Some Things You Should Always Pray For

1. Your government leaders -- 1 Timothy 2:1-4
2. The salvation of the Lost -- Romans 10:1
3. The advancement of the Gospel -- 2 Thessalonians 3:1
4. More laborers in Gospel work -- Matthew 9:37-38
5. Anything you are worried about -- 1 Peter 5:7 & Philippians 4:6-7
   

5 Principles of Biblical Conversion

1. Conversion is required. ("You must be born again")

2. Conversion requires understanding. (1 Corinthians 2:12)

3. True conversion requires genuine faith. (John 3:36)

4. A radically changed life attests to true conversion. (Titus 1:15-16, James 2:19, and Ephesians 2:8-10)

5. Conversion results from God's action. (John 15:16, 2 Thessalonians 2:13)

from Marks of the Messenger by J. Mack Stiles

Sunday Worship at TBC 9.26.2010

Songs
Standing on the Promises
Thy Word
Ancient Words
We Believe
How Firm a Foundation

Sermon
Jesus' Prayer and the Word of God
John 17:6-19, esp. verse 17

"Your Word is Truth": The Nature of Scripture- What the Bible IS
1. God's Word is inspired.
2. God's Word is inerrant.
3. God's Word is infallible.
4. God's Word is knowable.
5. God's Word is timeless.
6. God's Word is authoritative.

"Sanctify them by the Truth": The Work of Scripture- What the Bible Does
1. God's Goal- Our Sanctification
2. God's Means- His Word
3. God's Requirement- Study and Application

Listen to the sermon here.

Take the 90 Day New Testament Challenge here.

How to Lose the Gospel in 4 Generations

Looking at post-Christian Europe, and nearly post-Christian America, it is alarmingly evident how rapidly the Gospel can lost. Mack Stiles, in his book Marks of the Messenger points out the decline.

Generation 1: The Gospel is Accepted

Generation 2: The Gospel is Assumed

Generation 3: The Gospel is Confused

Generation 4: The Gospel is Lost

(Stiles, pg. 40)

NEVER assume the Gospel. Preach the Gospel. If the Gospel is to you nothing more than a means of avoiding Hell, you've already confused it! The Gospel is for all of life.

Don't assume the Gospel. If you are confused, get clear on the Gospel. And, if you are in a church that has lost the Gospel, do all you can to bring it back.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (NIV)
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

Worship @ TBC 9.19.2010

Songs
Everlasting God
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
In Christ Alone
How Deep the Father's Love For Us
Blessed Assurance

Sermon
Jesus' Prayer and the People of God
John 17:6-19

1. God's people are peculiar.
v. 14- "they are not of the world"

2. God's people are possessed.
v. 6- "They were yours; you gave them to me"

3. God's people are protected.
v. 11- "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name"

Listen to the sermon

Examine Yourselves

2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV) "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!"

Drawing from Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity by Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney, Trevin Wax offers these seven questions for examining one's claim to be a Christian.

1. Do you love God?

2. Do you love the Bible?

3. Do you love living out and sharing the Gospel?

4. Do you love Christians?

5. Do you enjoy church and draw nourishment from it?

6. Does the matter of eternity concern you?

7. Does the Bible shape your morals and ethics?

For an expansion of these questions, check out Kingdom People.

Logos+Apple=WIN!

Logos Bible Software is giving away thousands of dollars of prizes to celebrate the launch of Logos Bible Software 4 Mac on October 1. Prizes include an iMac, a MacBook Pro, an iPad, an iPod Touch, and more than 100 other prizes!

They’re also having a special limited-time sale on their Mac and PC base packages and upgrades. Check it out!

Who should repent?

He commands all people everywhere to repent. (Acts 17:30)

Thomas Watson lists 6 kinds of people who should repent:

1. Those in civil or political power

2. The flagrantly wicked

3. Liars and cheaters

4. Good, upstanding citizens; decent, moral people

5. Hypocrites

6. God's own people

Thomas Watson, The Doctrine of Repentance, pages 63-69