Weekend Services

I apologize for not updating this post.  I was planning to post while at 
Together for the Gospel Conference and did not.

Pray that every Sunday service would proclaim The Truth of Scripture.

Pray for those who are preaching in the services.

Pray for those who are teaching the classes.

Pray for those who are selecting and leading the songs.

Pray for those who are serving in so many different areas.

Pray that each and every member of West Cannon Baptist Church 

will speak and live out the truth of God's Word!

Here is a resource to help you prepare for Sunday.

For a pdf version of "How to Love Your Church on Sunday," click HERE

What is Church Membership?

On Sunday (04.22.18), West Cannon Baptist Church will have a membership class from 5:00 to 7:15.  This provides us with a great opportunity for members and non-members to think about what church membership is.  

Here are some misconceptions about the church and church membership:
I have to have my name on a church roll somewhere.
I can be an inactive church member.
The word “membership” is not in the Bible.  Therefore church membership is not biblical.

The reality is church membership is not specifically commanded.
Church membership is implicitly commanded in the New Testament through passages that talk about church gatherings, church discipline, church leadership and church accountability. 

Here are a couple of quotes regarding church membership. 

From I Am a Church Member

”Church membership is a gift.  When I received the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, I became a part of the body of Christ.  I soon thereafter identified with a local body and was baptized.  Now I am humbled and honored to serve and to love others in our church.  I pray that I will never take my membership for granted, but see it as a gift and an opportunity to serve others and to be a part of something so much greater than any one person or member.”

From The Gospel Primer - 12. My Inheritance in the Saints

The gospel is not just a message of reconciliation with God, but it also heralds the reconciliation of all believers to one another in Christ. Through the death of Christ, God has brought peace where there was once hostility, and He has broken down the racial, economic, and social barriers that once divided us outside of Christ. 37 

Also, when God saved us, He made us members of His household, 38 and He gave us as gifts to one another.  Each brother and sister is a portion of my gospel inheritance from God, and I am a portion of their inheritance as well. We are significant players in each other’s gospel narrative, and it is in relationship with one another that we experience the fullness of God in Christ.

Hence, the more I comprehend the full scope of the gospel, the more I value the church for which Christ died, the more I value the role that I play in the lives of my fellow-Christians, and the more I appreciate the role that they must be allowed to play in mine.

Equipping Ministries

I apologize for not updating this post.  I was planning to while at Together for the Gospel Conference and did not.

Pray that each and every ministry at West Cannon Baptist Church would be equipping people to make disciples.
There are two specific ministries you can be praying for now...

• Shepherding Leadership Training begins this Sunday night
• the Biblical Counseling Conference coming in the spring of 2019.  For more info about this go to www.westcannon.org/counseling

Thursday morning at the Together for the Gospel conference Zach and I went to a breakfast/presentation about The Vine Project.   It was a great time of sharing disciple-making helps.  Here are a couple of quotes from the book about disciple-making.

In the New Testament, the proclamation of the word is the basic means for creating and growing ‘Christ-learners’. You could even say that there is only one central activity in making disciples—the speaking of the word of God —and that all the other elements describe in what Spirit, by which people, and in what manner that speaking is done. (84) 

Making disciples is not primarily a human activity with goals that we set (although it is those things in a subsidiary sense). Whatever happens in Christian ministry and in church, and whatever happens in our neighborhoods and families and work places, is part of what God is doing to move all things inexorably towards their goal and end—which is Jesus Christ. (59)

Pray that WCBC would make disciples who make disciples.
Pray that WCBC's ministries would be seen as disciple-making resources.

Pray for Our Children and Teens

Today's prayer request is for our children's ministry (K4C) and youth ministry (REACH) student ministries.

While it is important to pray for Tim Anderson and Tim Sullivan and others who lead and serve in these specific ministries at West Cannon Baptist Church, we must remember to pray for the parents of the kids and teens of WCBC.  Parents are the primary disciple-makers in their child's life.  

Pray that ministry leaders and parents would help our young people know and live out the truth of God's Word.

Tim Challies wrote an article entitled "What's the Purpose of Children?"  This is article concludes with the following statement.

At a time when children are regarded as an optional accessory to the good life or written off as an obstacle to it, we do well to return to the infallible Word of God to once again establish God’s purpose for having children. We have children to obey God, to experience his blessing, to have the joy of making disciples, and to grow in our conformity to him. Children are a great gift of God.

The purpose of children is found not in culture, school, or entertainment.
The purpose of children is found in the infallible, inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God. 

Pray for Church Leadership

Today, remember to pray for the leadership of West Cannon.

Here are two specific things to help you pray for the leaders.

First, pray as several of the church leaders head to Louisville, KY for the 3 day T4G (Together for the Gospel) conference.  Pray this would be a time of refreshment and encouragement as the men hear great preaching, spend time together and meet with over 9,000 other Gospel-focused church leaders.

Each of the main sessions will be streamed live on the conference website t4g.org
Here is a video explaining the theme of this year's theme.





Second, watch the following video on the four pressing reasons your pastor needs your prayers.

WCBC and the Sufficiency of Scripture

Psalm 19:7-14 is a statement about what Scripture is and the impact it has on a life submitted to God.

The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them Thy servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.
Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
Also keep back Thy servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Thy sight,
O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

HERE is a link to a journal article by John MacArthur about the Sufficiency of Scripture and this Psalm.  The article concludes with the following statement.

There is no substitute for submission to Scripture. Your spiritual health depends on placing the utmost value on the Word of God and obeying it with an eager heart. If you think you can find answers to your spiritual problems through human counsel or worldly wisdom, you are forfeiting the most valuable and only reliable source of answers to the human dilemma. Do not relinquish the sweet, satisfying riches of God’s Word for the bitter gall of this world’s folly.

In WCBC's Adult Bible Classes on April 8th, the classes looked at three characteristics of Scriptures:  inspiration, inerrancy and authoritative.

Because the Word of God is inspired and inerrant, it is the ultimate authority for life.
Because the Word of God comes from God through the writers of Scripture by the Holy Spirit and it is without error and truthful, it is the first and last place we should look to as our authority.
It is not only the first and last place we should look, its where we should go all the time.  First, last and every time in between.

Scripture is where we look for our purpose in life as individuals and a church.

Our mission statement states that West Cannon Baptist Church desires to
worship God acceptably - we know what acceptable worship is because of God's Word
edify and encourage one another to personal holiness - we know what encouraging relationships and personal holiness are because of God's Word
proclaim through word and deed the good news of Jesus Christ - we know what the good news of Jesus Christ is because of God's Word

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Additional resources on Inspiration:

• Basic Theology, Charles Ryrie, ch. 10, The Biblical Doctrine of Inspiration
• Taking God at His Word, Kevin DeYoung, ch. 2, Something More Sure
• The Gospel Coalition, Erik Raymond, The Origin of the Scriptures, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erik-raymond/the-origin-of-the-scriptures/
• Grace to You, John MacArthur, How Did God Guide the Biblical Writers? https://www.gty.org/library/blog/B160715/how-did-god-guide-the-biblical-writers
• Desiring God, John Piper, All Scripture is Breathed Out by God—Continue in It, https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/all-scripture-is-breathed-out-by-god-continue-in-it

Additional resources on Inerrancy:

• Basic Theology, Charles Ryrie, ch. 12,  The Inerrancy of the Bible
• Taking God at His Word, Kevin DeYoung, ch. 2, Something More Sure
• Grace to You, Kevin DeYoung & Al Mohler, Why We Defend Inerrancy https://www.gty.org/library/blog/B140516/why-we-defend-inerrancy

Additional resources on Authority:

• Concise Theology, J.I. Packer, ch. Authority
• Grace to You, The Final Authority, Period. https://www.gty.org/library/articles/A279/the-final-authority-period

Biblically-based and Biblically-focused Missions & Local Outreaches

Today's prayer focus is that our local outreaches and missions will be true to Scripture

Our mission at www.westcannon.org/mission-statement, states that we strive 

To Proclaim through word and deed the good news of Jesus Christ 

• We believe it is the responsibility of all believers to share the gospel with the lost people around them. Therefore personal evangelism will be an emphasis of West Cannon Baptist Church. We will corporately assist individuals in this task by providing evangelistic training as well as periodic evangelistic events. 

• We believe it is also the church's responsibility and privilege to participate in reaching the lost around the world. Therefore, we will endeavor to facilitate missions education, participate in missions conferences, promote missions trips and financially support missionaries of like faith and practice.

This Gospel Proclamation is Biblically based and Biblically focused.

By Biblically-based, we mean the call to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ is founded in the Gospel.  There are many passages that command believers to do this.  The most obvious one is the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).

Pray that WCBC would always remember what Jesus commanded disciples to do and say.  

By Biblically-focused, we mean the truth of the Bible is the main thing.  We want to live life for God and His glory.  We know the only way this can be done is by deepening our understanding of and our relationship with God according to His Word.  Read Psalm 119 for a reminder of the importance of God's Word.

Pray that WCBC would always do the God's work God's way, according to His Word.

This and other verse graphics are available for free and purchase
at scripturetype.com

God, 
Today, we pray that we will proclaim the Gospel through word AND deed
in our community with local outreaches and partnerships like Hand2Hand Ministry, Mel Trotter Ministries, Alpha Center in Lowell and other groups
and
in the United States and the world through our missionary family.

Help all of us to be faithful to your word in our personal devotions and our public ministry.

Amen.