This Sunday, I will reference several different resources that can help your personal spiritual growth and I wanted to give you a quick way to get those resources in your hand.

Family & Personal Devotions: Donald S. Whitney’s website contains great resources for your personal and family devotions: http://www.spiritualdisciplines.org/ .

Puritan Stuff: Begin with the Valley of Vision, but feel free to dive into the depths of these passionate followers of Christ: http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/home.php .

Other Resources: This online bookstore is my personal favorite and it contains many resources that would greatly aid your spiritual growth: http://www.monergismbooks.com/ .

I hope these resources are helpful to you.

Pastor Jeremy

How should I as a believer in Jesus Christ view politics?This question is a popular one in many circles and spawns much debate and confusion. As we enter the 2008 election season, in fact, this question looms over the way Christians read the paper, listen to the radio and watch the news. The Scriptures are not silent on these issues, however, and we would do well to pay attention to God’s Word at this critical time. Romans 13:1-7 speaks clearly about the Christian responsibility to respect the governing authorities, since there is no authority on earth that God himself has not established. Therefore, we as believers in Jesus Christ have a duty to obey the law and respect those in authority whether police or politicians. Peter echoes Paul when he says, “Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17). While it is clear that we are to respect those in authority over us and obey the law, there is still a question as to how Christians should think about politics specifically. Scripture makes it very clear that the goal of Christian interaction with the culture is centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, as people looking at the world with a Christian worldview, we are to filter everything we encounter through the gospel. So, when a radio host or a media darling says something that makes sense in our minds and agrees with our political viewpoint we are not allowed to be satisfied with that. We must search the Scriptures to see if the views we hear agree with the gospel. The main question we should ask is not, “What did they say on T.V.?” Rather we should ask, “What does the Bible say?”

This Sunday, we will be turning our attention to the crucial topic of church membership. Two weeks ago we focused on the equipping ministry of the staff at HBC. Last week we talked about the discipleship and development of lay leadership within the congregation itself. This week we will begin a two part series on what it means to be a member of HBC by examining our church covenant in detail. In these messages I will be referring to a book by Joshua Harris called Stop Dating the Church. I would recommend that every member of HBC purchase and read this book for their own benefit as a church member. You can go to the following link to purchase this book:

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=23653&kw=stop_dating_the_church&event=PPCSRC&p=1018818&gclid=CP713bnPnJUCFQvOIgodPXJ7aQ

We are pleased to announce the addition of a new staff member to Heartland Baptist Church in Ben Leonard, who will officially join our staff in January of 2009. His position will be that of Associate Pastor of Education and Biblical Counseling. One of his jobs will be to focus on how we can most effectively use Sunday School as “intense discipleship” and make it a primary vehicle for maturity and ministry, but his primary responsibility will be to share the load of pastoral responsibility and make himself available to counsel you in the application of God’s word to your life. With that comes his real heartbeat, which is to train God’s people to counsel one another, so that applying God’s word to your life becomes a natural part of your walk.

I have been praying about this all year and I know that counseling can’t just be a reactionary ministry that is merely available to you if you want to get married or if you don’t understand the trinity, because we want our church to be the primary place that our people go for help. While I see that need here, and deeply desire to meet that need, I physically can’t. The idea that we have a staff member whose entire responsibility is to help care for your souls in the counseling room, in an intensely practical and biblical way thrills my heart for our church.  

Desiring God has a post on their blog called Six Reasons Pastors Should Blog. http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1156_6_reasons_pastors_should_blog/

While we at HBC might not be blogging for all six of these reasons, there are very specific reasons why we believe that a staff blog is important for the people here. Two of those reasons are primary in my mind. First, I need to be writing. As noted on the DG post, “through writing, you delve into new ideas and new insights. If you strive to write well, you will at the same time be striving to think well.” This is important for me as I attempt to shepherd the hearts of our people in maturity and ministry. Second, I am passionate about reading and there are so many wonderful resources to recommend and engage that a staff blog affords an opportunity to mention. I will be posting my Sunday Evening book review books on the blog as well as links as to where they can be purchased. The goal of this blog is the same as the vision of our church, which is maturity and ministry. It is my prayer that this communication outlet will play a valuable role in your knowing and following Christ. (Colossians 1:28-29) 

Pastor Jeremy