians 1:9- These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.

Revelation 20:15- And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Matthew 12:36- But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.

2 Corinthians 5:10- For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

The Bible is crystal clear about how God views sin and how He will punish sinners. We are all deserving of the full fury of His wrath. That leaves a question. How can a holy God accept a sinful man into His presence?

GOD IS HOLY IN HIS REMEDY FOR SIN

Romans 3:24-26- Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

2 Corinthians 3:21- He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Mark 1:15- The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel.

Ephesians 2:8-9- For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Jesus became the substitute of those who repent and put their faith in Him as their only hope of salvation. When Jesus was on the cross, the Father poured out His full wrath on the Son. He gave the sinless Son of God the wrath that we deserve. Because Jesus took the full impact of God's anger and wrath, He can offer us His own righteousness. God can view us as sinless because Jesus offers us His spotless righteousness. What does it mean to repent and believe, though? To repent means that we can't stand our sin and we want to be rid of it. It is a change of mind about our condition that results in a change in our actions. To believe in Christ means that we realize that there is absolutely nothing we can do to earn our salvation, so we trust in Christ as our only hope. That is the only way a holy God can accept a sinful person. Since we sin (fall short of the mark of perfection) every second of the day, that means we sin at least 86,400 times a day. In one year, that makes at least 31,536,000 sins. It amazes me that people with that much sin want to stand before a holy God to answer for it. It amazes me even more that people who claim to be Christians can look at sin like it is no big deal and keep doing things that we know God hates. We can slap God in the face and then we don't think twice about it. May God open our eyes to the seriousness of our sin and His incredible holiness before we have to stand before His holiness ourselves.

Now I want to add one more thing. This lesson goes against what most people have been taught. We have been taught to think that our sin is no big deal. When people read the verses that talk about how severely God views sin and the sinner, most people think that makes God unloving. Actually, it has the opposite effect on me. When I realize how sinful I am and how holy God is, I am amazed that He offers His love to me. It is one thing to offer your love to people who treat you well. It is quite another to offer your love to people who are completely against everything you are. That is not the fickle and conditional love that we give each other. That is the purest and most amazing form of love imaginable. We deserve nothing but His wrath and anger, yet He offers us His unconditional love. What a wonderful thought. If that is not a reason to worship Him, I don't know what is.

Until next time, blessings to you...

September's Empowered Newletter

2007-09-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Note from Chip:

Welcome to the very First Evangelism Update Newsletter. This will be sent out once a month to let each of you know What Our Evangelism Teams are doing. Please Note we are looking for serious Christian who want to do What Jesus Did, seek and save the lost! We have teams that go out weekly to whereever people gather to share the gospel with them. We are being obedient to the Great Commandment to Preach the Gospel to every Creature.

If you are interested please Contact Evangelist Farris, Deacon Ford, Evangelist Dilworth and Evangelist Chip. We would like to know who will be coming out with us each week.

I will be leading a Team out Saturday, Sept 22, 2007. IF no one contacts me then I will go out in Russellville, Alabama. You can let me know by emailing me at gnnshoalsareateam@gmail.com We also have a Message Board at http://gnnshoalsareateam.org . Click on the message board link and create an account and password. You will have access to lot of Evangelistic infomation and training. When you become a Proven Seed Sower you and choosen as a Team Leader you will have excess to Team Leader Only Board on the Message Board. This takes a special passwords and it will be emailed to you when you become a Team Leader. There will be a lot of training you will be able to look at both when you join our team and more once you become a Team Leader.

You may also want to join the Great News Network at http://thegreatnews.com they also have a message board and you get to intereact with other Seed Sowers and get more resources for the serious Christian who wants to win the lost. When I end a class at Ekklessia Church, I always try to tell everyone, it may be the end of the class but not the end of the training. Three ways to continue your Evangelism Training is:

(1) Go out with one of Our Evangelism Teams and bring a friend who wants to learn, even if they are from another Church. This is about the Kingdom.

(2) Join both message boards I suggested above.

(3) When any other Evangelism Classes are offered please attend them and do all the assignments. If you have missed any video's or handouts you can go to the message board and view them on-line and download the handouts.

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Scripture of the Week:

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians, 5:25, NASB)

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Quote of the Week:

"The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become." (Henry Martyn)

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Recommended Resource:

FellowshipTractLeague.org

They offer free gospel tracts, and from what I've seen some of them are pretty good.

Check these out...
The Ten Commandments
God's Last Name is not Damn
All This I Did For Thee
They also have some nice tracts to share with: Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims, Jews and Native Americans.

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Questions & Objections:

This Q&A comes from The Evidence Bible.

Q. Does someone go to hell for committing suicide?

A. Those who are adamant that a person who takes his life is committing a mortal sin, and will go to hell, are basing their belief on church doctrine rather than on the Bible. Scripture is silent on the subject. There are no verses that say "He who takes his own life shall be damned." According to Scripture, only one sin does not have forgiveness, and that is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. That means there is forgiveness for every other sin.

Some quote 1 Corinthians 3:17, which says that God will destroy someone who "defiles" the temple of the Holy Spirit. Yet, there is disagreement about what it means to defile the temple. Does this include suicide? Does it include illicit drug abuse (slow suicide), prescription drug abuse, cigarettes (deliberately breathing in poisons that will eventually kill), tattoos, over-eating (digging a grave with your spoon), or alcohol abuse?

God forbid that we add to the pain of someone who has lost a loved one through the tragedy of suicide, by making a judgment about their eternal destiny. God is the ultimate Judge, and we should therefore leave the issue in His hands. It would be wise to follow the biblical example and not come to any verdict in the case of suicide.

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Way of the Master Evangelism Training:

We would be glad to host a Way of the Master evangelism training for your church or small group. This one-day "Empowered seminar" is a proven, effective way to help people overcome their fear of witnessing and show them how to reach out to the lost. We will quickly equip those who attend to simply and effectively share their faith with family, friends, and strangers. What makes our training unique is when the classroom training is over, you have the option to hit the streets and immediately start to use the new tools you have just learned. The seminar consists of the following activities:
Three powerful interactive messages that will equip the attendees in how to share the gospel effectively and biblically with anyone, anytime, anywhere.
Quick Tips on how to have fun sharing your faith while overcoming your fears.
Quick Tips on how to effectively witness one-2-one using the Way of the Master.
Hands-on, in-the-trenches training with proven leaders.
The One-Day Empowered Training is Usally $25.00 to all who attend. This include all matterials you will need to enhance your training. Lunch will be provided and also tracts so you can go out with us after the training to put the biblical principles into practice you just learned.

** The Way of the Master has been commended by Franklin Graham, Dr. D. James Kennedy, David Wilkerson, Bill Gothard, John MacArthur, Ravi Zacharias, David Jeremiah, Joni Eareckson Tada, Josh McDowell, and many other Christian leaders.

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Weekly "Fishing" Report:

This is where we will be adding our stories as we go out Fishing. In the past, I have been doing drive by Evangelism or Drive Thru Evangelism. This is where we I go to the Drive Thru Windows of fast food places, I will hand out a lot of tracts. I have been giving out Spanish Tracts at the Post Office here in Russellville. Tracts are a must especially for those times you don't have time to share.

IF you have any E-Stories to share in these monthly newsletter email me them and I will share with the rest of the teams.

This was one of the tracts we found.
Click here to read it online.

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Prayer Points:
Pray for the salvation of Jehovah's Witnesses this week.
"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." (Matthew 9:37-38, NASB)

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Calendar:
One 2 One Witnessing, This is up to each Team Leader where you go to Witness. We will go to Parks, 10,000 Doors, Malls and anywhere people gather in order to share the gospel with them. The Weather if cold or raining we will go to the mall or Walmart or somewhere in doors to Witness. (Recurring)
Saturdays at 10am.

If you would like to join us, email us your contact info. Contact us through Minister Farris at jorjafarris@aol.com or me at gnnshoalsareateam@gmail.com

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These newsletters have no copy-right. Take the liberty to share them with others.

'til the nets are full...

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GNN, Shoals Area Harvest

On Fire so Other's Want Be!

10 Signs of Salvation

2007-09-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

“If you’re Christian walk has been a little, um, un-even. We would love for you to listen to this sermon. You will be able to see once and for all if you are truly saved.”
- Way of the Master Radio(http://www.wayofthemasterradio.com/listenwatch/ToddFriel_Sermon-Bethel_TX.mp3

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13)

Todd Friel examines 10 signs of salvation taken from 1st John.

01. You Fellowship
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

02. You Recognize Your True Sinful State
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

03. You Are Obedient to His Commandments
“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” (1 John 2:3)

04. You Do Not Love the World
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15)

05. You Have Knowledge of Who Jesus Christ Is
“Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” (1 John 2:23)

06. You Look Forward to His Coming
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)

07. You Do Not Practice Sin
“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” (1 John 3:8-10)

08. You Love Your Brothers
“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” (1 John 3:14)

09. You Love Preaching, Teaching and Hearing God’s Word
“We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” (1 John 4:6)

10. You Proclaim Jesus Christ
“Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:15)

How Do you know your saved?

2007-09-05T06:59:00.001-07:00

Maze of Mormonism

2007-09-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Awesome Message

Biblical Answer to Racism Here

2007-09-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

Video Here

Can you defend the Deity of Jesus Christ?

2007-09-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

Watch Video Here

Is God calling YOU?

2007-09-04T08:12:00.001-07:00

TO BE A SERVANT LEADER?

The Apostles, Luther, Wesley, Spurgeon, Whitfield, and thousands of lesser-known servant leaders have wholeheartedly pioneered the cause of Christ during some of history's darkest days. They lead individuals to trust in Jesus by Faith, and whole sections of society from self-destruction by taking the gospel to the frontiers of sin and evil. Our times cry out for contemporary pacesetters to make it happen again. God sometimes surprises his people by turning the worst of times into the best of times by the way he uses people like you!

Even in morally distressing times, God wants everyone saved. His plan for achieving this purpose is to raise up a new generation of radical servant leaders with unflinching convictions, a tenacious grasp of truth, and a warm heart for people. He wants to empower persons whom difficult circumstances cannot intimidate or stop.

Trailblazers are needed who have souls sold out to God, willing to pay any price for spiritual awakenings in every place. They are God's answer to a poet's prayer"

"Renew in us, Almighty God, the spirit of the pioneer,
Those giant men, those women of the rugged path,
Who smiled at fears and daily gave impossibilities the laugh.
New frontiers lift their rock heights,
New deserts stretch before our years;
Renew in us, Almighty God, the spirit of the pioneers."

This is you; this is the challenge faced daily, remain "Empowered" to face it and encourage your TEAMS to do the same!

ITGFY!!

Written by Rev Rod Knapp
Director of Local Leader Development
The Great News Network

The Gift of Labor

2007-09-03T04:20:00.001-07:00

"And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it" (Genesis 2:15).

When God first created man, He gave him work to do. Although "the Lord God planted a garden" for man (Genesis 2:8), it was up to man to take care of it if he would continue to eat its fruits. Thus, having to labor for one's living is not a divine punishment for man's sin as people sometimes interpret it, but rather a divine benefit for man's good.

Similarly, even in the new earth, when sin and suffering will be gone forever, there will still be work to do. "There shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him" (Revelation 22:3).

We don't know yet what our assignments will be there, but they will somehow be commensurate with our faithfulness in serving the Lord here. "My reward is with me," says the Lord Jesus, "to give every man according as his work shall be" (Revelation 22:12).

It is, therefore, a God-given privilege to be able to do useful work, whether that work consists of preaching God's Word or improving God's world. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do" (whether being paid for it or not), "do it with thy might; for there is no work . . . in the grave, whither thou goest" (Ecclesiastes 9:10). As Jesus said, "the night cometh, when no man can work" (John 9:4).

No matter what the job may be that has been provided for us to do, it is important to remember and obey the admonition: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ" (Colossians 3:23-24) and "your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (I Corinthians 15:58).

Witnessing to Mormons(Video)

2007-08-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

Click Here

You're Judging Me

2007-08-25T03:50:00.000-07:00

How many times have you heard that since you have been a Christian? You will hear this alot when Witnesssing and most of the time from those who call themselves Christians.

So Should Christians' Judge?

by Mason Barrett and B. Waldrop

You have probably heard this saying many times: “The Bible says not to judge.” Christians and non-believers both use this statement often to try to avoid exposure of wrongdoing in their lives, and yes, the Bible does say for us not to judge, but although it does say this what does it really mean?

Take the statement “don’t drink and drive” for example and ask yourself what it means. Does it mean never drink anything while driving? Of course not, it means do not drink alcohol (bad drinking) and drive, but non-alcoholic drinks (good drinking) is ok. You have probably heard this saying many times: “You should not judge a book by its cover,” but what if the cover of the book reads “PlayBoy Magazine?” Should we make a judgment about PlayBoy or should we open the book to investigate? The answer is obvious. We should avoid this book because of the warning sign written on the cover. If we are unsure of a warning sign we should approach the situation with extreme caution. For example, if we drive down an unfamiliar road and see a sign that reads “Dangerous Curve,” we do not usually turn around; instead we approach the curve with caution. If we are unable to determine whether something is safe or unsafe, it is safer to avoid the situation. 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 NIV says: “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” King James Version of this same verse passage says: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” So we definitely should judge all things (movies, books, music, and behavior of people). When the Bible says not to judge it is talking about the bad type of judging. So in order not to practice the bad kind of judging, we must understand the two types of judging.

Two Types of Judging

1. Discerning (Good Judging)

Exposing Correcting and Rebuking

If we have examined ourselves and we are not guilty of the same sin (see 1 Corinthians 11:27-31), it may be necessary to expose, rebuke, and correct someone; especially if the person doing wrong is another believer.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV says: “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 4:2 NIV says: “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage- with great patience and careful instruction.” Notice that in this verse we are told to rebuke and encourage; so we should not correct if we do not encourage.

Titus 2:15 NIV says: “These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.”

Ephesians 5:11 NIV says: “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”

1 Corinthians 2:15-16 NIV says: “The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

So, believers should judge all matters and issues.

I John 4:1 NIV says: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Believers should test the spirits behind a person’s action to see if the action brings glory to God.

Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, judged someone in the church. See 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. Then see 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 to see where Paul encourages the church to forgive the person.

2. Condemning and Criticizing (Bad Judging)

Using people’s sin as an excuse to lower or belittle them. Harsh punishment without encouragement to follow. Cursing a person or prophesying destruction into their lives. Note: it is ok to warn someone of possible consequences, but it is not ok to say things which may discourage the person or lead them to believe that the worst is the only outcome they will have. Sentencing with no mercy. Correcting someone when guilty of the same thing.

People who practice the bad kind of judging often are guilty of the same sin they are using to belittle another person. Jesus addressed this scenario in Matthew 7:1-5 and Luke 6:41-42, and these are the verses which people sometimes twist in order to defend their sinful desires. The problem is that people sometimes quote Matthew 7:1 only which reads “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (NIV), but one must also read verses 2-5 to understand the point Jesus was making. The point Jesus was making was not to judge someone of the same sin we have in our own lives. Another way to look at the point Jesus was making is by answering this question: How can a person help someone escape quicksand if that person is also stuck in the same quicksand?

Paul echoes the point Jesus was making in Romans 2:1-4. This passage reads: “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?” (NIV).

Christians should judge and Christians should not judge- both are true.

What makes judging right or wrong depends on the spirit, motive and attitude in which judging is being done. So, the conclusion is that Christians should judge the actions of other people, but Christians should not make conclusions about the degree of punishment that a person will receive from God. The only conclusion that a Christian can accurately make is that if a person does not accept God’s plan of salvation, that person will be separated from God throughout all eternity, because this is what the Bible tells us (see Revelation 20:11-15).

Bad Judgment Statement: “You are going to hell because of what you do.” Good Judgment Statement: “God will help you with your problem and God wants to save you from spiritual death if you choose to let Him.”

If we are going to make a negative comment to a person about their behavior, we should be just as quick to give encouragement, and tell the person about the rewards of repentance.

God, who is the ultimate judge, is full of grace and mercy, so we should also be full of grace and mercy.

James 2:12-13 NIV says: Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Christians should remember and understand that we too were once lost. Titus 3:3-5 NIV says: “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”

Non-Christians are unable to make sound judgments about Christians. 1 Corinthians 2:15-16 NIV says: “The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: For who has known the mind of the Lord that he (non-Christian) may instruct him (Christian)? But we (Christians) have the mind of Christ.”

When people hear the word “judge” or “judgment” bad things usually come to mind, but often, good things come out of judgment. A judge rewards a person who has done the right thing. After death, everyone will face judgment. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment...” (Hebrews 9:27 KJV). For non-believers, the judgment mentioned will be the Great White Throne judgment spoken of in Revelation 20:11-15; where all who trust their own good works for salvation are to be judged according to their works and will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, because the works of men cannot redeem them from their sins. Only God’s sacrifice can redeem us from our sin. People who put their trust in Jesus alone for their salvation will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ which is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:10; where they will receive what is due to them according to what they did, but they will not be thrown into the Lake of Fire because they are covered by the blood of God’s sacrifice- Jesus. For people who trusted God, their final judgment will be a good event, but non-believers will face a bad judgment.

People often do not come to God and receive salvation because they are afraid their sins will be exposed and they are afraid they will be judged (see John 3:19-21). They do not understand that God is full of grace and mercy and it pleases Him when men confess their wrongs. Christians should also be full of grace and mercy.

4 Points we must Agree On.

2007-08-24T05:35:00.000-07:00

The Deity of Christ and Trinity

The Ressurrection

Salvation by Grace Alone

Bible- Inerrant Word of God

I will begin to deal with each point in future post.

Below is more things we must agree if you are going to go out and Witness with any of our Evangelism Teams.

* We believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible, authoritative, and inerrant Word of God (II Timothy 3:15-17, II Peter 1:21).

* We believe there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 28:19, John 10:30).

* We believe in the deity of Christ (John 10:33); His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:34-35); His sinless life (Hebrews 4:15, 7:26); His miracles (John 2:11); His vicarious and atoning death (I Corinthians 15:3, Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 2:9); His resurrection (John 11:25, I Corinthians 15:4); His ascension to the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19); His personal return to earth in power and glory (Acts 1:11, Revelation 19:11-16).

* We believe in the absolute necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit for salvation because of the exceeding sinfulness of man, and that all are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Christ, and that only by God's grace through faith alone are we saved (John 3:16-19; 5:24, Romans 3:23; 5:8-9, Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:5).

* We believe in the spiritual unity of the believers in our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9, I Corinthians 12:12-13, Galatians 3:26-28).

* We believe that we as Christians are examples of the love of God in this world. It is this (agape) love that we desire to possess and without which we have no right to call ourselves Christians (I John 4:16-17).

* We believe it is the mandate of the whole Church to go into the whole world and to preach the Gospel to every living creature. (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19-20)

1. We will seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness because we know that then and only then will all other things be added to us.

2. We will do our best to serve God by our obedience. That means obedience to God's commandments, and all of His Son's admonitions.

3. We have chosen to follow after Jesus so we will deny ourselves daily and take up our cross and do our very best to be like Christ.

4. We believe in biblical evangelism. We know that it's God's love and kindness that leads us to repentance and He illustrated His love for us because Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. We also know we must use the Law of God to stop the mouth of a self righteous sinner, to bring the knowledge of sin and as a school master to lead people to Christ. We know the law is good if used lawfully for its intended purpose. We must use the law to prepare/plow the heart and the sinner before planting the seed of the Gospel so that when the seed is planted, it may find good soil and produce a crop of 30, 60 or 100 fold.

5. You must treat all other seed sowers with the love and respect you would give to Jesus at all times. No one is to make harsh or coarse joking about another seed sower whether in private or in public.

The Uniqueness of the Bible

2007-08-22T03:29:00.000-07:00

1. W ritten over a span of about 1500 years.

2. W ritten by more than forty different authors- kings, military leaders,
peasants, philosophers, fisherman, tax collectors, poets, musicians,
statesman, scholars and shepherds.

3. W ritten in different places- wilderness, dungeon, hillside, etc.

4. W ritten at different times- times of war and times of peace.

5. W ritten during different moods- joy, sorrow, certainty & doubt.

6. W ritten on three different continents- Asia, Africa, Europe.

7. W ritten in 3 different languages- Hebrew, Aramaic & Greek.

8. W ritten in different literary styles- poetry, historical narrative, song,
satire, biography, law, prophecy, allegory, etc.

9. Addresses hundreds of controversial subjects- many disagree on these
subjects, yet all of the authors of the Bible AGREE!

10. Single unfolding story- despite its diversity, the Bible presents one
overall story: God’s redemption of human beings.

11. One Leading Character- despite the many characters mentioned, the
most important is Jesus Christ!

12. Best selling book EVER- the number sold is in the BILLIONS!

13. Unique in Translation- translated into over 2,200 languages.

14. Unique in Survival- time, persecution & criticism.

15. Unique in Teachings- prophecy, history & character.

16. Influence On Civilization- NO BOOK has had more influence

Dear Pastor:

2007-08-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your interest in my ministry.

I speak to many issues in my evangelism seminars. One of them is the reason why there is such a massive and heart-breaking fall away rate within contemporary evangelism.

Another vital issue is addressed below:

Imagine a group of firefighters polishing their fire engine outside a burning building. They are so consumed with what they are doing that they are oblivious to the cries of help from terrified people who are trapped at a top floor window. Obviously, there's nothing wrong with cleaning their fire engine, but not while people are trapped in a burning building!

As ridiculous as it may seem (that any "firefighter" would do such a thing), that's a picture of much of the contemporary Church. The vast majority are polishing the engine of worship, prayer, and praise (each necessary and important), but neglecting the sober task God has given to us to seek and save the lost. Oswald J. Smith said, "Oh my friends we are loaded down with countless church activities, while the real work of the Church, that of evangelizing the world and winning the lost is almost entirely neglected.“

Why do so many Christians ignore the Great Commission and fail to share their faith? Perhaps the #1 reason is that they are afraid. Many Christians want to share their faith but are afraid of what people will think of them. Many do not feel equipped, and don’t want to say the wrong thing. Others are afraid of not knowing what to say to an atheist, an evolutionist, a cult member, or a backslider, and would rather say nothing than risk hurting a relationship.

Here's the uniqueness of our teaching--You don't have to be an expert in apologetics--or even have any knowledge of them-- to effectively reach an atheist, a Muslim, a gospel hardened family member, or anyone with an argument. We will teach you and your people how to do what Jesus did--circumnavigate the human intellect (the area of argument), and speak directly to sinner's conscience (the area of knowledge of right and wrong). This principle is the key to effective, biblical evangelism used by Jesus, Peter, Paul, Spurgeon, Wesley, Whitefield and many others that God has used down through the ages…and much of the Church isn't even aware of what it is!

We know this principle works because we have seen it biblically, historically, and experientially--both in our own lives and in the lives of those God has touched through this ministry. After hearing this teaching, those who had never before shared their faith are now determined and eager to do so. It has proven to transform the lukewarm into on-fire, disciple-making Christians, reaching out to their unsaved family members, workmates, and friends, thus producing true church growth.

Please allow us to show you this unique evangelism program that will assist you in training your congregation.

We Pray for God’s blessings in all your labors for Him.

Sincerely,

Evangelist Chip Broome
Local Leader, Russsellville, Alabama
Great News Network

Pastor, as a shepherd can you imagine what could happen in your church if all your people shared the Gospel and witnessed to several people everyday?

My goal is your goal: to reach and teach, to be of service and equip your local congregation on how to share their faith simply, effectively and Biblically. Like you, I desire to be a faithful and Biblical steward of God’s calling in my life. I am just a simple evangelist who longs to equip the church as the scriptures call for in Ephesians 4:12. I am at your call to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

If you are interested:

Go to about Me and Click on Full Profile and you will see a Place you can Email me or just email me at GnnShoalsAreaTeam@gmail.com or chipbroome@frontlineevangelism.com

Let Us Train Your Church/Individuals to Witness

2007-08-19T07:19:00.000-07:00

Three Ways to Train Your People

(1) Get plugged into the Way of the Master Evangelism Basic Training Course hosted by GNN Russellville/Shoals Area Team! This is usally over about an eight Week or 13 Week Sunday School Class or Teaching.

(View a Free sample lesson)To View Sample Lesson go to Evangelism Links and click on View Sample Lesson Link.

Cultivating Compassion for the Lost

Discovering Hell's Best Kept Secret

Learning to Overcome Fear

Practicing What you Preach

Crafting the Message

Answering the Top Ten Questions

Exposing the Myth of the Modern Message

Spreading Your Wings

Group Discussions and Role-Play Activities
Sample witnessing conversations
How to use gospel tracts
How to transition to a spiritual conversation
Real life stories from the GNN Russellville/Shoals Area team while on the front-lines

This course will teach you to overcome your fears by using a proven, powerfully effective way to make the gospel make sense. You won't be at a loss for words. You don't need to be an expert at apologetics. Instead you'll learn the forgotten Biblical principle of bypassing the intellect (the place of argument) and speaking directly to the conscience (the place of the knowledge of right and wrong)-the way Jesus did.

This course is Commended by:

John MacArthur, Ravi Zacharias, David Jeremiah, Josh Mcdowell, Joni Eareckson Tada

Are you interested in having a Way of the Master Basic Training course hosted by GNN Russellville/Shoals Area staff at your church or other facility? Contact Us to Learn How!

(2) WE AlSo Provide One Day Training(Empowered to Witness): WE CAN Train YOur Whole Church on ONE Saturday: This is usually Takes 5(Five Hours with Breaks. We will have an Optional One 2 One Witnessing in One of Many Locations around Russellville or any area in North West Alabama.

Through one of GNN's Empowered To Witness Seminars the people of your Church will learn how to be more effective in personal evangelism. This will make your Church more effective in reaching out to the people of your community. Your people will learn:

· How to use the Ten Commandments in witnessing

· The R.C.C.R. principle in witnessing

· Why modern evangelism methods are failing

· The principle of Law to the Proud, Grace to the Humble

· How to witness to people of ALL backgrounds with little or no use of apologetics

· How to effectively use effective Gospel Tracts

· The W.D.J.D. method of witnessing

· How to swing from the natural to the spiritual

· How to fight fears in witnessing

· How incorrect witnessing can reap TRAGIC results

Charles Spurgeon was called "The Prince of Preachers" and was a very wise man. Even though he was a great preacher and teacher, he said this: "I would sooner pluck one single brand form the burning than explain all mysteries." Unfortunately, statistics say that only 2% of Christians in America share their faith regularly. Spurgeon also said, "We must school and train ourselves to deal personally with the unconverted. We must not excuse ourselves, but force ourselves to the irksome task until it becomes easy." Unfortunately, many Christians in America today don't feel equipped to take part in personal evangelism. Without exception, every Christian should determine in their hearts to become devoted to personal evangelism, and pastors should offer their congregations the right opportunities to get equipped to obey the Great Commission (Mark 16:15 , Matthew 28:19-20 ). That is our calling. My Team and I are called to help make the Church more effective in the area of evangelism.

I could teach the people of your Church how to be more effective in evangelism through many different options. I could do a one, two or three day training. Each training option will include all of the training I offer. I recommend that the training is done all in one day, preferably a Saturday, but I am flexible. I also recommend that you give me the opportunity to take your Church or group out to the streets to put what they have learned into practice. A one-day training schedule would look something like this:

10:00am-11:00am- Evangelist Chip teaches on the Christian’s responsibility in evangelism

11:00am-12:00pm- Evangelist Chip teaches on what the Gospel is

12:00pm-1:00pm- Evangelist Chip teaches on how to evangelize Biblically

1:00pm-2:00pm- Evangelist Chip teaches on how to overcome your fears in witnessing

2:00pm-whenever- A Q & A session with your people and a look at Gospel Tracts

I also will usually have your Church order enough tracts for each person to purchase at the end of the seminar. Sometimes we bring books and CD’s for purchase as well. This way your people can continue to learn on their own. If you are interested in me coming to your Church to train your people in evangelism, please contact us and we will make plans.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(3)Join GNN! Become part of a world wide network of
Seed Sowers who are serious about seeking and saving the lost. Also go out Weekly with One of Our Teams or Start Your Own Evangelism Team doing this Weekly, We will Help you do this, too.

If you want to join GNN go to Evangelism Links, Click on Join GNN.

Ten Reasons it is Wrong to take the Life of Unborn Children

2007-08-19T06:15:00.000-07:00

By John Piper
Posted: 08/14/2007

Ten Reasons Why it is Wrong to Take the Life of Unborn Children
This is not a defense of the humanity of the unborn. It is an argument that if the unborn are human they ought not to be aborted. There are some abortionists who believe that the unborn are human beings. But these doctors do abortions regularly anyway because they believe that taking innocent human life, while tragic, is justifiable in view of the difficult circumstances faced by mother and child. Some of these doctors want to be Christian and Biblical, and do not see their practice as wrong. I have written this brief paper to encourage these doctors to reconsider.

1. God commanded, "Thou shalt not murder" (Exodus 20:13).
I am aware that some killing is endorsed in the Bible. The word for "kill" in Exodus 20:13 is the Hebrew rahaz. It is used 43 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. It always means violent, personal killing that is actually murder or is accused as murder. It is never used of killing in war or (with one possible exception, Numbers 35:27) of killing in judicial execution. Rather a clear distinction is preserved between legal "putting to death" and illegal "murder" .For example, Numbers 35:19 says, "The murderer shall certainly be put to death." The word "murderer" comes from rahaz which is forbidden in the Ten Commandments. The word "put to death" is a general word that can describe legal executions.

When the Bible speaks of killing that is justifiable it generally has in mind God's sharing some of his rights with the civil authority. When the state acts in its capacity as God's ordained preserver of justice and peace, it has the right to "bear the sword" as Romans 13:1-7 teaches. This right of the state is always to be exercised to punish evil, never to attack the innocent (Romans 13:4).

Therefore, "Thou shalt not kill," stands as a clear and resounding indictment of the killing of innocent unborn children.

2. The destruction of conceived human life — whether embryonic, fetal, or viable — is an assault on the unique person-forming work of God.

Can we say anything from Scripture about what is happening when a life in the womb is aborted? Consider two texts. Psalm 139:13 says, "Thou didst form my inward parts, Thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb."

The least we can draw out of this text is that the formation of the life of a person in the womb is the work of God. God is the "Thou" in this verse. Further we can say that the formation of life in the womb is not merely a mechanical process, but is something on the analogy of weaving or knitting: "Thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb." The life of the unborn is the knitting of God, and what he is knitting is a human being in his own image, unlike any other creature in the universe.

The other, less well-known, text is in the book of Job. Job is protesting that he has not rejected the plea of any of his servants, even though in that culture many people thought that servants were non-persons and only property. The thing to watch for here is how Job argues.

Job 31:13-15 says, "13) If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me, 14) what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him? 15) Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not One fashion us in the womb?"

Verse 15 gives the reason why Job would be guilty if he treated his servant as less than a human equal. The issue isn't really that one may have been born free and the other born in slavery. The issue goes back before birth. When Job and his servants were being fashioned in the womb the key person at work was God. That's the premise of Job's argument.

So both Psalm 139 and Job 31 emphasize God as the primary Workman — Nurturer, Fashioner, Knitter, Creator — in the process of gestation. Why is that important? It's important because God is the only One who can create personhood. Mothers and fathers can contribute some impersonal egg and some impersonal sperm, but only God creates independent personhood. So when the Scripture emphasizes that God is the main Nurturer and Shaper in the womb, it is stressing that what is happening in the womb is the unique work of God, namely, the making of a person. From the Biblical point of view gestation is the unique work of God fashioning personhood.

We can argue, I say, endlessly over what "full" personhood is. But this we can say, I think, with great confidence: what is happening in the womb is a unique person-forming work of God, and only God knows how deeply and mysteriously the creation of personhood is woven into the making of a body. Therefore it is arbitrary and unwarranted to assume that at any point in the knitting together of this person, its destruction is not an assault on the prerogatives of God the Creator.

To put it positively: the destruction of conceived human life — whether embryonic, fetal, or viable — is an assault on the unique person-forming work of God. Abortion is an assault on God, not just man. God is uniquely at work in the womb from the moment of conception. This is the clear testimony of Psalm 139:13 and Job 31:15.

3. Aborting unborn humans falls under the repeated Biblical ban against "shedding innocent blood."

The phrase "innocent blood" occurs about 20 times in the Bible. The context is always one of condemning those who shed this blood or warning people not to shed it. Innocent blood includes the blood of children (Psalm 106:38). Jeremiah puts it in a context with refugees and widows and orphans: "Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place." Surely the blood of the unborn is as innocent as any blood that flows in the world.

4. The Bible frequently expresses the high priority God puts on the protection and provision and vindication of the weakest and most helpless and most victimized members of the community.

Again and again we read of the sojourner and the widow and the orphan. These are the special care of God and should be the special care of his people.

"You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (And you were all once babes in the womb!) You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you do afflict them, and they cry out to me, (like the blood of Abel cried our to God from the ground, Genesis 4:10) I will surely hear their cry; and my wrath will burnÿ.ÿ.ÿ." (Exodus 22:21-24).

"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in His holy habitation" (Psalm 68:5).

"Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked" (Psalm 82:3-4).

"They slay the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless; and say, 'The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.'ÿ.ÿ.ÿ.ÿBut the Lord will wipe them out for their wickedness" (Psalm 94:6,23).

5. By judging difficult and even tragic human life as a worse evil than taking life, abortionists contradict the widespread Biblical teaching that God loves to show his gracious power through suffering and not just by helping people avoid suffering.

This does not mean we should seek suffering for ourselves or for others. But it does mean that suffering is generally portrayed in the Bible as the necessary and God-ordained, though not God-pleasing, plight of this fallen world (Romans 8:20-25, Ezekiel 18:32), and especially the necessary portion of all who would enter the kingdom (Acts 14:22; 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4) and live lives of godliness (2 Timothy 3:12). This suffering is never viewed merely as a tragedy. It is also viewed as a means of growing deep with God and becoming strong in this life (Romans 5:3-5; James 1:3-4; Hebrews 12:3-11; 2 Corinthians 1:9; 4:7-12; 12:7-10) and becoming something glorious in the life to come (2 Corinthians 4:17; Romans 8:18).

When abortionists reason that taking life is less evil than the difficulties that will accompany life, they are making themselves wiser than God who teaches us that his grace is capable of stupendous feats of love through the suffering of those who live.

6. It is a sin of presumption to justify abortion by taking comfort in the fact that all these little children will go to heaven or even be given full adult life in the resurrection.

This is a wonderful hope when the heart is broken with penitence and seeking forgiveness. But it is evil to justify killing by the happy outcome of eternity for the one killed. This same justification could be used to justify killing one-year olds, or any heaven-bound believer for that matter. The Bible asks the question: "Shall we sin that grace may abound?" (Romans 6:1) And: "Shall we do evil that good may come?" (Romans 3:8). In both cases the answer is a resounding NO. It is presumption to step into God's place and try to make the assignments to heaven or to hell. Our duty is to obey God, not to play God.

7. The Bible commands us to rescue our neighbor who is being unjustly led away to death.

"Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, 'We did not know this,' does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will He not requite man according to his work?"

There is no significant scientific, medical, social, moral or religious reason for putting the unborn in a class where this text does not apply to them. It is disobedience to this text to abort unborn children.

8. Aborting unborn children falls under Jesus' rebuke of those who spurned children as inconvenient and unworthy of the Savior's attention.

"Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God'" (Luke 18:15-16). The word for "infant" in Luke 18:15 is the same word Luke uses for the unborn infant in Elizabeth's womb in Luke 1:41,44.

"And Jesus took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 'Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me'" (Mark 9:36-37).

9. It is the right of God the Maker to give and to take human life. It is not our individual right to make this choice.

When Job heard that his children had all been killed in a collapsing house, he bowed to worship the Lord and said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).

When Job spoke of coming from his mother's womb, he said, "The Lord gave." And when Job spoke of dying, he said, "The Lord has taken away." Birth and death are the prerogatives of God. He is Giver and Taker in this awesome affair of life. We have no right to make individual choices about this matter. Our duty is to care for what He gives and use it to His glory.

10. Finally, saving faith in Jesus Christ brings forgiveness of sins and cleansing of conscience and help through life and hope for eternity. Surrounded by such omnipotent love, every follower of Jesus is free from the greed and fear that might lure a person to forsake these truths in order to gain money or avoid reproach.

* * * * * * * *

My prayer is that anyone involved in the practice of abortion would consider these things very seriously and pray for the faith and the courage to stand for life and love in Jesus Christ. We at Bethlehem Baptist Church are ready to talk further about these matters and pray with you and for you as you seek the strength to follow the Jesus. 720 13th Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN. Phone: 612 338-7653.

Distributed by www.ChristianWorldviewNetwork.com

David Barton, the Truth about Global Warming

2007-08-18T04:14:00.000-07:00

Testimony on Global Warming
David Barton
Testimony of David Barton in the June 7, 2007 [1]
U. S. Senate Hearing on Global Warming in the
Environment and Public Works Committee

My name is David Barton. I represent a group that works to integrate faith with the many practical issues of daily life, and each year I personally speak to hundreds of religious groups from numerous different Christian denominations. I was honored to be named by Time Magazine as one of America¡¦s twenty-five most influential Evangelicals, [2] meaning, of course, that I will address this issue from an Evangelical perspective. Evangelicals are generally characterized by an adherence to what is considered a traditional ¡V that is, a conservative ¡V Biblical theology. While Gallup has placed the number of Evangelicals at 124 million and Barna at much less, most estimates place the number at about 100 million. [3] Significantly, statistics demonstrate that the religious groups and denominations in America adhering to conservative theological views (such as Evangelicals) are growing in membership and affiliation, [4] whereas those adhering to liberal theological views are declining. [5]

In my experience, three factors influence how people of conservative religious faith ¡V especially Evangelicals ¡V approach the issue of man-caused Global Warming. The first is their theological view of man and the environment; the second is the perceived credibility of the scientific debate; and the third is how Evangelicals prioritize the issue of Global Warming among the other cultural and social issues of concern to them.

Concerning the first factor, a very accurate rendering of Evangelicals¡¦ general theological position on the environment is presented in the Cornwall Declaration, [6] prepared by twenty-five conservative Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish theologians. In general, conservative people of faith view the creation in Genesis as moving upward in an ascending spiritual hierarchy, beginning with the creation of the lowest (the inanimate) and moving toward the highest (the animate), with the creation of man and woman being the capstone of God¡¦s work. God placed man and woman over creation, not under it; [7] man and woman interacted with nature and the environment, they were not isolated from it. [8] As the Cornwall Declaration explains, there is no conservative theological basis for the current belief of environmentalists that ¡§humans [are] principally consumers and polluters rather than producers and stewards,¡¨ and that ¡§nature knows best,¡¨ or that ¡§the earth, untouched by human hands is the ideal.¡¨ [9] Religious conservatives believe just the opposite; and as my orthodox Jewish Rabbi friend reminded me just last week, the Scriptures teach conservation, not preservation. Man is the steward of nature and the environment and is definitely to tend and guard it, but it is to serve him, not vice versa. [10] From the beginning, God strongly warned against elevating nature and the environment over humans and their Creator. [11] This generally summarizes the theology common among Evangelicals on this point.

The second factor influencing conservative religious adherents is the credibility of the scientific debate; and when something is still debated as heavily as is the issue of man-caused Global Warming, and when there is still not a clear consensus, Evangelicals tend to approach that issue with great skepticism. Significantly, in 1992, Al Gore declared: ¡§Only an insignificant fraction of scientists deny the global warming crisis. The time for debate is over. The science is settled.¡¨ [12] Yet a Gallup Poll that same year revealed that ¡§53% of scientists actively involved in global climate research did not believe [man-caused] global warming had occurred; 30% weren¡¦t sure; and only 17% believed [man-caused] global warming had begun.¡¨ [13] Clearly, despite Gore¡¦s claims to the contrary, there was much more than ¡§an insignificant fraction of scientists¡¨ denying that there was a man-caused Global Warming crisis.
Now, fifteen years later, there still is no consensus. For example, even though 2,500 of the world¡¦s top scientists agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assertions about man-caused Global Warming, [14] well over 10,000 scientists do not. [15] Recent national articles have attempted to draw attention to this fact (see, for example, an editorial in the Wall Street Journal by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Atmospheric Science Professor Richard Lindzen declaring: ¡§There is no ¡¥Consensus¡¦ on Global Warming¡¨; [16] and ¡§They Call This A Consensus?¡¨ in the Canada Financial Post [17]). Yet, when such truthful claims are made, those making them are aggressively attacked by the Global Warming supporters, whose counter-claims are eagerly broadcast by the mainstream media. For example, when NASA head Michael Griffin recently stated that he did not see Global Warming as a ¡§problem we must wrestle with,¡¨ [18] outspoken Global Warming promoter James Hansen (called ¡§a grandfather of the Global Warming theory¡¨ [19]) immediately and fiercely attacked the NASA chief, telling national news reporters: ¡§It¡¦s an incredibly arrogant and ignorant statement. It indicates a complete ignorance of understanding the implications of climate change.¡¨ [20] Even though numerous scientists across the globe sided with NASA chief Griffin, [21] their voices were unreported. Griffin eventually acknowledged that he wished ¡§he¡¦d stayed out of the debate on climate effects,¡¨ noting that ¡§this is an issue which has become far more political than technical.¡¨ [22] There are many others in the scientific community who are unwilling to openly air their view for fear of being similarly attacked in what truly is a much more of a political than a technical debate.
The lack of consensus in the scientific community is paralleled in the Evangelical community.

For example, although more than 100 religious leaders in a highly-publicized announcement signed onto the Evangelical Climate Initiative on Global Warming calling for immediate action on what they believed was man-caused Global Warming, [23] more than 1,500 religious leaders signed onto the Cornwall Declaration that reached quite different conclusions; [24] yet that much larger declaration went without media notice.

Many Evangelicals, like many scientists, are skeptical on the issue of man-caused Global Warming; and in the case of Evangelicals, their skepticism is heightened by their memory of previous politically-driven ¡§scientific¡¨ consensuses. For example:
¡P Twenty years ago the scientific community proclaimed that fetal tissue research held the solution for many of the world¡¦s health problems, but the science on that issue has subsequently proven to be a complete bust. [25]

¡P In the 1960s, environmental scientists warned that the Global Population Bomb would soon doom the entire planet; [26] in the 1980s as population growth continued to increase, they further warned that by the year 2000, economic growth would be destroyed [27] and there would be a worldwide unemployment crisis. [28] The world population has almost doubled since those predictions, but the current worldwide unemployment rate is only 6.3 percent, [29] and worldwide economic growth is and has been booming for many years.

¡P In the 1960s, environmental scientists similarly claimed that DDT harmed humans and caused cancer, thus resulting in a near worldwide ban on the use of that pesticide. Now, four decades later, the scientific community has found no harm to humans from DDT, [30] so it has been reintroduced to fight the mosquitoes that carry malaria. [31] Regrettably, in the intervening years, between one and two million persons each year needlessly died each year from malaria because DDT had been banned. [32]

¡P Recent years have been filled with scientific claims that embryonic stem-cell research holds the cure for human maladies from Alzheimer¡¦s to diabetes to the reversal of spinal cord injuries and everything in between. [33] However, after twenty-five years of embryonic stem-cell research, not a single cure has been documented, [34] yet during the same time, adult stem-cell research has produced dozens of documented cures for some of mankind¡¦s most serious medical problems. [35]

¡P For more than a century, scientists have asserted unaided materialistic evolution ¡V that God had no part in the appearance of man. Yet, despite a century of this aggressive ¡§scientific¡¨ indoctrination, today only 12-18 percent of the nation accepts that position; some eighty percent do not believe what ¡§science¡¨ avows on this issue. [36]

¡P Less than a decade ago, science was warning of the worldwide problems that would result from the world arriving at a new millennia ¡V a problem known as Y2K, or the millennium bug. It was viewed as an impending disaster, and after U. S. Senators received a 160-page report on the issue in a closed-door briefing session, ¡§Senator Christopher Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, advised citizens to stock up on canned goods. Senator Gordon Smith, an Oregon Republican, suggested that passengers ask airlines about Y2K before boarding a plane this New Year¡¦s Eve. Senator Robert Bennett, Republican of Utah, said there was a great likelihood of economic disruptions around the world . . . [and] would not rule out the possibility of intercontinental warfare as a result of Y2K.¡¨ [37] States such as Ohio built underground bunkers into which they moved state operations in preparation for the coming massive failures; the U. S. military and National Guard were put on alert; the U. S. Treasury printed an additional $200 million in extra currency; and the FBI created a special division to deal with the problems. The U. S. spent some $225 billion to address an impending disaster based on what turned out to be inaccurate scientific warnings. [38]

¡P In the 1970s, scientists claimed that aerosols were a leading cause of harm to the environment, [39] but a recent report now shows that ¡§Aerosols actually have a cooling effect on global temperatures¡¨ which helps ¡§cancel out the warming effect of CO2.¡¨ [40]
In short, science ¡V especially environmental science ¡V has a demonstrated pattern of announcing strong and emphatic conclusions and then later reversing itself.

Further buoying the current skepticism about man-caused Global Warming is the fact that the scientific clamor about radical climate change has been occurring for almost a century. For example, in the 1920s, the newspapers were filled with scientists warning of a fast approaching Glacial Age; but in the 1930s, scientists reversed themselves and instead predicted serious Global Warming. [41] But by 1972, Time was citing numerous scientific reports warning of imminent ¡§runaway glaciation,¡¨ [42] and in 1975, Newsweek reported overwhelming scientific evidence that proved an approaching Ice Age, with scientists warning the government to stockpile food; proposals were even advanced to melt the artic ice cap in an effort to help forestall the oncoming Ice Age. [43] In fact, in 1976, the U. S. Government itself even released a study affirming that ¡§the earth is heading into some sort of mini-ice age.¡¨ [44] Now, however, just a few years later, the warning of an imminent Ice Age has been replaced with the warning of an impending Global Warming disaster. In less than a century, environmental science has completely reversed itself on this issue no less than three times.

Yet, in deference to the scientific community, some of the reversals in their predictions are completely understandable, for the scientific community was merely responding to the changing temperature trends as measured at the Artic. For example, notice that on the chart below, the temperature did indeed fall throughout the 1920s, rise throughout the 1930s, fall throughout the 1960s, and has been rising since the 1980s. However, is the current temperature rise man-caused as environmental activists and liberals claim, or might it stem from something else? Harvard astrophysicist Dr. Willie Soon has correlated the last century of temperature changes to solar activity rather than to human activity producing increased carbon-dioxide emissions. [45] Those charts therefore suggest that unless Congress can pass legislation controlling the sun, it is unlikely that restricting human activity will have any significant effect in reducing the rising global temperatures.

Another indication of the current volatility of the science among Global Warming proponents is the fact that they are reversing themselves even on their own recent claims. For example, just a few years ago scientists predicted that the seas would rise from 20 to 40 feet because of Global Warming, [46] with ¡§waves crashing against the steps of the U.S. Capitol¡¨ that would ¡§launch boats from the bottom of the Capitol steps¡¨; additionally, one-third of Florida and large parts of Texas were projected to be under water. [47] Now, however, the estimates have been revised radically downward to a maximum water rise of anywhere from only a few inches to just a few feet at most. [48] Clearly, the science on this issue continues to oscillate; in fact, Senator Inhofe is one of many who have tracked the number of leading scientists who, after announcing their position in support of anthropogenic Global Warming, have reversed that position upon further research. This lack of consensus, coupled with the issuing of so many forceful assertions followed by subsequent repudiations, certainly merits a very cautious and guarded approach to any proposed congressional policy on this subject.

The truth is that Evangelicals and people of conservative religious faith are very comfortable with theological teachings that have been proved correct for millennia, but not with science that often reverses its own claims on the same issue. And while science is still debating the causes of Global Warming and trying to decide where the ocean waves will end up, religious conservatives rest in the many promises of the Scriptures. For example, in Genesis 8:21-22, God promised that the natural cycles would continue (¡§While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease¡¨); and Psalm 104:9 declares: ¡§You set a boundary that they [the waters] may not pass over, so that they will not return to cover the earth¡¨; and in Jeremiah 5:22, God asks: ¡§Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree that it [the sea] cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, yet they cannot prevail.¡¨ To date, neither science nor experience has disproved the promises of those Scriptures. Considering not only the theological beliefs of Evangelicals but also the rapidly-changing science surrounding anthropogenic Global Warming, the skepticism of religious conservatives on this issue is understandable.

The third factor affecting Evangelicals¡¦ approach to man-caused Global Warming is how they rank that issue among other issues of importance to them, for Evangelicals are concerned about many issues, not just one. In fact, polls indicate that it is not conservative Christians who are fixated with single issues such as abortion but rather it is liberals. As a recent poll on Americans¡¦ views toward the judiciary reported, for liberals, ¡§no other issue rivals abortion in importance,¡¨ but among Evangelicals, ¡§three-quarters . . . view abortion as very important, [and] nearly as many place great importance on court rulings on the rights of detained terrorist suspects (69%) and whether to permit religious displays on government property (68%).¡¨ [49] Very simply, Evangelicals tend to have many issues of importance on their list of concerns, not just one. So where does the issue of man-caused Global Warming rank on that list of concerns?
Current polling shows that Evangelicals are not cohesive about the issue; [50] and while 12 percent of the nation overall ranks Global Warming as a top priority issue, [51] less than 6 percent of Evangelicals do so. [52] However, they do remain the most cohesive group in the nation on many other issues, including their opposition to abortion, gay marriage, and civil unions; [53] in teaching teenagers to abstain from sex until marriage; [54] and in support of public religious expressions. [55] In fact, in this latter area, among Evangelicals, 99.5 percent support public displays of the Ten Commandments; 99 percent support keeping the phrase ¡§In God We Trust¡¨ on the nation¡¦s currency; 96 percent support keeping ¡§under God¡¨ in the Pledge of Allegiance; and 86 percent support teaching Creationism in the public school classroom; additionally, 94 percent oppose allowing the use of profanity on broadcast television. [56] It is unlikely that Global Warming will overshadow these other issues at anytime in the near future.

One other issue on which Evangelicals show cohesive support is in global efforts to fight extreme poverty: not only do 90 percent support such efforts, [57] but 87 percent directly cite their Evangelical faith as the reason for ¡§helping those less fortunate than [them]selves.¡¨ [58] Yet, significantly, the poor will suffer most under the current ¡§cap and trade¡¨ policy proposals for reducing man-caused Global Warming. (Under ¡§cap & trade¡¨ programs, a ¡§cap¡¨ is set on the total amount of emissions permitted and companies may then buy and ¡§trade¡¨ to receive permits to release emissions). Independent analyses affirm that ¡§cap and trade¡¨ programs definitely will be ¡§regressive¡¨ ¡V that is, there will definitely be higher consumer costs caused by the programs, and those higher costs will be felt most directly by the poor who least can afford to bear those costs as the price they pay for energy and utilities will soar. (See, for example, the April 27, 2007, report from the Congressional Budget Office [59] or the report ¡§A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor: An Evangelical Response to Global Warming¡¨ from the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance. [60]) Given the fact that the current proposals will harshly impact the poor in developing nations and dramatically impede their hopes for a more prosperous life, it is even less likely that Evangelicals will place the theoretical needs of the environment above the actual needs of the poor.

In summary, the three primary factors influencing how Evangelicals respond to the current vigorous debate on Global Warming are: (1) their theological views of man and his relationship to nature and the environment; (2) their skepticism over scientific disputes until a clear and unambiguous consensus has emerged; and (3) their ranking of that issue within the list of the many other issues of concern to them. (Of course, the fact the climate-change agenda is being so aggressively promoted by the same groups which regularly oppose Evangelicals on core issues of faith and values further exacerbates Evangelicals¡¦ suspicion about anthropogenic, or man-caused, Global Warming.) Currently, I do not find any substantial widespread movement in the mainstream Evangelical community to support any policy proposal on Global Warming that would significantly alter the way individuals now live, or that might inflict additional burdens on the poor and potentially confine them to a permanent state of poverty. Based on these points, I urge extreme caution in crafting any legislative policy on this issue.

[1] At the time this document was being prepared for submission to the Senate Committee, additional inquiries were still underway by the author; that information was not available in time for the hearing, but was subsequently submitted to the Committee and then added to this document, thus making it slightly different from what was originally submitted to the Senate Committee. Additionally, this document also incorporates much of what the author presented orally during the question and answer period with the Senators.

[2] Time, ¡§The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals In America¡¨ (at http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050207/photoessay/3.html).

[3] See, for example, Wheaton College, ¡§Defining Evangelicalism¡¨ (at http://www.wheaton.edu/isae/defining_evangelicalism.html).

[4] Such as the National Association of Evangelicals, which now represents about 30 million people from 60 member denominations as well as individual churches from numerous other denominations (at National Association of Evangelicals, ¡§Benefits of Membership¡¨ (at http://www.nae.net/index.cfm?FUSEACTION=nae.benefits).

[5] For example, mainline churches that make up organizations such as the National Council of Churches have lost over 35 percent of their members since the 1970s. ¡§The National Council of Churches (NCC) now receives more funding from private foundations, most of them secular and politically liberal, than from its member denominations, it was revealed at its fall 2005 Governing Board meeting. In the fiscal year ending in June 2005, the NCC received $1,761,714 from liberal foundations, compared to $1,750,332 from its 35 member churches. The foundations include the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Tides Foundation, the Better World Fund, the Sierra Club, the AARP, the Ocean Conservancy, and the National Religious Partnership on the Environment,¡¨ from Touchstone, ¡§NCC Exit Poll¡¨ (at http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=19-02-057-r).

[6] Available at Interfaith Coalition for Environmental Stewardship, ¡§The Cornwall Declaration on Environmental Stewardship¡¨ (at http://www.stewards.net/CornwallDeclaration.htm); or Acton Institute, ¡§Cornwall Declaration¡¨ (at http://www.acton.org/ppolicy/environment/cornwall.html); or Texas Public Policy Foundation, ¡§VERITAS: Summer, 2000: Cornwall Declaration on Environmental Stewardship¡¨ (at http://www.texaspolicy.com/pdf/2000-veritas-1-2-cornwall.pdf).

[7] In Matthew 10:31 and Luke 12:7, Christ reminds man that ¡§You are of more value than many sparrows,¡¨ and Psalm 8:6-8 declares: ¡§You have made man to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all animal, birds, and fish, whether on land or in the sea.¡¨

[8] In Genesis 1:25-29, God created all, and then placed man over his creation to interact with all of it, whether animate or inanimate.
[9] Interfaith Stewardship Alliance, ¡§About ISA¡¨ (at http://www.interfaithstewardship.org/pages/aboutisa.php).

[10] Genesis 2:8-20 records man¡¦s stewardship and interaction with creation, not his removal from it. God put him in the Garden to tend and keep it; and God brought his creation before Adam, who named it all.

[11] See, for example, Romans 1:20-25; for instances where man wrongly turned their primary focus toward animals and the creation rather than the Creator; see also Exodus 32:7-9, 34-35; 2 Kings 17:14-16l 2 Kings 18:3-5; 2 Chronicles 11:14-15; Nehemiah 9:17-19; Psalms 106:19-23; Ezekiel 8:9-12; Acts 7:40-42; etc.

[12] Financial Post, ¡§They call this a consensus?¡¨ (at http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=c47c1209-233b-412c-b6d1-5c755457a8af).

[13] Financial Post, ¡§They call this a consensus?¡¨ (at http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=c47c1209-233b-412c-b6d1-5c755457a8af).

[14] Financial Post, ¡§They call this a consensus?¡¨ (at http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=c47c1209-233b-412c-b6d1-5c755457a8af).

[15] Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, ¡§Overview: Research and Development¡¨ (at http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p357.html), ¡§Petition Project: Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide¡¨ (at http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p36.htm ), and ¡§Petition Project: Explanation¡¨ (at http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p357.htm); and a partial list of signatories from The Heartland Institute, ¡§The Heidelberg Appeal¡¨ (at http://heartland.org/archives/perspectives/appeal.htm).

[16] Wall Street Journal Online, ¡§There is No ¡¥Consensus¡¦ on Global Warming¡¨ (at http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB115127582141890238.html).

[17] Financial Post, ¡§They call this a consensus?¡¨ (at http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=c47c1209-233b-412c-b6d1-5c755457a8af).

[18] ABC News, ¡§NASA Administrator Michael Griffin Questions Need to Combat Warming,¡¨ (at http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3229696&page=1).

[19] See, for example, articles at Harmonious Living, ¡§A New Global Warming Strategy¡¨ (at http://www.harmoniousliving.co.za/Environment/Eco%11Friendly/A-New-Global-Warming-Strategy.html); Veganica.com, ¡§Biggest Cause of Global Warming Ignored¡¨ (at http://veganica.com/info/news.php?id=34); Energy Tribune, ¡§Global Warming: Witnesses for the Skeptical Perspective¡¨ (at http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm?aid=500); and others.

[20] ABC News, ¡§NASA Administrator Michael Griffin Questions Need to Combat Warming,¡¨ (at http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3229696&page=1).

[21] E-Wire, ¡§Scientists Rally Around NASA Chief After Global Warming Comments¡¨ (at http://www.ewire.com/display.cfm/Wire_ID/3967).

[22] See, for example, MSNBC, ¡§NASA chief regrets remarks on global warming¡¨ (at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19058588/).

[23] Evangelical Climate Initiative, ¡§Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action¡¨ (at http://www.christiansandclimate.org/statement).

[24] Interfaith Stewardship Alliance, ¡§About ISA¡¨ (at http://www.interfaithstewardship.org/pages/aboutisa.php).

[25] See, for example, testimony of Andrew Kimbrell of the International Center for Technology Assessment before the U. S. Senate Judiciary Committee on February 5, 2002, from United States Senate, ¡§Committee on the Judiciary: Human Cloning: Must We Sacrifice Medical Research in the Name of a Total Ban?¡¨ (at http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=147&wit_id=129).

[26] See, for example, Paul R. Ehrlich, The Population Bomb (New York: Ballantine Books, 1968), and many other books and articles.

[27] ¡§Get Serious About Population,¡¨ The New York Times, April 12, 1984, A-26.

[28] Warren Brown, ¡§A Population Bomb: Report Warns Increase in Children May Trigger Third-World Unrest,¡¨ The Washington Post, March 10, 1979, A-2; see also ¡§The Right Number of American,¡¨ The New York Times, February 2, 1989, A-24; ¡§We are too many,¡¨ The Globe and Mail (Canada), September 14, 1983; ¡§Our crowded planet,¡¨ The Globe and Mail (Canada), December 26, 1985.

[29] International Labour Office, Global Employment Trends¡¨ (at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/download/trnden03.pdf).
[30] Africa Fighting Malaria, ¡§Dr. Conyers, I Presume¡¨ (at http://www.fightingmalaria.org/article.aspx?id=785); Spiked, ¡§Without DDT, malaria bites back¡¨ (at http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/000000005591.htm).

[31] Africa Fighting Malaria, ¡§Dr. Conyers, I Presume¡¨ (at http://www.fightingmalaria.org/article.aspx?id=785); Spiked, ¡§Without DDT, malaria bites back¡¨ (at http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/000000005591.htm).

[32] Africa Fighting Malaria, ¡§Dr. Conyers, I Presume¡¨ (at http://www.fightingmalaria.org/article.aspx?id=785); Canada Free Press, ¡§Forty years of perverse ¡¥social responsibility¡¦¡¨ (at http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/driessen032607.htm); Spiked, ¡§Without DDT,

malaria bites back¡¨ (at http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/000000005591.htm).
[33] See, for example, National Institute of Health, ¡§Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Healthcare Questions: Why are doctors and scientists so excited about human embryonic stem cells?¡¨ (at http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/faqs.asp); NPR.org, ¡§Q&A: Embryonic Stem Cells: Exploding the Myths¡¨ (at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5376892); and many others.

[34] See, for example, National Review, ¡§Nascent Falsehood: If embryonic research is so promising, why do its backers need to lie?¡¨ (at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NWIyMjNmODVlMTQ5OTM0MjFmZTk2YmEyMzlmZDcyOTA ); New York Sun, ¡§Empty Hope Of Stem Cell Science¡¨ (at http://www.nysun.com/article/45658); Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics, ¡§Where¡¦s The Beef¡¨ (at http://www.stemcellresearch.org/facts/WheresTheBeef.pdf) citing Diana Kapp, ¡§The $3 Billion Cell Job,¡¨ San Francisco, January, 2005 (acknowledging ¡§Not a single embryonic stem cell has ever been tested in a human being, for any disease¡¨); National Review, ¡§Science¡¦s Stem-Cell Scam: It should change its name to Pseudoscience¡¨ (at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjliM2MwZTU1MzI5NTc2ZWFhNTE1NmMwNzNhZDA3MGM); and many others.

[35] See, for example, CorCell, ¡§Expectant Families: Diseases Treated with Stem Cells¡¨ (at http://www.corcell.com/expectant/diseases_treated.html); Lifenews.com, ¡§Science¡¦s New Era Centers On Adult, Not Embryonic Stem Cell Research¡¨ (at http://www.lifenews.com/bio2138.html); National Review, ¡§Science¡¦s Stem-Cell Scam: It should change its name to Pseudoscience¡¨ (at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjliM2MwZTU1MzI5NTc2ZWFhNTE1NmMwNzNhZDA3MGM); The Washington Times, ¡§Adult stem cells produce treatment breakthroughs¡¨ (at http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20031228-114541-5034r); Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics, ¡§Where¡¦s The Beef? Hint: Not with Embryonic Stem Cells¡¨ (at http://www.stemcellresearch.org/facts/WheresTheBeef.pdf); and many others.

[36] For example, the contrast was 13% v. 78% in the March 28-29, 2007 Newsweek Poll, and 13% v. 82% in the May 8-11, 2006 Gallup Poll, and 17% v. 76% in the April 6-9, 2006 CBS Poll, and 12% v. 84% in the September 8-11, 2005 in CNN/USA Today Poll, from PollingReport.com, ¡§Science and Nature: Origin of Human Life¡¨ (at http://www.pollingreport.com/science.htm); etc.

[37] United States Senate, ¡§Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship: Senate Y2K Watchers Sound Muted Alarm¡¨ (at http://www.sbc.senate.gov/comm/small_business/general/record.cfm?id=191131).

[38] For a collage of the various articles chronicling the government¡¦s preparedness actions, see Cinemonky, ¡§Y2K Emergency Update¡¨ (at http://www.cinemonkey.com/reviews/redden/y2k.html).

[39] Center for International Earth Science Information Network, ¡§Stratospheric Ozone Depletion¡¨ (at http://www.ciesin.org/docs/011-464/011-464.html); citing W. Sullivan. ¡§Tests Show Aerosol Gases May Pose Threat to Earth,¡¨ New York Times, 26 September 1974, A1.

[40] EarthSave, ¡§A New Global Warming Strategy: How Environmentalists are Overlooking Vegetarianism as the Most Effective Tool Against Climate Change in Our Lifetimes¡¨ (at http://earthsave.org/globalwarming.htm).

[41] Chicago Daily Tribune, August 9, 1923, ¡§Scientist Says Arctic Ice Will Wipe Out Canada¡¨; Los Angeles Times, October 7, 1932, ¡§Fifth Ice Age Is On The Way¡¨; Los Angeles Times, April 6, 1924, ¡§New Ice-Age is Forecast¡¨; Los Angeles Times, March 11, 1929, ¡§Is Another Ice Age Coming?¡¨; New York Times, February 24, 1867, ¡§The Glacial Period¡¨; New York Times, February 24, 1895, ¡§Prospects of Another Glacial Period¡¨; New York Times, October 7, 1912, ¡§Sees Glacial Era Coming¡¨; New York Times, June 10, 1923, ¡§Menace of a New Ice Age to be Tested by Scientists¡¨; New York Times, September 28, 1924, ¡§MacMillan Reports Signs of New Ice Age¡¨; New York Times, January 27, 1972, ¡§Climate Experts Assay Ice Age Clues¡¨; New York Times, May 21, 1975, ¡§Scientists Ask Why World Climate Is Changing¡¨; ¡§Major Cooling May Be Ahead¡¨; Washington Post, August 10, 1923, ¡§Volcanoes in Australia¡¨; ¡§Ice Age Coming Here¡¨; Washington Post, October 28, 1928, ¡§An Ice-Free World, What Then?¡¨; Washington Post, August 2, 1930,¡¨Hot Weather¡¨; Washington Post, May 3, 1932, ¡§Second World Flood Seen, if Earth¡¦s Heat Increases¡¨; Washington Post, January 11, 1970, ¡§Colder Winters Held Dawn of New Ice Age¡¨; Atlantic, December 1932, ¡§This Cold, Cold World¡¨; Fortune, August 1954, ¡§Climate ¡V the Heat May Be Off¡¨; International Wildlife, July-August 1975, ¡§In the Grip of a New Ice Age?¡¨; Newsweek, April 28, 1975, ¡§The Cooling World¡¨; Science News, Nov 15, 1969, ¡§Earth¡¦s Cooling Climate¡¨; Science News, March 1, 1975, ¡§Climate Change: Chilling Possibilities¡¨; Time, January 2, 1939, ¡§Warmer World¡¨; Time, October 29, 1951, ¡§Retreat of the Cold¡¨; Time, June 24, 1974, ¡§Another Ice Age?¡¨; U.S. News & World Report, May 31, 1976, ¡§Worrisome CIA Report; Even U.S. Farms May be Hit by Cooling Trend.¡¨ See Business & Media Institute, ¡§Fire and Ice¡¨ (at http://www.businessandmedia.org/specialreports/2006/fireandice/fireandice.asp).

[42] Time, ¡§Another Ice Age?¡¨ (at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,910467,00.html).

[43] ¡§The Cooling World,¡¨ Newsweek, April 28, 1975. See also RealClearPolitics, ¡§George Will: Cooler Heads Needed on Warming¡¨ (at http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/04/cooler_heads_needed_on_warming.html): citing Science magazine (Dec. 10, 1976) warned of ¡§extensive Northern Hemisphere glaciation.¡¨ Science Digest (February 1973) reported that ¡§the world¡¦s climatologists are agreed¡¨ that we must ¡§prepare for the next ice age.¡¨ The Christian Science Monitor (¡§Warning: Earth¡¦s Climate is Changing Faster Than Even Experts Expect,¡¨ Aug. 27, 1974) reported that glaciers ¡§have begun to advance,¡¨ ¡§growing seasons in England and Scandinavia are getting shorter¡¨ and ¡§the North Atlantic is cooling down about as fast as an ocean can cool.¡¨ Newsweek agreed (¡§The Cooling World,¡¨ April 28, 1975) that meteorologists ¡§are almost unanimous¡¨ that catastrophic famines might result from the global cooling that the New York Times (Sept. 14, 1975) said ¡§may mark the return to another ice age.¡¨ The Times (May 21, 1975) also said ¡§a major cooling of the climate is widely considered inevitable¡¨ now that it is ¡§well established¡¨ that the Northern Hemisphere¡¦s climate ¡§has been getting cooler since about 1950.¡¨ . . . ¡§About the mystery that vexes ABC ¡V Why have Americans been slow to get in lock step concerning global warming? ¡V perhaps the . . . problem is big crusading journalism.¡¨

[44] ¡§Worrisome CIA report; Even U.S. Farms May Be Hit By Cooling Trend,¡¨ U. S. News & World Report, May 31, 1976.

[45] Charts prepared and presented by Harvard astrophysicist Dr. Willie Soon, ¡§Remarks for the Council on National Policy Meeting,¡¨ May 11, 2007 (at www.acton.org/blog/uploads/frcpanelhandout.pdf).

[46] See, for example, Sea Grant New York, ¡§Trouble on the Rise¡¨ (at http://www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/Pages/CoastalGISMaps/Newsday-Future.htm); ClimateChangesFutures.org, ¡§Climate Changes Futures: Health, Ecological and Economic Dimensions¡¨ (at http://www.climatechangefutures.org/pdf/CCF_Report_Final_10.27.pdf ); Environmental Defense, ¡§Global Warming¡¦s Increasingly Visible Impacts¡¨ (at http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/4891_GlobalWarmingImpacts.pdf).

[47] Robert Locke, AP Science Writer, January 8, 1979, coving the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting, Christian Science Monitor, October 8, 1980.

[48] See, for example, Environmental Defense, ¡§Global Warming¡¦s Increasingly Visible Impacts¡¨ (at http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/4891_GlobalWarmingImpacts.pdf); Washingtonpost.com, ¡§We¡¦re All New Orleanians Now¡¨ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/18/AR2006081800984_pf.html; Sea Grant New York, ¡§Trouble on the Rise¡¨ (at http://www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/Pages/CoastalGISMaps/Newsday-Future.htm); ClimateChangesFutures.org, ¡§Climate Changes Futures: Health, Ecological and Economic Dimensions¡¨ (at http://www.climatechangefutures.org/pdf/CCF_Report_Final_10.27.pdf ).

[49] Pew Research Center, ¡§Abortion and Rights of Terror Suspects Top Court Issues¡¨ (at http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=253).

[50] ABCNews/Time/Stanford Poll: Global Warming; March 26, 2
006, (at www.climate.noaa.gov/education/pdfs/SIEABCReleaseonGWpoll.pdf), p. 7 that ¡§There¡¦s been interest in the views of evangelical white Protestants . . . since 86 evangelical leaders last month signed a statement citing ¡¥general agreement¡¦ among scientists working on the issue that climate change is happening, and urging federal legislation to deal with it. This survey, however, finds little resonance for that statement among evangelical white Protestants.¡¨

[51] MarketWatch, ¡§Political climate changing on global warming¡¨ (at ).
[52] OneNewsNow, ¡§POLL: Priority of 'global warming' for evangelicals¡¨ (at http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/06/poll_priority_of_global_warmin.php).

[53] Pew Research Center, ¡§Pragmatic Americans Liberal and Conservative on Social Issues¡¨ (at http://people-press.org/reports/print.php3?PageID=1071).

[54] Pew Research Center, ¡§Abortion and Rights of Terror Suspects Top Court Issues¡¨ (at http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=253).

[55] Pew Research Center, ¡§Abortion and Rights of Terror Suspect
s Top Court Issues¡¨ (at http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=253).
[56] The Christian Post, ¡§Barna Poll: 33 Percent of Adults Agree with Declaring America a ¡¥Christian Nation¡¦¡¨ (at http://www.christianpost.com/article/20040731/20420_Barna_Poll:_33_Percent_of_Adults_Agree_with_Declaring_America_a_%22Christian_Nation%22.htm).

[57] Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, ¡§Poll: Faith Sometimes Drives Support for AIDS, Poverty Relief¡¨ (at http://www.socialpolicyandreligion.org/article_index/article_print.cfm?id=2155).

[58] Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, ¡§Poll: Faith Sometimes Drives Support for AIDS, Poverty Relief¡¨ (at http://www.socialpolicyandreligion.org/article_index/article_print.cfm?id=2155).

[59] Congressional Budget Office, ¡§Trade-Offs in Allocating Allowances for CO2 Emissions¡¨ (at http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/80xx/doc8027/04-25-Cap_Trade.pdf).

[60] Cornwall Alliance, ¡§A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor: An Evangelical Response to Global Warming¡¨ (at http://www.cornwallalliance.org/docs/Call_to_Truth.pdf); Interfaith Stewardship Alliance (at http://www.interfaithstewardship.org/pages/home.php). Distributed by www.ChristianWorldviewNetwork.com

Calling Evil Good

2007-08-17T03:37:00.000-07:00

There have been a couple of visible trials of late in which the defendate claimed abuse. In order to do this, married couples have been made to appear perverted because of intimate acts in which they engaged in their private relationship.

What is interesting about this is that we live in a society in which "anything goes". One mya be immodest, openly promiscuous, or homosexual. Even amoung some, bestiality is acceptable. In the advice column of the local paper, we are treated with a constant barrage of suggestions that "living together" is an acceptable manifestation of "good relationships" and pregnancy outside of marriage is rewarded

The prophet Isaiah said, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!"(5:20). Yet our society is filled with sin while we simply celebrate the fact with those so engaged.

The Lord condemns these"works of the flesh" saying, "that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-20). Those of us who love the truth of God cannot accept such. Nor can we reward those who so engage themselves(Ephesians 5:3-13). We must get straight what is right and what is wrong.

Simple test to see if someone has the True Jesus or not

2007-08-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

There is a simple way to see if someone has the true Jesus or not. By true Jesus, I mean the one of the Bible, not the one of Mormonism who is the brother of the devil, nor the Jehovah's Witness Jesus who is Michael the Archangel, and certainly not the one of the New Age Movement who is simply a man in tune with the divine consciousness.

The Jesus of the Bible is prayed to (Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 116:4 and Zech. 13:9 with 1 Cor. 1:1-2). The Jesus of the Bible is worshiped (Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; 28:9; John 9:35-38; Heb. 1:6) The Jesus of the Bible called God (John 20:28; Heb. 1:8). In cult theologies, Jesus is a creation in one form or another (this is why the Jehovah's Witnesses add the word ‘other' four times to Col. 1:16-17). Therefore, He is not to be prayed to, worshiped, or called God.

If you are a Christian then you will be able to pray to Jesus, not just through. You will be able to worship Jesus equally with the Father. And you will be able to call Jesus your Lord and God. A cultist cannot do this. A cultist has a false Jesus, and, therefore, a false hope of salvation.

The following is an expansion of the above points If you put your faith in a Jesus that is not true, then your faith is useless. The power of faith does not rest in the act of believing, but in its object; the greatest faith in someone false is the same as no faith at all. Sincerity and false messiahs do not bridge the chasm of sin between God and man, only the Jesus of the Bible does that. Who then, is the true Jesus? Jesus said that He was the only One who reveals the Father (Matt. 11:27 and Luke 10:22): "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (NIV). So, to know the true Father you must first know the true Jesus. The question is, how do you recognize the true Jesus? Simple, look in the Bible. If you were to say, "Father receive my spirit," who would you be praying to? The Father, right? If you were to say, "Jesus receive my spirit," who would you be praying to? Jesus. In Acts 7:59, Stephen, while full of the Holy Spirit (v. 55), prayed to Jesus:

And they went on stoning Stephen as he called upon the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." (See also Acts 9:14; Rom. 10:13.)

Stephen prayed to Jesus, not just through Him. If it is acceptable for him then it should be alright for you. The Jesus of the Bible is prayed to. I pray to Jesus. Do you? If yes, good. If not, why? But you might say, "Jesus said to pray to the Father." I do. But I also pray to Jesus as Stephen did. If the church is only to pray to the Father then why did Stephen, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, address Jesus in His prayer? Was he wrong? See also 1 Cor. 1:1-2 with Psalm 116:4 where calling upon the name of the Lord is prayer and prayer is addressed to Jesus by the Corinthian church. Jesus was also worshipped.

The verses are: And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God's son! (MMatt. 14:33). And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him (Matt. 28:9). See also Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; 28:9; John 9:35-38; Heb. 1:6.

The Jesus of the Bible is prayed to and worshiped. Do you do what Jesus' disciples did? Do you pray to and worship the true Jesus? Since it is against Mormon and Jehovah's Witness theologies to pray to Jesus but only through if you do worship Jesus, how can you do that without praying to Him? And, do you honor Him equally with the Father as Jesus said to do in John 5:23? If you do not, then why not? There is just one more issue to address. Do you call Jesus your Lord and God? After Jesus' resurrection He showed Himself to many people. One of them was Thomas. John 20:28:

Thomas answered and said to Him [Jesus], "My Lord and my God!" The literal Greek says, "The Lord of me and the God of me." "My God!" is a pagan expression used today. Two points can be made from this. First, do you agree that Thomas a devout Jew was swearing, like a pagan of today? Second, there is no biblical account of swear words. Peter did swear in Mark 14:71 by swearing he did not know Jesus. To say Thomas was swearing, or merely exclaiming profound surprise has no evidence. God calls Jesus God in Heb. 1:8: But of the Son He [the Father] says, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever..." Unfortunately, in the Jehovah's Witness Bible in Heb. 1:8 you'll see that it says, "God is your throne, forever and ever." This, technically speaking, is a legitimate translation.

The reason this is so lies in the nature of the Greek language and the fact that the form of the word "God" and "Throne" both end in a noun construction that is interchangeable, therefore making the NWT translation legitimate. It is unfortunate that the Watchtower has chosen to do this. Nevertheless, if you'd like to read more about this, then go to The Jehovah's Witnesses and Heb. 1:8 and Psalm 45:6. Conclusion: The Jesus of the Bible is prayed to (Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 116:4 and Zech. 13:9 with 1 Cor. 1:1-2), worshiped (Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; 28:9; John 9:35-38; Heb. 1:6), and called Lord and God (John 20:28; Heb. 1:8). If I have the wrong Jesus, and therefore I serve the wrong God, then why do I pray to Jesus, worship Him, and call Him my Lord and God as the Scriptures teach? But, if you have the true Jesus, why is it you don't do those things? Why does JW theology not agree with the scriptures? I think the answer is simple.

The Jesus of the cults is not the true Jesus. Therefore, they are wrong.

11 Reasons to Teach Biblical Doctrine

2007-08-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

By Brannon Howse

This is an excerpt from Brannon’s new book: Building A Biblical Worldview Verse by Verse. Click here for more information or to order your copy:
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/secure/store/product.php?ProductID=483

Besides the all-important reason of keeping people from having to hear Jesus say “depart from me,” there are 11 benefits here and now of teaching Biblical doctrine.

1. Biblical doctrine builds discernment and reveals the will of God for our lives.

• Discernment

What parent does not want their children to have discernment to make Godly decisions? Discernment and sound judgment are a by-products of teaching Biblical doctrine.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, “but test everything, hold fast what is good.”

And Romans 12:2 commands, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

• Revealing the will of God for our lives

In John 7:17 Jesus said, “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.

2. Biblical doctrine prepares us for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

3. There has been a vast falling away from Biblical truth.

The Bible describes this great apostasy or this falling away from Biblical truth in 2 Timothy 4:3-4:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ear away from truth and be turned aside to fables.”

4. False teaching is destroying lives.

Enemies of the truth know exactly how to encourage false teaching: “Education is thus a most powerful ally of humanism. What can the theistic Sunday schools, meeting for an hour once a week, and teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?”

—1933, Charles Francis Potter, Humanism: A New Religion 1

And Colossians 2:8 prescribes the antidote: “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

5. Biblical doctrine is not boring but a strong mooring.

As I said earlier, most self-professing Christians cannot articulate, much less defend, the essential doctrines of the Christian faith, but why is it that we spend so much time on things that will not last and that do not matter? Adults as well as teens can tell you all about pop culture, about sports teams and superstars but can these same teens and adults tell you how we know Jesus is God, how we know the Bible is true, or how we know Jesus rose from the dead?

Biblical doctrine is the Gospel, the will of God for our lives. It is what Jesus talked about during his earthly ministry. In spite of how it’s sometimes been presented, the real picture of Jesus and His teachings is riveting. Jesus commanded respect, inspired commitment, and renewed lives in ruin.

6. Biblical doctrine taught early and consistently builds a faith that lasts.

In 2 Timothy 3:15 Paul, speaking about Timothy, says, “And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

Who was it that taught Timothy the scriptures from such an early age? 2 Timothy 1:5 answers the question: “When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice which I am persuaded is in you also.”

Timothy’s mother and grandmother taught him early, and he became one of the most powerful leaders in the first century church.

Deuteronomy 6:7 also reminds us to always be teaching God’s truth to our children: “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

7. Biblical doctrine stirs the heart and mind.

“Heart” refers to the core of a person’s being, and it is significant that the Bible mentions the heart 826 times.

Proverbs 4:23 explains that out of the heart “spring the issues of life.”

From the heart proceed our good and bad thoughts, emotions, and behavior. So preparing the soil of a child’s or teen’s heart is crucial if we want to plant the seeds of Biblical truth and see them grow to maturity.

The Bible also commands us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. And Romans 10:10 makes the point: “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Because there is no application without acquisition.

If we want to see our children, friends and family apply Biblical truth to all areas of life, they must first know what the truth is. Knowledge means the acquisition of truth; wisdom means the application of truth.

So where do we find knowledge and wisdom?

Proverbs 2: 6 explains, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding”

Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

And Proverbs 1:7: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”

If adults and teens are to acquire wisdom and knowledge, we must encourage them to study Biblical doctrine and come to understand the character and nature of God it reveals.

Biblical doctrine convicts those that contradict.

Titus 1:9 says: “Holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.” The scriptures are great at setting the record straight—whether in theology, doctrine, or lifestyle.

Remember, too, what 2 Timothy 3: 16 says: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

10. Biblical doctrine will last forever.

The Bible says that grass withers and the flower fades but the Word of God stands forever. The reason is, as John 1:1 tells us, the Word of God is God: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”

So, when we commit ourselves to teaching and training hearts and minds with the Word of God, we are planting in the lives of others something that will last through all eternity.

11. Because lives are at stake, and it is appointed unto every man to die once and then face judgment.

Pay close attention to James 5:19-20: “Brethren, if any among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”

Marching Orders

Would a fireman ignore a fire alarm, lean back in his recliner and watch the rest of the ballgame as hundreds of souls perish in a burning office building? Would an emergency room doctor sip coffee in the break room, reading the latest fishing magazine and ignore the Code Blue alert over the hospital P.A. system? Yet today, Christian school administrators, Sunday School teachers, youth pastors, senior pastors, Christian college professors and presidents, deacons, elders, and parents are just as culpable as they ignore the warnings, the cultural flashing lights, and all the social sirens that scream a spiritual Code Blue—the warning of imminent spiritual and eternal death.

Many of them won’t be disturbed because they are busy entertaining and being entertained. They won’t be distracted because they caught up giving adults and teens what they want, not what they need. They rally to be inclusive, not offensive. They’re committed to consensus more than truth, customers over converts, donors over disciples, a big tent over the narrow way, and self-actualization over self-sacrifice. They will not be awakened from their malaise because they don’t want to change their priorities or practice. The Christian life they falsely conjure offers everything and requires nothing.

Yet we should not be discouraged. God has seldom, if ever, moved among the majority, but He has historically and providentially worked among a remnant. And believe me, there is a remnant. It’s thrilling to see how many and how strong they are who flock to Worldview Weekends because they know their need. As you read this book and share it with your children, you are part of that vestige of hope.

I thank God someone once spoke doctrine into my life, revealed the true condition of my heart and mind, and declared Code Blue for my soul. It’s time we declare Code Blue for the American church and return to teaching sound Biblical doctrine before any more step unwittingly into eternity. I pray that this little book will be used by thousands of parents and grandparents to teach their children Christian doctrine. If we remain faithful to teaching a Biblical worldview and teaching sound theology, we will see lives saved for Christ.

This is an excerpt from Brannon’s new book: Building A Biblical Worldview Verse by Verse. Click here for more information or to order your copy:
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/secure/store/product.php?ProductID=483

Distributed by www.ChristianWorldviewNetwork.com

What If?

2007-08-06T04:33:00.000-07:00

What if you could read minds? What if you knew the winning lottery numbers one day early? What if you could live forever? What if you were breathing your last breath right now? What if you had already eaten your last meal? What if you had your conscience for a reason? What if you knew what the reason was? What if it were a beacon - a warning of an impending doom? What if justice were not corrupt, but something true something eternal? What if the standard for life were a perfect Law you already knew? What if in the stillness of a silent moment you knew you had broken that Law?

What if life is really a test, a series of choices, in which only one choice really matters? What if we ignore the inner warning light which pulses when we lie, steal and lust? What if even our hatred is counted as murder? What if pain and pleasure are only shadows of greater sensations to come? What if there is a Heaven? What if there is a Hell? What if there is a just Judge who knows even our thoughts? What if He holds us accountable for every thought, word and deed? What if our idea of justice is only a shadow of something coming - where the prison times are eternal and no bond can be posted once the sentence is passed? What if death is the fine for breaking an eternal Law? What if someone paid that fine for you? What if Jesus Christ is that person? What if He defeated death by rising from the dead? What if you could turn from your sin, put your faith in Him and live? What if He gave you your conscience to point you to Him?

Every second two people die... What if this is your second? www.WhatIfCard.com

For these or your own custom tracts, visit www.CustomTractSource.com

¿Qué tal si pudieras adivinar lo que otros piensan de ti? ¿Qué tal si supieras el número ganador de la lotería…un día antes del sorteo? ¿Qué tal si pudieras vivir para siempre? ¿Qué tal si éste fuera tu último respiro? ¿Qué tal si has comido tu última cena? ¿Qué tal si tu conciencia se te ha dado con razón? ¿Qué tal si supieras esa razón? ¿Qué tal si fuera un faro—un aviso de penumbra venidera? ¿Qué tal si la justicia no fuera corrupta sino algo verdadero, algo eterno? ¿Qué tal si el criterio para la vida fuera una Ley perfecta, cual ya conoces? ¿Qué tal si en la calma de un momento silencioso tú supieras que has violado esa Ley?

¿Qué tal si la vida es en realidad una prueba, una serie de opciones, en la cual sólo una opción importa? ¿Qué tal si ignoramos la lucesita interna que se prende cada vez que mentimos, robamos o codiciamos? ¿Qué tal si aun nuestro odio fuera considerado como asesinato? ¿Qué tal si el dolor y el placer fueran sólo sombras de sensaciones venideras? ¿Qué tal si existiera el paraíso? ¿Qué tal si existiera el infierno? ¿Qué tal si existe un Juez justo que conoce hasta nuestros pensamientos? ¿Qué tal si nos considera responsables por cada pensamiento, palabra y obra? ¿Qué tal si nuestro concepto de la justicia es sólo una sombra de algo venidero, donde la sentencia es eterna y no hay fianza después de la falla? ¿Qué tal si la muerte es la multa por violar la Ley eterna? ¿Qué tal si alguien pagara tu multa? ¿Qué tal si Él ha vencido a la muerte al resucitar de los muertos? ¿Qué tal si tú pudieras abandonar tu pecado, poner tu fe en Él y vivir? ¿Qué tal si te ha dado la conciencia para mostrarte el camino hacia Él? Cada segundo mueren dos personas….¿Qué tal si éste fuera tu último segundo de vida?

True Repentance

2007-08-01T02:56:00.000-07:00

Are you absolutely sure that you will escape the wrath of God on Judgment Day? Your eternal destiny is the most important thing in the world. Jesus said, "For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36-37). Jesus warned, "Unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, 5). The only way to escape the wrath of God is by genuine repentance. What then is true repentance?

THE FOUNDATION OF TRUE REPENTANCE

Face your wickedness. Your sin has separated you from God. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59:2). "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you" (Luke 15:18). You personally have broken the laws of God intentionally, repeatedly and without remorse. You have lied. You have stolen. You have been sexually immoral in your heart. You have used his name as a curse word. You have dishonored your parents; you have murdered people in your heart with your hatred. Do you admit this?
Fear the fury of God. Do you understand that God is furious with you for your sin? "God is angry with the wicked every day" (Psalms 7:11). "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men" (Romans 1:18). If you die in your sin you will face the undiluted fury and fierceness of Almighty God. For "he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever" (Revelation 14:10-11). Flee from the wrath to come (cf. Luke 3:7)!
Fall before God's only solution. God, in his love, provides the only solution to your sin problem. Jesus Christ died in your place to pay for your sin. Good works cannot save you. They are tainted with sin. The good works you may have done are an offense to God. "But we are like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). Christ died in your place to pay your penalty, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, ...the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4-6).

THE DEFINITION OF TRUE REPENTANCE?

Repentance is essential before we can escape the wrath of God, so what exactly is repentance?

Turning from Sin to Serve. "You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven" (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10). Turn from sin to faith in Christ. True repentance is a total turning of the total person from all sin, to submission to God. "Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19).
Turning in One's Mind. "Father, I nave sinned against heaven and before you" (Luke 15:18). True repentance agrees with God that sin is sin and that God is the true God. The more one learns about God and sin the more that person can genuinely repent. A person has not repented who merely quits a sin because it is unhealthy, while not confessing that thing as sin (1 John 1:9). "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:7).
A Turning of Emotion. "Blessed are you who mourn [weep and grieve over sin]" (Matthew 5:4). Unsaved people enjoy their "guilty pleasures" - sin. Repentant people are grieved by sin. We hate it and are repulsed by it; "put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done" (Ezekiel. 9:4). True, in our sinful nature we are still tempted by the deceitful pleasure of sin but the new man is grieved over any hint of attraction to sin. We hate the fact that we still desire sin! The Spirit of God brings powerful conviction (great blame and shame) upon the Christian who falls into sin (John 16:8). We are ashamed of sin (Isaiah 44:9), and we love God (1 John 4:19; 5:3).
A Turning of the Will. True repentance wants to stop sinning and start serving God. A criminal may be forced to stop certain crimes like theft but does not want to stop. The reality of a jail cell forces him to stop. A truly repentant person cries out to God for deliverance and victory over sin, and fully intends upon turning from sin to serve God (Romans 7:18,21).
A Turning of Actions. "They should repent, turn to God, and prove their repentance by their deeds" (Acts 26:20). True repentance is proven by a radically changed life. "Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance" (Matthew 3:8). If there is no change, there has been no repentance. "Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matthew 3:10). Zacchaeus the tax collector said to Jesus, "'Look Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house'" (Luke 19:8-9).
A Turning in Faith. Repentance is a turning away from sin to saving faith in Christ, "testifying...repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). Those who are trusting their good works for salvation have not yet truly repented.

Repentance turns away from reliance upon works to reliance upon Christ alone who died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Christ died as our substitute in our place! He died for our sin and rose again. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree. Christ died to pay the penalty of death for our sin. "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent because he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world" (Acts 17:30).

A Suggested Prayer

"God, be merciful to me a sinner! Lord Jesus, I repent! I believe you died for me and rose again. I believe you are God the Son, the Savior. I now turn from my sin to trust you alone for salvation. Save me please, by your grace. I commit to obey you, be baptized and join a Bible teaching church. In Jesus, name I pray. Amen."

"To you first, God, having raised up His servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you away from your iniquities" (Acts 3:26).

"Unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3,5)

When looking for a Church to attend........

2007-07-29T03:53:00.000-07:00

When looking for a Church to attend, you need to pray and ask God which one is right for you. But, here are a few guidelines to help you in your search for your local church home.

1. Look for a church that studies the Bible. The reason God created and redeemed us by His Son’s death on Calvary’s cross is that we might know Him -- indeed, knowing Him (and bringing others to know Him) is the primary purpose of life. But we can only know Him through the revelation of His Word, so we study His Book -- all of it, verse by verse -- in order that we might know Him better every day. The primary responsibility of the shepherd, the senior pastor, is to teach the Bible to God’s people. Jesus said “feed my sheep,” and in the Old Testament God said His Word was wheat for our souls. In a healthy church, you will find congregants regularly studying the Bible together because they are deeply hungry to know God.

2. Look for a church that is filled with people who pray. Paul said to pray without ceasing; Jesus said people ought always to pray; Samuel thought it a sin against God to not pray; King David cried to God day and night; Martin Luther prayed from 3 to 6 a.m. every morning. Every revival and movement of God in history was under-girded with faithful prayer-warriors who cried out to God day and night. Heaven sits still until earth prays, but where God’s people will call upon Him in earnest, He will answer in power.

3. Look for a church that worships in Spirit and in truth. A misunderstanding often exists between those who prefer older hymns and those who prefer more modern choruses to be sung in worship. The fact is that both can be dead and cold, and either can be alive and vibrant. We can use many different kinds of songs in worship -- hymns, choruses, ancient and modern; and we can use all sorts of musical accompaniment -- organs, pianos, keyboards, guitars, drums, bass, brass, woodwinds, to play all different musical styles - folk, rock, jazz, classical, rap, and so on. People often think that if one group prefers choruses and another hymns, we should try to blend them or have different services with different kinds of music.
While that may be helpful, eliminating hymns is not the goal -- the goal is heartfelt worship. A healthy church is a church where people pour out their hearts in adoration and praise of God, regardless of what kind of musical accompaniment is used. We do not want to eliminate hymns, we want to eliminate dead worship that does not move the heart and soul, and create a worship atmosphere where people will enter in and adore God fervently, emotionally, lovingly.

4. Look for a church that is filled with people who love one another. Jesus said the earmark of discipleship is our love for each other; John said if we do not love each other, we are not truly followers of Christ; the early Christians were known for their reputation of loving each other. Biblical love is not a feeling, not a warm emotion, as we often think of love. Biblical love is action, it is not what we feel, it is what we do. If we feel warm and fuzzy toward someone but never do anything to express love, we do not love them, according to the Bible.Conversely, if we feel nothing, or even a touch of repulsion toward another, but do practical things to help that person, we love them in the biblical sense. A healthy church is filled with people who care for each other, who surround one another with comfort, who telephone each other just to encourage, who pray for each other, who stop by to wash dishes, who take a shut-in for a drive in the country, who are warm and friendly to all, who fix a single mom’s car for her, read to someone whose eyesight is failing, put up storm windows for a neighbor, paint a house for someone who cannot afford to have it done, give someone a ride to a doctor’s appointment, baby-sit a couple’s children so they can have a date to enrich their marriage, who take strangers to lunch after church on Sunday, and have coffee in the morning with a new member, etc…. A healthy church is filled with people who express God’s love in small, everyday, practical, creative ways. When you walk into a healthy church on meeting day, you can feel the love in the air.

5. Look for a church that is growing in numbers, not because adding more bodies is a goal, but because a healthy church is filled with people who love God so much that they want to share that love with others, so they are consequently involved in evangelism, outreach, missions and social ministry. A healthy church is filled with people who tell other people about Jesus - not about the church - no one is attracted to an institution, but about Jesus. Everyone needs Him -- not our programs -- Him!

In a healthy church, some people are regularly out on the streets telling passersby of the Savior who loves them, others are calling on old friends and sharing the gospel with them. Others are going on short-term mission trips to take God’s love to developing countries, still others financially support missionaries, while others help out in crusades and evangelistic outreaches of all sorts. Others visit strangers in hospitals and nursing homes to tell them of Christ, while others volunteer in soup kitchens, pregnancy centers, hospices and social service agencies so that they can let needy people know of the God who loves them unconditionally. In a healthy church, everyone has a burden, a burning desire, to see others know Jesus.
A healthy church is a Bible-learning church; a healthy church is a praying church; a healthy church is a worshipping church; a healthy church is a loving church; and a healthy church is an evangelizing church. When looking for a church home, make sure you look for these things.

Tract Attack at Wilson Park

2007-07-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

I went to Wilson Park today a part of the Handyfest going on today and got to hand out a hand full of tracts. There were a lot of people there. May God bless those seeds that were planted today.

Oscar