Dear FPC Yazoo Family, A solid biblical foundation is essential to our church’s commitment to being Jesus’ faithful disciples. We are excited for the opportunities in this new school year. Following is our fall schedule, with all the information and dates for your calendar. TEACHER TRAINING (August 13) Saturday, August 13: Dr. John Kwasny, Christian educator and director of One Story Ministries, will join us. His two-hour seminar will provide a theological/philosophical foundation of Christian Education, introduce our new Sunday School curriculum, and answer questions. We will meet from 9-11am in the Fellowship Hall. Any person interested in strengthening the educational ministry of church and home is welcome. FALL SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES (Resume August 14) Grades K-3: Genesis 1-24 Grades…
Read MoreDear FPC Yazoo Family – Our leaders and teachers are working together to strengthen our Sunday School. Well trained teachers and a comprehensive biblical curriculum are essential. On Saturday, August 13, Dr. John Kwasny of One Story Ministries will lead a Christian education seminar at our church. His two-hour seminar will provide the theological/philosophical foundation of Christian Education, introduce our new Sunday School curriculum, and answer questions. Interested in Christian education? Please join us from 9-11a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. For thoughtful articles on Christian education, read Dr. Kwasny’s blog at https://onestoryministries.wordpress.com/ In Christ’s Service, Charlie
Read More“Tomorrow is the devil’s day, but today is God’s. Satan cares not how spiritual your intentions may be, and how holy your resolutions, so long as they are fixed for tomorrow.” – J.C. Ryle, Thoughts for Young Men. 1865 (Amityville, NY: Calvary Press, 2000), 7.
Read MoreStill clearing materials off an old blog and here’s a powerful movie I watched several years ago. Sophie Scholl – The Final Days is a remarkable film about a courageous young Christian in Hitler’s Germany. She actively and publicly opposed the Nazi war machine. In 1943, she, along with two other members of the White Rose resistance group, were arrested by the Gestapo, tried, and beheaded. Sophie was 21. This movie (in German with English subtitles) is a testimony to Christian faith, humble prayer, physical and moral courage, and family devotion. The film’s director is an atheist. Nevertheless, it is one of the finest Christian films I’ve seen, a tribute to the work of movie makers who are faithful to…
Read MoreBefore I close down an old blog, I wanted to move over a few movie recommendations. HBO’s Taking Chance is the story of Marine Lt. Colonel Michael Strobel (Kevin Bacon) who escorts the remains of Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps, killed in Iraq, from Dover AFB to their final resting place in Dubois, Wyoming. There’s not a wasted moment in the film. Gracefully and poignantly, the story unfolds: a Marine’s ultimate sacrifice, the enduring devotion of his comrades in uniform, and the expressions of honor and respect shown a fallen hero by ordinary citizens as his body is escorted home. The Wall Street Journal’s Dorothy Rabinowitz wrote: “It was impossible to imagine, beforehand, all the ways a film like Taking Chance . . .…
Read MoreThomas Watson on the necessity of meditation: The end why God has given us his word written and preached, is not only to know it – but that we should meditate on it. The scripture is a love letter which the great God has written to us. We must not run it over in haste – but meditate upon God’s wisdom in writing, and his love in sending it to us. Why does the physician give his patient a remedy; is it only that he should read it over and know the remedy – or that we should apply it? The end why God communicates his gospel remedies to us, is, that we should apply them by fruitful meditation. –…
Read More(Adapted from remarks to my students at Reformed Theological Seminary Jackson on April 19, 2016.) I want for each of you a long and fruitful ministry. For that to happen, many things must take place. This afternoon I’ll focus on two. First, for a long and fruitful ministry you must intercede for your congregation in your secret prayers. Secret prayer – the time you spend alone with the Lord pouring out your heart for the congregation he has called you to serve and seeking those graces you must have if you’re to serve them well. Without secret prayer there can be no real Christian ministry. That’s why Bishop Moule sought to impress upon his ministerial students that the “the heart…
Read MoreMy remarks today at the dedication of Westminster Presbyterian Church’s new sanctuary in Huntsville, Alabama. ___ Today we celebrate a milestone – the dedication of your new sanctuary. Milestone achievements don’t come easily. This one hasn’t. You’ve made it here because you’ve done thousands of small things right – the thousands of quiet and loving and faithful acts of Christian care you’ve given each other. Most of these had nothing to do with the building you dedicate today. But without them we would not be here. The foundations of your sanctuary were laid not two years but six decades ago when Paul and Loraine Alexander devoted their lives to building a church and school that would serve the people of…
Read MoreToday Seth Starkey, Reformed University Campus Minister at Belhaven University, helped my RTS Worship class think through issues of worship in RUF large groups. He has proved a valuable resource and friend to our students.
Read MoreReading books and conversations about books are two of life’s finest pleasures. Add to the mix RTS Jackson students and spouses, and you have the makings for a perfect evening. Last night was the first of what Lynne and I hope will be many RTS book club meetings. After a chili diner, we discussed Jason Roberts A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became the World’s Greatest Traveler. My reflections on the book are here. I am grateful to students Justin Jones-Fosu and Ashley Williams for suggesting the club. In our “Christian Life in a Secular World Course,” reading Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death prompted conversations about the need to read books purely for enjoyment and personal edification, and in our situation, texts that…
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