During today’s sermon, I mentioned two books you ought to read or at least peruse in the coming days. One was written in the 16th century and is a Christian Classic: Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. The other is a modern daily devotional telling the stories of those who have given their lives for Jesus Christ throughout the centuries: Extreme Devotion – The Voice of the Martyrs.

Both can be ordered at a local Christian bookstore or online. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs is available in it’s entirety online or as a PDF download at Google Books. The classic by Foxe is easily accessible through the web, but Extreme Devotion is easy to read, incorporates Scriptural passages for the day, and includes stories from modern times.

When circumstances overwhelm your life, when you feel wronged, or maybe even persecuted to one or extreme or the other – remember those who actually were killed for their unwillingness to recant their faith in Jesus.

Few, if any of us, will give our lives for the Lord, but all of us will sense the pressure and maybe the persecution living as a follower of Christ includes until we are with Him.

Use one of these resources over the next couple of weeks. Read the stories. Feel what the martyrs felt. Sense the love and devotion they had for Christ. Recalibrate your perspective on your suffering to the suffering they experienced. Maybe what you are experiencing today will be more tolerable for Jesus when you realize the extreme some followers have experienced.

Our Newest Missionaries

With the vote of the congregation last Sunday night We begin a new partnership with Joshua, Kristen, and Cassia Gee. Our newly expanded budget will provide $500.00 per month to support them as they send the gospel into Europe and much of the Muslim world from a base in Great Britain. Joshua is the grandson of Peggy Gee who has been part of our church family for many years. We also supported Peggy and her husband, Fred, as they served as missionaries with Child Evangelism Fellowship. The Gees join 53 other missionary families, and 6 organizations that comprise our global missionary family. Each month we contribute $30,270 to these missionaries through your giving. As the Gees begin a new chapter in their service for the Lord, let's praise our God for the opportunity to serve with them through our prayers and gifts.

Grace! (well sort of)

Upgrade - A Must-Read Real Life Story!

Below is an email we received from someone new to Bible Center in the last few months:

"After being in another church setting for years and being betrayed by the leadership hierarchy*, I withdrew my membership and got out of the boat so to speak. I began looking for a church that would spiritually fed me and would help me stay connected to Christ rather than being in a place of being preached at, told what was wrong with our congregation and getting no teaching or coaching on how to be Christ like in our everyday life.

I was drowning.

Since finding the Bible Center I have never been so spiritually fed, I feel like a new person, I am learning from the messages and tools I am receiving. I feel reborn! I use every opportunity to share the experiences I am having at Bible Center. My faith, life, attitude, energy level, health, finances, relationships are changing from the messages I am receiving.

The Lord is truly helping me find my next steps. The teachings I am receiving are invaluable to me. What an encouragement and help Bible Center has been for me in helping me on this journey. My up grade has begun. Thank God for the Bible Center and its teachings and resources."

*the portion in italics was adjusted slightly from the original email only to keep identities involved anonymous

Going Green!

Sunday, I mentioned how the landscape around the new Southridge Campus was a bit brown when we moved. Well, now things are much greener. As the grass, trees, and plants have come in, the campus looks alive and vibrant.

The ridge lines of the beautiful West Virginia hills stand in stark contrast to the deep blue sky above. The campus is alive!

Add to this the hundreds of cars coming and going from the parking lots and a sense of fresh excitement and energy emerges. Then, consider the people - people of all ages enthusiastically entering the gathering space ready to celebrate, grow, and serve. A fresh wind of God's Spirit is gently moving among us. If green symbolizes life, then the ministry of Bible Center is going green!

Google Maps and the Bible

The internet has delivered some fabulous resources for studying the Bible. BibleMap.org is a great tool to see the location of biblical events. Simply type in a book and chapter of the Bible and all of the places listed in the text show up in a Google Map based window. You can move around, zoom in and out, and change display settings.

Descriptions of the locations pop up as you click in the biblical text or on the map icons. This is a valuable tool in understanding the geography of passages within the Scripture.

Anything we can do to grasp the real life settings of people, events, and places within God's Word will help us discover what it means and how to apply it to our lives. Give it a try. Go to www.BibleMap.org and enter in the book of 1 Samuel and chapter 17. This context tells the story of David and Goliath. Move your way around the site. Enjoy!

We Are One

While attending a start up church on a Sunday afternoon in an old Soviet school building in rural Hungary, I was moved by what was being sung. The small congregation of about 30 sang a tune Lesli and I immediately recognized.

The words being sung in Hungarian were unintelligible to us, but we knew the familiar chorus: “We are one in the spirit, we are one in the Lord….” What a blessing to be with believers in another nation and instantly know the bond we share in the Lord!

Somehow the reality of the chorus seemed more significant to me in that setting. But, no less remarkable is the fact that a couple thousand believers who have no other connection other than Jesus gather each week at Bible Center in Charleston, West Virginia. Because of Jesus, we are one!

The Lyrics:
We are one in the Spirit
We are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit
We are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity
May one day be restored

And they’ll know we are Christians
By our love, By our love
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians
By our love

We will walk with each other
We will walk hand in hand
We will walk with each other