Romans 1 and the Eclipse

Here is a talk I gave on Wednesday July 19, 2017 at First Baptist Church, Ashdown. I use Romans 1 to talk about modern scientists.

Romans 1 and Science

Show N Tell Theater : John is a Special Messenger

If you are as old as I am, you might remember the Show N Tell record player/picture viewer. It looked like a small TV with a record player on top. It ran a filmstrip slide while playing a record and projected the pictures on the screen.

I recently acquired some Biblical strips for one. I will try to post them here over time.

The first one is called "John is a Special Messenger." It is about John the Baptist. The first video is from side one of the record and tells the story.



The second video is from side two of the record and asks questions about the story. It's the same video with different audio.




If you enjoy these, I'll post some more. Please comment below.

Sermon on the Mount 4 : Adultrey and Divorce

Just what does God consider adultery? When does God condone divorce? Find out here.

Daniel 6 : Act Faithfully

Don't let persecution keep you from performing you service to God. Follow Daniel's example and keep your spiritual routines. Text is from Daniel 6

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Daniel 4 : Live Humbly

Nebuchadnezzar finds what happens when he does not give God credit for his accomplishments

October 18 Bible Study : Develop Conviction

Here is this week's Bible Study. The text is from Daniel 1.

Bible Study for October 4 God's Promise of Victory Romans 8:28-39

Here is this weeks Bible Study for those in my Sunday School class that won't be there or for anyone else who just wants to hear it. The text is Romans 8:28-39

Let me know in the comments what you think.

Days without the Sun?

One of the most popular questions received by young-earth creationists, other than "Where did Cain get his wife," has to do with the order of creation events. The questioners wonder how the earth could have been made in six literal days, if the sun wasn't created until day four. After all, a day is defined by the position of the sun. So how could there be three days before the sun was created?

The truth is, you don't need a sun to define days. All you need are regular repeating intervals of light and darkness. We read in Genesis 1:1 that the first thing God created was space and earth. So we have a rotating planet. In Genesis 1:3 we see that the next thing God created was light. Most likely, as soon as God said "Let there be light." the entire earth was illuminated. Light came from all directions and had to be coalesced into a single source in verse 4.

Now there is a rotating earth with light on one side and darkness on the other. That's all that is needed for the term "day" to be used. Verse 5 specifies that there was evening and morning, that is, the earth was rotating out of and into the light just as it does today. This is one reason why I believe the six days of Genesis have to be six literal days. How can you apply the terms evening and morning to an unspecified length of time? Also, the terms "first day", and "second day," etc. point to literal 24 hour periods. If I was talking to you about my vacation and said "On the third
day there," you would assume I meant the third literal 24 hour period.

On the fourth day, then, God takes the light and confines it to a source. Actually several sources, for he makes all of the stars on this day, not just the sun. But the light already existed, now there's just this big ball of plasma for it to come from. An interesting parallel can be found in the description of the New Earth in Revelation 21:23. It says that the New earth won't need a sun for God will provide the light from his own shekinah. That is his own glory. Maybe that's how there was light before the sun in the beginning. We'll never know the source of the first light. After all, the Bible is not a science book, as skeptics are quick to point out. But it is a history book, so we can believe it when it describes the creation.

Revelation 12 : The Woman and the Dragon

This is a Sunday School lesson I gave a few weeks ago on Revelation 12. It concerns the vision of the woman and the dragon and the fall of Satan. Thanks to archive.org for hosting.

Has Satan Twisted the Bible

Another question from the internet

"I have often heard from many believers that even Satan has a presence in the church, which is why even in church people can still have impure thoughts. If Satan can find his way in the church, how do Christians know that Satan didn't find his way into the Bible and twist the whole book?"

See this post for why I believe we can trust the Bible. As far as Christians having impure thoughts even in church; If a Christian has an impure thought, it is not Satan's fault. People have impure thoughts because of their own sinful 
nature. Satan cannot put himself into a Christian's mind. Satan can set up situations to tempt people to sin, but a person sins by himself. He can always choose not to give in to the temptation. (James 1:13-16)
By the way, I do believe that some versions of the Bible have been "twisted." (e.g. the New World Translation used by Jehovah's Witnesses)

Do You Know Jesus?

The reason this ministry exists is to tell others about Jesus. Because, in the long run, it doesn't matter what you believe about creation. It doesn't matter what you believe about science, abortion, then end times or anything else. All that matters is, do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?

In the beginning, God made Adam and Eve. (Genesis 1:27, 2:7, 2:22) He told them they could do whatever they wanted except eat from one particular tree.(Genesis 2:17)  After listening to Satan, they chose to eat from the tree anyway. (Genesis 3:6) Please notice; their sin wasn't eating the fruit, it was that they disobeyed God. That's all that sin is, disobeying God.

Since God is perfect, he can't tolerate sinfulness in his presence. Man has to do something to pay for his sin. Since the consequence of sin is death, (Romans 6:23) something has to die to make up for man's sin. God started a sacrificial system to do this. However, sacrificing animals doesn't really cover man's sin because the animal is incapable of sin itself. The only one who can die for a human's sin is another human. The problem is that all humans have their own sins for which to die. I can't die for your sin because I have my own sin to die for. The only acceptable sacrifice would be a human who had never sinned himself. But all humans have sinned (Romans 3:23) so it seems there is no hope of making up with God.

Knowing this, God already had a plan. He would come to the world himself as a human to be the sacrifice. Temporarily setting aside some of his Godly attributes, God came to Earth as the man Jesus. Jesus was born as a human, lived as a human, and experienced human emotion and feelings, including pain and temptation. He taught us about the way God wants us to live. He taught us that God judges our intents, not our actions. (Matthew 5)

Jesus allowed himself to be killed in the most horrific and painful way man has ever devised as the sacrifice for our sins. But three days later, he physically and bodily rose from the dead to show his power over death and as a promise that, one day, we will live forever as well in resurrected perfect bodies.

Do you want to live forever? All it takes is to receive this gift from God. We can't earn our way into Heaven. There is nothing we can do that is so good that God must let us into Heaven for our actions. But also, there is nothing so bad that we can do that God can't forgive us if we repent and ask forgiveness. God wants us to be with him forever. But to do so, we must admit that we can't make it on our own. We must agree with God that we are sinners and repent of 
our sins. That means to turn away from our bad actions and thoughts and honestly try not to sin again. (John 8:10-11) We must believe that Christ died for our sins and accept his death as our sacrifice. We must accept Christ as our savior and Lord. That means we must ask Jesus to enter our lives and rule over us. We must be willing to submit to the authority of Christ and follow his lead in our lives.

Simply pray a prayer like this and be honest about it.

Father,

I know I am a sinner. I know I've done things that displease you. Right now I want to repent of my sins. I want to turn my life around and follow your lead. I believe that Christ died for my sins. I accept his sacrifice as payment for my sins. Please come into my life as my savior and Lord. Please help me to follow your instructions. Thank you for hearing me and saving me.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer and meant it, congratulations, you are now part of God's family. You are an adopted child of God and heir to his richness. And, I, and many others, will see you in Heaven someday.

Now for the awful truth. You are still going to commit sins. Being saved doesn't make you perfect, and it doesn't mean your life will suddenly become a bed of roses. But it does mean that you can always pray for help. You can trust God to hear you. You are also part of a worldwide family of Christians. I highly recommend that you become involved in a local church. Tell the pastor of your decision to become a Christian. He will be thrilled. Follow the lead of Christ in baptism. Get involved in church activities and become friends with other Christians. This will give you the strength to follow Christ. Most of all begin a regular habit of prayer and Bible study. And, if Satan tries to remind you of your past life, remember that you are a child of God, now and you belong to Him. And he will never let you go. Nothing you did before matters, now.

Please let me know of your decision, too so I can pray for you. Comment on this post or send an e-mail to bvermeer0@gmail.com. I'm waiting to hear from you.