It’s awesome to know that I as a Christian I base my Faith in the logic of the Scriptures. It is a farse for an unbeliever to assume that the Christian makes a profession of faith based upon truth that cannot be founded – with a closer look and an open mind, I believe even the most aggressive athiest would agree with the logic of the Christian Faith.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v3/n2/gods-word-vs-opinion
The singles of Canyon Ridge are meeting at Seaport next friday evening for dinner and some cotton candy – Please spread the word! We will meet in the Food Court area located near the Harbor House. Everyone is invited – we will see you there!
Restaurants: http://www.seaportvillage.com/restaurants/
Recently, our staff had a retreat in Big Bear, CA. It was a wonderful time to draw close to each other, and more importantly to seek God and His will for His church. I found a few minutes to myself and the words to this song/poem just seemed to flow…
You made the sun to rise each morning, to welcome the day;
You made the moon to shine each evening, to light the darkened way;
And You made me for a reason – You called me as Your own;
And it’s my joy to love You, alone…
You created all the beauty – I see around me now;
Canyons vast and snow-capped mountains, each making Yourself known.
From the rivers to the forests, Your greatness plain to see;
And it’s a wonder that You care, for me…
I see Your beauty in each sunset, and in each smiling face;
Every time a child’s delivered – and the wonders out in space.
All the complexity I see around me now,
Only leads me to believe -
They only lead me to believe…
…in You.
- Chris Schellenberg
It was a bleak December day in brick-walled Tsingteh [today spelled Jingde] in South Anhwei, China, when rumors began to sift through of a possible bandit attack on the city. Farther to the south the muddied waters of the mighty Yangtze rolled through Wuhu, past Nanking, Chenkiang and Kiangyin to stain the blue waters of the Pacific. But no echo of the world’s commerce ruffled the secluded city of Tsingteh this day in 1934. Hidden like a jewel in the heart of rugged natural beauty, Tsingteh was accessible to the outside world only by stone paths cut through the mountains.
John and Betty Stam were not the first missionaries to find their way to this isolated community of people, but they were the first to settle there as a family. Their first child, newborn Helen Priscilla – beautiful with blue eyes, innocent face, and curly hair – gladdened the hearts of the young couple. A rented shopfront on a stone-flagged street served as their home and preaching chapel as well.
John had already demonstrated remarkable facility in speaking Chinese. Fresh from language school in Anking he had attended a spiritual life conference led by Dr. James Graham for Chinese believers. Listening intently, John took careful notes. Immediately afterwards, with surprising effectiveness, the new missionary reproduced these messages in Chinese at a summer conference in nearby Sucheng. Now, however, he was married and wholly on his own for the first time on the mission field.
READ ON:: http://www.omf.org/omf/us/resources__1/omf_archives/china_inland_mission_stories/the_martyrdom_of_john_and_betty_stam
Canyon Ridge Baptist Church currently supports somewhere around 40 Baptist missionaries on 6 continents. These are ordinary people who have left their comfort zones in order to reach the people that have never heard about Jesus. Take a moment to pray over the list today::
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:8-13
Listen to Kirk’s testimony here: http://www.wayofthemaster.com/about_kirk.shtml
Lee Strobel on The Evidence of God in Physics.
“The Cry of a Holy Heart”
Psalm 42:1
Pastor Dunlop
“We cannot strive after true holiness with the wrong motivations. If our one desire for Holiness is not to know God more, than our motivation is completely off the mark. Paul said, ‘For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.’
I Thess. 2:4 says, ‘But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.’ Our motivation should be to sincerely please God! If God does not have our whole hearts, our worship, service, and praise are nothing. The cry of our hearts tonight must be to know Him – to serve Him – to draw close to Him!
Paul’s desire in Philippians 3:10 was ‘That I may know him’. Is there a passion in our hearts to know God this evening? Do we desire to walk in close fellowship with Him? Is the Most High our continual habitation? God is truly jealous of our love and affection – Make the decision now to make God the greatest desire of your heart tonight.
‘As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.’ –Psalm 42:1
“The Heart of Holiness”
Colossians 2:6-10
Pastor Dunlop
“Paul admonished us to have no confidence in the flesh; Jesus said, ‘Without me, ye can do nothing’.
Holiness is more than a personal checklist – it isn’t something we just wake up one morning and decide to do. God knows our hearts – where are we in the matter of personal holiness tonight?
Mark 7:20-23 says, ‘And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.’
Lists and standards are not the equivalent of Holiness. Standards are necessary, but they are a means to an end – they are not an end in themselves. Holiness is not merely a list; it is a relationship with a Holy God.
Holiness is possible in the Christian life, for God commands us to be Holy! 1 Peter 1:15 says, ‘But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.’
We must understand Holiness from God’s perspective, not our own. We can’t depend on what we see others doing – we must depend upon God’s Word! Set your sights on God, not on man. Go off of God’s Holiness.
Proverbs 12:15/30:12 – ‘The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.’
Jeremiah accused Israel correctly of walking after the imaginations of their own hearts. We can very easily be guilty of the same today! Don’t be content with your life based on mans standards – go by God’s standards, and make things right.
Make the decision that you are not going to just conjure up niceness – Let God transform you from the inside-out tonight!
Lev. 20:26: ‘And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.’”