Signing Off

We are signing off here in VA. We are getting our truck tomorrow and loading it, and then we head out on Thursday. We will be back as soon as possible.

The Lord is seeming to provide opportunities and encouragement along the way. Please continue to pray for us. The internet will be disconnected this evening.

See you from TX.

Last Sunday

Today was our final Sunday at New Hope Baptist Church. It was a day that was very relieving to finally have this day over with, but it was truly a sad day to be moving on and not knowing where we or New Hope are really going from here.

I preached on the need for Jesus to be the foundation of our personal spiritual lives and the life of the church. Please pray that the Lord would lead New Hope, and that they would submit to His will for them.

For us, Heather's parents will be coming in this evening and her mom will be driving with us to Texas. We pick up and load the truck Wednesday, and we will pull out Thursday morning. We should arrive in Texas Saturday. We are taking it slow with the boys, but we will get in as much driving as possible each day.

Once in Texas, Heather will continue to stay home with the boys, and I will try to find some supply preaching and a job to fill in the gap. We are continuing to pray that the Lord will direct our path and show us where he wants us to be.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Many of the members here at New Hope have been very generous and kind to us, and there is not a single member of the church that we do not love and care for.

Reading

As you have probably noticed, my reading is very slow these days. I am about finished with God is the Gospel but not yet. I am hoping to get to more reading once we get semi-settled. Here is a good article from Baptist Press that really points to why Christians should be good readers.

The article can be found here.

Texas Rangers Blast Orioles with 30 runs

Being from the DFW Metroplex, the Texas Rangers are the "home" team. They may have only had a couple of great years but I can't help but at least check the paper to see how they are doing. As of yesterday, they were last place, 19 games behind the leader in their division!

Last night however, they looked like first place in MLB! They faced the Orioles in a doubleheader and won the first game 30-3! They were trailing by three and broke out and scored 30 unanswered runs. They won game two of the doubleheader 9-7. They broke a team record, tied a major league record and on and on the record breaking goes with hits in an inning.

The story can be found here and here and here.

Pics for the Week

Brennan hamming it up for the camera!


Brennan is excited about moving to the Ft. Worth area. He is ready for the gangsta scene.


Connor was in a good mood one morning and wanted his picture taken.

Update on Move

Things are really starting to wind down. I was thinking about it earlier and realized that in a week and a half we will be loading our moving truck. It is so hard to believe that we are leaving the Northern Neck and have no set ministry to go to.

Please continue to pray for us and this move. We know we are following the Lord's will, and we know that he will provide for us. We trust him to give as we have need.

Please pray for New Hope Baptist Church. This will be a time of transition for them, and they may lose some people. Pray that God would convict them of his will, raise up more leaders among them, they would be focused on outreach, they would possess a unity of purpose, and that the Lord would provide for them $100,000 in their building fund.

Two for the Weekend

A Distant Good-Bye

I had to go and take some more pictures at the river. I feel like this many days, a very long and distant good-bye to the Northern Neck. Our time here has been a great time for us as a family and for ministry. The time seems to be going by so slow as we look to the end of our time here.


3 Binkies

Brennan is pretty proud of his stash of binkies. We are trying to curb his habit, but every once in a while he manages to find the hiding binkies. You just can't separate this man from his binkies.

Reading Brothers

Wednesday Bible Study

2 Timothy 3:12-4:5

vv. 12-13

What contrast do you think is being made in these verses?

· The godly will suffer.

· The evil will flourish/prosper

· No resistance to the evil work

v. 14

· Despite the bad news, remain in the Truth. Remain in what you are convinced of.

· Where the truth is learned is often important.

· A witness of truth over time.

What do you think is Paul’s point to Timothy in vv 14-15?

• The foundation of living.
• Timothy you will suffer so remember why you believe.
• Be secure in your faith because it will be tested.

v. 16

· God-breathed/sent from God

· Written by human hand with the knowledge given by God

· Scriptures are for:

o Instruction

o Discipline

o Correction

o Holiness

What is the importance of the Scriptures being inspired by God?

Not man’s wisdom and words but the words and full wisdom of God.

vv. 1-2

Not just for pastors. The words of Scripture are applicable to all believers.

We are told to

· Proclaim the gospel

· Always Prepared

o Discipline

o Correct

o Instruct/Call to Action

· Patience- slow process for others and ourselves

· Instruction- we all need directions

v. 3

· People will want to be encouraged in their immature spirituality and not challenged to the truth. So they will find those who will do what they want rather than deal with the truth.

What are some doctrines/beliefs that people hold to that are not biblical?

· Health/Wealth Gospel

· Lose You Salvation

· Baptismal Regeneration

· Church Attendance is not important

· People will come to salvation whether we tell them or not

v. 4

In verse 4 there is a question for us:

Does verse 4 characterize you?

• Are you open to discipline?
• Are you open to correction?
• Are you open to instruction?
• Are you open to those three actions no matter who is bringing them to you?

v. 5

· We are called to Overcome.

· We are called to Proclaim.

· We are called to be Faithful.

For Laughs

Perhaps I could have added this post with the previous one, but you know what these are just too funny to combine with anything else.

Here are two posts that will hopefully make you laugh: 1 2

Enjoy.

Stupid Criminal Stories

There are some criminals who just make you laugh and that is what happened when the "Duct Tape Bandit" attempted to rob a liquor store.

The criminal had wrapped his head in duct tape, instead of a ski mask or pantyhose. When he walked in, the store workers just laughed and brought out their own item wrapped in duct tape, a wooden club. The would-be robber was restrained by a store clerk and a customer until authorities arrived.

The article is here along with a picture of the would-be thief after he was arrested.

Premiership Season to Begin

The English Premiership is set to begin this Sunday. Another year of great football set to begin. Manchester United is feeling confident about the season with the players they have kept and those they have added. Last season ended with the joy of a league championship but the disappointment of an FA Cup final loss.

The prelude to the regular season was a Community Shield PK shootout victory over Chelsea. The regulation time ended with 1 a piece. Man Utd hit their PKs and their keeper van der Sar blocked three consecutive PKs from Chelsea. He has never done that before and has helped increase his overall shootout record to 5 losses and 3 victories.

Prayer

I have been each day trying to go through one area of my office to clean out the unneeded, and I came across something from before coming to Virginia. During the Spring of 2005 as we were talking with New Hope, I was becoming impatient. I was ready to be a pastor. I was ready to be done with seminary. I was ready to be done with Wal-Mart. But this is what I found:

Pray for patience and God's knowledge.

God Almighty. The one who called me. The one who created me. I am in anguish and full of impatience and distraction. Lord you know my needs and desires. Your desires for me are for my good and your glory. I do not need to fear the future because you are the Ancient of Days. The one who began all and the originator of all of life. You will still be when all else is not. Lord you are the one who will work out all details in my life. Despite clear answers or direction at this point in my life, I know you are there. Lord you are working despite visible evidence. Lord you know what I need and you have the resources available to meet those needs. Lord help me to trust you. Make me to be true to you. May you be my all. May my faith be in your provision and not my strength. Why do I tremble when all is yours? You are the maker, the Creator, the Savior. May my focus be in serving you and mot man. If you are the Provider then I should trust no other.

As I have now reread this about five times since I found it the other day, I am struck by how God has answered this prayer. He has sustained me during the very difficult days during our time here. He has provided for our needs. He has provided for our needs even now as family is generously moving us to TX. Why should anyone fear the future who belongs to Christ? The worst that could happen is that we will not survive physically and be in the presence of our Lord. Is that really so bad? To be done here and move on to heaven in the presence of our Lord.

May God sustain you. May God provide for you even in the most difficult of days.

Oooooh! Can I have some?

Resignation from New Hope

Today, I resigned from New Hope Baptist Church as their pastor. Needless to say, this was a very difficult decision. We have grown to love these people and want to see that New Hope succeeds, but the Lord has made it clear that our time here is complete.

As difficult as many of the days have been, we have held on until the Lord has told us to move on. We are certain that this is the right time, and we believe that the Lord will provide for New Hope.

For us, we are moving in with my parents in Millsap TX. I will be looking for work until the Lord provides a new and clear direction for us concerning ministry. We have yet to decide where we will regularly attend church, but more than anything, we are hoping to have a time of refreshment and renewing in the Lord.

God's Grace during Tragedy

I am sure most if not all of you have heard of the bridge collapse tragedy in Minneapolis Minnesota. There are terrible stories of tragedy and loss, and I will in no way minimize that loss. But God's grace is evident as you look at articles detailing the unexplainable lack of loss.

Quotes:

"We were surprised that we didn't have more people seriously injured and killed," Minneapolis Fire Chief Jim Clack told The Associated Press. "I think it was something of a miracle."

A miracle indeed! Cars falling 60 feet on to concrete or into water and people escaping! They hav found cars in the water where the windows had been rolled down while they were driving. This allowed escape for the driver. A school bus with children falling 60 feet and no deaths or critical injuries! This was rush hour why weren't there more cars? The bridge was under construction the cars were moving slower, which kept the cars from being propelled into the water, but instead simply fell straight down.

Clack cited a list of reasons: a bridge design that minimized falling debris, a quick response by rescue crews and the rush-hour crawl that gave vehicles little momentum to plunge into the river.

In addition, experts say the speed and depth of the water in the Mississippi River were much lower than normal on the day of the collapse - largely the result of a drought. That may have made it easier for people to escape the disaster.

Next time when things seem out-of-control and God has abandoned you look for what God is doing to bring about His will in the midst of a fallen world.

The Boys Enjoying Life

Brennan for some reason grabbed the colander out of the cabinet and decided to watch TV while sitting in it.


Connor enjoying throwing some rocks in the water. One of his all time favorite things to do besides taking toys from his brother.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. An update coming Sunday or Monday.

Sunset Pictures

The other day we needed a break so we all went down to the river to throw rocks in the water (we are still trying to fill the river), play on the playground, walk around and of course, I had to take some pictures. I am trying some new ways of taking pictures. (The crooked one is supposed to be that way.) Water is a great subject for taking pictures. Sometimes it is black, but when you get the sun on it, it does some great things. I was excited that the top picture turned out the way it did.

You have probably already noticed that I have not been posting my sermons, and it will be that way for a while. I am going to be transferring this to a more family update and picture blog. I will post soon more details about what we are doing, but for now, it will remain unposted.

Enjoy the pictures.