Sunday Night

Here are a few memorable things about tonight's service:

1. It was neat to see so many children being recognized for the Scriptures they have memorized this year in AWANA. I hope that the verses they have memorized will stick with them as the verses I memorized as a child in AWANA have with me.

2. The children also presented a humorous take on the story of David and Goliath using music and drama. Seeing our student minister play Goliath (opposite a 7 year old as David) was itself worth showing up for.

--Mark

Dr. Land in Israel

Dr. Land mentioned this morning that he blogged about his trip to Israel last week. Here are the posts if you are interested:

Post 1

Post 2

--Mark

The Gospel and Prayer

Tonight in PowerSource we looked at Hebrews 4:14-16 and discussed how the gospel relates to prayer.

Here is a quote that I shared tonight at the end of the sermon:

"Effective prayer is saturated in the gospel.....You don't move on from the cross to go deeper in prayer. Ultimately, all effective prayer is rooted in the cross.

Think about it. The gospel is the starting point of prayer. Without Christ's blood, you couldn't even approach God. Only in Jesus' righteousness are we invited to enter His presence. There's no mantra we can learn, no catchphrase we can recite, that will move God's hand. We appeal to him based on the person and work of His son. Jerry Bridges writes, "When we pray to God for His blessing, He does not examine our performance to see if we are worthy. Rather, He looks to see if we are trusting in the merit of His Son as our only hope for securing His blessing."

Students of the school of prayer never graduate from the school of the gospel."

C.J. Mahaney from The Cross Centered Life

--Mark

Have you seen Expelled?

On Sunday Dr. Land encouraged the congregation to go see Expelled this weekend because of the case the movie makes against Darwinism and for Intelligent Design.

To view one of the trailers, click here.

The movie is playing at two local theaters this weekend.

The Rave theater in East Ridge at 12:15, 2:50, 5:20, 7:45, and 10:20

The Carmike theater at Northgate in Hixson at 1:00, 3:15, 5:30, 7:45 and 10:00

If you have linked to Brainerd's Blog via the most recent edition of The BBC Mail, feel free to comment on the movie below. To view past editions of The BBC Mail or to subscribe, click here.

--Mark

Romans 7 - 8

Tonight Dr. Land preached on the doctrine of salvation and then we took of the Lord's Supper.

During the sermon he encouraged us to read slowly through Romans 7 -8 at some point this week.

You can read both chapters online by clicking here.

You can read what the Baptist Faith and Message (2000) says about Salvation (Article IV) by clicking here.

Church Graveyards

Russell Moore has written an interesting article entitled "Should we miss our church graveyards?"

If you have time, it is worth reading.



--Mark

The Weather Channel is Never Wrong

Shortly after getting married and moving to Chattanooga, my wife and I began looking for a church that we could join and get involved in. After seeing the broadcast of Brainerd Baptist's worship service a few times, we decided that we would visit on the following Sunday.

We looked up the time of the morning worship service on the web site so that we would be there in plenty of time.

Sunday morning came and we got up and started getting ready to leave as normal. As we were getting ready I turned the TV on to the Weather Channel to see what the weather was going to be like. Everything was as normal except I noticed that the clock in the bottom corner of the screen was an hour ahead of what our living room clock displayed. I thought to myself that the time difference seemed strange, but continued getting ready.

I went upstairs and mentioned to my wife that it was weird for the Weather Channel clock to be wrong. Moments later, we realized that it was not 9:45 but 10:45 and we had completely forgotten to change our clocks the previous night for Daylight Savings Time.

Needless to say, we did not make it to Brainerd Baptist that morning; although we did make it (somewhat late) to a church that was much closer to our apartment.

I share this story to say, Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend. Don't forget to set your clocks ahead an hour on Saturday night.

(We later visited Brainerd, got involved in a Bible Study class and joined the church a few months later)

--Mark

Mere Christianity

In his sermon on Sunday Morning Dr. Land quoted from and recommended the book Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. I read it several years ago and have found it helpful to consult a few times since then.

Here is the quote that Dr. Land shared:


"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing that we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the things that Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level with the man who says that he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God."

C. S. Lewis from Mere Christianity

--Mark

Pray without Ceasing

As I was preparing for Power Source tomorrow night I came across this article that I found helpful. In the article John MacArthur explains what it means to pray without ceasing (from 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Here is the full article: Pray Without Ceasing

Here is a brief quote:

"To “pray without ceasing” refers to recurring prayer, not nonstop talking. Prayer is to be a way of life — you’re to be continually in an attitude of prayer. It is living in continual God-consciousness, where everything you see and experience becomes a kind of prayer, lived in deep awareness of and surrender to Him. It should be instant and intimate communication — not unlike that which we enjoy with our best friend."


--Mark

One Year Blogging Anniversary

As of this week have been blogging for one year.

Here are a few posts that you may have missed:

• "Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow..." by Ruthie

• Persecution by Lee

• Someone Is Always Watching by Ryan

• The American Dream and a Wasted Life by Collin

• Walking through the hospital by Curtis

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

This morning in both the Celebration service and The Gathering we focused on the sanctity of human life.

Keeping with this emphasis tonight Collin sang "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" by Matt Redman as the offering was being collected. The song is based on Psalm 139, which Dr. Land shared with us this morning.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

So fearfully and wonderfully made,
How could they say there is no God?
Reminded every breath that I take,
It´s by Your hand I have been formed
So what am I going to do with this life You gave me?
What could I do but live for Your praise?

You gave me this breath,
And You gave me this strength,
And every day I´ll live to obey You.
With all of my heart,
With all of my soul;
Let every breath I´m breathing display You God.

There´s elegance in all you create
Your grand designs leave us amazed.
The wonders of the way we´ve been made
Speak of Your power, tell of Your grace.
So what am I going to do with this life You gave me?
What could I do but live for Your praise?

So what am I going to do with this life You gave me?
What am I going to do with this life?
What I am I going to do in these days You´ve ordained?
What am I going to do with this life?

As the words of the song were shown on the screen tonight I was challenged by these lines that are repeated multiple times, "So what am I going to do with this life You gave me?, What could I do but live for Your praise?"

The lines from the song reminded me of Psalm 139:13-16

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."

and Psalm 139:23-24

"Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"

Because we were created in the image of God for a specific purpose, it matters how we live and how we use the life that He has given us. Because we were fearfully and wonderfully made by God, it matters whether we live to bring glory to God or live for ourselves.

May we uphold the sanctity of human life as we live to praise God with everything He has created us to be.

The song is from the CD "Beautiful News" which you can buy here or download here in iTunes.

--Mark

Upward Basketball

Today at the BX Brainerd kicked off the 2008 season of Upward Basketball.

Having never been involved with Upward Basketball before, I was not quite sure what to expect. I was amazed at the number of people that were involved and the way that Gus Hernandez and Lee Shipley kept things running smoothly.

Here are a few pictures:

--Mark

Polishing God's Monuments

This week I finished reading Polishing God's Monuments by Jim Andrews. Andrews is a pastor whose daughter and son-in-law have suffered terribly through one trial after another (mostly related to several serious health problems that they have faced). The chapters of the book alternate between letters to his congregation that describe the suffering his family endured and a discussion about how his family has learned to deal biblically with the suffering that they have faced.


Here are a few encouraging quotes:

"Whenever the mystery of our present experience of God obliterates any sign on our immediate horizon that God is who he claims to be, we need to hunker down under the umbrella of those trophies in our past. A "monumental" faith is able to look forward with confidence because it looks backward to the past. It discounts the baffling mysteries of present circumstances because it finds reassurance in his historical works, his uncompromising character, and his unchanging promises."


"Monumental faith is a faith trained to look away from the confusion of the moment to find security and confidence in the past evidences of God's character and faithfulness."


As I read this book I was reminded of Psalm 77. In it the author reflects on how he has chosen to deal with God's temporary silence to his cry for help. Here is what he concludes:


10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people,the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

--Psalm 77:10-15

May we look back at God's past faithfulness as we wait patiently for Him to act according to His divine plan in our lives.



--Mark

Christmas Highlights

Well, the Christmas holidays are practically over for most of us. Here are a few things that made our family’s 2007 holiday season memorable.

• The advent service at the Gathering on the 23rd
• Traveling out of town to visit family
• There was snow at my parent’s church on Christmas Eve (actually just strategically placed snow machines, since snow is even rarer in Warner Robins, GA than in Chattanooga, TN)
• Finding out that my sister and her husband are expecting their first child
• God’s protection over a close family member who was in a car accident on Christmas Eve
• Watching our son figure out the whole “present” thing

Have a happy 2008!

--Mark

A Theology of Work

Here is a challenging article I came across a few weeks ago about how Christians should view their work.

It is a little long, but worth reading.

Here is a brief quote:

"Our work should be a love offering characterized by excellence, ethics, evangelism and theological integration, but not as a basis for finding our worth before God or our acceptance from others. We work not for God to accept us, but are accepted because of God's work in and for us (Phil. 2:12-13). This is how we should then work."

--Mark

A Hat Divided

I was recently shopping for a hat to support my favorite college football team and came across this hat. (Click on the picture to see it more clearly)

Just in case you can't make it out, the back of the hat says "Arkansas Razorbacks." I have a feeling that there is a pretty small market for hats that support both the Bulldogs and Razorbacks. Maybe our executive pastor could use it since he recently moved from Arkansas?

--Mark

War and Peace

Here is a great article written by Russell Moore of Southern Seminary.

The article is called "Who Would Jesus Bomb? War, Peace, and the Christian"

The entire article is worth reading. Here is a brief quote:

"We shouldn't tie dye our shirts and pretend a United Nations enforced peace can end bloodshed. But neither should we callously cheer the violence of war, as if it were a video game. Yes, we should visualize peace-but only a real peace, when the true Emperor of the universe rules over a world so pacific that we cannot even imagine the violence we once saw on CNN, or on Animal Planet. On that day, and maybe not until that day, there won't be the sound of rattling swords, firing guns, or bombs bursting in air."

--Mark

Christmas Music

I know it might be a little early for Christmas music, but I thought I would mention a Christmas CD that I have enjoyed and found encouraging.

Behold the Lamb of God by Andrew Peterson: What I especially appreciate about this retelling of the Christmas story is the emphasis placed on the gospel and how the events of the Old Testament led up to the events of Matthew 1-2 and Luke 2.

You can listen to the entire album for free at Andrew's Web Site by clicking here.

Here are a couple of videos from a live performance of the album.

"Matthew's Begats"



"Labor of Love"




--Mark

NPR and the Prodigal Son

A few weeks ago on my way in to work I was listening to NPR and heard a financial segment where they were discussing giving an inheritance to your children. The "financial expert" being interviewed was giving advice on how to fairly divide your inheritance between your children. He made a comment that it was not wise to give a large sum of money to an adult child as an inheritance if they have proven to be irresponsible with money. Next, one of the gentlemen said that this discussion reminded him of the story of the prodigal son (from Luke 15:11-32).

As they spoke of how they felt this biblical example applied to their discussion and how you don't want to be like the father in the story (giving all your hard earned money to a child who will just waste it away), one of the men said, "Yeah, the father was a sucker!"

As I thought about what they were saying, I first thought that this parable from the teaching ministry of Jesus is not about financial planning. Living in America and especially the South we encounter many who are familiar with the Bible but who do not understand or accept the message of the gospel.

Next, I thought about how the father in the parable represents Christ and his abundant love for those who do not deserve it. Jesus taught the series of parables in Luke 15 to respond to the Pharisees who criticized him for hanging around sinners.

This type of love poured out on those who have not earned it is foreign to many in our culture. Jesus was willing to suffer and die in our place, not because we have earned his attention, but because He loved us.

I am thankful for what this passage teaches about God's love and am challenged with the church's responsibility to faithfully take the message of the gospel to the culture in which we live.

--Mark

Proactive Prayer

This week in PowerSource we are going to look at one of Paul's prayers from 2 Thessalonians 1 and seek to discover how we can pray proactively for one another.

I was challenged by this quote from Dr. Charles Lawless, who is a professor at Southern Seminary. The quote is from a Baptist Press article, which you can read here.


I perhaps am most concerned that we pray far too little. Most of our praying is reactive rather than proactive; that is, we pray after we hear about a strife-torn family, after we learn of a wayward teen, or after we are challenged to intercede for missionaries. Seldom do we pray proactively for our Bible study teachers, our pastors, our state convention workers, our denominational leaders or our missionaries.

I hope to see you there.

--Mark