Happy 489th Anniversary

In just one day the anniversary of the Reformation will be upon us. For those of you unfamiliar with this time in history, here's a brief lesson.

Martin Luther, a teacher within the Roman Catholic church, wanted to reform many of the major teachings of his religion, focusing mainly on indulgences. During the evening of October 31st (All Hallow's Eve), he posted 95 calls to reform or 95 theses on the door of the local church in Wittenburg. When the patron's came to church on the most sacred of days (Nov. 1st- All Saint's Day), they saw his calls for reformation posted on the door. These were later deemed heretical by the pope, but were published in mass quantities in the common language of the people. In the years to come men like those pictured above would spread the doctrines of grace, teachings of justification through faith alone, being able to come to God without the aid of an earthly priest, and a high view of the sovereignty of God throughout all of Europe. These doctrines have radically changed the way we do church and led to the formation of Protestantism.

Anyway, many times we focus so much on Halloween that we miss one of the great days in our own church history. So dress up like a reformer, enjoy a read from Calvin's Institutes or Bondage of the Will, and remember the lives of the men who gave everything to bring us a Christianity as God intended, focused on Christ, exalting God, and based on scripture.


P.S. The photo is of the Wall of Reformers in Geneva, Switzerland (quite a sight if you've ever been there). The men carved into the stone are Guillaume Farel, Jean Calvin, Theodore Beza, and John Knox, some of the the fathers of the Protestant Reformation.

Weekend Schedule

Here is a reposting of our weekend schedule with more details. you can access this yourself at http://academics.bbc.edu/music/Default.aspx?tabid=98, but why would you since I'm posting it here? :)

Notice that our first one is coming up the first weekend in November!

November 5, 2006
10:45 AM - Hackettstown Baptist Church, 916 Rt. 517, Hackettstown, NJ 07840, (908) 852-6577 Pastor Alan Parker
6:00 PM - Park Bible Baptist Church, 95 Sparks Ave., Pennsville, NJ 08070, (856) 678-2528 Pastor Taylor Jackson

November 19, 2006
AM Service - Henrietta Regular Baptist Church, 1125 Calkins Rd., Rochester, NY 14623, (585) 359-1230 Pastor Jim Saunders
PM Service - Auburn Prison in Rochester, NY Chaplain Allen Ferry

December 3, 2006
AM Service - Fellowship Baptist Church, RR2 Box 122A, Troy, PA 16947, (570) 297-4818 Pastor Shay

Jesus Camp?

For those of you who don't know me, my husband joe and i work at Calvary Church in Valparaiso, IN. He's the Pastor of Youth and Worship and we both love to see movies and keep up on what's hot in teen culture. naturally we go to a lot of movies, especially those that have been recommended to us by parents. What we saw last weekend was a real shocker...

When someone at church gave us free tickets, we called up some friends last weekend to go see Facing the Giants. Anyone seen it yet? Personally I thought the movie was extremely lame, but what got me more than the terrible recording, horrible actors, predictable plot, lame storyline, and "health-and-wealth" message was one of the previews before the film: Jesus Camp. Has anyone heard about this movie?? (not sure what the restriction are on campus, but as soon as you can get onto YouTube.com you have to see the preview). Talk about a disgrace to the name of Christ...not to mention one of the mainstream "Christian" movies coming out. I found myself slumping down in my seat...hoping that only Christians were in the theater watching this terrible preview. The trailer consists of an annoyingly pushy older woman talking about how Jesus Camp has changed the lives of all these children, who are THEN seen rolling in the aisles being slain in the Spirit and preaching into a cordless mic to hundreds of hysterical, young worshippers.

all that to say that it's going to be OUR generation that changes the face of Christian media. it's no longer about bashing people with the Bible, calling out "Ye must be born again" from the street corners--it's about the example we see from Christ: being relevant to those we're witnessing to. I can't imagine a single unsaved person seeing that film and being swayed toward Christ.

I'd love to hear what everyone else has to say...

ashley wittmer

New! Prayer Requests

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Heb 4:16

-Jill- needs wisdom to confront a friend in love
-Melody- pray for time to talk with the family she is babysitting for and continued excitement for the job
-Rachel- pray for her sister Jenny as she is wrestling with God's will, pray she will make the right decisions.
-Nathan Pyne- Pray for his church back home as they still need a pastor. Especially pray for his dad who is having to take on a lot of the pastoral responsibilities.
-Pray for the unsaved: Doc's son, Dilan; the Mohler family who are going to Doc's church, other unsaved and adults and children in our churches, and our many unsaved friends and family of those in our group.
-Pray for us all that we will be wise in using the time God gives us and that we will struggle well to understand what we are being taught and that we will be able to discern the what is wise and true.
-Pray for God's direction and wisdom in the missions trip to Ireland. (thanks to all those who are taking charge in helping to organize the trip!)

Take care of yourselves everyone- get good sleep, drink lots of water, eat all your meals, and take your vitamins! Have a great weekend!

Gabriella

Here are some pictures I took this past Saturday of Gabriella Noel Zepeda. Gabe asked me to post them since they don't have a digital camera. So, here they are . . .
It was great to see many of you this past weekend during Bible Conference/Homecoming!
~Emily :)

I'm Coming :)

Hello, everyone!
I am coming to visit BBC :) . . . I'll be around Friday morning-Sunday for Bible Conference, Homecoming, etc. Hope to see and catch up with a lot of you . . . . Can't wait to get there! (I wish I could be there tomorrow night to hear you sing, but sadly I'll have to miss it. I'll be praying for you as I drive.)
~Emily :)

Bible Conference

Here's a summary and reminder of the things we talked about for Bible Conference:

Thursday's rehearsal at 2:30 will be in the gym.

We are singing "All Creatures" and "O Clap Your Hands" for the Thursday evening session. We didn't talk about clothing today, so here's the info: Guys wear nice slacks and a collared shirt. Girls wear a nice skirt and top. We won't match, but the idea is to look nice and well put-together.

I enjoyed practice today! I hope you are all surviving white glove and can enjoy the conference this week.

I was encouraged today when we talked about the need to appropriate grace, and to preach the gospel to ourselves. Doc, we need to sing that song in Chapel that goes, "We've been justified, we're being sanctified, we'll be glorified someday. . ."

Prayer Requests From Thursday

Sorry this is a few days late.. but here are the prayer requests from Thursday

Abi - Friend Moreen who is a Christian but not living right , she is dating an unsaved guy, pray for conviction and repentance in her life.
- Pray for Abi's Dad and sister's salvation
- Pray for her friend Barbara who is unsaved and has cancer

Doc - Pray for Josh. who is a young boy athiest, but is curious about Christianity
- Also pray for the salvation of Eric and his wife who janitors at the recreation center
- Continue to pray for Connie who is still recovering, and for Doc who has to take over in some of the house work.

Melody - Praise for the wonderful roommate that God has given her.

Kristin - Needs prayer for the youth group at Berean Church in Scranton, need wisdom as there seems to be no growth.


"You are never sinning alone; you are never grieving alone; you are never alone, for the Spirit of the Lord is here. He is nearer to us than our bodies and breath-and He is God." (A. W. Tozer) And through His power let us keep on killing sin in our lives and praying to that end for eachother!

God bless!

Rated "R" for Reformed Theology

This is the coolest T-Shirt I've seen in a while. I definetely want to be in on the next order, along with about 20 people at my church. Jake, I'll let you know what the final tally is by next week. Keep spreading the message of Christ centeredness, God's sovereignty, and overpowering Grace.

(I hope the pic doesn't get you guys in trouble ;-)

Anyway, thanks for the great visit everyone. It was great to see a few of you and get updated on your lives. Keep the faith brothers and sisters.