OCT-2015

Are You the Right Kind of Servant?

His lord said unto him, Well done good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. (Matt 25:23)

When we profess to be God's servants, when we say that we are willing to be a servant of the Lord, do we really want to be His servant? Many believers have a inverted view of their service, as they only see what they want to do and what they perceive to be as what they are being asked to do! Yet, the bible requires us to do the will of our heavenly father, to follow or mirror the actions of our savior. When you consider your actions within the kingdom of God, "Are You the Right Kind of Servant? 

The Gospel according to Matthew shares Jesus's teaching His disciples about their future ministry as Kingdom servants. In the parable of the talents, he rewards two of the 3 servants and complimented them with words like, good and faithful and well done! How are you measuring your service within the kingdom of God? Are you striving to be good in your eyes or good in God's eyes? Are you focused on being good to all you encounter? What is your concept of faithfulness? 

Faithfulness requires a commitment to doing the will of God, and a commitment to serving Him with your whole heart. He wants to say well done, but are you willing to do all things well? He wants to call you good and faithful, but are you allowing life's circumstances to hinder or negatively impact your service? You are not your own, you have been bought with a price. Knowing this is knowing whose servant you are. The question then becomes, ! "Are You The Right Kind of Servant?

SPCourtney

I Am Truly Thankful!

The Apostle Paul in his letter to young Pastor Timotheus, wrote these words, "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. (1st Tim 1:12)

It is not because it has been easy or without a season of doubt. It is not because I do not believe that there are tumultuous times ahead. The reality of my time at Bethlehem is summed up with Paul's words. "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord! There are many reasons to be thankful, but first and foremost I must express my gratitude to my Lord and Savior. It was not my preaching, it was not my intellect, it was the favor of God that afforded me the privilege to be Pastor of the House of Bread.

I am thankful for and to the Deacon Board of Bethlehem, the deaconess, the youth ministry, choir ministry, the usher ministry, armor Bearer, greeters, security, Hospitality and all the members of Bethlehem. I am thankful for the spirit of cooperation and collaboration. My prayers and gratitude go out to my family and friends who have been supportive and continue to encourage me to keep the faith.

My wife, the girls and I consider ourselves truly blessed by the love and support we receive here at this great church. It is my prayer that as we proceed forward into the next season of our work and witness, that BBC continues to grow spiritually as men and women of God. Our focus going forward will be to implement fully the four (4) foundational principles, Faith “ What we Believe, Family “ Who We are, Fellowship “ What we do, & Fun “ How we must do it! Again, I am humbled, and I am Truly Thankful for all the great thngs God has done!

Pstor SP Courtney

Are You Changing for the Better?

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away: behold all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation

(2nd Corinthians 5:17-18)

Every person who enters the church building is not living according to the principles of faith found within the scriptures. We are not designed to reach a certain pinnacle or place in our life and then cease to grow, evolve or change. We are not designed to get saved at 9 and have the same spiritual, biblical and faith ineptitude at 39. Change is necessary for growth in the life of every believer. "Are You Changing for the Better? 

The Apostle Paul is encouraging the church at Corinth that as new believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ there is a change that is taking place in our lives. If we are in Christ Jesus, through the connfession of our faith,, and the finished work on Calvary then we are not who we use to be, but rather we have become a new creature.  

All things are of God, created by God and exist because of God. The fact that we are in Christ is a direct result of God reconciling us to himself. All of your old man must die and cease to rule in your life. Your new man is governed by, led by and exist because of Jesus Christ our savior. It is God's expectation that we strive daily to get better, to prove what is the acceptable and perfect will of God. This change in our life, affirms that we are not what we use to be, and yet we are still not what we are going to be.   "Are You Changing for the Better?

SPCourtney