01.26.07

FINALLY…SERMONS ON AUDIO!!!

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:23 pm by Administrator

Well, we just figured out how to upload our sermon audio onto our website…guess that’s why I’m a preacher

Just go to our sermon page and click on a link and you will be able to suffer through what our people sit through each week…from the comfort of your home.

Seriously, this series is on worship, and we hope that God will bless and challenge you as you digest what He has said to us about how we are to experience true worship.

If you hear something you like, or something you don’t like, or something you just want to argue about, please email me with your comments or thoughts…hpbcrillo(at)yahoo(dot)com

God bless you,  Pastor Bill

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01.24.07

CORRECTION TO PREVIOUS POST

Posted in All at 3:24 pm by Pastor Bill

I have already corrected the information in my prior post regarding cursing in the pulpit.  I had related a speakers phrase which contained an obscenity, but have since been contacted by someone associated with the conference who said that what was said was an unfortunate slip of the tongue, and not a conscious use of an obscenity.

I deleted my remarks because my intent is not to bash people or to falsely condemn.  This man has a great ministry and is being used of God.  My intent in the post below was to stimulate thought and discussion in regards to those who purposefully use coarse language in their preaching and speaking.

I will continue to listen to and learn from John Piper, and Lenny Ravenhill, and others who are ministering for the kingdom.  I just don’t want others to follow their example of swearing, just because they do.  If you are going to speak a certain way…do it on purpose!

What do YOU think????

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01.23.07

CURSING IN THE PULPIT…SOMEBODY PLEASE ‘SPLAIN IT TO ME!

Posted in Biblical Reflections, All, Theology, Controversy, In The News... at 8:40 pm by Pastor Bill

Please let me begin by stating that I am not coming down on other preachers from a ‘holier than thou’ position, or trying to be legalistic about this. But I have some honest questions, and a lack of understanding how profanity used in the course of a sermon can be God honoring and an example of godly self-control that we pastors are supposed to model to the flock.

You may be aware of John Piper’s use of the phrase ’sometimes God kicks our a**’ in one of his conferences recently. He has issued a ‘kinda’ apology for it, which you can read here…but this is not the first time he has cursed from the pulpit.  He mentions his tendency to do that in his apology letter.  So why has it suddenly become ‘hip’ or ‘cool’ to use profanity from the pulpit to try to make your point? Does profanity exude the image of being ‘with it’ or ‘relational’ to our generation?

There is another preacher of old that I have been enjoying reading and listening to lately, Len Ravenhill. His sermons are fiery and confrontational to pastors and believers that have become worldly and left their first love. He calls us back to revival and total commitment to our Lord and Savior. But just recently in a great sermon on Psalm 51, while confronting the false belief that we can live any way we like and still expect to be welcomed warmly by our savior, he told the audience to ‘go to hell’. I’m not sure if he was saying that this would be the natural consequence of a false profession, or if he was pronouncing a curse on those deceived hearers. It was a shock to me to hear him say that but he definitely was not doing it to play up to the crowd, like Piper admits he was.

Why am I making a big deal out of this? I ask myself the trite question…’what would Jesus do?’. And if his words in the scriptures are any indication, along with his personal example, I believe that if I were to resort to this kind of coarse language, at home, in front of my children or coworkers, or in the pulpit, I would be shaming Him and hurting the testimony of His church.

Ephesians 5:4 ‘let there be no filthiness or foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving…’

Tell me, what do YOU think??????

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01.12.07

WHAT WILL COME WITH THE NEW YEAR?

Posted in All, In The News... at 7:28 pm by Pastor Bill

As we enter 2007, we realize that we live in an uncertain time. Our nation is at war, our city is filled with violence, global warming is proclaimed as an impending threat to our planet, and there are all the daily concerns of life which we all face.

I’m sure that this year will be a year like any other, with all of the typical and normal events that seem to occur every year. Our calendar tells us that we will celebrate the same holidays, our culture will inundate us with the same attractions, and the cycle of birth and death will continue on as always.

But will this year be different than other years in your life? Are you making any changes which will impact your life or the lives of those around you? Some people this year have decided to jump ship off of the ‘technology obsession’. I think they call themselves the ‘tech-no’s, and they are saying ‘NO!’ to email, cell phones, blackberries, text messaging, crackberries, ipods, gps, etc. How weird is that? Apparently they aren’t revolting against the high financial cost of being ‘plugged in’, they have decided that they no longer want to be tied down by the electronic society. And oddly enough, it’s not the older generation who are tech-challenged, this movement seems to be headed by 20 somethings and teenagers. Seems they might be valuing their privacy and cutting the cultural umbilical cords of constant communication. One would only hope they are seeking real communication and the experience of fellowship (though they wouldn’t call it that), they simply want some ‘face time’ with the one they are talking to.

What will be different for you this year? I hope that your relationship with God will be better! I hope that if you have no relationship with Him, you will see your need for salvation and redemption that only Jesus can give. And if you have been a long time Christian, I hope that this won’t be just another year of life for you, but that you will determine that this will be the year that you give yourself totally to Christ, no holding back, complete surrender. If you do, I guarantee that this will be the most exciting and fulfilling year of your life! It may be the most challenging and difficult, but it will be a year worth living. It will be a year of storing up treasures in Heaven, of knowing and experiencing God’s favor and moving in your heart and life like never before!

At Hyde Park Baptist Church in Cincinnati Ohio, we are striving as a church family to make this the best year ever for our church and community. We are pursuing God with all our energy, taking stock of where we are, seeking His will, giving Him our all and doing all that He asks! If you live in the Cincinnati area and would like to make some real strides in your walk and growth with Christ, I encourage you to join us as we serve our Savior. It may be hard, it may seem radical, it will require sacrifice and self-denial, but it will be worth it all- a life worth living!

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