1 Good Hope Baptist Church January 014 THE NEWS AT GOOD HOPE New Year, New Goals In this Issue New Year, New Goals 1 The Romans Road to Riches 014 Family and Youth Ministry Vision Casting How the World Relates to a Disciple of Christ 5 Upcoming Events Happy New Year! We leave 01 behind and look forward to 014. As the Scripture says, Behold, I am making all things new. While that verse is a promise we have from God of our eternal destiny, I think the new year provides an opportunity for new things to be made. 40 Active and Regularly Attending Members by Dec. 1, 014 January 5th: Student Sunday School Begins 50% of Attendees Read the Bible in One Year January 19th: Sanctity of Life Sunday Develop at least one ministry (other than Family & Youth) that meets a need of the community At the end of Advent, I announced several goals that the church could pursue in 014. While some of these goals may be bold and ambitious, I believe we can do it (God willing) if we are committed to them. In all things, may what we do glorify Jesus Christ, as He is the reason we exist as a Church. Develop a vibrant prayer ministry lead by a prayer warrior Have 5 Weeks of Prayer for Missions Have a mission trip organized for 015 Those goals are as follows. Let us commit to these goals and watch as God blesses the work He has called us to do. Let s discover ways Good Hope Baptist can help At Good Hope Baptist, we are SHARING the good news about Jesus, creating a LOVING place, where His people are DISCERNING the work He has called them to do, and where His people are EQUIPPING one another to do His work. rescue those who are perishing, who are lost without the hope of Jesus Christ. 014 is full of opportunities to celebrate and share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Will you commit to doing it? Michael McCray
The Romans Road to Riches We are beginning a new sermon series on the book of Romans. In the New Testament, the book of Romans is the first letter we encounter. There are the four Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark Luke and John), the book of Acts, which is a history of the early church, and then the letter to the Romans. This is fitting, as the book builds on the Old Testament, explains the saving work of Jesus reported in the Gospel accounts, and unpacks many of the teachings that were foundational to the churches that arose in Acts. Paul s letter to the Romans holds a prominent place among other biblical writings. It played a direct role in the conversion of such key figures in church history as Saint Augustine, Martin Luther, and John Wesley. John Calvin wrote that Romans is the doorway to the treasure of all of Scripture. In fact, Romans provides the fullest, though not complete, expression of Paul s theology and has many major themes that are found in the Bible. The overarching theme in Paul s letter to the Romans is the Gospel - the Good News of Jesus Christ. This news is not merely useful information, but according to Paul it is no less than the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). The whole letter of Romans describes for us the Gospel of Jesus Christ, thus, the riches of the Romans road are the riches of salvation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The first eleven chapters explain the way of salvation, the doctrines of grace, with an exposition of our radical sinfulness and corruption which make it impossible for a man to justify himself through his own efforts. Then Paul explained the doctrine of justification by faith alone, through Christ who alone has the ability necessary to make us right before God. Paul then described that the way to salvation and receiving the good news is by confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and believing God raised Him from the dead. In chapter 1, there is a shift from explaining the Gospel to practical application of it, in which Paul wrote that the appropriate response to the Gospel is to present ourselves as living sacrifices to God. The Church is to be a transformed people, and transformation comes through renewed minds. The Gospel impacts not only our eternal lives but also our daily living while we are here. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith. Romans 1:16-17 According to the Reformation Study Bible, all of the Reformers saw Paul s letter to the Romans as key to understanding all of Scripture since it includes the Bible s greatest themes sin, law, judgment, human destiny, faith, works, grace, justification, sanctification, election, the plan of salvation, the work of Christ and of the Spirit, the Christian hope, the duties of Christian life, and the principles of personal godliness. Given these important concepts, the study of Romans becomes vitally important for the spiritual well-being of the Christian as well as the Church. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation and Romans provides a concise explanation of it. Michael McCray
Family and Youth Ministry 014 Vision Casting I want to take a few moments and tell you the story of a few individuals on whom the faith, which was once for all entrusted to God s people, apparently made its greatest bounds. Noah s family, at one point, were the only righteous people on all the earth. When God chose to destroy everything, He saved Noah and his family and began a new civilization through them. Moses led the people of Israel out of exile and to the land of Canaan, a land from which a future messiah would come; a land flowing with milk and honey. Rahab saved the lives of Israelites and honored God with her life. God saved her as the Israelites took Jericho. David was a man after God s own heart. From the slaying of the Philistine giant to his legendary rule as Israel s king, David honored God with his life and is today one of the faith s central characters. Peter was one of Christ s most faithful disciples even to the point of his own martyrdom. Paul carried the message of Christ, and of God s gift to mankind, to those people who were not descendants of Israel. He planted churches across the entire known world and is responsible for more than half of the New Testament scriptures. Jesus of Nazareth, God s only begotten, gave his life so that humanity could have life. Why do I share these things? I share these things because each and every person on this earth is a part of the same story: the story of God s kingdom and of man s salvation to God. All of the people mentioned above were once people of poor reputation. Noah, after the flood, dishonored God by giving himself over to alcohol and by allowing his children to see his shame through his own nakedness. Moses murdered an Egyptian slave and later dishonored God in such a way that God did not allow him to enter the Promised Land. Rahab slept with man after man for profit. David lusted after and slept with the wife of one of his closest advisors and military men, and then murdered that man because his wife became pregnant with David s child. Peter explicitly denied Christ on three occasions. Paul approved the murdering of Christians. Jesus Himself was called a glutton and a drunkard because of the company he kept. Consider these words that are written in Scripture: For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abrahams seed, heirs according to the promise. (Galatians :7-9 HCSB) According to these words, the power of Jesus Christ actually enables us to become a new creation and to overcome a past reputation. It allows us to overcome the person we have been and to strive to be more than we have chosen to be in the past. This is why it was possible for past heroes of the faith, so to speak, to be called people after God s own heart, because God s Continued
(Continued) redemption and salvation covered them by grace and through faith. God s grace then, and baptism into Christ, is not meant for only a people of a certain skin color or a certain gender or of a certain socio-economic status. This becoming a new creation is for all people and God has offered it for all people. All we need to do is accept that gift. It is my vision, then, that reputation, either great or poor, will no longer play a part in our doing what God desires us to do or in our being where God desires for us to be. Yes, I know that a good name is to be chosen over great wealth. At the same time having a good name is not worth denying Christ or denying the work God would have us do. To judge people according to their past reputation is to also judge that God does not have the power to change them or to save them. If we are to judge certain church bodies on the basis of reputation, we also judge that God is unable to do His work through those congregations. Let us not forget that Nazareth was even a place of poor reputation and God chose that city to bring up the Christ, that we all might be saved! Our God is not bound by reputation, therefore we are not bound by reputation. We must forgive the past actions of others and stay committed to helping our brothers and sisters work through current issues. If a church body has experienced difficulty in the past, those difficulties must be forgiven, for every group of people on the earth experiences problems. If there are current issues in the local church, they must be talked out in the interest of doing what God desires and in remembrance that God has called the congregation of that church to do God s work in and through that church. For any church to split or to harm the outside community is for it to work against what God desires: and that is for all people to be returned to Him, regardless of status or reputation. For those of you that have earned some sort of ill reputation, there is a place for you among God s people. For those who are honored, there is also a place for you. God desires for you to be a part of His family and so we also desire for you to be a part of our family. Come and experience the love Christ has offered with us and know that you can have a family that will never leave or forsake you. This is my vision for 014, that men may begin to overcome the enslaving chains of past reputation and move on to greater maturity and work according to God s glory and grace. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abrahams seed, heirs according to the promise. (Galatians :7-9 HCSB) Family and Youth Ministry Contact Information For more information about Good Hope Baptist s Family and Youth ministry, contact Andrew Cannon at Andrew Cannon 4
How the World Relates to a Disciple of Christ We have been studying the Gospel of John in Sunday School. We have learned so much about the way Jesus demonstrated His love for us and how we should love each other. Jesus demonstrated His sacrificial life long before He died on the cross. He demonstrated His love through His healings and teachings. He also demonstrated that love means standing up against false doctrine as He regularly challenged the Pharisees view of the Sabbath by healing on the Sabbath. He gave His disciples a clear command that we are to love God and love one another. Our last lesson was in chapter 15 and we stopped at verse 17. In the verses the lesson skipped (18-5), Jesus tells His disciples (including His disciples today) how the world will react to us if we are truly His disciples. He says, If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. He explains that the world hates Him because His light reveals the sin in their lives. He says in verse, If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. No one likes to be told they are wrong or that they need to ask for forgiveness. We all want to be right. But if we are in the Holy presence of our Lord, we can t help but see our shortcomings. This should drive us to our knees, repenting and asking for forgiveness. For most, His presence evokes anger because we don t want to face the truth about ourselves we have sinned and fall short of God s glory. Jesus warns us that if we are His true disciples, as we share His light, we, too, will experience the hatred that He experienced. But He comforts us that He experienced this before we did, and all of the world s hatefulness fulfills the Word of God. In verse 5 He says, But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, They hated Me without a cause. Are you in God s presence? When He sheds light on your sinfulness, do you react with repentance and ask for forgiveness or do you get angry? The next time you are faced with a hard truth about yourself, what will be your response? If you stand for the truth of God s word and you are hated for it, you shouldn t be surprised, but can rest in the knowledge that Jesus told you if would happen, and He has shared in your suffering. You are not alone. 5