vassal of the King

Words of Advice to Church Planters Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church I’m a church planter. By His grace and by a call that I never would have foreseen for myself in seminary, God gave me the awesome privilege to care for His people and preach His Word to His sheep of Christ Fellowship Bible Church. We began with two families. One of which left shortly after we planted. We have been in existence almost seven years and are still committed to the exact same commitments that we had when we began. My heart goes out to church planters -- for I am one! But I want to encourage fellow church planters with one simple truth, though some elements of local church ministry may be different in a church plant (no staff, no building, no secretary, etc.), the main essentials in a local church still remain the same. I want to give four simple words of advice to church planters. 1. Pray with Importunity Whatever you do, PRAY. You can do much after you’ve prayed, but you can’t do anyt

The Commitments of Christ Fellowship Bible Church include the following [mp3 is here ]: 1. Expository preaching 2. Corporate praying 3. Aggressive sanctification 4. Triune exaltation 5. Urgent evangelism 6. Global missions Each of these commitments has a 2-3 minute audio podcast of explanation and biblical support. Listen to & download the mp3 podcasts here .

The Foolishness in a Child’s Heart. Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church The Word of God declares in Proverbs 22:15 that FOOLISHNESS is bound up in a child’s heart, and it is the rod of discipline that removes it [the foolishness] far from him.  What kind of foolishness is bound up in our children’s hearts? 1. Foolishness of SELF LOVE Every child born into this world is hard-wired with inclinations and a relentless drive to love self and protect self. No one needs to be taught to love himself more. Everyone cares for himself -- including the smallest of children. They love themselves and the way that this manifests itself is in their lust -- the relentless craving -- to satisfy their “desires.” They do what they want to do. And if anyone begins to take that sovereignty away from them, they begin to whine, scream, kick, punch, throw a fit, and all the related synonyms. Our children suffer from the sin of self love. 2. Foolishness of SPIRITUAL IGNORANCE Children must b

A Pastor’s Intentional Resolve Geoffrey R. Kirkland Christ Fellowship Bible Church As a man called by God to serve His people as a shepherd, I commit myself to these intentional and essential duties of pastoral ministry. By God’s grace and with His help, I will faithfully live out and seek with all my might to obey Scripture in the shepherding of Christ’s flock which He purchased with His own blood so that Christ’s image may be formed in His people. 1. I WILL faithfully PRAY FOR CHRIST’S CHURCH. The preeminent duty that Christ has given to me is to serve His people by interceding for them in prayer. Just like the priests in the Old Testament, they offered incense before the Lord which symbolized the prayers of the saints ascending to the Lord. So I must faithfully devote myself to prayer and to the ministry of the Word (Acts 6.4). I commit myself to praying for the growth of God’s people, the maturation of His body, the Church. I will also pray for families by name, for the marriages

The year was 1768. A twenty-eight year old preacher by the name of Augustus Toplady, who wrote many of our best hymns, including "Rock of Ages", spent the afternoon in London with Mr. Brewer--an older, veteran Gospel preacher, whom he greatly admired and from whom he learned much. This is what Mr. Brewer said to the young Toplady, as Toplady later recorded in his diary: "I cannot conclude without reminding you, my young brother, of some things that may be of use to you in the course of your ministry:     1. Preach Christ crucified, and dwell chiefly on the blessings resulting from His righteousness, atonement, and intercession.     2. Avoid all needless controversies in the pulpit--except it be when your subject necessarily requires it; or when the truths of God are likely to suffer by your silence.     3. When you ascend the pulpit, leave your learning behind you. Endeavor to preach more to the hearts of your people--than to their heads.     4. Do not affect too much or