11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. – Ephesians 4:11-13

Today I have begun adding items to our website to help us to know the Word of God better. There is a new heading on the home page called “bible reading.” Underneath that main heading will appear more and more links to give you various Bible reading plans, Bible memory verses, and in various translations. All this is to make it easier for you to spend time in the Bible daily.

Before you check your email or read the latest news, read the Word! Work on Scripture memory. Pray about what you’ve read and memorized! Let God’s Word transform your mind, and transform your life! It’s only a click away!

His…yours,

Pastor Ken

Other Related Items:

• A sermon from the What Makes A Healthy Church series: Preaching Ministry
• An article by Pastor Ken on the importance of the Bible

The sad news was announced in May, 2009. Due to the economic crisis and reduced giving, International Mission Board (IMB) trustees had to make the heart-wrenching decision to approve the suspension of new appointments to two short-term missionary programs. They also made the decision to cut back on the overall number of missionaries to be appointed for the remainder of 2009.

The immediate reason for the cutback was because the 2008 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO) fell $29 million short of the $170 million goal. In 2007 $150 million was collected. Continue reading »

This is the fourth article of a multi-part series on growing in discipleship.    Print This Post
In the last installment of this series we explored the importance of incorporating the Word of God into our lives. As Christians, we must be aware that the primary means through which we are conformed to the image of Christ is through being transformed in our thinking and believing. Transformation in those areas results in a re-arranging of our affections, emotions, and our actions. Therefore, it is crucial that we grow in our faith by growing in the knowledge, understanding and application of the Word of God. Continue reading »

In our prayer meeting this evening we will meditate on Psalm 51 and then read together the following prayer of confession.

Heavenly Father, Be gracious to our church, O God, according to Your loving-kindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion, blot out our transgressions. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity, and cleanse us from our sin.
We know our transgressions and our sin is ever before us. We have sinned against You and done evil in Your sight.
Create in us clean hearts, and renew steadfast spirits within us. Sustain us with willing spirits that we may teach transgressors Your ways that sinners will be converted to You.
Grant that brokenness and contrition be ours that you may delight in Sardis Baptist Church.

We pray in the strong name of Jesus,
Amen.

In our prayer service this evening we will read Philippians 3:1-16 together, discuss and meditate on it, then read this prayer aloud together.

Heavenly Father, We rejoice in You! We worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus. Father, so fill our hearts with your love that whatever things were gain, we count loss for the sake of Christ, and may we see all earthly things as meaningless in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Lord, we know we cannot attain our own righteousness. Our great need, Your great gift is the righteousness through faith in Your Son. In Him we trust.
Father, we want to know Christ, the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. May we be conformed to His death that we may attain life.
Father, we press on, together, for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
We pray in the strong name of Jesus,
Amen.

In this evening’s prayer meeting we will read through this passage, then pray the following prayer in unison.

Heavenly Father,

We want to learn Christ, He is truth. Teach us to put off our old selves, those things that belonged to our former way of life. Teach us to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Teach us to speak truth, not falsehood. Teach us to defeat the devil by putting away anger and submitting to You.

Teach us to share with those who have need, to build one another up and to give grace to others. May we be a people who are kind, tender-hearted and forgiving of one another as You have forgiven us in Christ Jesus.

We pray in the strong name of Jesus,

Amen.

This is the third article of a multi-part series on growing in discipleship.

In the last installment of this series we explored the fact that God is working in the lives of every believer to the end that the virtues and excellencies of Christ be made manifest in them. A startling, amazing thing has occurred within every believer: the Holy Spirit of God has taken residence! Holy Spirit provides the empowerment and the guidance we need to grow in conformity to the image of Christ. But the Holy Spirit does not work alone! Therefore, it is important for believers to “work” along with the Spirit, doing certain things, stopping certain things, and believing certain things, in order for the Spirit’s work to be completed. Continue reading »

If you’re anything like me, you always have the best intentions of establishing a better routine for studying God’s Word. For me, this year is no exception. By the looks of it, many people have the same idea. Continue reading »

As we prepare to pray tonight, our congregation will read and meditate on Romans 15:5-13. Then we will read this prayer together.

Heavenly Father, we pray that you would grant us endurance and encouragement and unity as we follow Christ Jesus. May we, as with one heart and one mouth, bring glory to You.

Teach us to bring praise to You by accepting one another as we have been received by the Lord Jesus, Himself.
May our hearts rejoice in You. We praise You Lord, we sing praises to Your name.

Father of hope, fill us with joy and peace. Lead us to trust You more that our hearts would overflow with hope by the power of Your Holy Spirit.

We pray in the strong name of Jesus,
Amen.

Heavenly Father,
We pray that You would cause our hearts to be compelled by the love Christ has for us, as seen in His death on the cross for our sin.
Work in us that we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the One, who died and was raised again, on our behalf.
Father, we pray that the old sin nature would be continually passing away and that the new spiritual nature would be more and more evident in our lives.
Cause us to take seriously the ministry of bringing others to You, of leading them to peace with God through Jesus Christ. May we continually plead with others to be reconciled to God through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ!
We pray in the strong name of Jesus,
Amen.