I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

John 8:12

The Lamplighter

July/August 2008

======================================

Vacation

Bible School

Outrigger Island: 

July 14-18

6-8:30pm

for grades K-12

 

 Pre-Register @ www.fbne@verizon.net 

Click on “VBS”

 Friday, July 18 (during regular VBS):  Luau/Beach Party for all the kids and their families and our church family.  This is an opportunity for fun, fellowship and food!  It’s a great way to meet the VBS parents and let them know our church family.

 Helpers/Leaders Needed—Contact:  Jenny HOKUF, Director

 

From the Pastor

Dear church family,

Greetings in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Vacation Bible School is upon us.  We start Monday, July 14 at 6pm.  Jenny Hokuf is directing VBS this year.  Our theme is Outrigger Island, living God’s unshakeable truth. Please pray for all the boys and girls who will be coming.  Each year several come to faith in the Lord.  Let’s ask God to touch each person and make the changes in their individual lives that He wants to make.  Pray for all of our teachers and helpers, too.  We have a good team of workers ready to go, but without the Lord’s empowering and enabling it would all be for naught.  Jesus said “without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

 I got a letter today from Rev. Walid Bitar of the Arabic Baptist Church in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.  We had been praying for the salvation of his father for some time.  His father, Karim Bitar had immigrated from war-torn Lebanon to be near his son in Canada, but he was dying of cancer.  In this last year he had made a decision to trust Christ as his personal Savior!  Praise the Lord.  At his death Walid found this note in his father’s pocket written in his own handwriting:

 Have mercy on your sinful servant, O Lord Jesus.  And save me as you promised, O Holy Ghost.  You spoke to me through what I read and I realized that I am spiritually blind and perishing.  But now I believe in the word of God and I open my heart at this moment so You enter it.  Cleanse me and burn my sins with your holy fire—because I want to be Yours, body and soul.  Unite with my soul and use me as an instrument as long as I am alive, so my feet would walk for You and my hands would work for Your glory.  Help me have faith in Your Word day by day and declare it to others and help me stay faithful to You until I see you face to face.  In Your holy name, I ask, Amen.  Karim Bitar

Our God is truly a God of miracles, Who is able to change hearts.  That is what we want for those around us and throughout the world who have not yet turned to Christ.  Let’s pray with faith, believing God can still do His life-changing work of regeneration in the young hearts of our Bible school children.

We now have a team of prayer warriors who have committed to be praying for this sort of request and for revival in our church.  Twenty-four have signed up, one for each hour of the day and night.  We call them “Watchmen on the Wall” from Isaiah 62:6.  “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night.  You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest.”  If you would like to be a part of this great work please let me know and we will be glad to add you to our “Watchmen on the Wall.”

May God bless you as you follow Him,

Dr. Stephen D. Hokuf

 

Spurgeon—“Usually when God intends greatly to bless a church . . .”

Excerpt from Spurgeon & Revival by Robert H. Lescelius—submitted by Pastor Dan

Charles H. Spurgeon saw signs of coming revival blessing in the spontaneous burden of prayer that manifested itself in two or three members who would be gathered unto Christ in prayer (Matthew 18:18-20):

Usually when God intends greatly to bless a church, it will begin in this way—two or three persons in it are distressed at the low estate of affairs, and become troubled even to anguish.  Perhaps they do not speak to one another, or know of their common grief, but they begin to pray with flaming desire and untiring importunity.  The passion to see the church revived rules them.  They think of it when they go to rest, they dream of it on their bed, they muse on it in the streets.  This one thing eats them up.  They suffer great heaviness and continual sorrow in heart for perishing sinners; they travail in birth for souls.  I have happened to become the centre of certain brethren in this church; one of them said to me the other day, “O sir, I pray day and night for God to prosper our church:  Long to see greater things, God is blessing us, but we want much more.”  I saw the deep earnestness of the man’s soul, and I thanked him and thanked God heartily, thinking it to be a sure sign of coming blessing.  Sometime after, another friend, who probably now hears me speak, but who did not know anything about the other, felt the same yearning, and must needs let me know it; and he too is anxious; longing, begging, crying, for a revival; and thus from three or four quarters I have had the same message, and I feel hopeful because of these tokens for good.   When the sun rises the mountain tops first catch the light, and those who constantly live near to God will be the first to feel the influence of coming refreshing.  The Lord give me a dozen importunate pleaders and lovers of souls, and by His grace we will shake all London from end to end . . . Oh, may God give us this first sign of the travail in the earnest ones and twos.

 

What does 4 boys +2 girls +1 female chaperone equal?  1 male chaperone needed

Praise the Lord!  Six youth have committed to go to Ocean City this year.  All we need now is someone (male) to come along as the boys’ chaperone.  I’m willing to go along this year; but, we need a male chaperone as well as we have four young men going.  We have two girls going.  All you need is to love the Lord, love the ocean and love young people—they don’t rest.  They’re a wonderful group of young people.  For some, this is the third or fourth mission trip.

Will one of our men step forward so that we don’t need to consider the cancellation of this mission trip?  God says we have not because we ask not (James 4:2), so now it’s up to you to answer God’s call.

The youth will continue their training by working in Children’s Worship each Sunday in July.  We leave for Ocean City on August 9 and return August 16.

Pray for Christopher Bibey, Chrissy Hall, Jimmy Hall, C.J. Johnson-Aremu, Ryan Perry and Sabrina Vance.  There is still room for more.  You’ll need to raise $225 for the trip.  Keep looking for letters from the team asking for your support.  (Money may be designated to individuals and/or “general” Ocean City Missions.

In Christ’s Service,

Patricia Culver,

Ocean City, 2008

 

Happiness is a choice

Remember Paul, under house arrest in Philippi?  I’ve been thinking about that lately.  What stands out to me is that he kept rejoicing and encouraging others to rejoice.

Then there was Stephen, who just prior to his stoning, spoke of seeing heaven opened and Jesus standing at God’s right hand and then asked God that his stoning not be laid to the charge of those who were stoning him.

In Eritrea, a little country between Sudan and Ethiopia, 1,800 Christians are now believed to be under arrest because of their religious beliefs.  Jailed Protestants are routinely subjected to beatings and severe psychological pressure to deny their religious beliefs.  Yet they remain strong.

Paul and Silas were beaten with rods and thrown in prison (Acts 16).  What was their response?  At midnight they were heard praying and singing hymns of praise to God in the dungeon with their feet fastened to the wall.

Obviously there is something amazing going on here.  Do those who suffer for the Lord know something we do not as we sit in our air-conditioned pews?  Yes.  They know that what they suffer now is nothing compared to the glory they will experience for all of eternity (Romans 8:18).  “Dear friend, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.  Instead, be very glad, because these trials will make you partners with Christ in His suffering and afterward you will have the wonderful joy of sharing His glory when it is displayed to all the world.  Be happy if you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God will come upon you” (1 Peter 4:12-14).

They chose to trust God.  They made the decision to think on who He is and His promises to those who suffer.  Make sure your self-talk is helping you and not working against you.  You have reason to celebrate.

 

Pastor Dan

 

THANK YOU ______________?

Ms. Field Mouse came by for a visit yesterday.  She reported that the children from Jesus Loves Me Childcare Center were just elated when they found the big jeep ATV on the playground had been all repaired with new steps, broken trim fixed, etc.  They wanted to give a BIG THANK YOU and a BIG HUG to the repairman.  But, the repairman didn’t leave a note or clue to his identity. 

WELL!  I found out who the repairman is—Harold HARRIS.  So, THANK YOU Harold for a job well done!

 

Kat, The Resident Church Mouse

 =======================================================================