Confession

This weeking was a little challenging when it came to the Sunday morning Spanish service. You see, I received a phone call Saturday night that there were some problems with the thermostat in the building where Pastor Daniel Hernandez meets. He was calling me to tell me that he most likely would not be able to make it to the service. Now, Pastor Daniel has been assisting us for a year now, translating, teaching and preaching and now he wasn’t going to be able to make it. So, I tried to find someone to help, but was unsuccessful. Here was my text:

Por esta razón, también nosotros, desde el día que lo supimos, no hemos cesado de orar por vosotros y de rogar que seáis llenos del conocimiento de su voluntad en toda sabiduría y comprensión espiritual, para que andéis como es digno del Señor, agradándole en todo, dando fruto en toda buena obra y creciendo en el conocimiento de Dios; Colosenses 1:9-10 La Biblia de Las Americas

Now, unless you speak Spanish, the text above probably doesn’t mean much to you because you can’t understand it. When I looked at it, I was overwhelmed at the thought of preaching this text in Spanish!!! I was reminded of something; I don’t know the language like I should, or like I want to. This started my thought process.

This was a painful reminder that I must confess that not only do I not know Spanish as well as I should, even more important, I do not have the knowledge of the Scripture that I should. Oh how I long and desire to know the Word of God, but sadly I feel sometime like I am reading a foreign language, but my prayer concerning this matter is this:

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. Psalm 119 9-18 ESV.

I have underlined some points here for emphasis. Oh, that I would delight myself in the Word of Christ. For there is no other rule that God hath given man by which we may know how to glorify and enjoy Him! Christian, delight yourself in the law of God! Meditate on His precepts, and store up His Word in Your heart.

You say, what can I do when I don’t understand it? Seek the Lord!! What about when it seems like I am reading a foreign language. Pray earnestly, and don’t let go! Ask the Lord to open His word to you and incline your heart to the Scripture!

Back to the Hispanic Mission at Rockport, we made it through. The Lord blessed, and He is good. We continue to see new faces on a regular basis. Pray for us as there are some specific prayer requests that I would like to share with you:

• 
  
  Pray that the Lord would bring people to salvation through the preaching of His word!


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  Pray that there might be permanent residents and citizens that are truly converted, whom also the Lord has set apart for teaching and preaching, so that they might take leadership roles in this ministry in the southern section of St. Louis, Missouri.


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  We will need funding to supply a permanent Pastor to this role and this is an urgent need.


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  Pray for wisdom as we consider contacting a church in Mexico or another Spanish-speaking area for a young man that has been set apart for ministry and desires to serve this summer.


• 
  
  Pray for Rick as he continues to lead the music, and prepares to put together a band to assist in leading music.

Mother Delays Cancer Treatments So Baby Can Live

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you"

Jeremiah 1:5a ESV

It's not very often that you will find a story from the liberal media worth repeating. However, I want to share this with you because I think that it is very timely in light of the Rowe vs. Wade Anniversary. Before you see the article below, I will share with you that the original article can be found at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,325458,00.html

Also, I would like to share with you a paraphrase of something that Randy Alcorn mention during the Fall 2007 Desiring God Conference in Minneapolis. He simply asked how we would feel if a random sample of say 30 people from your congregation were singled out to be executed against their own will the following day. What great lengths would you go through to intervene? What would you do if you knew that your tax money was going to support that? Would your response and the response of your congregation be any different? Why or why not?

If you are looking for good resources on the topic of abortion, consider visiting http://www.abort73.com.

Mother Delays Cancer Treatments So Baby Can Live

Expectant mother Lorraine Allard learned the devastating news that she was in the advanced stages of liver cancer when she was four months pregnant, according to the Daily Mail.
Allard, of St. Olaves in the U.K., had a choice: Delay treatment to save her baby, or terminate the pregnancy to save herself.

She chose the former, waiting until the fetus was viable before scheduling a Caesarean section.
"If I am going to die, my baby is going to live," Allard told her husband, Martyn, according to the Mail.

The baby came a week early and Allard, 33, gave birth on Nov. 18 to a healthy but premature boy she named Liam.

Exactly two months later, Allard died. She'd begun chemotherapy just after her son's birth. But in the end, it was too late.

Doctors believe Allard had bowel cancer that had gone undetected for years, eventually spreading to her liver. She realized something was wrong after she began suffering from stomach cramps, and tests revealed that her liver was covered with malignant tumors, the Mail reported.
"The doctors said they couldn't do anything because she was pregnant," Martyn Allard, 34, told the Mail. "She told them straight away they were not going to get rid of it. She'd have lost the will to fight."


The courageous and selfless mother was able to get out of bed and hold her tiny son several times beside his incubator before her death. Liam is the Allards' fourth child and first boy; his sisters are Leah, 10; Amy, 8; and Courtney, 20 months.

"Lorraine was positive all the way through," Martyn Allard told the paper. "She had strength for both of us. I can't begin to describe how brave she was. Towards the end we knew things weren't going well, but she was overjoyed that she had given life to Liam."

What is Worship?

This seems to be a hot topic again and for good reasons. As I was surfing around the web, I was reading Bob Kauflin's Blog, and found a great post about this very subject. You know, when you just can't write anything better, I will always point someone to others who know what they are talking about! Enjoy...and feel free to following the link to his site, because you will find great resources on such an important matter!

Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) once said “Every definition is dangerous.” That may explain why when we try to define a word simply and precisely we often end up missing significant aspects of the word we’re defining. Attempts at explaining worship as “love,” or “intimacy,” or “relationship” say something true, but end up leaving out more than they contribute to our understanding of worship.

In spite of Erasmus’ warning, over the years I’ve come across numerous definitions of “worship” that have caused me think about worship more biblically.
Harold Best, in his book Music Through the Eyes of Faith defines worship in the broadest sense as “acknowledging that someone or something else is greater – worth more – and by consequence, to be obeyed, feared, and adored…Worship is the sign that in giving myself completely to someone or something, I want to be mastered by it. (pg. 143)

We want to be mastered the objects of our worship. And indeed we are. We worship whatever rules our time, energy, thoughts, longings, and choices. “Those who make them [idols] become like them; so do all who trust in them.” ( Psa. 115:8, ESVPsalm 115:8
[8]Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.This text is from the ESV Bible. Visit www.esv.org to learn about the ESV.)

A definition of worship that I appreciate for its simplicity and clarity is by Warren Wiersbe, who writes: Worship is the believer’s response of all that they are – mind, emotions, will, body – to what God is and says and does. (Warren Wiersbe, Real Worship, p. 26)

I’ve used that definition, or something similar, when I want to accent that worship can’t be half-hearted, and is all about God’s character, words, and acts.

David Peterson, in his wonderful book Engaging with God unpacks what at first blush is a more sterile, but nevertheless insightful, definition:
“Worship of the living and true God is essentially an engagement with him on the terms that he proposes and in the way that he alone makes possible. (Engaging with God, pg. 20)

Peterson’s definition highlights God’s initiative, authority, and enabling power in our worship.
Dr. Dan Block, who until recently was a Professor of Old Testament at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, defines true worship as “reverential human acts of submission and homage before the divine Sovereign, in response to his gracious revelation of himself, and in accordance with his will.” (from Dr. Block’s For the Glory of God. course notes)

This is the first definition that specifically mentions what many of the biblical words for worship imply - submission and homage.

Well, this post is already longer than I anticipated. But, here’s one more from William Temple’s (1881-1944) Readings in St. John’s Gospel.

“Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His Beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose – and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin”.
Amen.

Songs from Sunday

Some have asked about the origin of the lyrics that we sang to "Doxology" on Sunday. We started by singing the traditional:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him all creatures here below!
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts!
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

We followed this by singing a Psalm written by Issac Watts (Psalms of David) to the same tune. I hope that you enjoy these and that they are a blessing to your hearts! This ideas certainly did not come from me, but recently it was lead this way by a dear brother, Tom Clay, of First Baptist Church of Muscle Shoals. He led us in this song during the 2007 Reality Check Student Conference in Chattanooga, TN.

Show pity, Lord, O Lord, forgive,
Let a repenting rebel live:
Are not Thy mercies large and free?
May not a sinner trust in Thee?

My crimes are great, but don't surpass
The power and glory of Thy grace:
Great God, Thy nature hath no bound,
So let Thy pardoning love be found.

O wash my soul from every sin,
And make my guilty conscience clean;
Here on my heart the burden lies,
And past offenses pain my eyes.

My lips with shame my sins confess
Against Thy law, against Thy grace:
Lord, should Thy judgment grow severe,
I am condemned, but Thou art clear.

Should sudden vengeance seize my breath,
I must pronounce Thee just in death;
And if my soul were sent to hell,
Thy righteous law approves it well.

Yet save a trembling sinner, Lord,
Whose hope, still hovering round Thy Word,
Would light on some sweet promise there,
Some sure support against despair.

O depth of mercy!

Can it be that mercy’s still reserved for me?

Ah, can my God His wrath forbear

And me the chief of sinners spare?

Notes from Sunday

Below is a section of my notes from a sermon that I preached this past Sunday. Not sure why I would want to post it here, but I hope that it will be a blessing to you. Obviously, not all of the notes here are exhaustive, however I pray that the Lord would use what is here to be a blessing.

Aaron

Excerpt from Sunday's Sermon - Spanish Service @ 8:00a 12/20/2008

If you go to hang a picture on the wall in your house, it will do you good to make sure that you have a level. You may be able to get a good “eye” and be able to see if it is straight, however with a level you can put it next to your picture on the wall and you will be able to read the gauge and see if it is straight. Why? Because there is a standard, a gauge, to which you can compare it. Without this, you would just be lost.

God’s word is that sort of standard. In fact, it is the sole authority for truth and instruction for how we can live our lives to glorify God. I would like for you to consider some Scripture with me.

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes!
13 With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

Psalm 119:9-15 ESV

First, we have in verse nine the fact that there is question asked about how a young man can keep his way pure. The answer is simple, by guarding it according to the word of God! You want to know how you can battle sin, GUARD YOUR LIFE ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF GOD. You say, but that is so easy. I say to you, have you considered that there are so many other competing worldviews battling in your mind. There’s advice from friends, there are shows like Oprah, Dr. Phil. There are just so many other competing counsels for your to obey…but every single one of the them will lead you astray unless it is rooted in the rock-solid foundation of the Word of God.

Second, verse eleven points out something that is almost lost in modern day churches. That is the value of memorizing Scripture. Let me ask you a question…how many songs can you quote the entire line, verse, rhythm, and sing the tune? Better yet, are there any movies that you can quote? Why? Well, Aaron…you see these other things are just easier because they are put to music. Perhaps…but does that excuse you and I from memorizing the word of Christ? No!!! It is because you and I are lazy when it comes to handling the Word! How many Christians, I am counting myself in this number, will have 200+ Christian CD’s, books written by godly people, but will not wear out a Bible? And we wonder why we struggle so much with sin. Brothers and sisters, it is because you and I need a dose of God’s Word “stored up in our hearts” that we might not sin against God! A good friend of mine has a Bible and in the front cover it is written, Sin may keep you from this book, but this book will keep you from sin! It is true!

Then, a third component to fighting these battles against sin is to Meditate on the Word. Meditate. Now, some people here this word and they think of someone sitting in a strange position with their arms and feet crossed. However, the word implies to think and to dwell upon. Did you know that a cow has multiple stomachs? Did you know that when it eats the food is then processed to the first, then the cow vomits it back up and chews on it some more, then it goes down again, and then comes back up, and then back down again. Why? This cow is getting the maximum amount of nutrients possible from what he has been given. Brothers and sisters, we should get the maximum amount of nutrients possible because we are feasting on the healthiest food for our souls? How do you do this, well, when you read God’s word, take notes, when you are listening to a sermon, take notes. Go back to the Scriptures and get alone somewhere. Make sure that there is nobody to distract you, and humbly, yet boldly approach the throne of God in prayer and ask him to show you His Word and think upon the things of Christ. Meditate on His Word. Don’t just read it, think, listen, and obey.

Prayer Requests for Bates Creek Camp Planning

For those at Rockport, and those in and around the Jefferson Baptist Association in Jefferson County, Missouri, you may know that there are going to be some new directions with Bates Creek Camp. Upon returning from Mexico in the fall I had a call requesting that I would help be a part of a team of people helping with the programming. This has turned in to quite a blessing and a challenge. Please be in prayer about some things.

First, I would like you to pray regarding the selection of Speakers, Worship Leaders, and camp staff. There are several people involved in the process in this selection, and this is an exiting and also very challenging time. Specifically, we are looking for people that are going to be absolutely Biblical and therefore proclaiming the gospel and calling people to repentance and faith and thereby at the same time strengthening the believer!

Second, please be in prayer for those who are going to be attending the coming camp and retreat this year! It is our hope that many would be saved, and the believer would be strengthened all for the glory of God!

More to come!

February Trip to Mexico

Below is some of a e-mail that I sent to our missions team at Rockport. Please consider praying over the future ministry of missions in Mexico. I am really praying that the Lord would expand the ministry efforts to encouraging and supporting the Pastors in the small, rural communities in Mexico where there is no access to Biblical training.

Here are some other areas where you can be praying about the future of the ministry in Mexico.

• Pray that the Lord would provide funding for those who have gifts that can be used in these trips, but do not have the funds.
• Pray that we might be provided a vehicle (such as an old suburban) that would be able to help provide transportation while in Mexico.
• Pray for the needed funds for books, materials, and supplies.
• Finally, pray that the Lord would put together a strong team for this summer. Especially those gifted in teaching, leading, willing to do VBS style ministry, women's ministry, and ministry to Pastors and leaders.
  

When I return to Mexico at the end of February, one of the things that we are going to do is link up with Evangelical Pastors that would be interested in meeting together for prayer. I would also like to supply them with some books for a personal library that will be for their benefit. There is a congregation in Tennessee that would like to partner with us in this endeavor. Below are the books, not including a commentary, Bible dictionary, and concordance, that Heart Cry Missionary Society supplies to their Pastor's network in Peru.

Afectos Religiosos - Edwards (Religious Affections)
Caminando con Dios - Ryle (Practical Religion)
Contentamiento Cristiano - Burroughs (Christian Contentment, a Rare Jewel)
Fe Bíblica e Histórica del Evangelio - various authors (The Biblical and Historic Faith of the Gospel)
Gloria de Cristo - Owen (Glory of Christ)
Misterio de la Providencia - Flavel (Mystery of Providence)
Mortificación del Pecado - Owen (Mortification of Sin)
Rasgos Distintivos del Verdadero Cristiano - Spring (Distinctive Traits of True Christian Character)
Remedios Preciosos contra las Artimañas del Diablo - Brooks (Precious Remedies against Satan’s Devices)
Sobre la Tentación – Owen (On Temptation)

In addition to these, I would like to provide CD's of Paul Washer's sermons in Spanish. (Though some of the Pastors may not have access to a CD player.)

What do you all think about this idea? Is this something that we should pursue? I think that the books (without the commentaries, dictionary, and concordance) will cost about $40.00 per pastor.

The objectives for this trip would be:

• That we would continue our relationship to the community, and concentrate on discipling the lady who professed faith in Christ during our last trip.
• We would be a blessing to the missionaries that we are already familiar with (Steve and Robin Henry) by taking supplies for their medical clinic, praying with them, and encouraging them. (Or Youth Sunday School classes have adopted them as missionaries so they will be praying for them and will most likely have gifts to deliver to them as well.)
• We would seek out evangelical Pastors in the area that would like to meet together for prayer and encouragement. Our hope would be to plan a meeting of preaching and praying together during our trip in the summer as an additional avenue of ministry for our teams.

Okay...I know that I have given you a lot of information here. What are your thoughts?