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Today we welcome Ryan and Abigial de Roos who serve Christ in aviation in the Philippines. They will give a full report in our SS/ABF hour and a brief Missions Moment in the service. Their daughters Sydney and Lydia are here too. The de Roos’ were members of HBC when they were students at what was then New Tribes Bible Institute in Jackson. We claim them as “one of our own.”

Charles Hodge, revered professor on the 1800s at Princeton had two children, Archibald, and Mary. When the kids were  10 and 8, they gave a letter to James Eckard who had been  a student of their fathers’ who was going to Ceylon as a  missionary (today Sri Lanka in south Asia).

Dear Heathen:

 The Lord Jesus Christ hath promised that the time shall come when all the ends of the earth shall be His kingdom … If this was promised by a Being who cannot lie, would you not help it to come sooner by reading the Bible, and attending the words of your teachers, and loving God, and renouncing idols, take Christianity into your temples? … My sister and myself have, by small self-denials, procured two dollars which are enclosed in this letter to buy tracts and Bibles to teach you. 

 Archibald and Mary Hodge, Friends of the Heathen

Isn’t that marvelous? Simple child-like faith. And what an example for us today to have a passion for spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Magnify is only a month away (October 18-19). It is a conference co-sponsored by HBC and five other local churches. I love that we are involved with fellow ministries in such an endeavor. It’s been a highlight for a number of years.

I’ve never heard Conrad Mbewe, but I’ve heard good things about he and his ministry. He has served as pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church in Lusaka, Zambia, since 1987. KBC is presently overseeing the establishment of about 20 new churches in Zambia and other African countries. The  conference begins on a Friday evening and concludes at on Saturday at 12:30 pm. The cost is nominal – $15. Register   by going to https://www.magnifyconference.org/#registration.

HBC has supplied cookies for the conference during breaks. Special thanks to Sue Depoorter for arranging and coordinating this. A volunteer sign up list will begin next week. As a church we’re responsible for 40 dozen cookies.

I always find it amazing how many people travel miles and miles to attend this conference – many having to spend  money on a hotel overnight. You and I have this opportunity in our backyard! Please take advantage of this wonderful blessing. University Reformed Church is a great host – the music is a highlight as well. Hope to see you there.

Pick up one of the promotional cards on the kiosk.

Wow. Last Sunday the Fall Fest was a tremendous success. And what made it extra special for me was that it was accomplished through Spirit-motivated ministry. This event wasn’t my idea – I participated in sitting in several meetings, but it originated and was orchestrated on a grass roots level. What a joy it was to see our church family happily serving and greeting our guests.

We had no idea who would show up – or how many could show up. We had dozens of folks come. It was an exciting time! God provided a beautiful fall afternoon as well. A follow-up letter was sent out this week to those who registered for the 4 gift card raffle. Left-over donuts and cider were  donated to the Delhi Fire Department and the Lansing City Rescue Mission.

Once again we have no idea how many might attend “Christianity Explored” Tuesday. We need you to help us by coming. A sign up is on the table in the kiosk to help us  plan a little regarding this – as to where we should meet.  A video will be shown with group discussion.  Stephen DeMass and David Froman are facilitating this study. It’s only 7 weeks. Starts at 6:30 pm. Child care is being provided.

So many of our congregation were involved last Sunday. I love that verse in Nehemiah. He was burdened to rebuild  the walls surrounding Jerusalem. God opened door after door.  As he surveyed the damage, we read, I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem, 2:12.  That’s Spirit-motivated ministry. God puts it in  our hearts to serve him in ways that he then empowers. It’s truly a wonderful thing to observe and I did last Sunday. 

Kent Hughes tells the story of a woman living in Africa who became a Christian. She was blind, uneducated and 70 years old. She came to the missionary with her Bible and asked her to underline John 3:16. Mystified, the missionary watched her as she took her Bible and sat in front of a boy’s school in the afternoons. When school dismissed, she would call a boy over and would ask him to read the versed underlined.

“Do you know what this means?” she would ask.

Then she would proceed to tell them about Christ. That missionary reported that over the years 24 young boys gave their lives not only to Christ but also became pastors due to that dear lady’s work.

Dear friend, that’s our mission is it not?  Look again at the front of your bulletin. “Becoming fruitful disciples of Christ for God’s glory.” Each one of us has a ministry. Each one of us has been gifted somehow to serve Christ and his church. Sometimes it’s obvious how we are to serve. Other times it takes a little creativity like this dear African woman. Make this a matter of prayer. Ask God how he would have you serve. Warming a chair is fine but for the church to function properly each one must do his/her work. Eph 4:15-16, We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

What a joy to be back at HBC today. We returned refreshed and renewed. So thankful for you providing us a sabbatical opportunity.

Another initiative in our strategic plan is to provide personal and ministry development to those who serve us faithfully. With that in mind, David and Susan are being sent this week to SING down in Nashville. SING is a national music conference hosted by Keith and Kristen Getty – authors of numerous songs we sing here. 15,000 will attend. Pray for David and Sue – safety in travel and for them to be challenged as they serve in our music ministry here. Thank you for making this trip possible. 

Another initiative is outreach. Let us continue to pray for the Fall Fest next Sunday. More volunteers are needed. See the sign up list on the table in the foyer.

I know school has already started for most of our teachers and students – but let’s remember them in prayer as well. Pray for our students to be kind, Eph 4:3; to praise God for always being with them, Josh 1:9; to ask God to help them walk in integrity, Prov 10:9; to ask God to help them not worry, Phil 4:6-7; to work hard, Col 3:23 and for wisdom each day, Ja 1:5. 

Pray too for our teachers. Thank you for investing in the lives of boys and girls. What a privilege you have whether teaching in a classroom or at home as you pour your lives into the next generation.

Dr. Paul Brand, a Christian orthopedic surgeon, spent the first of part of his medical career in India and the last part here in America. He wrote is his memoir, “In the United States … I encountered a society that seeks to avoid pain at all costs … Patients lived at a greater level of comfort than any I had previously treated, but they seemed far less equipped to handle suffering and far more traumatized by it.” 

That statement is pretty indicting of our culture. Now I confess, I like to be comfortable. We as Americans feel we’re entitled to it. No one is advocating suffering be pursued or preferred. It’s just that somehow as believers many have failed to develop a biblical theology of suffering. As a Christian God allows suffering or pain for reasons sometimes unknown to us. We’re not to rejoice in the trial – but rejoice in what the trial can produce – steadfastness, patient endurance, Ja 1:3. God has an agenda beyond our understanding. We must trust him.     

Are we making heaven out of this world in which we live? The truth is the more we ground our comfort and security in this world, the less we are able to enjoy it. When we turn good things into ultimate things, when we make them our greatest desires, they will disappoint us. Augustine said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee.” 

May we find our ultimate satisfaction not in our comfort or circumstances but in God himself.  Ps 62:5 NIV, Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.

I recently came across a prayer for anxiety. Dear God, my mind is troubled, and my heart is overwhelmed. I’m stressed and it is affecting me physically, emotionally and mentally. I can’t seem to concentrate on anything but worry. Forgive me for worrying so much instead of coming to you in prayer. Help me to let go of this anxiety. Help me to cast all my worries onto you. Teach me to be patient and have faith that at the right time you will intervene. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.

There’s a lot going on in our world these days – globally, nationally and individually. Not sure what you might be struggling with – but we all have battles we’re fighting. I am reminded of Ps 34:18, The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed. Ps 9:9-10, The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee; for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee (KJV).

Child of God, any bad news that ruffles us doesn’t worry God. To him, it is not even news. He is on his throne welcoming his children to find constant refuge in him as they face their earthly struggles and trust in his sovereignty and love. You’ve heard me quote Charles Spurgeon many times. “The providence of God is the pillow upon which I lay my weary head.” 

 Oh, may we rest well in him. Jesus said, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”   

“The church may go through her dark ages,

but Christ is with her in the midnight.”

Charles Spurgeon

Though the church isn’t the focus in the book of Daniel, God was promising his people that he was not going to forsake them through some dark ages to come. For you and me, reading Daniel, most of those dark ages are now ancient history. But for Israel, they were to be prepared for the severity of testing ahead. Daniel is much more than prophecy. It is a book about God’s people living in a foreign land – how to survive in a hostile world. We too are living in Babylon. We are living in a hostile world. How are we to manage? Kevin DeYoung wrote, “The world needs to see Christians burning, not with self-righteous fury at the sliding morals of our Country but with passion for God.” 

Dark days are ahead for us as Christians. But don’t fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love, peace and a sound mind. Our Lord has promised to be with us just as he was with Daniel and countless other believers who have endured far worse. Lift up your head – your redemption is coming soon. 

Donald Grey Barnhouse was a pastor in Philadelphia in the mid-20th century. He tells of speaking to a young lady at the airline desk in Tokyo. She spoke Chinese, Japanese and English, obviously a very educated individual. Pastor Barnhouse asked her if she was a Christian. “No,” she said. She was a Buddhist. He asked more questions. She told him she had heard of Jesus – and a sacred book called the Bible but really knew nothing of the Christian faith. Then Pastor Barnhouse asked, “Do you love Buddha?” The very idea astounded her. “Love?!” She never had thought of that in connection with  religion. Barnhouse went on with a brief explanation why Christians love the Lord Jesus.

1 Pet 1:8, “Though you have not seen him, you love him,” The apostle had seen the Lord Jesus, but his audience had not, Neither have we. And yet they, like us, love Jesus. You simply can’t love Jesus too much. You can’t think about him too much, or thank him too much, or depend upon him too much. All our forgiveness, all our justification, all our righteousness, all our blessings come from him.

Naturally people don’t love God, Oh, many folks love “a god,” but not the God of the Bible. The Apostle Paul states the    sinful mind is hostile to God. For us to love Jesus a radical change inside us has to occur. “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit,” Rom 5:5 NIV. One of the proofs of our conversion is that we love God. Our love for  Jesus is simply our response for his love to us. We love him because he first loved us.

I love the ministry. God has been very gracious to me thru-out these past 45 years. The preaching and teaching of his Word is a delight. One of the reasons why I enjoyed getting up this morning is that I get to preach today. Though shepherding is a joy it is also costly. The burdens of every day ministry have a way of weighing one down. I am not complaining – just being transparent with you.

Eight years ago, Bill Bush in an elder meeting suggested we develop a policy for providing me a sabbatical. Our elders wisely crafted such a document. In 2017 I was given the opportunity of taking my first sabbatical. Those eight weeks were such a blessing to Sue and me.

Once again you are providing me with a chance to getaway – to unplug from ministry and to spend some necessary time with rest and personal development. I begin a four-week sabbatical tomorrow.  I am thankful two deacons are filling the pulpit in my absence. Various deacons will be “on call” during this next month, each week their names will be listed in the bulletin for spiritual or physical needs. Please don’t hesitate to call them. They are eager to help.

We will miss you and look forward to returning physically rested and spiritually refreshed. Thank you for this opportunity.  Pray for me. I have some reading to do – listening to some podcasts. I need to feed my soul. Pray for Susan and me – we want to talk about our marriage and ministry together. We look forward being back with you on September 1.