Mentor

Posted on by Jeff Cook

Dear church family,

 

Do you remember your first grade teacher? I sure do. Her name was Mrs. Randolph and she had been teaching for many years before I moved into her class. She was gentle but firm, and she was determined to teach us the foundational building blocks of a learning education right there in first grade. We learned how to write our letters in a big chief tablet. Mrs. Randolph gave me extra attention with my writing skills because I was left-handed. I had a tendency to curl my hand around the letters, and Mrs. Randolph kept turning my hand around so that I would hold the pencil in the proper position. It was difficult to do, but to this day I think of Mrs. Randolph as I write with a pencil on a paper, holding my hand in the proper position.

 

I know you agree with me when I say, I am so thankful for good teachers that set me up to be successful in life. As our children and teachers start school this year, we pray that those mentoring relationships will bear much fruit that will last for a lifetime.

 

As we think of mentoring relationships that cause us to grow and develop in a way that pleases God, we know that the church also has a role to play in helping to educate young people and adults to reach their full potential. I am so thankful that God calls all of us in the church to contribute to the life of other people, so that everyone can reach their full potential.

 

Also, I want to encourage everyone to attend church tonight at 5:00 PM. We will be hearing from Carlos Schmidt who is our language church planter with     Louisiana Baptist convention. Carlos has developed A relationship with Brownsville Baptist Church. This church is ministering to asylum-seekers who are making their way north from Mexico and Central America. We will learn of ways we can help those who are in a sincere crisis, with the gospel ministry of Jesus Christ. We have invited area churches to come and attend, and we will have a fellowship for everyone after the service.

 

Blessings,

Dr j

 

Timeless Tales

Posted on by Jeff Cook

Dear Church Family;

 

“Gone with the Wind”, “The Sound of Music”, “Mary Poppins (original)”, “Lion King”, “Beauty and the Beast”….You get the point.  These movies never get old.  They are timeless tales that always evoke emotion, entertainment, and a smile.

 

To an even greater degree, the story of Jesus, especially at the last moments leading up to the cross, and ultimately concluding with the resurrection, never gets old either.  We are moved with compassion as Jesus shares the Lord’s Supper with His disciples.  We are grieved and touched as Jesus washes the disciples feet, (Including Judas), as He knows he is about the be betrayed.  We are gripped with emotion as Jesus asks for “this cup to pass from me” in the garden, and are terrified as Jesus is arrested and taken off to ultimately be crucified.

 

We weep with Mary as she (unlike many disciples), stands by Jesus on the cross.  We wonder, “what is she feeling” as her son is hurting so bad.

We go into the tomb (in our imagination) as Jesus wakes up on Easter Sunday morning, knowing that before he rolls the stone, He must be contemplating what has just happened, and what is about to happen.  And we imagine that the victorious exit from the grave, includes a moment when He might think about you, and smile a wry smile of victory.

 

We are touched in the heart when Mary realizes it is Jesus, and begins to cling to Him, never wanting to let go.  Only to know that He must go.  Jesus must go once again to the Father.

 

Every time we read the classic story of Jesus, we are again gripped, moved, and touched in a way much deeper than any movie can do.  So, as you settle in to celebrate this timeless story today, be ready to be moved, by Jesus.

 

Blessings, Dr. j

Egg-Cheese-Bagel

Posted on by Jeff Cook

Dear Church Family;

It was a recent foggy, rainy morning in Jennings.  I had cooked Jordan breakfast and sent him off to school.  Now it was my turn. Fried egg and cheese sandwich on a bagel bun.  Yum!  It was a good one.  I had taken one bite.  The cheese was melted to perfection. The yellow was hard, but not too hard.  The edges of the egg were crispy, just right. I wanted to finish eating right there, but it was time for me to leave to go to an early appointment.  No worries, I will just take this beautiful eggcheesebagel sandwich with me and eat it in the truck.

 

As I was putting my briefcase in the back seat, tragedy struck.  The plastic plate holding my eggcheesebagel…..cracked!!!  AArrgghh!!  Down, down down, went my eggcheesebagel.  Splat.  In the mud.  Aarrgghh!!!  I seriously considered the five second rule, but the mud, the glorious mud, kept that from being my option.  In about 100 miles of thought, all sorts of frustrating, complaining ideas flashed and started, (I said started) to rush through my head.  I mean, I deserved that eggcheesebagel, and since it was taken away from me, and, and no one was watching, I figured that a pitty party/complaint session was in order.

 

But then I heard a voice in my spirit.  It was God.  And He said, “Don’t you dare throw a fit!” Ooooo!  He began to flash before my mind thoughts of hungry people all over the world that had no eggcheesebagel this morning.  He flashed across my mind people who would gladly pick up that food from the mud.  He flashed across my mind all the goodness that He has provided for me, just because.  “Don’t you dare throw a fit this morning!”  You know, when God speaks, He makes a very compelling argument for doing what He says.  So, I picked up my mess, and went on with my day.  I was so glad God kept me from sinning, and complaining, over a lost eggcheesebagel.

 

Thank you Lord,

Dr. j

White as Snow

Posted on by Derrick Laughlin

My family and I just finished a vacation in the mountains of Colorado, where the beauty of the Creator God is on display.  From the white-capped mountains, to the white-flocked trees, and the layers and layers of perfectly white snow covering everything, the refrain of Jesus Paid It All was on repeat in my heart and mind.

“Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.  Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow…”

Outside of the beauty of white, there was frequently brown snow, mostly where the dirt and grim of the road was pushed aside from snow plows.  The white snow was stained with the dirt, rocks and debris now marred, unclean, and of no value. Apart from the brown, we occasional saw a little yellow snow too. 

But one of the most interesting thoughts I had on this trip, happened while driving into the mountains.  As we begin our ascent up the mountain, we begin to see cars coming in our direction covered with snow.  I looked at my wife, Sarah, and said “You can tell these cars have been in the mountain.”  And almost instantly Acts 4:13 popped into my head.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. – Acts 4:13

You see Peter and John were so bold about speaking about Christ, that it was evident to those around them that they had been with Jesus. As simple, uneducated men, they sounded, looked, talked, acted, dressed, and smelled like Jesus.  The leaders who persecuted Jesus, recognized it right away.

And then think back to Moses.  Moses spent so much time with God, that his face literally glowed.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. – Exodus 34:29

For Moses, the more time he spent with God, the longer and brighter his face shined.  And as Moses spent less time with God, and more time with the people, the glory (or brightness) began to fade.  In the same way, some cars we saw had a lot of snow, some very little, and some none at all.  You can tell from their appearance if they were in the mountains, and for how long.

Our relationship with Christ is the same way and should be evident the same way.  Others around us should recognize that we have been with God.  Our face (or attitude) should be so evident of Christ, that when others see us they have to hide their face because it is so over powering.  For Moses, God’s glory faded because it was just temporary, but today we have the unending, never-fading, everlasting glory of God manifested in the Holy Spirit that actually lives within us.  The same power and glory of God, shining on the face of Moses, and evident in thoughts and actions of Peter and John, is the very same God who takes resident in our hearts.

As I reflect on this idea, this magnificent blessing God has given me, I can’t help but be reminded that:

  • The power and glory must come from God – it’s not my own
  • My life should be centered on spending time with God in prayer, communication, and daily living
  • My actions and lifestyle should reflect Christ, not my own agenda

Finally, I’m reminded of the red-lettered words of Christ:

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. – John 15:35

As we start out another new year, my prayer for you and I is that we pursue Christ with everything in us.  We must spend time with God in prayer, listening, and daily reading scripture.  And our lives must be evident of Christ, that people will know we have been with Him.  Our faces will shine.  “ALL people will KNOW you are MY DISCIPLES, because of your LOVE  for another.”

Students as Leaders

Posted on by Derrick Laughlin

Students today are not children finishing childhood.  They are young adults preparing for a real world.  We see many examples of this in Scripture.  Over and over we read how young people did remarkable things for God and His kingdom.  Students today are not the church of tomorrow as much as they are the church of now, alongside adults, fulfilling the work of the ministry of Jesus Christ.

  • Joseph – was victimized by his own brothers, sold into slavery, and abandoned. Yet as youth in difficult circumstances determined to serve God, became second in command of all of Egypt.  He becomes critical to the redemption of God’s chosen people and remains central to the mission of God.
  • Miram – risked her life to look after her brother Moses.
  • Samuel – heard the voice of God when His voice was rare
  • David – as a teenager kills Goliath
  • Josiah – stood for God and ended idolatry and witnessed a revival
  • Daniel – stood valiantly for God despite the circumstances
  • Esther – risked her life for her people
  • Mary – teenager saying yes to God to be used to deliver His Son to the world
  • Timothy – led the church following Paul’s footsteps

We cannot understand the amazing gospel, the great narrative of Scripture detailing the mission of God, without the role of young people in critical times.  When we read the Bible, we can easily see that God often used youth to fulfill his purpose.  And because God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, we can know that He still uses young people.

Students today want less to do with institutional programs and religious rituals and more to do with personal relationship and social injustices.  In the movement of Christianity, we must clearly speak truth and find a vision for living in light of that truth.  When the gospel has been at the center of the faith of believers, Christianity can become such a force.  We must also take care to not become so involved in the movement itself, but become overly involved with the Master of the movement.

It’s about Christ, not our preferences.  Worshiping God, not a style of music.  Showing and telling others the gospel, not our political or philosophical views.

People like you and me are the kind of people God wants to use in His movement.  Are you taking part?

Philippians 4:13 – “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

 

God’s Love for the Lost

Posted on by Derrick Laughlin

Out of the millions of different ways God could have chosen to tell the world about His love, He chose you and I.  He designed us to tell a story. In fact, He designed all of creation to tell a story.  And that story, as a believer, should always point back to Him.

As I prepared for the series Jonah and the City, I am reminded that we as disciples are called to be on mission everywhere we go.  God’s love isn’t just for believers.  God’s love is for all. It’s for the person who cut you off this morning on your drive to work.  It’s for the drunkard walking into the bar tonight.  It’s for the single teenage mother going to night classes.  It’s for the conservative.  It’s for the liberal.  It’s for our friends. It’s for our enemies.

You have been given a divine appointment, God-created opportunity, to tell others about His love.  Exactly who you are and exactly where you are in your life, God wants to use you to spread the Gospel message of Christ.  As we learn from Paul, speaking to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:1-2, (paraphrased): Timothy, all that you have heard and seen from me, show and teach others who will show and teach others, who will continue the legacy.

This is the multiplication method of discipleship that Jesus taught.  Make disciples who make disciples.  Our compassion for the others, including the lost should be imitating the compassion our Father has for His creation.  And what better story to know about God’s compassion than the story of Jonah.