The Guardian. Starting Stewardship with what God has revealed about His Character. Welcome to the Guardian

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1 The Guardian Starting Stewardship with what God has revealed about His Character The word steward and stewardship is an important Biblical term in the N.K.J.V. The word steward is used 24 times, and the word stewardship is used 5 times for a total of 29 times in the scripture. A subject such as stewardship is important in each of our lives, whether it is time, redeeming the time (Eph.5:15), or treasure, so let each give as he purposes in his heart and God is I wish to welcome everyone to The Guardian. This is a church paper that seeks to accomplish the goals of Act 2:42. I am able to make all grace abound toward you (2 Cor. 9:7-8), or talents and spiritual gifts, For as the body is one and has many members (I Cor. 12:12). In the area of our treasures the Apostle Paul addresses stewardship from the perspective of God s grace, So let each give as he purposes in his heart and God is able to make all grace abound in you (2 Cor.9:7-8). Welcome to the Guardian also looking to enhance communication in our church. This paper will appear on the church website at the end of each I would suggest that our stewardship must start with God s revealed character, God has shown us his grace, thus we give with grace, also like our God, we are called to be faithful (1Cor.4:2), and thus we give and serve faithfully! As a local called out body of Jesus Christ here at Lisbon Falls, we will be asking Continued on Page 5 month, and hard copies will be made for those that want one. By Robert Moseley Editor L i s b o n F a l l s B a p t i s t C h u r c h Volume 1, Issue 1 March 2014 Special points of interest: Stewardship Month Discipleship Inside the Paper Starting Stewardship 1 with what God has Revealed about His Character Welcome to the 1 Guardian Discipleship 2 Small Groups 2 Youth Moments 2 LFCA School Notes 3 Testimony of Dale 3 Crafts LFCA Sports 3 Testimony of 4 Francis Riggs Announcements 4

2 Page 2 Part I What is discipleship, and what does the Bible say about this subject? What are the challenges the church faces in making disciples? Let s start with some basics; first, the word discipleship does not appear in most translations of the Bible. We need to look at the root word disciple to find it in the scripture. According to Strong s Concordance the Discipleship word disciple means a learner or pupil. Simply put, the root word means a person who is learning from another. The subject matter could be spiritual or any other subject; brick laying for example. The rest of our discussion will focus on the spiritual disciple, someone who is learning spiritual disciples or traits. Continued on page 5 Disciple means learner or pupil Small Groups Small groups are an important part of a church. They promote discipleship and relationships to be formed. They provide those who wish to study in a particular area of interest to meet in a less formal environment. We currently have two small groups in the church. The first one is Praying for Revival. They are a group of young adults studying this topic. The second group is for those that feel they are called to preach, and are receiving training in this area. If you want to start a small group, contact any Pastor. Youth Moments High School Group The Word of Life teen group is challenging young adults to be an example (1 Tim.4:12). We do this with group discussion on relevant topics, and relate how the Bible addresses different situations, and how they can apply the Word of God to their daily lives. We ask for prayer for the young adults in doing this, and growing into strong men and women for God By Ray Medlen Youth Leader of the Word of Life Youth Group

3 Page 3 Lisbon Falls Christian Academy (LFCA) is a ministry of Lisbon Falls Baptist Church since The school currently has 61 students from K-12th grade and 191 graduates from all walks of life all over the world. The Academy is celebrating 40 years of existence in the Lisbon/Lisbon Falls community. A big celebration is being planned May 17th & 18th, LFCA School Notes There are four students graduating from LFCA this year, and all of the graduating students are ladies. The school has a chapel service that is open to the public every Wednesday at 8 a.m. The high school students have a devotional message and the elementary school students have a service that centers around arts and crafts to communicate Christ. LFCA offers an athletic program to young ladies and men. The ladies run cross country and play volleyball and cheering. The men also run and play basketball. This year we will be administering the Stanford Achievement Test, a national standardized test. Please call the school for more information. Testimony of Dale Crafts I accepted Christ as a result of my sister Beth who was so excited after she came home from LFBC where she was visiting. She told me about asking Jesus into my heart. When she got done telling me about Christ, I hid behind my father s recliner and asked Jesus into my heart. I backslid over the years and ignored his instruction. On May 6th, 1983 the Lord changed my life forever. While I was riding my motorcycle, a car pulled out in front of me. I tried to avoid him, but in doing so, I went airborne. My next memory was of a man trying to take my helmet off and realizing that I could not feel anything from my chest down. At that time I realized that I was paralyze. I then knew that it was time to surrender to God. Heb. 12:5-6 By Dale Crafts, State Representative LFCA has a sports program which is comprised of cross country, basketball, volleyball and cheering. The school won the league championship in cross country this past season, and made the league tournament in both LFCA Sports basketball and volleyball. Students are preparing for the ACE Regional Convention in New York. The competition is comprised of sports, preaching, art, music dramatics, photography and many other events. This is a highlight of the school year.

4 Page 4 L i s b o n F a l l s B a p t i s t C h u r c h Lisbon Falls Baptist Church and Christian Academy 555 Lisbon Street Lisbon Falls Me Phone: lfbcjoy@juno.com Senior Pastor: Jonathan Jones Asst. Pastor: John Alden Asst. Pastor: Brian Ganong Lisbon Falls Baptist Church is an Independent Baptist Church of members which sits on 15 acres of land in Lisbon Falls Maine. The Church houses a Christian Academy which has a sports program and gives students a quality education. There is a Sunday School program for all ages, a youth ministry for preschool-12th grade and a nursery. There are many other ministries in the church. For more information about either the church or Christian Academy, please call the office. Testimony of Francis Riggs At 18 years old, I heard a profound message from God: Your life is wrong! I awoke to the reality of God, and changed my major to religious studies. I was increasingly approached by Jesus people telling me about sin and salvation. On campus, a Christian group got me to say the sinner s prayer. Soon I was ashamed, I feared my friends, and walked away from God. For 17 years I was away from God, but he never left me. Believers stalked me at every turn, to draw me back to God. On February 5th, 1987 an elderly lady gave me a Bible and commanded me to read it. I read it straight though and then I read it again, and this began the real awakening. I soon met my wife Sally, and we began attending church. The Lord has blessed us with a wonderful family, and endless opportunities to know the depths of His Grace! Announcements in May 1. May 3rd Iron Sharpens Iron Conference; 1st Baptist Church Portland 2. May 17th Celebration of the 40th anniversary of LFCA 3. We are now proud owners of 14 acres of land which was voted on by the church By Frances Riggs, member of LFBC

5 Page 5 Starting stewardship with what God has revealed through his Character continued from Page 1 several questions in relation to stewardship. What do we learn from God s character that will help us in our stewardship? What does God s character teach us about Him? What areas of my life should be affected by God s character? The children of Israel after they learn about God s Character, their response is: everyone whose heart was stirred came to do the work (Ex. 36:2). My prayer for myself and our church is that we learn about God s character, and in turn like Israel In this text, he stirs our heart in each area of stewardship in time, talent, and treasure. By Pastor Jon Jones; Senior Pastor Discipleship Continued from page 2 The Bible is full of disciples. The term is seldom used in the Old Testament; although we have ample examples; Joshua was a disciple of Moses, and Elisha was a disciple of Elijah. It seems like every religious leader or rabbi had their group of followers or disciples. In the Bible, we see that Jesus had disciples, and not just the twelve (see Luke 6:13; John 6:66-67; and Luke 10:1,17), John the Baptist had disciples (Matt.9:14:11:2), the Pharisees had their own group of disciples (Matt.22:15-16; Mark 2:18), and the Apostle Paul had his disciples; although he would probably tell us that they were Jesus disciples (Acts 9:25), and certainly Timothy, Titus, and the many other people Paul worked with would be disciples. The Biblical examples of disciples make it evident that spiritual discipleship is learning spiritual disciplines and traits from someone else, i.e. teachers or master. With that introduction, and in preparation for part two let me leave you with this question: When the Bible calls someone a disciple, does that indicate anything about their spiritual condition? By Pastor Brain Ganong,