12.11.07
Posted in Church Events, All at 5:04 pm by Pastor Bill
…for a lot of things! Yes, this is the Christmas season, which seems to have been replaced by the ‘holiday’ season with all it’s trappings. Holiday shopping at the holiday sales, parties, gifts, TV specials, all contribute to the exceeding ‘busy-ness’ of our days. While these secular celebrations aren’t necessarily bad in themselves, they do work together to rob us of our time and attention that should be spent in meditation and worship of our Savior. The coming of the messiah into our world, to save His people from their sin, is the greatest event in human history! We should not allow our secular events to displace our affection and attention to God’s great news of forgiveness and peace through Christ. As believers and followers of Jesus, we should take every opportunity this season to ‘take-back’ what we have given up to the secular celebrations. Take time to tell someone you know about the real reason for the season, the only reason for joy and rejoicing, the gift of eternal life and peace with God!
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing…” Ephesians 1:3
May Jesus and the reality of his life, death and resurrection be real and precious to you, during these special days.
God bless you through His Son,
Pastor Bill ><>
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07.24.07
Posted in Church Events, All at 5:58 pm by Pastor Bill
We finally arrived back home from Guadalaraja Mexico, with our luggage arriving shortly thereafter. What a great mission trip! We experienced God’s work around and within us each and every day. Our church members were divided into 3 teams, to go out to the villages of Mascota, Minerales and Tequila. Each morning we helped local pastors or missionaries lead a childrens summer Bible school adventure, called ‘Campo de Verano’! The theme for the week was ‘Tesoros Escondidos”…hidden treasures. We showed the children the hidden treasures in God’s Word, His love and salvation through Jesus Christ. Each day this theme was brought out through a different parable that Jesus taught.
In the evenings we would go out into the various villages nearby for witnessing and evangelism to children and adults. These villages might have from 200 to 5000 people living there. For the most part these towns are closed off to the gospel, being controlled by the bishop of the local Catholic church. They call us ‘Christians’ and discourage the people from talking to us. Some people will however, and we did see a few people receive Christ as Savior.
One of our teams went to a prison to meet the men there and to share the gospel and testimonies of Jesus’ life changing power. Twenty six men came forward at the end of the program to receive Christ!
We were really impacted by the pastors and missionaries who live there and have devoted their lives to reaching the lost with the gospel. We would travel with them to small villages where they have been witnessing, and would find out that there is not a single believer in the whole village.
We ask that you would take time to pray for these men and women who are serving Christ there, bringing the glorious light of the gospel to a people lost in spiritual darkness. Pray for their safety and health and encouragement to be faithful to our Savior. Pray that God would do a great work of bringing salvation to this area of Mexico. Thank you for your prayers and support!
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07.06.07
Posted in Church Events, All at 5:04 pm by Pastor Bill
…to Mexico for our 1st mission trip as a church. Well, we’re mostly packed, and should be finished by tonight, when we hope to get at least 3 hours of sleep before heading to the airport.
I intended to try to give semi-daily updates on the progress of our trip, but I doubt we will find an internet cafe where we are heading, so I’ll try to give an update when we return.
I also found out this is their rainy season, and hot too…just the way we like it 
For all of you who have been supporting us with your prayers and or finances, we want you to know that God has worked miracles through you! Our financial support is at almost 100%, which is a true blessing for all of us. We were prepared to finance the trip ourselves if necessary, but God has removed that burden by the means of all of you and your generosity in love. I want you to know that this is not just OUR mission trip, but YOU also are ministering to the people of the villages where we will be serving.
Well, we are packing the mosquito spray, remembering not to drink the water, and expectantly watching to see what marvelous things God will do while we are there. Stay tuned, we’ll be sure to give you a full update as soon as we can.
Keep praying for us and our service for Christ!
Pastor Bill <><
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05.30.07
Posted in Church Events, All at 2:54 pm by Pastor Bill
We are going on a mission trip to Mexico! This July 7-14 a group from our church will be joining a group from Bethel Baptist Church in Parkersburg WV to assist missionaries and a local pastor in Guadalajara Mexico. We are excited about this since it is our first missions trip for our church family.
Our primary focus will be to assist the local church in Guadalajara to contact local residents of outlying villages. We will have a ministry for children and families, to introduce them to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to inform them of their need for a savior. Many of these people have their own religion, but one which does not lead to eternal life since it is based on human works for acceptance with God.
Many people would fault followers of Christ for attempting to sway people who have their own religion and are satisfied with it. This comes from the mistaken belief that all religions are equally valid, and that all roads will eventually lead to God. This teaching is directly in opposition to what God has said in His word. Jesus himself told us in John 14:6 that “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, nobody comes to the Father, except thorough me.” We read in Acts 4:12 that Peter confessed…”there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven, given to men, by which we must be saved” as he preached about Jesus and His death and resurrection. The apostle Paul reminds us that “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men…” who is Jesus Christ. (1 Tim.2:5)
If what the Bible says is true, all who have ‘their own religion’ that does not confess Jesus as Lord and rely upon His atoning death and resurrection for salvation are ’still in their sins’ and are doomed to an eternity in hell. How compassionate is it to have the ‘way, truth and life’ and to not share it with those who need it? This is our calling as believers, to be God’s ambassadors, bringing the message of reconciliation and peace with God. (1 Cor.5:18-21, Rom.5:1, 8:1)
Please pray for us as we prepare for this mission, that we would go in the power and leading of God’s Holy Spirit. This is not our mission, it is God’s, and we must be prepared to go and speak as He leads us. Pray that we would be faithful, and that God will provide for our needs. Pray that God will open our eyes and hearts to the needs of the people that we meet, and that we would truly be His hands and feet, and witnesses of His grace and mercy. Pray that God’s word will be powerful and effective! Thank you! We will keep you updated on this site as the trip commences.
God bless you!
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05.16.07
Posted in Biblical Reflections, All, Theology, Controversy, In The News... at 2:18 pm by Pastor Bill
So many people in our world are confused about gender and the ‘proper’ roles and responsibilities of men and women. Some see great differences between the sexes, but the trend in our day is to deny any distinctions or differences of roles, labeling them as a product of society or culture.
What does God say about this? Does the Bible indicate that God has established various responsibilities and roles to male and female? He certainly does, from Genesis to Revelation, but unfortunately many well-meaning but “issue driven” religious people have ignored or distorted the scriptures to develop an egalitarian perspective on the sexes.
Fortunately, there is a great website dedicated to clearly explaining what the scriptures truly express on our God given roles and responsibilities. You can access them by clicking here or from the links section on the right of this page. They are the ‘Council on Biblical manhood and womanhood”. These godly men and women have waded through the issues and rightly apply scripture to the society in which we live today.
Make no mistake, these are not simple issues. We are constantly bombarded by the media and our culture to accept any and all forms of sexual expression. Our children are taught in school that there are no proper roles for men and women, and that there are no ’standard’ forms of families or relationships. We are told by sociologists and psychiatrists that our gender is not determined by our physical makeup, but by what we choose to be.
I encourage you to check out this excellent website that lovingly presents the Biblical model that God has established. I also encourage you to carefully examine the Bible passages that are used to present various view on these issues, and pray that God, by His Holy Spirit will give you wisdom and insight to comprehend how He has formed us and how He desires us to live in the relationships and roles that please Him.
God bless you in your journey!
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05.01.07
Posted in Church Events, All at 6:44 pm by Pastor Bill
…of Austin Texas. (Here is their website if you were trying to find them…www.hpbc.org) To those of you who are familiar with our church, the HYDE PARK BAPTIST CHURCH of Cincinnati Ohio, this may sound like an invented dilemma. Those who are most likely to confuse us with the aforementioned church in Austin Texas are internet users. It’s odd how even if you google Hyde Park Baptist in either Cincinnati or Austin, you will still get some hits for the other church. Idiosyncrasies of the internet!
A church you probably will never confuse us with is perhaps the largest church in our area, Crossroads community church. (Here’s their site…www.crossroadscommunity.net ) We are vastly different in size, ministry and treatment of the scriptures. Our sermons are available on our website, as are theirs, and it only takes a cursory listen to gain a perspective on our varying beliefs about the Word of God, and our treatment of God himself in respect to reverence and exaltation.
Whether you live in Austin Texas, Cincinnati Ohio or Nome Alaska, have you committed yourself to being a dedicated member of a local body of Christian believers? God’s word makes it clear that we are saved to serve, and Christ has given His church as a gift to every believer. Your spiritual gift(s) are given to you to use in serving others. I trust that you will earnestly search out a local church where you can be fed and led, and also glorify God by serving others with you time, talents and finances. (Oh yeah, we had to include money in there somewhere!)
If you are part of a true community of believers where you can serve and be ministered to by the Word of God and the Love of Christians, take a minute to thank God for His incredible gift to you. Many people are not blessed with a true family of believers. Pray for them also!
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04.24.07
Posted in All, Teaching, Theology, In The News... at 3:25 pm by Pastor Bill
There often seems to be a resistance to biblical instruction in the current Christian community. It’s almost as if all we need is salvation and we’ll take it ourselves from here. Hopefully you are persuaded that all believers in Christ need ongoing training, mentoring and spiritual nourishment.
We can be spiritually trained from many sources…preaching, Bible studies, Christian and theological books, great disciplers and mentors in the faith. Christian radio can be used to increase our knowledge and usefulness for God and His kingdom. Christian schools, institutes and seminaries are great tools to train us for the work of living out our Christian life in our world.
One question that frequently arises is, ‘How do I know if this is a good source of information that will not lead me astray?”. And this is an important question, that if ignored can lead to learning false doctrine or being confused about what the Bible really teaches.
That is why I am glad to have come across an extremely reliable, valuable resource that I’d like to point you to. It is a free program on the internet, called “Biblical Training”. I can’t express how impressed I am with the quality and value of this ministry. It’s free…did I mention that?… and it is top notch in it’s content. There are lessons for introducing someone to Christianity all the way up to seminary level classes, all taught by Biblical experts, who submit to the word of God, value and know it thoroughly, and have a heart and capacity to communicate it excellently.
I encourage you to check out www.biblicaltraining.org by clicking on the link, and give yourself the gift of increasing your knowledge of God’s word and it’s application to your life! We will also add a link to their site on our sidebar, I encourage you to bookmark it for your own use.
Their lessons are downloadable in mp3 format and will play on your computers music program or you can put them into your mp3 player to listen whenever you are on the go. I thank God for these Christians and their desire to educate all believers without cost or obligation. May God bless them for their sacrificial service to the body of Christ, and bless you as you spend time in the Word of God, to know, love and serve Him with everything that you have!
Blessings, Pastor Rillo
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04.17.07
Posted in All, Controversy, In The News... at 4:15 pm by Pastor Bill
By now surely you’ve heard the news or seen the footage of the mass murder by a student at Virginia Tech University. So many people are stunned and shocked, wondering how this could happen, and why someone would do this. As believers, what should be the Christian response to a tragedy like this? I would like to offer a few suggestions.
One…Grieve with those who are grieving…we are told to ‘weep with them that are weeping’ in Romans 12:15…and this is the Christian response. Most of us cannot imagine the pain and sorrow that the families of those that were killed are experiencing, but we are to share with them as best we can. This is a time to come to the side of those who are hurting, and to share with them in their loss.
Two…We must offer comfort, assistance and support over the coming days and weeks. To share one’s pain is only partial help, we must be available to assist physically and emotionally whenever they need our support and love.
Three…We must understand this event and others like it in harmony with God’s revealed truth. We must face the fact that this violent rampage is normal human behavior. Although the world may view this as unnatural or aberrant behavior, we understand that all of us would behave this way were it not for the prevailing grace of God, exerting restraint against natural human behavior in our world. These acts are a result of sin, pure and simple. We live in a sin-cursed world, and should not be shocked when horrible events occur.
Four…We must not look to place blame on everyone and everything beyond the individual which committed this horrible travesty. Guns are not responsible for this murderous rampage…the police used the same weapons to guard the safety of hundreds of additional students and residents. The school is not the cause. The police are not the cause. This young man’s parents are not the cause. His relationships and friends are not the cause. His religion and economic status are not the cause. Only one person is responsible for this horror, and that is the young man who systematically pulled the trigger and purposefully took the lives of 33 human beings. Our society is too quick to look past the guilty party and assign blame to ‘extenuating circumstances’. This is to minimize guilt and personal responsibility. Whatever problems this young man was facing, others have endured much more than him and did not resort to mass murder of innocent bystanders. As Christians we must develop and share the Biblical worldview in explaining actions such as this one.
Five…We must pray for healing and comfort for everyone involved. We must offer the support and salvation that comes only through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. True peace is found only in Jesus, and His life and work for us. I encourage you to read Billy Graham’s book…’Peace with God’ if you do not have this abiding peace which carries us through life’s disappointments.
Six…We must daily ‘live out’ God’s message of Peace through Jesus! Only in Christ is there victory in death, and stability in life’s storms. Be His hands and feet and voice, as you carry the message of God’s love and forgiveness into a dark and dangerous world.
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03.28.07
Posted in Biblical Reflections, All, Theology, Controversy, In The News... at 6:16 pm by Pastor Bill
This is the season when Christians all around the world remember and celebrate the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. The idea of the bodily resurrection of Jesus is the thrust and power of the Apostles sermons. Peter and Paul constantly forced their hearers to deal with the truth and implications of Jesus’ resurrection and subsequent functions of reigning and judging over all of mankind.
Our society, as well as that of Jesus’ day, holds little regard for the claims of resurrection and life after death. But this is still our message, that our Savior lives and reigns, and that eternal life comes only through faith in our risen Lord. To get an idea of our generation’s rebellion against the message of the Bible, read this article from the London Times which reports the Popes pronouncement that Hell is real, but also hit the link below the article to read the vitriolic comments by responders to the article…it is sad and disturbing to see how Satan continues to deceive and mislead people away from the truth.
For those of us who truly know God through His Son, the resurrection of Christ is our foundation for hope, our inspiration for the future, our message of eternal life for all who will come and receive the free gift of salvation.
Rejoice in the knowledge of your salvation and future glorification! “The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.” 1 Cor.15:45,49 (ESV) “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Rev.1:17b-18 (ESV)
HE LIVES!
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02.21.07
Posted in All, In The News... at 5:13 pm by Pastor Bill
Isn’t it awesome the things we know! I often sit in wonder and amazement (and often skepticism) when I read or hear of all the things that scientists or doctors have discovered about the world we live in. And I’ve got to admit, the idea that no two snowflakes are alike is boggling to the mind, at least to my mind. Don’t you ever wonder about statements like that? I don’t believe that it is true! Now that’s a dangerous things to say, or a stupid comment, because everyone KNOWS that every snowflake is different from every other snowflake. I learned that in kindergarten, I heard it on TV, I read it in my school’s science books, and even saw microscopic photos of at least a dozen snowflakes, and yep, every one WAS different. So why am I now a snowflake differential agnostic?
Mind you, I’m not disputing that SOME or MOST snowflakes are different, I’m just sure that there has been at least one occasion where there have been two snowflakes that are EXACTLY alike. Perhaps no two snowflakes in any particular handful of snow are alike, perhaps no two snowflakes that landed in your yard last week were alike, but to state categorically that there has never been 2 identical snowflakes is a pretty preposterous claim.
Think about that claim for a moment. Can science give us a mathematical formula or a law of physics that demand that there has never been, nor can there ever be 2 identical snowflakes? How many snowflakes have been exhaustively examined and cataloged? How much time do scientists have to gather and look at and record snowflake forms, size and weight? How long would it take to do that to all the snowflakes in one cubic foot of snow? More than has been dedicated to the task already, of that I am sure! And how many cubic feet of snow fell in upstate New York last week? Probably about 6 trillion…and were all of those snowflakes compared to each other to be SURE that no 2 were alike? Let’s jump to the big picture…If you take into consideration all the snowflakes that fell on earth over the past 6,000 years, humans have closely examined about …well, not very many. And that’s my point. You can’t state absolutely that no two snowflakes are alike until you have examined each and every one of them, or conclusively demonstrate the physical laws that prohibit such an occurance, even among deformed snowflakes..(think about that one for awhile). How can we all grow up knowing and believing that no two snowflakes are alike when we have absolutely no evidence to prove it? Yet we still teach this myth to our children, and they believe it also.
Why do I go on and on about this? Because it is not dangerous for us to believe a false statement about snowflakes, but is can be very dangerous to persist in believing other things that ‘everyone knows is true’, when those things are also not true. For instance, I’ve heard people say “You can’t trust the Bible, everyone knows that it’s full of contradictions”. To go on believing this without examining the evidence is dangerous to your eternal soul. Have you read the Bible in it’s entirety and examined some of those ’so called’ contradictions? If you have, I’m sure you came to the conclusion that those statements aren’t contradictory, but complementary, with different writers providing additional details that the other did not.
How about the statement that “Everybody knows that good people go to heaven, and bad people go to hell, (well, maybe the hell part, and maybe not)”? And of course since everybody except murders and rapists are good people,(unless you ask their mothers about them), well gee, I guess almost everybody will be having a great time in heaven! That is an extremely dangerous thing to know, since it is most assuredly NOT true! If you’ll read you Bible and see what Jesus said about it, you might have cause for alarm…that is, if an eternity spent suffering the consequences of sin alarms you.
The bottom line…just because everyone knows something to be true, that is no guarantee that it really is true. And if our beliefs are false, it can be dangerous to us.
“There is a WAY that seems RIGHT to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Pr.14:12. Jesus said “I am THE WAY, the TRUTH and the life, no man comes to the Father except through ME.” John 14:6
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