Last fall, our church worked through the book of Hebrews in Sunday School. In addition, we recently have been working through John 3 and John 4 during our Sunday morning sermons. We see in Jesus's relationship with Nicodemus, and the woman at the well that to have a new life, one needs to do more than just know a little something about Jesus. Consider this equation: Know a little something about Jesus and you'll be fine - compared to - Jesus died on the cross for you. There should be a transformation in your life upon the realization and trust that Christ died for your sins and you have been made new (2 Cor 5:17). J.D. Greear in his book, "Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart," stated, "the ma
EQUiP - Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down - Session 3 Kingdom Hospitality: How The King’s People Welcome Others Opening your door means that there is something inside worth inviting someone in to see and experience. Opening your door means that you don’t desire to keep it all for yourself but that sharing with others is a priority. True hospitality isn’t only sharing with others who are like you, but also with others who need you. While we should always be ready to open our doors for traveling missionaries, small-group Bible studies, and our families for extended periods of time, may we also be challenged beyond these noble practices. The following are ideas for how you might cons
This morning, the Supreme Court began hearing three cases that may drastically modify the definition of the term "marriage" in the United States. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the cases of Obergefell v Hodges, which is consolidated with three other cases (Tanco v Haslam - TN; DeBoer v Snyder - MI; Bouke v Beshear KY). The challenge is concerning the Fourteenth Amendment and is arguing that it guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry. Many Christians are feeling uneasy about this type of decision, and it is important to understand why. An attempt at redefining terms drastically alters our portrayal of the gospel, as Christians must profess that marriage was created by
Tonight is our third session of the new EQUiP series studying Tony Merida's new book "Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down." Here is a preview of the third session that we will study tonight! Join us at Old Fort Baptist Church in the Worship Center at 5:30pm!
Friday night Old Fort Baptist Church was able to participate in its first Secret Church, hosted by the President of the International Mission Board, David Platt, and Radical. The event began with the leaders of the event have their lives threatened the morning before Secret Church was set to start. Due to the threats, the church was forced to be evacuated, and David Platt was forced to teach from a secret location. A part of each Secret Church is an exposure to a persecuted people group and the challenges they face. Friday night the focus was on Vietnam (the 18th most persecuted region in the World for Christians in 2014). A challenge was set to pray for Vietnam for 31 days, the entire m
EQUiP - Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down - Session 2 Neighbor Love: How Justified Sinners Show Compassion In Word And Deed One of the reasons the gospel is so compelling and so believable is that Jesus didn’t just teach us how to live and follow God. He showed us. The world is waiting for that beautiful picture to be demonstrated by each generation. We don’t just show love in word. We don’t just show love in deed. We show love in word and deed. It’s true that we are justified by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone. Saving faith is an active faith. God’s people are about God’s business. And although we are condemned by the evil deeds we do, our good deeds don’t sa
Tonight is our second session of the new EQUiP series studying Tony Merida's new book "Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down." Here is a preview of the second session that we will study tonight! Join us at Old Fort Baptist Church in the Worship Center at 5:30pm!
Got a package in the mail today at the office. Excited to take a look at this study called "Red Revolution" by Adam Thomason. Adam is a part of my doctoral cohort and it has been an honor to get to know him. Adam is one of the smarter men I have ever met and definitely worth having on your radar. "Native of Detroit, Michigan, A.D. has made it through adverse circumstances, be it violence, broken homes, racial discrimination and more. A.D. has over seventeen years of experience as it pertains to preaching and teaching the peace of Jesus in ethnically divided countries, cultures, sub-cultures and relationships." (from www.iamredrev.com) For more information on Adam, check him out here. This
Sunday, Pastor Eric preached on John 1:1-18. In his message, he emphasized the idea that Jesus was both fully God, and fully man. To a modern Christian, this may not seem that out of the ordinary to make such a statement. However, the idea of the essense of Christ was a steady battle through the early years of Christianity. Two early views were Docetism and Ebionism. Docetism - did not confess Jesus as the Christ and denied that the Son had come in the flesh. 1 John addresses this belief in 1 John 2:22 and in 1 John 4:2-3. It is addressed again in 2 John 7. This view was influenced by Gnosticism which taught that salvation is achieved through mystical knowledge, and that matter or fle
For the next six weeks, I will have guest blog posts featuring Tony Merida from Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, NC. He released a new book this year called "Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down." At Old Fort Baptist Church, we are walking through the six-week study associated with this book. The material posted through these weekly blogs over the next six weeks will relate to the session we are currently working through. Hope you enjoy! - Charles EQUiP - Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down - Session 1 Everyday Justice: Trading Sensationalism For Ordinary Christianity The most vulnerable people are those with no one to love or care for them. Kids without parents and women mou
"There is a fountain filled with blood..." Have you ever heard this hymn and while you were singing along thought to yourself, what exactly am I singing about??? In the book of Jeremiah, the LORD refers to Himself as "the fountain of living water in Jeremiah 2:13. The prophet Jeremiah later refers to the LORD as "the fountain of living water" in Jeremiah 17:13. In Explore the Bible this week, the lesson refers to "Israelites living in the semiarid environment of the Middle East cherished a dependable fountain of fresh water as a treasure. However, the fountain that Zechariah described did more than simply quench a person's physical thirst. This fountain cleansed the people from their sin
Tonight we start our first session of the new EQUiP series as we walk through Tony Merida's new book "Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down." Here is a preview of the first session that we will study tonight! Join us at Old Fort Baptist Church in the Worship Center at 5:30pm!
Recently the Biblical concept of caring for the orphans has been put in front of me quite extensively. It has been a great reminder of how we are to live, but it has also been a great reminder of my often complacency to the issue. I have recently been reading through "Orphanology" by Tony Merida and Rick Morton as I prepare to walk Old Fort Baptist Church through Merida's new book - "Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down." In "Orphanology," Merida quotes Tom Davis in saying, "When it comes to caring for the people on God's heart, indifference is a sin." Merida identifies four Biblical convictions that should drive us to display radical love for the fatherless (p. 60-71): 1) God is c
70 years ago, on April 9, 1945, the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was killed by the Nazis for being a part of an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler, dying just two weeks before his concentration camp was liberated. How interesting to find a man that was a pastor and prophet, and yet also engaged in an assassination attempt that eventually led to his martyrdom. This multitude of intrigue led me to analyze Bonhoeffer's life from the perspective of Erikson's 8 Stage Model. In honor of the anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's death, I decided to post a paper I wrote analyzing Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life as examined by Eric Metaxas in "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy" through the le
