God’s Word to America

In Deuteronomy 8, God gives a message to Israel that could have just as easily been delivered to the founding fathers of the United States of America. On Sunday morning, we celebrated Independence Day with a patriotic service at Tabernacle Baptist Church. The message was from Deuteronomy 8, entitled “God’s Word to America.” We saw that God Planned America, God has Protected America, God has Prospered America and God will Punish America. You can listen to this message by following this link or visit our sermons page.

Photos from the Wilds 2009 – Friday

Photos from the Wilds 2009 – Thursday

Photos from the Wilds 2009 – Wednesday

Photos from the Wilds 2009 – Monday and Tuesday

Another Generation

On Sunday we dedicated the entire day to the youth of our church. We had a wonderful week at the Wilds Christian Camp and wanted to share with our people what God was doing in the lives of our juniors and our teens. On Sunday evening we showed the videos from Junior Boot Camp and from Teen Camp at the Wilds Christian Camp in Brevard, NC. We also gave an opportunity for the young people to share testimonies about their week at camp. We had all of the parents and children in our church to come to the front of our auditorium where we prayed a prayer of dedication for our families.

On Sunday morning, the message was entitled “Another Generation.” How many generations are we away from Christianity being extinct? Judges 2:10 says that there arose another generation that knew not God.  It is critical that we reach each generation individually. This challenging message can be heard by following this link or visit our sermons page.

Friday at the Wilds 2009

God has given us an incredible week at camp. The weather has been gorgeous, a little hot, but no one can complain. The campers have done great. We are so proud of our junior campers that came with us for the first time. We are rejoicing in many decisions that were made. We are looking forward to our service on Sunday evening at Tabernacle Baptist. We will show the Junior Camp DVD and take camper testimonies and then show the Teen Camp DVD.

On Friday we spent the day playing exciting games and listening to some dynamic preaching. During the afternoon our campers were able to enjoy the free time activities at the camp site. Several of our young people even took another hike and enjoyed S’mores. The competition for the week ended with the green team winning for the teen camp, and the red team winning for junior camp. I’m sure our campers will be cheering for the first part of our journey home tomorrow. It is always fun to hear the excitement of a good week at camp. After lunch they will all settle down a little and may even catch a little nap. Pray for Jen as she drives the bus back. We are planning on returning to Wilson and arriving around 4:30 p.m.

The final service of the night was a real blessing. Keven Brownfield preached on The Cost of Being a Genuine Christian. He challenged each of us to live like first generation Christians. So many times we see second and third generation Christians growing more and more apathetic. He preached from Luke 14:25-35. In order to live like a first generation Christian it is going to cost us (1) Our Closest Relationships, (2) Our Lives, (3) Our Time and Things. To listen to this same message, follow this link. Brother Brownfield did not give a come forward invitation. Instead he told the young people to look at the door closest to them. He then challenged them when they left the service to go out and live for God.

Following the evening service, the campers all shared a testimony at the campfire service by throwing a stick on the fire, symbolic of our lives that are surrendered to God. What a blessing to see so many young people declaring their allegiance to Christ.

Thursday at the Wilds 2009

The Lord gave us another beautiful day at camp. Following lunch, our youth leaders met with the teen campers from our group for a time of ‘Family Reunion.” The campers shared testimonies of what God has been teaching them. We also played an exciting game of Gazeeball. You will have to have them explain it to you. During the afternoon the female campers enjoyed a hike to the waterfalls, while the male campers enjoyed the free time activities at the campsite. It has been fun to watch all of our kids enjoying the miniature golf, tubing, the giant swing, the land trolley, and the super slide. A few have really enjoyed the snacks they are buying with the spending money that was sent.

Keven Brownfield preached in the evening on “The Theology of Forgiveness,” from Matthew 18. He emphasized that there is (1) A Vertical Forgiveness, but there is also (2) A Horizontal Forgiveness. Again, there was a great response from the campers. You can listen to this same message by following this link to Sermon Audio.

After the service the teen campers played a fun game of Feet Ball under the lights on the ball field. You will have to have your campers explain this one to you as well. It was a blast! We will find out which team wins the week on Friday evening.

We have updated pictures: http://tbconline.myphotoalbum.com

Wednesday Evening

On Wednesday evening we had an early service with Evangelist Keven Brownfield preaching on Paul’s Personal Testimony, from Philippians 3. His main points included:

1. Paul’s Self-Righteousness Displayed (3:4-6)
2. Paul’s Self-Righteousness Denounced (3:7-8)
3. The Righteousness of Christ Deposited (3:9)

Again, there was a great respsonse to the message.

Following the evening service the teens had about an hour of free time before the new “Adventure on the High Seas” Fun Time program. The staff entertained us all with several new songs and skits. Following the program, the campers enjoyed free time by the activity center and ball field with pizza and soft drinks.

Thursday will be another busy day filled with fun activities and inspiring preaching. Pray for the Family Reunion at 1:20 p.m. Our campers have been divided among three teams this week. This will be an opportunity for the group of campers that we brought with us to come together and share testimonies of what God is doing in their lives.

Be sure to check out the latest photos at http://tbconline.myphotoalbum.com

Wednesday at the Wilds Christian Camp

On Tuesday evening, our speaker Keven Brownfield preached a message entitled “Don’t Waste Your Life.” It was a message on the life of Esau. He began by giving an illustration of two great men of God who both died at the age of 29, Robert Murray McCheyne and David Brainerd. Evangelist Brownfield preached a message titled Don’t Waste Your Life from the life of Esau.

Here is the outline for his message:

1. Esau focused on the immediate rather than the eternal.
2. Esau cherished what he should have disregarded and disregarded what he should have cherished.
3. Esau’s shortsightedness prompted him to give up the ultimate for the immediate.
4. Esau thought that earthly favor could overcome Divine accountability.
5. Esau’s limited view of God and eternity motivated him to live a sensual life.
6. Esau’s clouded vision kept him from seeing his brother’s deception

There was a large response from the campers following the service.

Wednesday has been a very busy day. The junior campers and the teen campers had Water Wars this morning. Everyone enjoyed a picnic lunch by the lake. The afternoon was spent in various free time activities. We have posted pictures of our kids online at http://tbconline.myphotoalbum.com