Jeff Bartell

Sunday we began our study of the gospel of John.  We allowed the Holy Spirit to re-introduce us to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He is called the Word of God and He is called the true Light.  You can find that message on our church website.

Typically when I study I gather more information than I could ever present in one hour and not all of it is suitable for Sunday morning.  Part of my job is to decide what stays and what hits the editing room floor.  I will try to include some of those tidbits from time to time.   Here is one from last Sunday.

John 1:9-13  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

In v.9, Jesus is the true Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  Since that is true, all men are without excuse before God.  All men have received (some form of) His light.  As I read this, it is obvious that Jesus is not the light that lights only “the elect.”  He enlightens all men.

In v.10, the world (as a whole) didn’t know Him.  In v.11, “his own” (Israel) rejected Him.  Israel is God’s elect nation.  They are His chosen people, yet still they rejected Him when He appeared in the form of a man (Jesus Christ).  So the world of humanity didn’t know him and His very elect rejected Him!  That must be a tough pill for a Calvinist to swallow.

In v.12, INDIVIDUALS received Him!  Regardless of your position or privilege, God enlightens every man (according to v.9) and even those deemed “his elect” rejected him (as a whole) – yet any individual has the free will to receive the free gift of eternal life that He offers!  Praise God that He loves us that much!  Praise Him that He is no respecter of persons and that no one group is privileged above any other group!  Regardless of who you are, what you have done or your circumstances of life, you too can choose to receive Him by believing on His name for eternal salvation and He will receive you!  He will give you new life and entrance into His family by birth.  It’s nothing you can do on your own and it’s not a physical birth.  It’s a spiritual birth – you are “born of God.”

So don’t confuse yourself with the idea that God predetermined in eternity past who would and would not believe.  He may have KNOWN from eternity past if you would willingly choose Him or not, but that is different from predetermining it to happen.  Receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and enjoy your freedom!

I love the holidays but I am a creature of habit too.  I am glad that we are back in our regular routines of life.  I am particularly looking forward to this Sunday as we kick off a new Bible study series in the gospel of John.  I have been wanting to do this for some time now and John is one of my favorite books in the Bible.  It is written for the express purpose that all may believe in Him.  As such, it has great application for everyone.  For those still considering the claims of Christ, John proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is God Almighty and He offers salvation from eternal damnation.  For the young believer, John leads us to walk with Jesus on a daily basis; and for the more mature believer, John offers some amazing insight into deeper truth as John, “the beloved disciple”, had a special love relationship with Jesus Christ and patterns for us how we can have one too.

This week we will begin a new “normal” here at FBC, offering various ways for people to respond to the gospel message:  either by meeting a counselor directly after the service, by meeting the pastors in the coffee shop in the lobby, or by filling out a Connection Card and letting us know their need.

Hopefully you will take advantage of this chance to invite your friends to come and then continue the discussion with them after the service.  Let’s determine to make an effort to “make a difference” in our world by praying and reaching out to those around us.  Our collective study in the book of John will facilitate your personal ministry efforts!

So here we are again.  Saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming in the new.  Like many, I typically make resolutions and like many, I typically don’t keep them.  Before I launch out with a new set of goals for 2012, I have to look back at 2011 and see how I’ve done.  Some of the goals I set are personal, some professional and others spiritual.  (Yes, there is overlap in these categories.)

Among the different goals I set for myself in 2011 was the one goal that I have set (and never kept) for about 10 years now.  I determined to lose weight.  I’d rather not state publicly how much I weighed at the beginning of 2011, but I can finally and proudly declare that I used to wear size 38 pants (and they were too tight!) and now I wear a comfortable 36!   One of the deacons at our church expressed his encouragement for my noticeable weight loss by observing that we need to change the photo of me from our church’s website (it has been changed now – you can view it here).  He commented that “if a visitor comes to church after looking at the website he will expect to see a fat guy preaching, but instead you will be up there.”  I love this kind of encouragement!  I must admit, I have given in to the Thanksgiving / Christmas cheer of enjoying the goodies these past 2 months, but I am still doing better than ever before.

I think it’s important to rejoice in the victories, however trivial they may seem.  We beat ourselves up enough about our failures.

So how did you do with your 2011 resolutions? Share your victories here and we can all rejoice together.

No, this is not a post about the Civil War.

On December 11^th I had the privilege of participating in an ordination service for a young man that got saved in my Jr. High youth group about 20 years ago.  This brother is currently serving as a youth pastor and plans to start a new church in 2012.  This is a huge victory!  This is why God left us here on Earth after our salvation – to carry out His mission to fulfill the Great Commission and start new churches.

I was also greatly encouraged because he plans to start the new church in the same city that I was wanting to start a church prior to coming to New Philadelphia.  It’s great to know that when I left behind the possibility of starting a church in Emerson, GA myself, that God is still at work and calling men to go there to reach that city for Christ.  For me, personally, it helps fill what was an empty feeling of thinking I was leaving a work undone.  I guess God knew what He was doing all along!

I have been stimulated to re-evaluate my commitment concerning my personal involvement in the Great Commission.  I am tired of talking about it.  I want to act in such a way as to affect real results that will last for eternity.  If you want that to rub off on you, come hang out with me.  If you don’t, well, …

Let’s go make a difference in this world!