Monday, September 28, 2009

Faith Promise Conference

Starting Wednesday night, EBC will hold its 4th annual Faith Promise Conference with Bro. Alvin Dickerson, Missionary to Scotland, as the featured speaker. Please pray for him and the conference. Service times are as follows: Wed-Sat at 7:00 pm. Saturday night will be our International Dinner. Sunday at 9:45 with a commitment service at 10:45 am.

Monday, September 21, 2009

125th Anniversary

Ebenezer Baptist Church will hold special services celebrating its 125th Anniversary this Sunday at 10:45 am. All friends, family members, and former members are invited.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Just Wondering

Which is worse: Being addicted to smoking or being addicted to caffeine?

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A Pastor Is...

According to I Timothy, a Pastor is to be the husband of one wife, but according to the latest statistics from Barna, many Protestant denominations must not really use those guidelines for pastoral eligibility requirements. Barna reports that the number of "female pastors" has increased greatly from a decade ago which is a concern to me. I'm not sure how you can get around the "husband of one wife" ordeal (and we're not going to argue divorce issues this time please) unless you just totally disregard that section of Scripture. And no, Paul was not a sexist that wanted to keep women down. He just followed God's plan for men and women. Men have certain responsibilities and women have certain responsibilities. What is so wrong with that? Why do we feel the need to make everyone the same. We're not the same! Men and women are different! Individuals are different! Sometimes, I'm different! Anyway, I wonder what will be the result of such a massive move toward women pastors?

Monday, September 14, 2009

Revive Us Again?

I am enjoying the Revival Services at Cedar Creek MBC in the Palestine/Elkhart area this week. The people are truly thirsty for God's Word and have been wonderful to my family and me. However, it has started me to think about how churches and individuals respond to revival services. (The following has nothing whatsoever to do with Cedar Creek MBC. It just so happens that I started thinking about how people respond to revivals because I'm preaching a revival!)

When is the last time you really were affected by a revival? I mean, affected for months or years, not just days? When is the last time you really experienced a revival? Was it even during revival services? Do we sometimes hold revival services, but then nothing seems to happen? Are we just in a mode of, "We must have a revival every year" just to soothe our conscience? Do we have to have a revival every year? Should we maybe be revived every Sunday? Or should we stay in a state of revival from the Lord?

Friday, September 11, 2009

Fun Friday Video Of The Day

Umm...well, I really don't even know what the point is behind this video, but I thought the technical capabilities of the person (or persons) who developed the video was awesome. So, just sit back, relax, and don't even try to figure it out.



Thursday, September 10, 2009

Mt. Sinai

According to the studies, research, and Biblical information from which I am drawing my conclusion, it seems that Mt. Sinai is incorrectly located on most Bible maps (probably including the one in the back of your Bible). The current Mt. Sinai location is not feasible according to the geography, terrain, Biblical description, etc. However, most people are still taught that Mt. Sinai is in the Sinai peninsula. Yet, it is more likely that Mt. Sinai is actually located in the Arabian peninsula (ancient Midian). This would answer several questions and fit with Scripture much tighter than a Sinai peninsula location. Now, to keep this blog short, I will not give any further info, but if you would like to have more facts, just email me. And as always...what do you think?

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

A Death Prayer?

I do not condone President Obama's ungodly stance on certain issues, yet I read that we are to pray for him. We are to pray for him, but not for the death of him! This video is one of many addressing this issue. While it is on YouTube, it is from the Associated Press (AP) channel. (I have been aware of this pastor for awhile because he has made other very controversial statements in the past.)


Friday, September 04, 2009

Teamwork 101

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Best-Selling Bible To Undergo Revision

The top-selling Bible in North America will undergo its first revision in 25 years, modernizing the language in some sections and promising to reopen a contentious debate about changing gender terms in the sacred text. The New International Version, the Bible of choice for conservative evangelicals, will be revised to reflect changes in English usage and advances in Biblical scholarship, it was announced Tuesday. The revision is scheduled to be completed late next year and published in 2011.

"We want to reach English speakers across the globe with a Bible that is accurate, accessible and that speaks to its readers in a language they can understand," said Keith Danby, global president and CEO of Biblica, a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Christian ministry that holds the NIV copyright.

But past attempts to remake the NIV for contemporary audiences in different editions have been plagued by controversies about gender language that have pitted theological conservatives against each other.

The changes did not make all men "people" or remove male references to God, but instead involved dropping gender-specific terms when translators judged that the original text didn't intend it. So in some verses, references to "sons of God" became "children of God," for example.

Supporters say gender-inclusive changes are more accurate and make the Bible more accessible, but critics contend they twist meaning or smack of political correctness.

Acknowledging past missteps, the NIV's overseers are promising that this time, the revision process will be more transparent and that they will actively promote what they describe as a long-held practice of inviting input from scholars and readers.

The NIV was first published in 1978 and more than 300 million NIV Bibles are in print worldwide; its publishers and distributors say the translation accounts for 30 percent of Bibles sold in North America.

The Committee on Bible Translation, an independent group of conservative scholars and translators formed in 1965 to create and revise the NIV, will oversee the new revision.

An effort earlier this decade to create a separate version of the NIV that used more gender-inclusive language in an attempt to reach a younger audience fell flat with groups that felt it crossed the line.

That edition, Today's New International Version, will cease publication once the new-look NIV is released, said Moe Girkins, president of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Zondervan, its North American publisher.

"Whatever its strengths, the TNIV has become an emblem of division in the evangelical Christian world," Girkins said.

It was the TNIV that ushered in changes from "sons of God" to "children of God," or "brothers" to "brothers and sisters." In Genesis I, God created "human beings" in his own image instead of "man."

Many prominent pastors and scholars endorsed the changes. But critics said masculine terms in the original should not be tampered with. Some warned that changing singular gender references to plural ones alters what the Bible says about God's relationships with individuals.

The Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution saying the edition "has gone beyond acceptable translation standards."

"We fell short of the trust that has been placed in us," said Danby, of Biblica. "We failed to make a clear case for the revisions."

Danby said that freezing the NIV in its 1984 state was also a mistake, however. He emphasized that in the revision, about 90 percent of the NIV will be unchanged.

Douglas Moo, a professor at Wheaton College and chairman of the Committee on Bible Translation, said the group is committed to "a complete review of every gender related change."

"I am not sure how it's going to come out," Moo said. "We have a genuine, authentic review process ... Everything is on the table."

One of the most vocal critics of gender-inclusive translations, Randy Stinson of the Louisville, Ky.-based Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, said the group supports updating the NIV. He credited organizers for their openness.

"We're still probably going to differ on the way they handle some of the gender language," Stinson said. "But we're open and anxious to see what they come up with and we're really going to be reserving judgment."

Most changes will have nothing to do with gender inclusivity, Moo said. And the TNIV provides a glimpse of likely changes: In the '84 NIV, Mary is "with child," but in the TNIV she is "pregnant." In the NIV version of Psalm 146:9, "The Lord watches over the alien." The TNIV used "foreigner" instead of "alien."

On the Net: Yahoo News! or at www.NIVBible2011.com

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

125 Years

Ebenezer BC is celebrating 125 years of God's blessings. Ebenezer was organized in September 1884 and has seen hard times and good times. However, through all things, God has blessed and been faithful. Join with us this month as we celebrate this special anniversary and pray for God's blessing upon us. Pray for us, as well, to remain faithful to Him in all things. And happy birthday Ebenezer!