the Ambassador Spring 2013 Grieving God At the beginning of the year, I decided to try a Bible reading plan that I have never tried before. Like most Bible reading plans, it had me starting in the book of Genesis. When I read the first several chapters of the book of beginnings, I always have mixed emotions. In one glimpse, I hear the voice of God speaking the creation into existence. God s majesty and power are so clearly seen. A closer look reveals to me the disobedience of man and his tragic fall. For the first time in his existence, man felt grief and pain. Adam was separated from God and destined to experience hardship and toil. Romans 5:12 reminds us of the tragic ramifications of that day. Death, both physical and spiritual, is perhaps the most obvious consequence of the fall of Adam. Anyone who has lived for a good amount of time can bear witness to the grief that death brings. On a number of occasions, I have witnessed the grief that people have experienced as they stood by the casket of a special loved one. Their eyes were filled with tears and their bodies shook with emotion as their hearts were pained by their loss. Just live a few years, and you will experience grief. While grief is predominately thought to be only a human emotion, do you realize that the Bible teaches that God can be grieved as well? After surveying the wickedness of mankind on the earth, it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart (Genesis 6:6). Thousands of years later in the New Testament, Paul admonished believers to grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). A Word from the President by Dr. Alton Beal Is it really possible for an omniscient and omnipotent God to be grieved by His creation? Doesn t this imply that God must have some inherent weakness? If we know that we grieve the heart of God when we disobey Him, why do we choose to hurt the One that loves us the most? These are some good questions, and the answers are very simple. The Bible teaches that God can be grieved. We grieve the Holy Spirit of God every day. Immediately after Paul made his plea not to grieve the Holy Spirit, the sins of anger, bit- Plan now to attend Alumni Days honoring graduates from the classes of 1993, 1998, 2003, and 2008 on April 29 30, 2013. Monday: Tuesday: 9am Chapel with Pastor 9am Chapel with Rodney Love Pastor Kregg Farmer 1pm Alumni Golf Outing 6pm Alumni Banquet/Class Reunions 7pm Devotional with Dr. Charles Surrett Visit www.ambassadors.edu/alumnidays/ for more information. Please RSVP to kguisinger@ambassadors.edu or 704-434-0303.
terness, and division, along with others, are condemned in Ephesians 4:31. Too often, we condemn the big sins such as murder and stealing, and we excuse the sins of the spirit. It is the unkind word or unpleasant thought that can grieve the heart of our Creator and Lord. While God transcends our thinking in every way, He is still personal and affected by obedience or disobedience. Instead of writing us off, God chooses to experience grief. Just because the heart of God can be grieved by His creation and children does not mean that He has some flaw or imperfection. It does mean that He loves and cares about humans. In Hebrews 12, we are reminded of the discipline that God administers to His children when they stray from Him. Just because the children sin does not mean it is the Father s fault! If anything, God s grieving over our sin is not a sign of weakness, but rather that of strength. Instead of writing us off quickly, He chooses to experience that grief with the desire to draw us back to Himself. I am so thankful that The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy (Psalm 145:8). Too often in life, we choose self and sin over God and grieve Him. Is this not what Adam and Eve did in the garden? Before you are too hard on the likes of Samson or David, remember that the same possibilities lie within each of us. While God has done so much for us, we still sometimes choose to grieve Him with our disobedience and foolishness. Our human nature is fixed on destruction, and we cannot let it have its way. Through the years, I have heard many people say something like this: I would have rather taken a beating than to see the hurt in my parent s eyes. Maybe if we focus more upon the grief that we cause our Heavenly Father when we break His heart, we will stop grieving Him. Revival will come when we are overwhelmed at what our sin does to the heart of God. Dr. Ron Comfort s Itinerary Dates Church Location 2/24 3/1 Northview Baptist Church Fayetteville, NC and Academy 3/10 3/15 Maranatha Baptist Church Yorktown, VA 4/7 4/12 Good News Baptist Church Chesapeake, VA 4/14 4/19 Montain View Baptist Church Birmingham, AL 4/21 4/26 Faith Baptist Church Avon, IN 5/12 5/15 Grace Baptist Church Lutes Mountain, New Brunswick 5/16 5/19 Emmanuel Baptist Church Moncton, New Brunswick 5/26 5/31 Faith Baptist Tabernacle North Highlands, CA Visit www.ambassadors.edu/chancellordesk/ for updates. Dr. Alton Beal s Itinerary Dates Church Location 2/24 3/1 Northview Baptist Church Fayetteville, NC and Academy 3/3 Fairview Baptist Church Decatur, AL 3/8 3/17 ABC Ensemble Spring Tour www.ambassadors.edu/springtour/ 3/24 3/27 Great Hope Baptist Church Chesapeake, VA 4/7 am Calvary Baptist Church Hendersonville, NC 4/7 pm Bible Baptist Church Matthews, NC 4/14 4/19 Mountainview Baptist Church Birmingham, AL 4/21 Ripley Baptist Temple Ripley, WV Visit www.ambassadors.edu/presidentcorner/ for updates. New Payment Plan To make monthly payments more manageable for our students, we are changing to a new 6-month payment schedule beginning with the 2013 Fall semester. The first payment for the Fall semester will be due June 1, 2013, and the final payment November 1, 2013. All fees will be due at registration. This change also affects the due dates for early payment discounts. For more details on this change, please check out our website: www.ambassadors.edu/finances/ Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Bible Conference March 18-22, 2013 8:45am Pastor Bill Bethea Pastor Terry Coats Pastor Finley Cutshaw Pastor Kevin Folger Pastor Kevin Folger Pastor Steve Love Pastor Steve Love Dr. Ron Comfort Pastor Rusty Smith Pastor Steve Love 7:00pm Pastor Ken Walters Pastor Kevin Folger Dr. Marc Monte Dr. Ron Comfort Local Church Prayer Meetings Founder s Day Presentation Pastor Mike Edwards Ensemble Concert Dr. Ron Comfort Come join us for this week of powerful preaching, or visit www.ambassadors.edu for live video streaming of all services!
Spring Tour 2013 You are invited to come hear the ABC Ensemble during this year s Spring Tour! Each evening will feature several selections of special music, followed by a message preached by Dr. Alton Beal. Your heart is sure to be blessed by the combination of music and preaching. Visit www.ambassadors.edu/springtour/ for the dates and locations, including a Friends Banquet, an evening of great food, music, and preaching! Summer Men s Quartet Jonny Townsend, Tim Brubaker, Drew Haye, Stephen Minion, and Andrew McGowin (pianist) will travel up and down the East Coast. Evangelists Alton Beal, David Cajiuat, and Mr. Matthew Hanke will be preaching with the group. Visit www.ambassadors.edu/eastgroup/ to see if they ll be in a church near you! Summer Mixed Quartet Three siblings Jenifer, Janalee, and Jed Duarte plus Josiah Finneran and Gloria Clarke (pianist) form the Mixed Quartet. They will be traveling through the Midwest and the West Coast; graduate evangelists Will Geiseman and Jon Beazley will be preaching with the group. Visit www.ambassadors.edu/westgroup/ to see if they ll be in a church near you!
Remove Not the Ancient Landmark Conference July 15 19, 2013 Join us for our annual Remove Not the Ancient Landmark Conference, featuring Evangelists Mike Pelletier and Richard Harper and Missionary Dalton Heath! Monday 8:45am 10:00am 7:00pm Richard Harper Tuesday Mike Pelletier Richard Harper Dalton Heath Wednesday Mike Pelletier Dalton Heath Richard Harper Thursday Mike Pelletier Richard Harper Dalton Heath Friday Mike Pelletier Dalton Heath Richard Harper More information is available at www.ambassadors.edu/landmark/ and www.ambassadors.edu/musicseminar/. Church Music Ministry Seminar Dr. Dave Smith July 18 19 Ministerial Counseling Master of Ministries Module www.ambassadors.edu/mastersmodule/ This course provides advanced training in the counseling ministry, with emphases on such oft-encountered problems as addictions, family difficulties, and financial needs. Instructor: Pastor Tony Facenda Dates: June 3 7, 2013 Cost: $800 for Credit (4 hours of Masters-level credit) $200 for Audit Special tuition discount for pastors of churches that support ABC monthly: $200 for Credit Any interested student may audit the course. To receive credit, the following criteria must be met: ABC graduates may enroll in the program if they have more than two years of ministry experience. Non-ABC graduates may enroll if they have more than ten years of ministry experience, have a bachelor s degree, and are in agreement with Ambassador s philosophy and doctrinal statement. If you would like more information about the Master of Ministries program, please email info@ambassadors.edu. For specific questions about enrollment, please contact our Academic Dean, Dr. Charles Surrett, at csurrett@ambassadors.edu. For information about on-campus housing, call 704-434-0303 or email info@ambassadors.edu.
NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID CHARLOTTE NC PERMIT NO. 3307 Ambassador Baptist College PO Box 158 101 Stockton St. Lattimore, NC 28089 704-434-0303 www.ambassadors.edu Return Service Requested In this issue: Grieving God article by Dr. Beal Graduation Offering Bible Conference Alumni Week Camp Barnabas Ensemble Spring Tour TAC Conference Master of Ministries Module Landmark Conference Summer Quartets