(Reprint from 8/20/14)

Have you ever met someone who not only doesn’t believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, but is hostile toward those who do?  We often call those people skeptics.  Skeptics need Jesus as much as anyone else, but they can often appear too much of a challenge to us.  We are nervous to talk to them.  I think the main reason we are nervous is that we think they will ask a question we won’t know the answer to.  The Bible has something to say about that need to answer a skeptic.  “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” (1 Peter 3:15).

          That is truly my desire.  I want to know more today than I did yesterday about Jesus and the Bible.  I want to learn how to defend the faith against those skeptics.  It should not frighten us to think about giving a defense to anyone for the hope within us.  We should view it as a wonderful opportunity for witness.  Sadly, our fear and hesitation spills over onto our children.  Our children are growing up in our churches without learning how to defend their faith.  Our church cannot pretend that everyone believes the Bible is true or that God is real or that evolution is false.  In fact, a very large percentage of the people we see everyday don’t believe those things.

          Our commission as a church is to take the gospel to all people, including the skeptics.  We want every member to be equipped to defend the faith.  Not to defend the faith by arguing and debating, but to defend the faith with a clear explanation of the gospel.  On September 28th, immediately following the morning worship service, we will have a special time of evangelism training using the Way of the Master strategy.  I hesitate to call it the Way of the Master strategy because it is simply presenting the whole gospel to people in a clear way.  It helps us understand the role of the Old Testament law in showing people their need for a savior.  Would you consider coming and being a part of this excellent opportunity for further training in an area in which we all need encouragement?  We want to provide lunch for everyone, so sign up today so we can plan accordingly.

In Christ,  

Blain Craig

Have you ever met someone who not only doesn’t believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, but is hostile toward those who do?  We often call those people skeptics.  Skeptics need Jesus as much as anyone else, but they can often appear too much of a challenge to us.  We are nervous to talk to them.  I think the main reason we are nervous is that we think they will ask a question we won’t know the answer to.  The Bible has something to say about that need to answer a skeptic.  “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” (1 Peter 3:15).

          That is truly my desire.  I want to know more today than I did yesterday about Jesus and the Bible.  I want to learn how to defend the faith against those skeptics.  It should not frighten us to think about giving a defense to anyone for the hope within us.  We should view it as a wonderful opportunity for witness.  Sadly, our fear and hesitation spills over onto our children.  Our children are growing up in our churches without learning how to defend their faith.  Our church cannot pretend that everyone believes the Bible is true or that God is real or that evolution is false.  In fact, a very large percentage of the people we see everyday don’t believe those things.

          Our commission as a church is to take the gospel to all people, including the skeptics.  We want every member to be equipped to defend the faith.  Not to defend the faith by arguing and debating, but to defend the faith with a clear explanation of the gospel.  On September 28th, immediately following the morning worship service, we will have a special time of evangelism training using the Way of the Master strategy.  I hesitate to call it the Way of the Master strategy because it is simply presenting the whole gospel to people in a clear way.  It helps us understand the role of the Old Testament law in showing people their need for a savior.  Would you consider coming and being a part of this excellent opportunity for further training in an area in which we all need encouragement?  We want to provide lunch for everyone, so sign up today so we can plan accordingly.

In Christ, 

Blain Craig

If nothing else, the last several days have reminded us yet again of the great need for the gospel in this lost and dying world.  There is unspeakable persecution of Christians in Iraq, though by God’s grace probably not quite to the degree originally thought.  Nevertheless persecution is a horrendous reality regardless of its extent or severity.  All of this has led to military engagement by the U.S. in the region.  There has been more rioting in Ferguson, MO.  There is hurt and agony worldwide, including Midlothian. This is to say nothing of the dozens of family related issues within our own congregation. 

          In the midst of all these events, the nation’s attention has been turned to the reality of death.  As of the writing of this article, over a million tweets have been posted regarding the apparent suicide of actor and comedian, Robin Williams.  Sunday we read Jesus’ words to us “Don’t Worry,” yet many do worry.  Some worry to the point of suicide.  The discussion about suicide is always difficult.  Suicide of loved ones has touched so many lives and families, including our own church family.  There are a number of lessons we should learn in considering the subject.

          First, there are lessons about the nature of man and his sinfulness.  One of the lessons is that material things and earthly success don’t bring happiness.  This is glaringly obvious in the fact that one who the world would consider most blessed was painfully and deeply depressed.  Fame, money, power, even comedy doesn’t ultimately bring joy.  Only Christ brings joy.  Consider the Rich Young Ruler, when Jesus told him the cost of discipleship he became sad.  Material wealth and power are hollow substitutes for true joy.

          Another lesson about the nature of mankind is that external behavior is not always indicative of internal hurt.  Who would ever think that someone who was so funny could be so sad?  Depression is a reality of a fallen world.  We must recognize that the worst thing we can do is vainly try to make everyone think we have it all together.  If we are honest with each other, we will encourage others to be honest therefore allowing them the opportunity to share their own hurts and disappointments. 

          There is one other important clarification about suicide.  Although suicide is often directly related to depression or even mental illness, suicide is sin.  Suicide is murdering one’s self; therefore it is both a violation of God’s command and an attempt to take God’s prerogative.  He alone has the right to determine when life begins and ends.  Although suicide is sin, contrary to popular belief, it is not the unforgivable sin.  Some people think because suicide is the final act a person commits it cannot be forgiven because there is not time to ask for forgiveness.  This idea betrays a faulty and unbiblical understanding of redemption.  Through Christ’s finished work on the cross and in the resurrection and our faith in him and repentance from our sin, Christ redeems us from all sin – past, present, and future.  Therefore, although suicide is not in keeping with godly action, it is not in and of itself an indication of a person’s lack of saving faith in Christ.

          Most importantly, there is a lesson about the nature of our sovereign God.  All of life is a reminder of the deep, deep love of Christ.  We are the recipients of his mercy and grace.  We are born again because of his obedience to the will of the Father.  God is good to us every day and in every way.  When you stop and consider the hurt and pain and difficulty for many in our own congregation, you should realize how bold a statement it is to say that God is always good.  The events of our lives so often would lead the world to say he is not good.  Depression, disappointment, and many other factors lead some to think their loneliness has no solution.  How can we come to the point of seeing God’s love and righteousness in every event?  As I mentioned Sunday, a big part of the process is gaining a better understanding of God’s Providence.  Only by understanding God’s perfect providence can we know that every circumstance has hope.  John Calvin said, “Ignorance of providence is the greatest of all miseries, and the knowledge of it the highest happiness.” (Institutes 1. XVII. 11)

          William Cowper wrote a hymn in 1774 entitled God Moves in a Mysterious Way.  There is an interesting story behind the hymn.  “Cowper often struggled with depression and doubt. One night he decided to commit suicide by drowning himself. He called a cab and told the driver to take him to the Thames River. However, thick fog came down and prevented them from finding the river (another version of the story has the driver getting lost deliberately). After driving around lost for a while, the cabby finally stopped and let Cowper out. To Cowper’s surprise, he found himself on his own doorstep: God had sent the fog to keep him from killing himself. Even in our blackest moments, God watches over us.”  Obviously, God does not act in this kind of miraculous way in every case, but his providential control of this universe is unceasing.  He has a purpose and a plan in everything he does.  Here are the words of Cowper’s hymn.

God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines of never-failing skill,
He treasures up His bright designs, and works His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, the clouds ye so much dread,
are big with mercy, and shall break In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err, and scan his work in vain;
God is His own interpreter, and He will make it plain.  
        
In Christ, 
Blain Craig

           One of the most familiar images the New Testament uses to describe the church is to say the church is a body.  There are numerous ways we could say the church is like our physical body, but one of the most obvious ways is to say there are operations within our physical bodies that while we may not notice them are extremely important.  In the same way there are numerous ministries of the church that go largely unknown and unappreciated.

           One of these areas is our technology and media efforts.  Each week, often unknown to most, a huge amount of work and effort go into the media ministry at Oak Crest.  Israel works hard to not only properly order the worship service, but he spends a great deal of time setting up the PowerPoint slides.  Then, when Sunday finally arrives, we have a team of people who work faithfully in our sound booth to simultaneously run the audio and visual aspects of our services.  Thank you, Danny Hyndman, Craig Rowland, Bruce Field, Jim Tennery, and others who make sure everything runs smoothly.  It is too often the case that we only notice this position when something goes wrong.  They are true servants of the kingdom.  In addition to recording the services, we also video record the services.  Jonathan Pendrich has put in a lot of time securing all the proper equipment and overseeing the proper recording of the services each week.

          That is only the beginning.  After the service is concluded, even more work is done.  Each week Andy Burney spends time editing the audio from the service and posting that audio to the internet on Podomatic and iTunes.  He also makes copies of the service on CD to be distributed to our members who are homebound and unable to attend weekly services.  Jonathan and Andy also oversee the posting of the video recording to YouTube so that we can not only hear the sermons, but see them!  But that may not be a good thing depending on what you think about the appearance of the preacher!

          Trisha Douglas is the source of the creativity you see reflected on our website.  Each week she updates the website with the latest sermons and information.  This is in addition to her over-site of our directory app that she constantly updates.  She and Jonathan oversee the continual updating of our church app too.  She also creates the announcement slides you have probably noticed on Sunday mornings.

          Last, but certainly not least, are Myrtice Phears and Ruth Howard.  Each week they not only visit dozens of people including our homebound, but they take them a copy of the service on CD.  Most of these people do not have access to the internet or apps, but they get to participate through the efforts of these two ladies bringing them CDs.  Myrtice and Ruth also take CDs to various gas stations and restaurants at various times.  Not too long ago a gentleman called me saying he had picked up one of our CDs in a gas station.  He said he had been extremely depressed and struggling with sin.  The particular CD was on fighting temptation.  He said it helped him greatly.  See, that is God using this whole line of gifted volunteers to minister to many.  As one of those men adjusted a volume control on some Sunday morning, they never would have thought that someone totally unrelated to Oak Crest would be the recipient of their service.

          Who gets the credit?  God alone.  To him alone be the glory!  Each of the people I named and numerous others do what they do by the power of Christ at work in them.  They say with Paul in 1 Corinthians 15: 10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”

In Christ, 

Blain Craig