I still believe in Him!

"I still believe in Him!"
These wonderful words were spoken by Myrna Little on Monday at Catawba Hospital in Room 634 on the 6th floor.

As many of you know, Myrna has battled and fought cancer for the last 10 years.
This statement of faith was made by Myrna before family and friends. To understand, let me give a brief description of the circumstances surrounding this statement.

The family was called in Friday and told to prepare for the worst and that Myrna could die at any time. It was just a matter of time. Myrna knew this and looked death in the face and didn't flinch.

Myrna was visibly in bad shape when I entered the room Monday night. Her friends and family were trying to keep her comfortable. She had an oxygen mask on and was trying to get comfortable. Her brother Terry was fanning her with a great big Mother's Day card to keep her cool.

When she finally settled just a bit Myrna looked up at her family and myself and said these words:

"I still believe in Him!"

Myrna didn't have a shallow faith. Her faith stayed with her until the end. Myrna went to heaven Wed. afternoon.

Thank you Myrna for your great testimony of the persevering Grace of God.

Pray for Myrna's family as they try to cope without this great Christian woman.

The family will receive friends at ETBC Saturday at 10 am and the celebration of Myrna's life will follow at 11 am in the sanctuary.

Do you still believe?

Jesus is the Only Way

Listen to this Message from R.C. Sproul.

Christ the Only Way. It will be worth your time.

God is Awesome

"For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God..." Deuteronomy 10:17

On Wed. Nights our Bible study group is studying the "Gripped by the Greatness of God" study by James McDonald.

This week we are looking at Isaiah 40. The title "Gripped by the Awesomeness of God."
Some of the notes from Isaiah 40 are:

1. God has two arms: God's arm of justice, power, and rule and God's tender and caring arm.
10 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.
11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young. Isaiah 40: 10-11

2. We don't' influence God's plans a bit.
"It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
"And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,..." Isaiah 40:22

3. Nothing can substitute for God.
19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter. Isaiah 40: 19-20

4. Some things you can fly above. Some things you have to go through. Some things last for a lifetime.
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40: 31


Question:
When is the last time you have been Gripped by the Awesomeness of God?

In what area of your life do you most need God to show up in His awesomeness?

A Message From Mark "do little" Marshall

As many of you know Mark Marshall is our Minister of Missions. This means Mark helps led our church in mission work "Across the Street, and Around the World". Or at least that is what he says.
Yesterday, our church had the tremendous opportunity to build the walls for a Habitat House behind our church. This is a great opportunity to help a family that is literally across the street.
We were all excited to be led by "do little" is this great mission cause but "do little" had better things to do like eat. Under the guise of praying "do little" dodged manly labor, as usually happens. Like Tuesday when we cut down trees.

But our missions leader did send the guys off with this message from the heart-- the men who put up the walls didn't get to hear this inspiring message so I will allow all ETBC to hear this inspirational challenge.






I am near tears. I feel so blessed and challenged. And just like every time I hear Mark speak I am getting incredibly sleepy!

The Lottery Tithe!

Jonathan Vargas recently won a lump sum of $17 million in the South Carolina education lottery. He's a construction worker, and says this was the first time he'd ever played Powerball.

He says he chose the numbers based on family members. He says he heard the numbers in his head, and says he had a feeling from God that he should play. He says he wrote the numbers on a napkin, that now hangs on his wall in his home.

On the video below Vargas say he plans to tithe the $17 million. My question to you is:

Should your church my church or any church accept Lottery money?

You don't have to be a church leader to respond. I just want your opinion. Should the church accept Lottery money as a tithe or contribution.

Preachers what do you think?

Meeting Each Others Needs

Men and Women are different! Especially when it comes to sex and romance.
One of the great needs for a man is sex and one of the great needs of a woman is romance. Both must given in or submit to the others needs to please them.
Watch this short video by Jimmy Evans, I believe he gets it right.

Sunday's T-shirt

Many men have asked about getting a "Ravah" t-shirt like I had Sunday.
Contact the church office 632-2564 or call T-sport shop and tell Wes you want a shirt like Jamie's.

Ravah

The sermon series I am preaching through on Sunday mornings got me to thinking about one of my favorite verses in the Bible. This verse talks about a man's great love for his wife.

Proverbs 5: 18 says
“18 Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. 19 As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love."
Satisfy means to bath in, to be made drunk by, to satisfy completely.

The hebrew word for satisfy is (Ravah)

Men does your wife Ravah you.

If so let the world know. I think this would make a great T-shirt!

Quote of the Day

Christianity at any given time is strong or weak depending upon her concept of God. And I insist upon this and I have said it many times, that the basic trouble with the Church today is her unworthy conception of God… Our religion is weak because our God is weak.
A.W.Tozer




13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.

17 All nations before Him are as nothing,
And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?

22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.

25 “ To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
Isaiah 40

Einstein and Religion

Today Foxnews.com ran a story on a letter written by Albert Einstein. In this letter he discusses his views on God and religion.

It reminds me of this verse in 1 Corinthians that says: "20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Glory Only in the Lord

26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.



In it, Einstein said that "the word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish."

"For me," he added, "the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions."

Addressing the idea that the Jews are God's chosen people, Einstein wrote that "the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."

In later life, he expressed a sense of wonder at the universe and its mysteries — what he called a "cosmic religious feeling" — and famously said: "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

But, he also said: "I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil. My God created laws that take care of that. His universe is not ruled by wishful thinking, but by immutable laws."

Brooke said Einstein believed that "there is some kind of intelligence working its way through nature. But it is certainly not a conventional Christian or Judaic religious view."

Einstein's musings on science, war, peace and God helped make him world famous, and his scientific legacy prompted Time magazine to name him its Person of the 20th Century.
(taken from FoxNews.com)

Raisin Cakes

5 Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.
Song of Solomon 2:5

After the message Sunday morning several wives have called and asked about the purchase of raisin cakes.
The official contact person for ETBC is Lori Marshall. Place all orders thru her!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Lori for your leadership in this area.

When a Man Loves a Woman Part 2

In this video Jimmy talks about building self esteem in your spouse.
Two ways to do this: Time and Words.

In the Song of Solomon the Shulamite woman seems to have low self-esteem until Solomon speaks of her beauty and it builds her up as the Song goes on.


The woman:
6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
because I am darkened by the sun.
My mother's sons were angry with me
and made me take care of the vineyards;
my own vineyard I have neglected.


Solomon replys:
9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare
harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,
your neck with strings of jewels.
15 How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes are doves. Song of Solomon 1

He calls her a horse! How romantic. But in those days it was very uplifting to say this to a woman. Find out why Sunday!

Mom

So true!

No Way!

W. A. Criswell former pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas where Criswell pastored for 50 years...was a Calvinist.
I can't really believe it but it is true. Why don't we here more about this. With all the discussion and arguments about Calvinism from Southern Baptist it is hard to fathom the "Prince of Southern Baptist Preachers" being a Calvinist.

By the way, W.A. is one of my favorite preachers and his pastoral insight is second to none. If it had not been for the influence of Criswell and many like him the SBC would be as liberal as the average Episcopal Church in America.

W.A. Criswell was a Calvinist. What really shocks me is we rarely here about it.

Listen to his words in a sermon called "The Doctrine of Predestination" from Isaiah 46:9-11 (some take out to shorten it)

(Begin sermon)

So in our study of the Word, there will be many times—and one is this morning—there will be many times when the water will be so deep, the depth of the riches of God so unsearchable and unfathomable, until we can just look and adore and worship. But that does not mean that we ought not to look. Let’s look. Let’s open our mind and our eyes and look upon the marvelous works of God.
I do not say I can understand it all. Least of all would you say I could explain it. But I do say we can open the Book and look upon the riches of the wisdom of the counsels of God.
Now, in the forty-fourth and the forty-sixth chapters of Isaiah, we’re going to take our text on this doctrine of foreordination, of predestination.
In the forty-fourth chapter of Isaiah, the twenty-fourth verse to the end of the chapter:
Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I am the Lord that maketh all things, that stretcheth forth the heavens alone, that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself—
didn’t have anybody helping me; I did that—
That frustrateth the tokens of the liars and maketh diviners mad, that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish.
That confirmeth the word of his servant and performeth the counsel of his messengers, that saith to Jerusalem: Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof.
That saith to the deep, Be dry; and I will dry up thy rivers:
That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Do you see anything in that? Well, this is it. When did Cyrus live? And when did Cyrus do all of those things? Cyrus flourished in 550 B.C. When did Isaiah say these things? When did Isaiah live?
Isaiah lived 750 B.C. More than two hundred years before this thing came to pass, Isaiah prophesied that Jerusalem would be destroyed and desolate, that Judah would be without inhabitants—it would be waste, would be a vacuum and sterile and empty. And two hundred years before it happened, Isaiah called the ruler by name who would come and give the decree that Judah should be inhabited and Jerusalem should be rebuilt and the foundations of the temple relaid.
That’s our God. Now, just to turn the page, just to show you how this is interwoven all through the Bible—just turn the page, just one page. In the forty-sixth chapter of Isaiah and beginning at the ninth verse, listen to the Word of the Lord:
For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Calling unto the ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

That’s our God. Now that’s what you call foreordination. That’s what you call predestination. That’s Calvinism. And I am a Calvinist. That’s good old Bible doctrine. And I believe the Bible. These things are in God’s hands. And ultimately, and finally, He purposed it and executeth all of it.

Now, let’s start. It belongs to the perfection of God to have a purpose, a design. You cannot think of God apart from His purpose, His choices, His decrees, His decisions. You can’t think of God apart from the plan of God anymore than you can think of the sun without its heat and its light.
God does not rule this universe by whim or caprice. He does not do it opportunistically or adventitiously. But God does it by purpose, by plan and by design. God has a plan. It belongs, I say, to the perfection of God that He have a plan. It belongs to the sovereignty of God that He executes that plan. God sees it through, no matter what, no matter when, no matter how, no matter the obstacles, no matter what occasion may arise, no matter what enemy may intervene or may interpose—God carries that plan through.


Now, just to save us time—and you won’t have opportunity to turn to them, because I have copied them down. Just to save us time, may I read to you just some of the passages from God’s Book that so clearly speak of this thing, of the foreordination—this thing of the predestination, this thing of the predetermining purposes of God?
Romans 8:28: “Called according to his purpose.”
Ephesians 1:11: “Foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will.”
Ephesians 3:11: “According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Isaiah 14:26, 27: “This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth. And this is the hand that is stretched upon all nations. Now Jehovah of hosts hath purposed . . . and His hand is stretched out and who can turn it back?”
Daniel 4:35: “He that does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none could stay His hand.”
Psalms 119:89: “Forever, O God, Thy word is settled, is established, is fixed in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations. Thou hast established the earth and it abideth. They abide this day according to thine ordinances and thy decrees.”
Job 4:1-5: “Man that is born of woman is but a few days and full of troubles. His days are determined.” I am so many days to live, and God has numbered them. There is a time and a place known to God when the brittle thread of my life shall be cut off. “His days are determined. The number of his months are with Thee.” God knows them. He knows the exact moment when each one of us shall die. “The number of our months are with Thee. Thou hast appointed our bounds that we cannot pass.” No man can go beyond that day and that hour that God hath determined in which a man shall live.
Acts 2:23: “Being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God; even the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay.”
Acts 4:27, 28: “Of a truth in this city, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel foreordained to come to pass.”
Revelation 17:17: “For God did put in their hearts to do His will and to come to one mind and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God should be fulfilled.”
All of these things, says the Lord God Almighty, are according to the foreordained and predetermined and infinite counsels of God, who lives and reigns in heaven.

Now, that thing, I see all around me. Now, I don’t see anything else but that all around me. The pre- and fore-determined counsels and wisdom and sovereignty and executed purposes of Almighty God.
I see it in the origin of things. I see it in the origin of all living things. Matter doesn’t give birth to life. You can look at that dirt, rock, earth, matter forever and it will never originate life. That comes from the great first mover, God. It comes from the choices of God. In your own living, the old dead man could never spontaneously originate his own resurrection. No infant could ever originate its own beginning. No created thing could ever originate its own creation. These things lie in the counsels and in the choices of Almighty God.


You didn’t do anything except just come along as God allowed it. That’s all. That’s all. That’s our God. He chooses. He decrees. And He executes these great designs and these choices.
Now, I say, I see it everywhere, not only in individuals. I see it in nations. God chooses nations. God does it. God chose the Greek people and the Greek culture and language that made possible the universal dissemination of the message of Christ. God chose the Roman nation and the Pax Romana that made possible the dissemination of the worldwide preaching of the gospel of Christ.
God chose the Jew. And what the Jew is and what he has done and what he has in the future is according to the pre- and foreordained knowledge and counsels of Almighty God. And the Lord says, “And out of Judah shall He come who shall reign. And the scepter shall not depart from His hand.” That’s our God.
And the Lord God said to Judah and to the Jewish nation, and he’ll be here till I come again. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, this genos, this race, this kind shall not pass away until all these things be fulfilled.”
In the eleventh chapter of the Book of Romans, Paul says, “And so,” when God grafts back in the fallen tabernacle of Israel, when God pulls back to Himself these people, then says Paul, “then all Israel will be saved.”
And in Amos, God says, “And I will gather them from the four winds of the earth, the four corners of the earth. And I’ll plant them back in their own land and in their own country. And they shall never be pulled up again.”
Where’s your Hittite and your Girgashites and your Hivites and your Canaanites and your Moabites and your Ammonites and all your other “ites?” They’ve all gone out. But the Israelite is still here. And he’ll be here until the end of time. Why? Because God said so. The Lord chose it and the Lord executes His decrees.



Listen to Simon Peter as he writes, “Peter, an apostle, to all of these elect according to the foreknowledge of God.” He knew you before you were born. He put your name in the Book of Life before you came into the world.
He said, “Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of the world.” That’s according to the foreknowledge of God.

“Blessed be Him who has done that for us and has given us and brought us to an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God, who are kept from falling by the power of God.”
It’s according to the foreordained purposes of the Lord that these that are written in His book, who trust in Christ—that they’ll be saved. I don’t care what assails them, what terrible obstacles, what darkness, what fear, what valleys—God has ordained their salvation, and we’ll make it. We’ll be there when the roll is called. We’ll be standing in the midst of the saints of glory.
For all these purposes God has purposed for us as people in this world of woe, here’s another one. Here’s another one: the sovereign purpose of God encourages us, encourages us, in all of the turns and vicissitudes and misfortunes of life, whatever they are and however they come.

Romans 8:28, can we quote that? Can we quote that? “For all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.”

No matter what it is, when it comes, God makes it work for good to those who love God. That’s the sovereign purpose in our lives and in this world.
Romans 8:28, “For all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.”
Now, everybody say that together. “For we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

That’s our God. That’s our God. I may not be able to understand it. I may sit down there by a bedside and marvel at the permissive will of God in letting one of our saintliest people suffer and suffer and suffer, but God says, “It’s according to a design. It’s according to an infinite and almighty purpose.” And the Lord makes it work together for good when we love Him, when we’re in His will, when we are the elect according to His purposes, when we belong to Him.

(end sermon) taken from www.wacriswell.com

Youth Sunday

What a great service!!!! Words can't express how blessed I felt being in Sunday's Youth Service. It was awesome..

Here are some highlights.

Caleb Chapman being baptized- Caleb called me last Saturday night at 10:30pm and said He asked Christ to be his Lord and Savior! Wasn't his baptism testimony great. It was an honor to baptize Caleb. Gia you are a great mother.

Youth Praise team- you guys hit one out of the park! Amazing Grace - My Chains are Gone and In Christ Alone are 2 of my favorite songs. All I can say is Wow! Thanks guys. Hopefully this is not the last time we here from you.

"Billy" Graham Marshall- That was a great message. "Oh Taste and See."
Graham preached a very good and Biblically sound message from Psalm 34: 1-8
His points: Confidence, Radiance, Have you tasted?
God has a tremendous future for this young man. He comes from a great family that loves and serves the Lord. Great job Mark and Lori.

Kevin White- Dude you are doing a great job. I am so glad you are at East Taylorsville. Our church is better because of Kevin, Sonya, Cameron and Jonah.

Student Sunday School teachers- I have heard great stories about Psalm 103. Good job!

East Taylorsville Baptist Church- I love you guys- This Sunday we received and offering of $40,000!!!
That is truly amazing. Thank you for your faithfulness to God's Word and His church.

It is about bed time and I have exams this week.

Enjoy this video:

Do Calvinist Evangelize?

Do Calvinist evangelize? That was a question asked by a friend I have when we were discussing the question of Calvinism or as i like to call it Reformed theology. I just told him i don't know, do you? He was like most of us when he said, "No"!

So do Calvinist evangelize. Below are some quotes from a Reformed pastor people on both sides of the fence quote Charles Spurgeon:


From all our congregations a bitter cry should go up unto God, unless conversions are continually seen. If our preaching never saves a soul, and is not likely to do so, should we not better glorify God as peasants, or as tradesmen? What honour can the Lord receive from useless ministers? The Holy Ghost is not with us, we are not used of God for his gracious purposes unless souls are quickened into heavenly life. Brethren, can we bear to be useless? Can we be barren, and yet content?


Once more, if we are to be robed in the power of the Lord, we must feel an intense longing for the glory of God, and the salvation of the sons of men. Even when we are most successful, we must long for more success. If God has given us many souls, we must pine for a thousand times as many.

Never lose heart in the power of the gospel. Do not believe that there exists any man, much less any race of men, for whom the gospel is not fitted."

"If God does not save men by truth, he certainly will not save them by lies. And if the old gospel is not competent to work a revival, then we will do without the revival."

“God save us from living in comfort while sinners are sinking into hell!”

Read this quote very carefully:

If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.


Do you think Calvinist evangelize?
Before you answer..... Do you evangelize?
If so when was the last time.

When a Man Loves a Woman

Preach it Percy! Preach it!

When a Man Loves a Woman is a new sermon series starting on Mother's Day.
I will preach through the Song of Solomon.

I am gonna try to get Kenny "Deacon" Jones and Vernon "P. Diddy" Charles to sing this song!

What do you think?