Thursday, October 31, 2013

Adoption is an act of God, whereby he takes sinners, who were enemies to him and rebels against him—and constitutes them his children. It is an act of grace—of free and sovereign grace; for there was nothing in them, done by them, or expected from them, that could form a reason why this favor should be conferred upon them. It was in the mind of God from eternity!

—James Smith
Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 9]
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

There are many reasons why I love CFBC. This continues the series as to why I love the flock of God at CFBC.

1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture.
2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd.
3. CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages.
4. CFBC zealously pursues holiness and conformity to Christlikeness in all things.
5. CFBC seeks to apply the vision statement of the church, namely, to be a disciple-making church.
6. CFBC evidences a passion for evangelism, soul-willing, open-air preaching & gospel proclamation.
7. CFBC weekly comes together for two corporate prayer services to pray for the church, revival, one another & the purity of the Church.
8. CFBC loves one another and willingly sacrifices time, resources, money, and effort to serve others in the flock.


9. CFBC endeavors to glorify God and magnify His supremacy each and every time the assembly gathers!

Moses called the people of Israel to ascribe greatness to God! The people of God desire and rejoice in telling of God’s salvation from day to day. To God is the glory, the power, the glory, and the victory. He is worthy of fame, of worship, of magnification. True believers who understand the Word of God and the message have a supreme delight and sole desire to elevate God and His gospel not only individually but corporately as well.

God’s people who are saved and being sanctified at CFBC endeavor to glorify God. To magnify God and His supremacy is to make His work, Word, and fame known. It is to declare how sufficient is His grace, how supreme is His atonement, His supernatural is His Word, and how steadfast is His faithfulness to His elect.

When CFBC gathers, a number of vital elements take place in the worship gatherings. Worship is hearing from God through His Word, receiving the truth of His Word, and then responding to God’s revelation from his Word. This happens through the reading of the Word of God, praying together, the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, and the singing of hymns to God. Also included should be the ordinances of baptism and communion that Christ ordained for His church to remember Him and to picture His atoning work. When CFBC gathers as an assembly of converted sinners, the flock desires to magnify God’s supremacy. This deliberately lowers man and deliberately elevates God. It intentionally diminishes man and his abilities and intentionally exalts God and His sovereignty. It intentionally proclaims man’s sin, helplessness, need, and inability in and of himself and it constantly proclaims God’s mercy offered to sinners, His full salvation that washes their sins away, and Christ’s sacrifice whereby He became a curse for His people, and His resurrection whereby He victoriously crushed death, defeated sin, and conquered Satan.

I thank the Lord for His abundant grace in bringing regenerated sinners unto Himself and gathering them to CFBC to worship the Lord with a likeminded passion of exalting God and glorifying His great Name. To elevate the Name of God — that is, His work, His Word, and His worth — is the noblest activity any man could ever enjoy in this world. CFBC not only does this but glories in this. CFBC has an indomitable commitment to exalting the Word of God, to glory in the grace of the Living Word, and to yield to the Spirit of God who points us to Christ by means of the Scriptures. I thank the Lord for the church that is God-centered and not man-centered. CFBC gathers to worship God and make much of God and learn how to obey God more fully. This is a healthy church!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 8]
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

There are many reasons why I love CFBC. This continues the series as to why I love the flock of God at CFBC.

1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture.
2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd.
3. CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages.
4. CFBC zealously pursues holiness and conformity to Christlikeness in all things.
5. CFBC seeks to apply the vision statement of the church, namely, to be a disciple-making church.
6. CFBC evidences a passion for evangelism, soul-willing, open-air preaching & gospel proclamation.
7. CFBC weekly comes together for two corporate prayer services to pray for the church, revival, one another & the purity of the Church.


8. CFBC loves one another and willingly sacrifices time, resources, money, and effort to serve others in the flock.

Jesus set the perfect example of what it is to serve one another. He humbled Himself so that deity clothed itself with humanity and gave Himself as a ransom for men. Also, just before His death, Jesus took a towel and a bowl of water and washed the feet of all His disciples — including Judas. True love is demonstrated in one sacrificing time to serve others in the body of Christ.

I give thanks to the Lord that CFBC is a church that demonstrates this. Albeit not a perfect church (far from it; I am there!), CFBC evidences a genuine love for one another and a constant desire to sacrificially serve one another. Serving others can take many forms — sacrificing time to help others in need, to meet with others in weekly discipleship, to come early to set up/clean up on Sundays, to provide resources (financial or material) for those in need, and to expend effort in equipping and edifying the flock of God which He purchased with His own blood.

God has gathered a group of saved sinners, bought with the blood of Christ, depending solely on Christ’s substitutionary work at Calvary, who have a heartfelt desire to fellowship, serve, care for, and edify one another. To give sacrificially is a very God-like thing to do. After all, Jesus came not to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for all. He did not come to be an example; He came to die for sinners. For blood-bought saints who have been captivated by & in love with Christ’s atoning work, the serving of other believers is not a burden, but it is a joy! One way that Christlikeness takes shape at CFBC is when the flock joins together to pray for one another, to do gospel proclamation and outreach downtown, to give financially to assist CFBC members in need, to willingly and joyfully give time each week to meet with believers for discipleship, prayer, Bible study, and accountability. To serve other believers in the flock sacrificially is one proof that Jesus Christ is the Lord over this local flock. To serve sacrificially is not to ask what can I get out of this but rather it is to ask who needs help and how can I come alongside a brother to serve him/her to point them to the gospel & to the Savior? That is what Christian service is all about. And I praise the Lord that CFBC does endeavor to be a flock that sacrificially cares for one another as needs arise — with joy! — so as to demonstrate the gospel tangibly in the body of Christ.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 7]
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

There are many reasons why I love CFBC. This continues the series as to why I love the flock of God at CFBC.

1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture.
2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd.
3.CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages.
4. CFBC zealously pursues holiness and conformity to Christlikeness in all things.
5. CFBC seeks to apply the vision statement of the church, namely, to be a disciple-making church.
6. CFBC evidences a passion for evangelism, soul-willing, open-air preaching & gospel proclamation.


7. CFBC weekly comes together for two corporate prayer services to pray for the church, revival, one another & the purity of the Church.

God’s people take hold of Him in prayer. They storm the throne of grace with the introduction granted by Christ. They enter the glorious holy of holies solely through the atoning and effectual work of Jesus Christ accomplished at Calvary. God’s people pray. A praying church is a vibrant church. A prayerless church is dead.

Believers must strive in prayer. Christians have received a clarion call to corporate, fervent, ongoing, and consistent prayer in the life of the church. Believers ought to pray for one another, for the hurting, for the lost, for the disobedient, for their pastors and elders, for the children, for the teenagers, for the widows, and for all the marriages. Prayer should be central to the corporate meetings times in the local congregation. There should be times of corporate calling out to the Lord even in the corporate service as the pastor intercedes on behalf of the flock to God.

The prayer meeting marks the spiritual barometer of a local church. A prayerless church is a church in need of repentance and change. A church with little excitement for prayer and little commitment to prayer and little time devoted to prayer is a church living on the limited and ever-so-short resources of human strength.

I thank God that CFBC loves prayer. I praise the LORD that many of His people gather both on Sundays at 4pm for corporate prayer and on Wednesdays after the Psalms Bible study to pray corporately for one another and for the flock. And in these meetings, many of God’s people pray — the older men, the younger men, the older women, the younger women, the marrieds, the widows, the retired, and the divorced. It is a glorious picture of the body of Christ when His people take hold of God in prayer as we praise Him, thank Him, confess sins to Him, worship Him, remember the gospel, present supplications to Him, and pray for the ministry of CFBC.

The greatest encouragement I as a shepherd receive is when a member of the flock tells me that they have been praying for me. There is little that encourages me more than this. And I give thanks to our great God that He has so given a prayerful flock, devoted to one another, and to the urgent necessity of corporate prayer. God’s hand is evident at CFBC. The prayer meetings reflect, in my honest estimation, a healthy church. I praise God for His faithfulness.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 6]
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

There are many reasons why I love CFBC. This continues the series as to why I love the flock of God at CFBC.

1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture.
2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd.
3. CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages.
4. CFBC zealously pursues holiness and conformity to Christlikeness in all things.
5. CFBC seeks to apply the vision statement of the church, namely, to be a disciple-making church.


6. CFBC evidences a passion for evangelism, soul-willing, open-air preaching & gospel proclamation.

The greatest news in the entire universe is that God has made one way that hopeless and helpless sinners can be reconciled with Him; and this one way is found through Jesus Christ. The message of Christ and Him crucified, resurrected, ascended, interceding, and coming back in judgment is the glorious message that must be heralded with power and fervency.

CFBC demonstrates a passion for evangelism and gospel proclamation. The flock at CFBC evidences a passion for evangelism because many believers do it consistently. It does not take one form only. Not all of the evangelistic ‘methods’ look the same. But the message is the same; that does not change, regardless of the method. The timeless message must be faithfully proclaimed by believers so that the lost can see their sin and their desperate need for a Savior.

Evangelism takes many forms at CFBC. Door to door evangelism, sitting with a co-worker and sharing Christ with them, evangelizing family members and children in the home, handing out tracts at various venues, open air preaching at Metro stations, open air preaching and tract distribution at sporting events and festivals all are some ways that CFBC gets the gospel out to the community and the city. Again, there is not only one way of evangelism. But there must be only one message of evangelism. The biblical gospel must not be ‘shared’ as if someone is sharing an opinion about a new restaurant. The gospel is the only message whereby hellbound sinners can be ransomed by God’s sovereign grace and adopted into His eternal and loving family by faith alone in Christ’s work alone. The gospel must be proclaimed! Believers must urge the nonbelievers to repent and believe! It’s not a sharing of ideas, worldviews, or opinions. We endeavor to persuade the lost to turn from their sin and flee to Christ! CFBC demonstrates this passion amongst its members and for that, I praise God! God has so blessed CFBC with a love for evangelism which springs from a love for the gospel. And a love for the gospel results in a love for the lost in proclaiming boldly, unflinchingly, unashamedly, and courageously speaking of man’s total depravity and radical inability, God’s holy, righteous, and just character, Christ’s perfect life, substitutionary death, victorious resurrection and second coming, the faith whereby a sinner must cling to Christ, trust wholly in Him, surrender and bow and follow Him entirely, and count the cost to be a disciple of Christ. It is real love when someone loves the unbeliever so much to tell him this truth so that he may repent. To refuse to share the gospel is the most unloving thing that could ever be done. But to proclaim the gospel, to plead with sinners, and to beg them to be reconciled to God is the greatest privilege an ambassador of the risen King could have!

Friday, October 25, 2013

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 5]
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

There are many reasons why I love CFBC. This continues the series as to why I love the flock of God at CFBC.

1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture.
2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd.
3. CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages.
4. CFBC zealously pursues holiness and conformity to Christlikeness in all things.


5. CFBC seeks to apply the vision statement of the church, namely, to be a disciple-making church.

The mission of CFBC is quite clear. CFBC exists to glorify God by preaching the Word, evangelizing the lost, discipling the saved, and obeying Jesus Christ — all by the power of the Spirit. And furthermore, the vision of CFBC is to be a disciple-making church. CFBC has the conviction that every Christian — every single one! — is a disciple of Christ and thus is called by Christ to be a disciple maker. Every Christian whom God has called to Himself must make it his ambition to proclaim the gospel to others so that the lost are saved and so that the saved are growing.

Amazing realities that stem from the mission and vision statements are that people are concerned about people. There is person-to-person relationships that have begun, that continue, that endure, that will remain because of a commitment to grow one with another in the Word of God and in prayer.

Rather than exerting much, or all, of our energy in building great trellises, or programs, CFBC makes it its goal to build great vines. That is, ministry is people work. It’s pouring into people. It’s pouring into their lives. It’s ministering to them. It’s shepherding Christ’s Word to their own hearts. After all, all Christians, since they have the Spirit of God, can admonish one another in the Word of God. All are competent to counsel each other.

This kind of person to person, life on life ministry at CFBC looks different in the various relationships. But we encourage people to be actively involved in a discipling relationship with another person during the week. We encourage the flock to work progressively through a book of the Bible together. Both are speaking the Word into each other’s lives. Both are praying together. Both are growing together as Spirit-indwelt, sanctified people. Both strive to bear each other’s burdens and minister Christ to each other through speaking truth to one another. This is practical shepherding!

God has so blessed CFBC with folks who hunger for discipleship. The people enjoy meeting together. They are growing in meeting one with another. The relationships, the friendships, and the spiritual growth that happens is encouraging!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 4]
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

There are many reasons why I love CFBC. This continues the series as to why I love the flock of God at CFBC.

1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture.
2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd.
3. CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages.


4. CFBC zealously pursues holiness and conformity to Christlikeness in all things.

The Apostle Paul said that he labors and strives because he has fixed his hope on the living God who is the Savior of all men — especially of believers. He agonized for godliness. He took pains in his spiritual progress. People who have received God’s salvation, who have been set free from sin’s dominating grip, have become slaves of God which leads to sanctification and the outcome is eternal life. God’s people know this because the Word of God reveals this. A justified sinner will become a sanctified person. He will increasingly hate his sin, more zealously love Christ, more tenaciously cherish the gospel, and more fervently walk in the Spirit. Without holiness, the Bible declares, no one will see the Lord. 

God has glorified His name in bringing families to CFBC who zealously pursue holiness and conformity to Christlikeness in all things. An undergirding tenor guides what happens at CFBC, namely, ‘will this make me more like Christ?’ Paul commanded Timothy to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith and love. I praise God for the likemindedness of the believers at CFBC.

The flock knows and understands that coasting through life does not produce holiness. Following step with cultural practices cannot produce godliness. Gliding in neutral will not lead to heaven. A believer must actively, intentionally, aggressively, and daily commit himself to the most glorious pursuit that a man could ever have — ‘practicing his position.’ A regenerated sinner is saved; clothed in the righteousness of Christ. He is washed, cleansed, purified, holy, and blameless — because he is in Christ. Yet this is the position that the believer has before God in Christ. Yet the practical and daily outworkings of the Christian’s duty is to manifest that position in his conduct as he increases in holiness, lives for God’s glory, and serves the Savior. CFBC does pursue holiness and for that I glorify Christ and magnify His name.

Additionally, the purpose of all things is for God’s glory to be supremely displayed. All that happens in a believer’s life works together for good and is thus intended by God to conform the Christian more to the image of Christ. Conformity to Christ is the goal of the Christian’s life. God desires to make His children holy; that is, to fit them for heaven. I praise God that biblical counseling has taken firm grounding at CFBC and that the flock recognizes that the Word of God must be brought to bear in the believer’s life as they speak biblical truth one to another, in discipling relationships, so that through the Spirit-indwelling power, fervent prayer, and daily effort, a child of God resembles the glorious likeness of Jesus Christ on earth.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 3]
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

There are many reasons why I love CFBC. I hope to elaborate on just a few over the next few days.

1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture.
2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd.


3. CFBC comprises people from different races, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds & ages.

Another reason why CFBC has so become so dear to me is that many different people have come together for one common reason — to worship and magnify Jesus Christ. Any body of believers can relate to this. All peoples, of all ages, of all backgrounds, of all nationalities join together in a mutual agreement of edification  to submit together under the authority of the Word of God and under the sovereign Lordship of Jesus Christ over His church. The unity amidst the diversity is glorious.

The church has drawn folks from different races to worship Jesus Christ together. The differences in color has no bearing on the unity in worshiping Jesus Christ since all are “one body” in Christ. Another encouraging feature of CFBC is that God has placed folks to serve one another from many different nationalities and cultures. There are folks in CFBC from various countries on various continents who gather together joyfully, eagerly, expectantly and with a singular focus — to hear from God through His written Word as it is heralded.

Furthermore, the vast array of cultural backgrounds at CFBC reveals that worship can happen amidst differences in culture and background. Regardless of the background, God has so knit together a group of like-minded saints to meet together regularly under the preaching of the Word of God for the magnification of God’s great name.

And finally, CFBC looks like a church. There are all ages represented at CFBC. There are senior saints and there are small children. There are teenagers and there are families with middle-aged children. There are young families with infants and there are empty nesters. A cursory look at CFBC clearly evidences that the church has not particularly targeted one specific age group nor has it specifically drawn from one age group in particular. Rather, God has glorified His name by gathering many people, of all ages and backgrounds, to CFBC to worship the Lord Jesus Christ together. Praise God for His supreme power mightily put on display by gathering people who hunger for the Word to worship the Savior, to hear the Word preached, to disciple one another intentionally, personally, and lovingly, and to scatter to evangelize and proclaim Christ’s saving gospel to the lost so that Christ’s church may be expanded & His name may be magnified.

There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
                                                                                   — Ephesians 4:4-6

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

From Spurgeon:

Stand at the foot of the cross, and count the purple drops by which you have been cleansed. See His thorn-crown; mark His scourged shoulders, still gushing with encrimsoned rills; see His hands and feet given up to the rough iron spikes, and His whole self to mockery and scorn; see the bitterness, and the pangs, and the throes of inward grief, showing themselves in His outward frame; hear the horrid shriek, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me!"

If you do not lie prostrate on the ground before that cross—you have never seen it! If you are not humbled in the presence of Jesus—you do not know Him. You were so lost that nothing could save you—but the sacrifice of God's only begotten Son. Think of that, and as Jesus stooped for you—bow yourself in humility at His feet.

A sense of Christ's amazing love to us—has a greater tendency to humble us, than even a consciousness of our own guilt. May the Lord bring us in contemplation, to Calvary. Then our position will no longer be that of pompous pride—but we shall take the humble place of one who loves much—because much has been forgiven him. Pride cannot live beneath the cross! Let us sit there and learn our lesson—and then rise and carry it into practice!
Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church [part 2]
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

There are many reasons why I love CFBC. I hope to elaborate on just a few over the next few days.

1. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture.

2. CFBC Loves, Cares for, Prays for, & Encourages Me as Their Teaching Shepherd.

The Lord Jesus told His disciples to have love for one another and that in so doing all men would know that they are His disciples. One way that CFBC tangibly demonstrates this is in their love for me as their shepherd. Even in the formative and beginning stages of church planting as we have an off-site elder, the flock of God at CFBC has exuded love, prayer, and encouragement to the leadership.

CFBC has provided for needs that have arisen, they have prayed for me diligently, they have cared for our family when a new baby was born. They continually encourage me in my labor and study in the Word of God. When I ask what I can pray for, they quickly reply with some specific ways that I can shepherd them by taking them to the throne of grace in prayer.

But perhaps the greatest way that the flock at CFBC encourages me as their teaching shepherd is that they have a genuine love and concern for me as I study the Word, get the meaning of the text right, prepare a sermon, and proclaim it with Spirit-endowed power. They desire that I have time to pray and prepare, to reflect and to write, to examine the Word and to exhort with the Word. Thus, they graciously expect that I will meet with God daily so as to feed my own soul, to fill my own heart, to consume my own mind, so I can preach the Word to them which has already made its way through me. Their love and hunger for the Word directly relates to their love and hunger for me as their shepherd since my primary calling is to bring them before the Great Shepherd in prayer and to feed them on the Bread of Life when we gather.

When a person in the flock sends me a note of encouragement, a text assuring me that they are diligently praying for my fidelity to the Word and to sound theology, or an email encouraging me to remain faithful to Scripture amidst opposing, quickly-changing and God-hating times.

The sheep at CFBC evidently love their shepherds. They pray for me. They uphold me. They hold up my arms so that we can do the work of the ministry together. Prayer, encouragement, notes and letters of steadfast endurance, and earnest expectation to be fed from God’s Word each time we gather manifest some of the great ways that CFBC loves and cares for me as their teaching shepherd.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Why I Love Christ Fellowship Bible Church
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

There are many reasons why I love CFBC. I hope to elaborate on just a few over the next few days.

I. CFBC Has a Love for the Truth of Scripture.

I love CFBC because the people that God has brought to this flock hunger for God’s Word and love the truth of Scripture. The believers at CFBC have a yearning for more of God’s Word. They long to be fed from the pure milk of the Word. And they attend with great expectation to hear from God, from the Word of God, so they can be changed by God, resulting in the greater glory of God. Scripture predominates when CFBC gathers. The presiding authority is Jesus Christ and how He has revealed Himself in and through Scripture. And it is Scripture alone that tells God’s people how to worship. God not only cares that He is worshiped; he cares how He is worshiped. CFBC craves the Living Bread that is contained in the Bible.

The flock of CFBC believes in the inspiration of Scripture — that is, that all the Bible, in its entirety, is ‘breathed-out’ by God Himself. The flock affirms the inerrancy of Scripture — that is, that all the Bible, in every book, chapter verse, word, and letter is perfect and wholly without error. The Christians hold to the infallibility of Scripture — that is, that the Bible cannot err, it cannot lead astray, and the promises of Scripture cannot, and will not, fail. The church firmly upholds the supremacy and preeminence of Scripture — that is, Scripture is our only authority. Tradition holds no authority over CFBC. Nor does a group, a person, a committee, or cultural patterns or ecclesiastical practices hold authority over CFBC. God’s Word alone stands as the glorious and exclusive authority over CFBC. Furthermore, God’s people cherish and cling to the sufficiency of Scripture — that is, that the Bible contains great and precious promises for God’s people and that the Bible contains all that is needed for a believer’s life and godliness. In other words, the Bible has not left anything out. God does not need to still speak. God has spoken fully, sufficiently, clearly, and perfectly. And this revelation of God is contained in the Word of God and there is no new revelation that God speaks today. This must be the case because God’s Word is enough. It is sufficient to make the man of God adequate, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The church is not about a preacher, a leader, a teacher, a group, a ministry, or a program. Rather, CFBC is about the proclamation of the Word of God so that the people of God, who are indwelt by the Spirit of God, can glorify God by becoming more conformed into the glorious likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ — the Son of God. The more that God’s Word is elevated, the more God’s glory is displayed. The more that God’s Word is taught and applied in counseling (discipleship) relationships within the context of the local church, the more God’s Word convicts, reproves, transforms, and conforms the man/woman of God into the image of Christ. This happens when a church has a deep, robust, steadfast commitment to the truth of Scripture. And the flock that God has gathered at CFBC has this love for the truth of Scripture.

Download the pdf article here.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Membership Does Matter in Christ’s Church
Why is Membership Important?
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

1. Membership Accurately Pictures the Unity of the Body of Christ.
The body of Christ is made up of many members inextricably bound together through the redemptive work of Christ. And just as they make up the universal body of Christ, God has given to each individual spiritual gifts with which they can — and must — obediently employ in the upbuilding of the believers. This takes place in a localized assembly of gathered believers.

2. Membership Willingly Identifies with Others in the Body of Christ.
A believer in Christ should desire to identify with other believers through a covenant of discipline and witness. To identify with Christ and refuse to identify with Christ’s people is contradictory and must be confronted as sinful. A mark of true salvation is that a child of God loves those who are born of God. This includes an eager willingness to associate with those who are also saved by Christ and brought into the family of God.

3. Membership Eagerly Submits to the Leadership of the Body of Christ.
When a Christian eagerly and humbly enters into church membership, he obediently follows Scripture in submitting to the pastors and elders. Every Christian is commanded by Scripture to know their leaders, to respect them, and to obey them. This is impossible to do when one has not committed to a local flock.

4. Membership Humbly Accepts the Accountability of the Body of Christ.
To be a member is to invite scrutiny, accountability, and shepherding care. A Christian longs for this. A believer accepts the accountability of other caring Christians who desire to come alongside to help stimulate growth, guard from sin, and bear each other’s burdens.

5. Membership Helpfully Allows the Shepherds to Know Who is 'Among Their Flock'.
God commands all pastors to shepherd the flock of God among them. For the pastors and elders to know just who their flock is among them almost certainly requires some sort of membership structure. Especially with the plethora of churches in the present day and the consumeristic mentality that many have, it is extremely important to join oneself in membership to a local church so the leadership knows who the sheep are for whom they will give an account one day before the Lord.

6. Membership Clearly Demonstrates that One is Not Outside but Inside Christ's Church.
In Scripture, and particularly in the context of church discipline, church membership is to show who is “inside” and who is “outside” the church. Those who are inside the church must be disciplined by the church when they fall into persistent, unrepentant sin. Those outside, however, God judges. The way to determine who is “in” and who is “out” must be through an active, up-to-date membership in a local flock.

7. Membership Faithfully Follows the New Testament Pattern of Adding Saints to a Church's Number (or 'the List').
When people repented of sin, believed in Christ, and subsequently were baptized, the book of Acts says that many were “added to their number.” There was a list in the early church that widows who met certain requirements were to be placed upon so they could receive adequate care. These examples demonstrate that the early church had a pattern of adding saints to their number or putting folks on a certain “list.” Church membership certainly fits this as individuals who profess faith in Christ, who have then been baptized, and who are walking in holiness join themselves together in a local church where they can together grow in Christlikeness and evangelize with boldness.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Learn from the Prince of Preachers on pleading with sinners to come to Christ for salvation:

Oh! my dear hearers, my beloved hearers, I cannot bring you to Christ. Christ has brought some of you himself, but I cannot bring you to Christ. How often have I tried to do it! I have tried to preach my Saviour's love, and this day I have preached my Father's wrath; but I feel I cannot bring you to Christ. I may preach God's law; but that will not affright you, unless God sends it home to your heart; I may preach my Saviour's love, but that will not woo you, unless my Father draw you. I am sometimes tempted to wish that I could draw you myself—that I could save you. Sure, if I could, ye should soon be saved! But ah! remember, your minister can do but little; he can do nothing else but preach to you. Do pray that God would bless that little, I beseech you, ye who can pray. If I could do more, I would do it; but it is very little I can do for a sinner's salvation. Do, I beseech you, my dear people, pray to God to bless the feeble means that I use. It is his work and his salvation; but he can do it. O poor trembling sinner, dost thou now weep? Then come to Christ! O poor haggard sinner, haggard in thy soul! come to Christ! O poor sin-bitten sinner! look to Christ! O poor worthless sinner! come to Christ! O poor trembling, fearing, hungering, thirsting sinner! come to Christ! "Ho! everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come, buy wine and milk; yea, come buy wine and milk, without money and without price." Come! Come! Come! God help you to come! for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

Charles Spurgeon, sermon on Psalm 51:4: "Unimpeachable Justice"
From Thomas Watson:

To consider how dearly our sins cost Christ, may cause tears to distill from our eyes. Christ is called the Rock (1 Cor. 10:4). When his hands were pierced with nails, and the spear thrust in his side, then was this Rock smitten, and there came out water and blood. And all this Christ endured for us: "the Messiah shall be cut off—but not for himself" (Dan. 9:26). We tasted the apple—and he drank the vinegar and gall. We sinned in every faculty—and he bled in every vein! Can we look upon a suffering Savior with dry eyes? Shall we not be sorry for those sins—which made Christ a man of sorrow? Shall not our enormities, which drew blood from Christ—draw tears from us? Shall we sport any more with sin and so rake in Christ's wounds? Oh that by repentance we could crucify our sins afresh! The Jews said to Pilate, "If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend" (John 19:12). Likewise, if we let our sins go and do not crucify them—we are not Christ's friends.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Join us at CFBC for the Strange Fire Conference viewing party this week! 

We plan to live-stream four of the sessions. Though there are many more (which you can watch at home, at work, etc.), we will only be viewing four together in the upstairs fellowship hall at Church. Some chili & drinks will be provided. Feel free to bring lunches, etc. during the sessions! 

Here are the four sessions we’ll live-stream at the church. *All times are Central time*

Wednesday, October 16
12pm - Session #1 (John MacArthur preaching)
5:15pm - Session #3 (Steve Lawson preaching)

Thursday, October 17
11am - Session #5 (John MacArthur preaching)

Friday, October 18
11am - Session #8 (Conrad Mbewe preaching)

To watch & live-stream the conference, go HERE.

For the full schedule, go HERE.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The Desperate Need for More Faithful Heralds!
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

1 Timothy 2:7 — For this I myself was appointed a preacher [εἰς ὃ ἐτέθην ἐγὼ κῆρυξ].

The desperate need in the times of our day is for more heralds to rise up who will confidently, courageously, and unflinchingly proclaim God’s message, to God’s people, using God’s method, for God’s glory. What is it that characterizes a faithful herald? What is a God-glorifying preacher? What is it to preach? To herald? This brief essay will help define what a faithful herald is.

A faithful herald is one who faithfully, regularly, confidently, and courageously manifests each of these following six characteristics.

1. Courageously Stands to Herald the Sovereign’s Message.
A faithful herald stands with courage obeying the Master’s mandate to herald the message that has been entrusted to him to faithfully impart to others. The content does not change the mandate to herald. To herald is to faithfully announce. It is to courageously declare. It is to authoritatively deliver a message. Thus, a herald courageously stands and heralds the message.

2. Emphatically Refuses to Alter the King’s Message.
To change the King’s message even in the slightest is to deliver another message than that which he was called upon to deliver. To change the message is to be unfaithful. The sole duty of the herald is to faithfully deliver precisely what the King chooses. He cannot add to it. He must not exclude anything from it. He cannot add his persona, his wisdom, or rhetoric. A faithful herald is one who cries out precisely what the King has given and refuses to alter its content whatsoever.

3. Authoritatively Announces All to Hear the Master’s Message.
All authority that the Master possesses is carried over into the herald’s faithful proclamation. The herald inherently has no authority. He is a nobody. But in so far as he faithfully relays the precise demand of the Master, he comes with the full authority of the sender. Thus, the herald is one who authoritatively announces everyone to pay attention, listen, and heed. The authority is entirely alien to himself. He has no authority. It is the message, faithfully delivered on the part of the Master, that contains all the power, authority, and weightiness in the heralding.

4. Comprehensively Proclaims All of the Content of the Sovereign’s Message.
To read only parts of the message from the Sovereign is to be an unfaithful herald. To herald is to relay to the recipients exactly, precisely, and comprehensively what the sender wishes. To do anything else is unfaithful treason. The height of arrogance is displayed when the messenger picks and chooses what to say from the sender’s message. Thus, a faithful herald must comprehensively proclaim all of the content of the Sovereign’s message. He unapologetically, unflinchingly, unapologetically, and tirelessly proclaims all of the content of the Sovereign’s word.

5. Passionately Pleads With All to Hear, Heed, and Obey the Master’s Message.
A faithful herald has a passionate heart while delivering the message. He earnestly desires that men and women will hear and heed the message. He knows their welfare depends on their obedience to the message. He knows that their disobedience, defiance, and indifference will bring about their harm. So the faithful herald passionately pleads with fire, with urgency, with tears, with brokenness, with earnestness, with compassion, with love, and with persuasion that all will stop and listen, hear and heed, and leave and obey exactly what the Master commands. A heartless herald is an unfaithful herald. A heartless crier is a worthless crier. No one listens to someone speak about that which he has no desire to listen to himself. But the man who is on fire about the message in which he delivers compels others to listen. And so the preacher pleads with all to hear and obey the stipulations given by the Sovereign.

6. Confidently Trusts that the Master is Pleased with Faithfulness in Delivering the King’s Message.
No herald can produce the King’s results. A herald finds himself completely and utterly impotent in producing any results — lasting results, that is. To faithfully deliver the message is his charge. To fully impart the King’s message i
s his only duty. To do anything other is unfaithful defiance. Thus, a faithful herald must trust wholeheartedly that his duty is to accurately dispense the message, not to bring about results. The faithful herald recognizes that he must deliver with faithfulness the King’s message. He is not accountable whatsoever, even in the slightest, for producing the King’s results. His duty is singular, to be faithful to his charge. The herald is accountable to one as to how faithfully he announced the message. He gives an account to his Master. Thus, a faithful herald will trust confidently that the Master takes great pleasure in the herald’s faithfulness to deliver, impart, and cry the King’s message — regardless of the response.

Download the pdf article here.

Monday, October 7, 2013

From Thomas Brooks (Heaven on Earth, 1667):

A great motive to provoke you to the mortifying of your darling sins, is solemnly to consider, that the
conquest and effectual mortifying of one bosom sin, will yield a Christian more glorious joy, comfort, and peace--than ever he has found in the gratifying and committing of all other sins.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Spurgeon says this (from Psalm 50):

True praise glorifieth God. I must confess that I do not particularly like to hear voices that jar in the singing, but I should not like to stop one voice, certainly not if it stopped one heart. I think it is said of Mr. Rowland Hill, that an old lady once sat upon his pulpit-stairs who sang so very bad a voice that the good gentleman really could not feel that he could worship while he had her voice in his ear, and he said, “Do be quiet, my good soul.” She answered, “I sing from my heart, Mr. Hill.” “Sing away!” said he, “and I beg your pardon. I will not stop you.” And I think I could beg the pardon of the most cracked voice I ever heard if it is really accompanied with a real loving, grateful heart. God gets same of his richest praise amidst dying groans, and he gets delightful music from his people’s triumphant ones.
John Wesley provides some Instructions on Singing.


That this part of divine worship may be more acceptable to God, as well as more profitable to yourself and others, be careful to observe the following directions: 

1. SING ALL
 
See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find a blessing.
 
2. SING LUSTILY AND WITH A GOOD COURAGE
 
Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being, heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.
 
3. SING MODESTLY
 
Do not bawl, so as to be heard above, or distinct from, the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.
 
4. SING IN TIME
 
Whatever time is sung, be sure to keep with it. Do not run before, nor stay behind it; but attend closely to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can. And take care you sing not too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from among us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.
 
5. ABOVE ALL, SING SPIRITUALLY
 
Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to this, attend strictly to the sense of what you sing; and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve of here, and reward when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.
Subscribe to RSS Feed Follow me on Twitter!