Blog: January 2021

On Sunday, Jan. 24, we commissioned Dan Steinfield to serve as an Elder of our church.  He joins David Nichols, Larry Smith, Patrick O’Leary, Darrel Tedrow, and Pastor Peter Nelson.  For info on our church organization including the role of Elders as servant-leaders, see our Constitution and By-Laws (available on this page). Here are the promises that Dan made, as well as the vows that we as a congregation made.  Let these vows prompt you to pray for our Elders and for our church—ask the Lord to help us all to fulfill these words of ...

After Jesus returned to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to the apostles, the gospel began to spread. Those who heard the good news at Pentecost included visitors from Rome, and they were likely among the three thousand who believed. (See Acts 2:10,41.) When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans in AD 57, he had never been to Rome. But by that time, Roman believers were meeting in house churches. Paul wrote his letter in part to explain the essentials of the Christian faith and what it means to live for Jesus. Paul’s words are helpful to ...

Forty-eight years ago today the U.S. Supreme Court, in its landmark Roe v. Wade decision, ruled that the Constitution estab­lishes a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. The bizarre line of reasoning in this case appealed to a right of privacy supposedly supported by the 14th Amend­ment.  Justice Rehnquist objected to the Court’s strained argument:  “I have difficulty in concluding, as the Court does, that the right of ‘privacy’ is involved in this case….  Nor is the ‘privacy’ that the Court finds here even a distant relative of the ...

At the close of the final book in his “Chronicles of Narnia,” C. S. Lewis says that, although the end of all the stories had come, the “real story” was just beginning.  As for Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter (the children who are the main characters throughout the Chronicles), Lewis says, “All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page:  now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read:  in which every chapter is better than the one ...

Stephen was one of the seven men chosen to serve as leaders in the early church at Jerusalem. (See Acts 6:1-7.) God blessed Stephen and gave him power to do wonders and miracles like some of the apostles. Some of the Jews accused Stephen of blasphemy and dragged him to the Sanhedrin, a group of Jewish leaders who acted as a legal council. Stephen addressed the group. He drew from the Jewish history, which the leaders of the Sanhedrin would have known well. But Stephen taught from the Old Testament things the Jewish leaders had likely never ...

If fear and frustration are dragging you down, step back, consider:  What kind of soul food are you ingesting?  Are you deliberately, relentlessly going to Scripture for daily, undistracted communion with God?  If not, you need to get there.  It’s a non-negotiable in the Christian life.  When we snub the Bible, we’re saying we don’t want or need the Lord.  And that’s both foolish and dangerous! Now I’m not suggesting that if you are consistent at Bible reading, life will be a bowl of cherries.  But I am saying:  neglecting God’s Word is ...

Something amazing was happening among believers in the early church. Not only was the Holy Spirit changing people’s hearts to believe in Jesus, He was empowering them to live differently. We see the evidence of God’s grace among the believers in Acts 4:32-35. The believers shared everything they had. If one person had a need, someone else gladly gave what he had to meet that need. As a result, “there was not a needy person among them” (Acts 4:34). Joseph (also known as Barnabas) was one of the disciples living in this way. He sold a field ...

This month at Goshen we’re immersing ourselves in the Bible’s promises (see goshenbaptist.org/31-Days-Of-Prayer---January-2021).  And with all the tumult and turbulence here in the early days of 2021, it’s a great time to fall back on God’s strong Word. A careful reading of Bible promises, however, prevents us from expecting the Christian life simply to be smooth sailing.  When we read Scripture in context, we get what you might call a nuanced message showing that Christian experience includes both solace and hardship.  Promised blessings ...

Sermon Series * Winter 2021 This life is not our true home.  We were made for another world.  As travelers here today, we set our sights on the North Star of Jesus Christ, and we rest in the breathtaking promise of eternal life in his presence!  Looking forward to heaven is good for the soul, and it reminds us to be on the lookout for other pilgrims we can invite to join us on the journey.  Just think:  whether it’s through death or at the return of Christ, those who are trusting in Jesus will enter into the joy God’s all-satisfying ...

Like his first letter, Peter’s second letter was written to believers in the early church who had experienced persecution and suffering. At this time, Peter was in a Roman prison. He was aware that his death was imminent. (See 2 Pet. 1:13-15.) Besides the outside threats to their faith, these believers were also confronted with false teachers within the church who tried to lead them away from the true gospel. Paul warned against false teachers. In the opening chapter of his letter, Paul’s exhortation to live like Jesus gives believers a ...