Things I am Most Thankful For 2013

Some thoughts on a few things I am most thankful for today...

Thankful for the blessing of believing parents and extended family. Amazingly, and only by God's grace, divorce has stricken neither grandparents, parents, nor any siblings (although murder may have crossed our minds more than once). 

Thankful for my lovely wife Christy, who grows more precious to me as every year passes.  She is a wonderful wife and mother - I don't know what I would do without her! 

Thankful for our oldest son Daniel whom we almost lost last year, who is alive and healthy and blessed by God with a stalwart wisdom; a young man I am proud to call my son. 

Thankful for our beautiful daughter Jennifer who so passionately seeks after the Lord! 

Thankful for our youngest son Camden, through whom God has graciously allowed us to experience once again the joy and wonder of seeing the world through the eyes of a child.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.  Psalm 127:3

Thankful for family, friendships (new and old) and Godly counselors that have particularly blessed me in my Christian walk, including (but not limited to) Rick Hogaboam, Rick Gibson, Hugh Orr, Ken Vose, Tim Nay, Norman Revels, Steve Crane, Shawn Burton, David Wilson, Pastor John Embry (RIP), Fred Lock, Josh Bales, Doug Miller, Doug Peake, Jeff Johnson... and many others I am sure I have missed.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! ... And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12

Most thankful of all to God for choosing me for salvation before the foundation of the world, not because of any merit in me or work on my part, but solely according to His good pleasure and purpose. I was bought and paid for by something infinitely more valuable than silver or gold - the precious blood of the lamb of God: Jesus the Christ. Not only did His blood make atonement for my sin, but He suffered the wrath due me, pierced for my transgressions and crushed for my iniquities. As though that weren't enough - God not only saved me from the penalty of my sins, but in Christ I am redeemed, forgiven, adopted into the the family of God, made a co-heir with Christ, lavished with grace and blessed with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places.

Given the height, breadth, depth and width of what God has done for me (and not just for me, but all His elect)... to say that I am a blessed man is an understatement. There are no words worthy of it. “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”  Ruth 2:10

The only honest reaction is humble adoration in worship: "Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;"  1 Chr 16:9  "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen."  Rom 11:6

Have you noticed anything different?

If you've driven by our church property lately, you may have noticed something different:

New "temporary" sign, with our new name

We recently changed the name of our church to Creekside Bible Fellowship.  We did that for a few reasons:

1. We are no longer affiliated with a particular Baptist denomination, and the name "First Baptist Church of Eagle" caused many people to think that we were.  We had visitors asking whether we were Southern Baptist, American Baptist, Independent Baptist, etc., and generally this caused us to go into a fairly lengthy discussion as to why we were no longer affiliated with the American Baptist denomination.

NOTE: We still teach and practice baptism by immersion - that hasn't changed, and (Lord willing) never will.

2. We felt that a change to the name of the church would make us more accessible from the standpoint that many folks these days seem to have an aversion to attending a church affiliated with a national church denominations, and would prefer to attend a non-denominational church.

I am not going to address here the my thoughts on whether the advantages of being part of a national (or international) denomination outweighs the potential disadvantages.  I will state that I believe there are some definite advantages, however that is the who we are right now, and our name should reflect that.

3. We felt that of all things our church should be characterized by, that first and foremost we believe in and are under the authority of  Holy Scripture.

Religious denominations come and go.  Man-made traditions and liturgical practices, while at times helpful, can over time not only lose their real meaning but worse, turn into points of orthodoxy (e.g. dress codes, how the Lord's Supper is administered, Bible translations, worship style) .  As Christians and as a local church fellowship, we must always be on guard to correct our beliefs and our practices against the unchanging word of Scripture.

4.  In regards to "Creekside" - we do have a small creek running through the property.  We would like to develop it and add some landscaping so as to make it stand out as a "feature" of the property.

Regardless of what our church is named, or what the sign says out front - it is my hope and prayer that our local church fellowship will always be a place where God is glorified through Biblically-faithful teaching, preaching, and living.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Original "temporary" sign.