I would like to share with you my itinerary from April 15 to May 14.
On April 15, Pastor Bill, Linda, Pastor Isaac and I will be traveling to Chicopee, Massachusetts to attend the General Assemble for the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches at Pioneer Valley Baptist Church. I will have the privilege of sharing a devotional on Wednesday morning. On Friday morning, April 21st, I will fly from JFK airport nonstop to Johannesburg, South Africa to meet Errol Hulse. We will join Irving Steggles who will give us transportation and lodging. We will depart for Francistown, Botswana on Monday 23rd of April and then travel to Zimbabwe and arrive in Bulawayo for the conference starting at 12:30. On Wednesday the conference will go from 9 AM until 6 PM and conclude on Thursday at 1 PM. After the conference, we will travel back to Francistown. On April 28th Jeff Storck will arrive in Johannesburg to join us for another week of one day conferences. On Sunday we will worship in churches in Kempton and Pretoria. On Monday, April 30th we will visit the Game Park and then on Tuesday travel to Manzini, Swaziland and a conference will be held on Wednesday from 9 AM to 5 PM. On Thursday we will travel to Barberton for an evening meeting at Back to Bible College and on Friday have the Barberton Conference from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM. On Saturday there will be a conference in Kabokweni from 10 AM to 5 PM. On Sunday we will be at Barberton Community Baptist Church and then travel to Bushbuckridge for an afternoon conference from 2PM to 5PM. Afterwards we will travel back to Barberton. On Monday morning Jeff and I will fly to Lusaka, Zambia to be with Pastor Isaac and his church for a week.
We will have opportunities to speak at Lusaka Baptist Church and in other places in Lusaka. The highlight of the trip will be the Sunday Service at Emmasdale Baptist Church where Pastor Isaac is. They will conduct a dedication service for their new building.
What a joy it is to know that God has used Grace Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi to help this Church build their building to God’s glory. God’s providence is so glorious, to think of how He brought all events about for us to have this wonderful privilege of ministering alongside this Church in Africa.
Jeff and I covet your prayers as we take this trip. Pray for us to have wisdom and strength to do what God has for us to accomplish. Pray for our protection, our health, our travels, our jetlag, our ability to understand the culture and to benefit from the preaching and teaching that we will hear, for our fellowship with other Christians of different cultures, for our families while we are away but most of all, that God would use us for His glory during this time. Thank you for allowing me to go on this trip and be your missionary these three weeks. I thank those who have contributed money so that this trip might be possible and I look forward to giving you a report when we return.
Praying for you,
Pastor Thomas
Pastoral Ponderings from Pastor Bill
The Church celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ this month on April 8th.
The narrative of Passion Week is well known and on Easter Sunday there is the joyful celebration of “He is Risen”. Yet, as I ponder Jesus’ great work of redemption culminated with His resurrection, I see a connection with Alexander Graham Bell and his significant work. Most know the story of Bell’s inventing of the telephone and without a doubt all know the benefit of his work. But, while all know the story of Jesus’ passion week, not all know the benefit of His work – His Resurrection from the grave. According to 1 Thess 4:13-18, Christ’s resurrection brings comfort to those who truly have benefitted from His work of redemption. The Heildelberg Catechism begins with this comfort motif:
Q 1 ‘What is the only comfort in life and death?’
Ans. ‘That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who, with His precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil, and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head, yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto Him.’ [This answer to Q 1 provides the outline for the entire Catechism with an emphasis being placed on the gospel that must be believed (Questions/Answers 19-22).]
As a reminder to you who believe, here are three benefits of Christ’s resurrection for your edification: The FIRST benefit is you are made partakers of Christ’s Righteousness (Romans 5:12-21 and 1 Corinthians 1:30). The SECOND benefit is you are raised together with Christ to a Newness of Life (Romans 6:3-7 and Colossians 3:1-3). And the THIRD benefit is that you who believe the gospel and have put your trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation will be resurrected in conformity with the body of Christ’s glory (1 Corinthians 15:49 and Philippians 3:20-21). Read the question and answer of the Catechism again and be comforted by the benefits that Christ has obtained for you and given to you: you have Christ’s righteousness; you have Christ’s power to live a new life pleasing to God; and you are assured of eternal life. John 6:37 “All that the Father has given to Me, will come, and I will in no wise cast out, but raise them up on the last day.”
Because He lives, you too live. Rejoice believer in being joined to Christ in His death and resurrection. He is Risen, Indeed!
Pastor Bill
