An independent Baptist church.
Archive for May, 2011
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Bro. Paul Schwanke “Get Up, Get Dressed and Go Serve God
Jeremiah 1:1-4
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SUNDAY MORNING
Bro. Paul Schwanke ”God’s Final Call”
Hebrews 10:26-27
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SUNDAY EVENING
Bro. Paul Schwanke ”Too Many”
Judges 7:1-2
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MONDAY EVENING
Bro. Paul Schwanke ”Above All Thy Names”
Psalm 138:1
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WEDNESDAY EVENING
Bro. Paul Schwanke ”The Valley of Decision”
Genesis 14:17
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MAN it feels like it’s been a long time since we’ve been together! 2 whole weeks! What a tragedy! But it was for good, and I hope you benefited from the revival.
Needless to say, I’ve been excited about today for a long time. I went to Heartland last week, and the whole week’s preaching was on… Biblical Preaching! I loved it! The Monday evening service was a dedication service for the brand new preaching auditorium on campus, which they named the “Biblical Preaching Center,” and Bro. Sam Davison preached the service.
I hope you never take the Bible for granted, and I hope you develop a passion for clear, true, BIBLE preaching. Don’t waste my time with motivational talks or “sharing.” For that matter, don’t waste my time by just reading one little verse and then yelling for the next hour and calling it Bible preaching.
Have you ever written someone a letter? A nice, meaningful, long letter? You put time into it and choose your words carefully. Or have you ever written a 5-page report? You have a goal in mind and you write arguments and develop thoughts throughout your paper.
The Bible is the same way, and it’s not meant to just grab a sentence here or there. It’s a letter with thoughts, and arguments, and reasons for each sentence. Bible preaching will emphasize 1) What God SAID (to them), and 2) What God is SAYING to you. Learn to discern between weak preaching, springboard preaching, and Bible preaching.
Today we get to hear from our seniors on what their plans are, what God is doing in their lives, etc. It’s a bummer to lose them in a couple months, and we want to learn all we can from them while we can. Thank the Lord for their influence and leadership. We’re not kicking them out yet, but we’re having them do this because it’s right around their graduations and we’re not swamped with summer stuff yet.
Finally, did any of you read the letter I wrote your parents on greeting guests? I was talking to a lady last week about that, and her words were “I wish somebody had pushed ME to do that when I was their age!” Teens, don’t waste your teen years on video games, relationships and YOU. Push yourself to go beyond yourself and create lots of fun, wholesome and righteous memories. I’m preaching on that very thing in church today. Listen up! We love you, —Bro. Ryan.
COME WEDNESDAY – Baptist series, comedy night practice, and something else.
TEEN WORKDAY – This Saturday, May 28
12:30-2:30 pm, Meet at the Rench Ranch (Pastor’s house) to help them get their property ready for the Memorial Day picnic. We’ll still have time afterward for Amber’s open house.
TEEN FUNDRAISER – Next Sunday, May 29 – After the evening service.
We will be serving baked ham and cheese meals to help raise money for camp. If you would like to receive part of the profits, please sign up today to bring some food for the meal and plan to stay after church to help serve and clean up. If you sign up to bring food, it needs to be here by next Sunday morning.
WITNESS ENSEMBLE – Next Sunday, May 29
This singing group from Heartland Baptist Bible College will be singing and giving testimonies during the evening service. (Left to right: Tyler, Steven, James, Jonathan, Steven, Gloria, Jen, Devin, Leia, Sarah.)
MEMORIAL DAY SOFTBALL GAME – Monday, May 30
8:30 am, Temeku Hills Park
MEMORIAL DAY PICNIC – Monday, May 30
2:00 pm, Rench Ranch (Pastor’s Property)
ACTIVITY AND YARD SALE – Friday and Saturday, June 3 and 4
8:00 pm Friday-12:30 p m Saturday
Meet in the gym for the first part of the night. Then, the boys will stay at the church and the girls will stay at Mrs. Jamie’s house. Bring your favorite snack to share. Soda will be provided. The next morning, we’ll get up early to have everything ready for the yard sale by 6:30 am!
Now Unto the King Eternal (song 17)
Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible,
The only wise God, the only wise God,
Be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Amen. Be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The Lord Is Good (song 4)
The Lord is good
Tell it wherever you go.
The Lord is good
Tell it that others may know;
Tell of His blessings and tell of His love,
Tell how He’s watching from heaven above:
The Lord is good
Tell it wherever you go!
Thou Art Worthy (song 2)
Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory, glory and honor, glory and honor and power:
For Thou hast created, has all things created;
Thou hast created all things,
And for Thy pleasure they are created for Thou art worthy, O Lord.
Dear parents,
Being a young youth pastor has advantages and disadvantages. One advantage that I have and want to use to its fullest (while I have it!) is the fact that it’s only been a few years since I sat right where your teens sit. I remember vividly what it was like to be a teen, not because I have a good memory but because it was not even a decade ago.
One story is burned into my memory. I was home schooled through most of high school, but through Pastor Bruce Goddard I was allowed to start attending Faith Baptist Academy in Wildomar the second semester of my junior year. The first time I was being introduced to the campus was in the afternoon of a typical class day, and we walked around to the basketball courts where the team was having practice. As soon as I rounded the corner with my family and a couple school staff members, the neatest thing happened. Without a word from the coaches or teachers, every guy on that basketball court walked directly to me, formed a group, introduced themselves and welcomed me! I was shocked! Their manners were cordial, and they immediately struck me as great young men that I wanted to make my friends.
As I started school shortly thereafter, not knowing anyone, they were friendly and helpful all the way. I’m talking about the students… not just the teachers! Even though they’d all grown up together, had made tight friendships and built memories with their church group, they welcomed me as if I’d been there all along. I don’t know if I can describe how much that meant to me in high school. I wanted so badly to make more Christian friends that would help push me to Christ, and while some of that responsibility rested on me, much of the reason for my friendships was that THEY were friendly to ME.
Another great example that I’ve seen took place just a couple months ago. We took a few of our teens on a last-minute trip up to Lancaster Baptist Church for a Youth Rally. After we registered we sat in our pew waiting for the Rally to begin. While we sat there waiting, people kept coming up to us, getting all our names, welcoming us, telling us they were glad we were there, and generally being friendly. My wife and I ribbed our teens and said, “Did you notice that? Are you taking notes? Didn’t you enjoy being greeted?” It was something simple but very effective, in my opinion. Teens were just going around the audience and greeting people they didn’t know! Sure, we got asked some of the same questions, and sure, we told them our names over and over; but it was totally okay because we felt welcomed. What a blessing!
Those two examples are NOT extreme and impossible. In fact, they are very simple. Love people. Be friendly. Train (or force) yourself to show it. That’s simple enough!
Guests attend our class all the time, and a certain faction of our teens will greet them and be friendly. The friendliest ones are our seniors who’ve trained themselves over the years to be friendly to guests, but **sniff, sniff** we’re losing them soon. Maybe some parents don’t notice, don’t care, or don’t know how to encourage their kids this way, but I hope you intentionally approach this subject with your teen.
I see them each week in a setting apart from parents. In the class setting (and often in a personal setting) I try to train them, but you’ll be more effective than I will be. We’ve already seen them greeting people in class and even mingling with the church during hand-shaking time, and I’d LOVE to eventually see every teen being more and more friendly.
I preached a message in youth group and then wrote an article on the website regarding guests, and my hope is that YOU 1) read it, 2) internalize it, 3) model it, then 4) teach it. The article simply taught our teens to treat guests right: 1) Love them. 2) Greet them. 3) Relate with them. 4) Continue with them.
Maybe a guest is looking for Christ. Maybe he or she is new to the church and wants to just fit in. What teen will invite the guest to sit with him? What teen will save a guy a seat in church? What girl will talk to the “new kid” when she’s awkwardly sitting there by herself?
Parents… PLEASE teach your teens to have a mindset of outreach. Model to them what it’s like to see a guest (or someone who’s new to the church), and walk up and have conversation. Train them on what to say to a guest: “What’s your name? It’s nice to meet you. Thanks for coming today. Do you live around here? Oh… what school do you go to? Really? We have a few people here that go to that school. __________ plays sports, ________ is in marching band…” Even if they went through the SAME list with every new person, that’s more than most people are doing, and the guest won’t know the difference!
While it’s not necessarily my purpose here to give scenarios for every situation, I want to at least challenge you to 1) model this behavior and 2) encourage it in your child. They will only be helped as they learn to love others enough to think outside their own lives, and our church will be helped as others are brought in and welcomed to our body.
Thank you again for allowing us the chance to help. If we can assist you in any way, please let us know. Have a great week!
In faith,
Ryan Rench
SUNDAY MORNING
PASTOR RENCH ”Moving from Thorns to Spears”
Judges 1:28
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WEDNESDAY EVENING
PASTOR RENCH ”The Stronghold of Zion”
II Samuel 5:1-7
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SUNDAY MORNING
PASTOR RENCH “Believing the Unbelievable”
MARK 16:1-12
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SUNDAY EVENING
PASTOR RENCH “According Unto Thy Word”
Mark 16:14-20
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Dear parents,
A few weeks ago I had the privilege to preach on a Sunday night, and I debated a long time on what to say to parents from the perspective of the youth pastor. Rather than hitting one specific topic, problem or encouragement, I wanted to broaden the concept and present a foundational truth on which every parental choice could be made (and every Christian choice, for that matter.) What I finally decided on was the passage about the spiritual armor in Ephesians 6 and boiled it down to the simple challenge to Think Spiritually.
Through the experiences and lessons of daily life, we are taught to believe that life happens in what we see every day: your child is home sick from school, the car won’t start, the checkbook won’t balance and your grocery list is looming. Reality seems to rear its ugly head everywhere we turn, whether TV shows, bills or just… life!
However, Scripture defines reality in a totally different way. Far from life happening in what we see every day, God considers our “reality” a fringe matter. At the very core of our existence—our purpose for living—life happens in a very different way. Because of God’s love and care for us, He takes interest in the details of our daily lives; but what is really on His agenda is for us to see things from His perspective.
God wants us to realize that reality is not the things we see and go through every day; it is the invisible, spiritual choices that take place minute by minute. Reality, to God, goes much deeper than flesh and blood. Reality is the daily battle in the war on sin, and daily life is important only based on the idea that everything we do has a spiritual consequence.
That’s why God gave us His Word to know how to live the life that is really important to Him. The first step is to realize that there’s a Devil out there fighting against you and there’s a God to defend you. The Devil will constantly fight you on a spiritual level, so defend yourself on the spiritual front by using God’s armor (Eph. 6).
For some practical application, think of this… God would never be the one who leads you to stay away from church and the encouragement of the brethren, would He? God would never be the one who emphasizes the cost and time sacrifices of going to church on Sunday nights, attending the Preaching Rally, attending Sunday school, going to a youth conference, and attending Saturation Saturday, especially when the financial means are available for those who need it, would He?
As a general plea, if something is in place that will help your child’s spiritual life, do what you can to encourage it. Dads, lead your home ever toward godliness. If that seems vague, ask simple questions… what’s my motivation for staying home, for watching this show, or for talking badly about this person? Instead, pray with your kids, check on their Bible reading, and don’t allow excuses for missing church… first in you and second in them. A car only runs on 4 wheels… the Christian life can basically be boiled down to about 4 things… how’s YOUR spirit, YOUR Bible reading, YOUR prayer, and YOUR love for Christ’s church?
Asking hard questions isn’t always fun, but to get to the level that God desires for us (spiritually), it seems as if we HAVE to face those questions. Please have an open heart and lead your family spiritually. It will only help you and them to constantly remind yourselves that the daily grind isn’t what life is all about… think spiritually.
We love you, pray for you, and want to be an encouragement in any way that we can. Let us know if you need anything, and we would love to hear any feedback on any of these recent letters. Thank you again for letting us work with your life-works! Have a great week.
In faith,
Ryan Rench
