Are we under attack at Liberty Park Baptist Church?
Let's look at the scoreboard. Name a church staff member and I bet I can name a crisis they have faced in the last 90 days.
Look
at the names of the people on the "To" line of this email and most of
them have experienced a personal, family, or close friend crisis in the
last 90 days.
What does this mean? Part of me says, "It's just life. It happens to us all."
But
I believe it's deeper than that. Our church and its members are under
attack from all directions. The purpose of this attack is to keep us
from fulfilling some great things God wants to do through us.
So what do we do? One word: PRAY.
On the day before the election, we will be praying for 24 hours for our country.
You have done a wonderful job praying for our family as my wife went through back surgery.
You are letting everyone know about prayer needs by "Replying All" to any emails I've sent to the class.
You're doing really good.
But I expect more.
Huh?
You heard me. I...Expect...More.
We do great letting each other know about physical problems for us and those we love. I want us to go deeper.
Now, what I want doesn't lend itself to broadcast by email.
This
week, the first part of our lesson is about Jesus going into the Garden
of Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion. He took his most
trusted disciples as He went to pour out His heart to God.
That's
what I want for our class. We each have issues that weigh on our
heart. I hope you have another Christian you can talk with about those
issues. If you don't, I ask you to find someone in our class who will
be that person. Call them your accountability partner, your prayer
partner, or your encourager. The title doesn't matter; their prayers
and support do.
Think about it. Then act.
So what is our
lesson about this week at 9:50 a.m.? Here it is in a nutshell..."When
Christ submitted to the Father's will, it brought great suffering,
caused great shame, but led to His exultation."
Our scripture passages are Mark 14:32-36, Philippians 2:5-11, and Hebrews 1:1-4.
One
thing going on Sunday afternoon you need to know about. At 4:30 p.m.
in the sanctuary, we will be celebrating a baptism service. It is a
moving experience. Be there to celebrate the outward sign of an inner
change of those being baptized.
Finish Friday strong. Enjoy Saturday with your family. See you Sunday!
Loyally yours,
Darren Bayne
“I don’t mind the question if you don’t mind the
answer.” William Bailey
Friday, October 26, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Housework Can Kill You--Almost -- October 12, 2012
I'm writing this email while sitting in the Trinity Emergency Room.
How did I get here? Well, you leave Liberty Park on 459 North, take the Grant's Mill Road exit and turn left, Oh! You mean why am I in the ER?
It's not for me; it's for Christina. She pinched a nerve in her back while cleaning house yesterday.
Her pain was severe. It went from her lower back down her right leg.
We contacted her doctor just before 5:00 yesterday. He called in some pain medicine and a 6-day round of oral steroids. We picked those up last night.
The pain medicine didn't help a bit. No sitting, lying, or standing position gave her relief.
At 3:00 this morning, the pain was too much for her. I had my parents come over to take care of the girls. Then, I called an ambulance to transport her to the hospital since sitting up wasn't an option.
Two rounds of morphine didn't help; a steroid injection didn't touch it; an anti-inflammatory shot didn't give relief. Finally, an IV of muscle relaxant allowed her to sleep. And that didn't come until 7:30 a.m.
So now she is getting an MRI to see what's going on.
Please pray for her comfort and healing.
So how do I transition from Christina's pain to our lesson this week? Here it goes...
It was tough seeing Christina in pain and not having the ability to help.
But the toughest part was handing her over to the EMTs so they could transport her in the ambulance while I took my van.
God sent Jesus into the world where there would be pain. He knew what was in store for His Son but sent Him anyway.
Jesus felt pain. One of our passages this week looks at Christ's temptation in the wilderness.
And this pain was just a taste of what would come later.
So join us at 9:50 Sunday morning as we discuss aspects of Jesus' life.
Finish Friday strong. Enjoy Saturday with your family. See you Sunday!
Loyally yours,
Darren Bayne
How did I get here? Well, you leave Liberty Park on 459 North, take the Grant's Mill Road exit and turn left, Oh! You mean why am I in the ER?
It's not for me; it's for Christina. She pinched a nerve in her back while cleaning house yesterday.
Her pain was severe. It went from her lower back down her right leg.
We contacted her doctor just before 5:00 yesterday. He called in some pain medicine and a 6-day round of oral steroids. We picked those up last night.
The pain medicine didn't help a bit. No sitting, lying, or standing position gave her relief.
At 3:00 this morning, the pain was too much for her. I had my parents come over to take care of the girls. Then, I called an ambulance to transport her to the hospital since sitting up wasn't an option.
Two rounds of morphine didn't help; a steroid injection didn't touch it; an anti-inflammatory shot didn't give relief. Finally, an IV of muscle relaxant allowed her to sleep. And that didn't come until 7:30 a.m.
So now she is getting an MRI to see what's going on.
Please pray for her comfort and healing.
So how do I transition from Christina's pain to our lesson this week? Here it goes...
It was tough seeing Christina in pain and not having the ability to help.
But the toughest part was handing her over to the EMTs so they could transport her in the ambulance while I took my van.
God sent Jesus into the world where there would be pain. He knew what was in store for His Son but sent Him anyway.
Jesus felt pain. One of our passages this week looks at Christ's temptation in the wilderness.
And this pain was just a taste of what would come later.
So join us at 9:50 Sunday morning as we discuss aspects of Jesus' life.
Finish Friday strong. Enjoy Saturday with your family. See you Sunday!
Loyally yours,
Darren Bayne
"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some
turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at
all." - Sam Ewing
Monday, October 8, 2012
"Numb to the Word" recap -- October 8, 2012
One of the prevailing ideas about eternity is that God judges on a
scale. If you do more good than bad, you get into heaven. But that's
not what the Bible says. Here's the video we started with that
addresses this idea...
The Good-O-Meter
We also discussed how you must see your sin before you can ask forgiveness for it. That's one thing that we sometimes gloss over when we are witnessing. But it is essential to talk about it with a non-believer.
We used this video to see why some people are hesitant to come to church...
Reasons Why People Don't Go To Church
No one can make it into heaven by their own power. The only way is through Jesus. To quote John Newton, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things--that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour".
Make it a great week!
Loyally yours,
Darren Bayne
“You can’t depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus.” -- Mark Twain
The Good-O-Meter
We also discussed how you must see your sin before you can ask forgiveness for it. That's one thing that we sometimes gloss over when we are witnessing. But it is essential to talk about it with a non-believer.
We used this video to see why some people are hesitant to come to church...
Reasons Why People Don't Go To Church
No one can make it into heaven by their own power. The only way is through Jesus. To quote John Newton, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things--that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour".
Make it a great week!
Loyally yours,
Darren Bayne
“You can’t depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus.” -- Mark Twain
Friday, October 5, 2012
You Chose WHAT for Dinner? -- October 5th, 2012
When I got back to the hotel Thursday afternoon, I switched on the TV.
Playing on Showtime was a movie from 2004 called "Super Size Me". It's a
movie about a 33-year-old guy named Morgan Spurlock who conducts a
non-scientific experiment on himself.
Morgan's plan is to eat three meals a day for 30 days at McDonald's. If the person behind the counter asks if he wants his meal to be "Super Sized", he must agree. Before starting, doctors weighed him and took blood samples to establish a baseline.
It follows Morgan for 30 days as he travels across the country interviewing people about the nation's growing epidemic of obesity. Each week, he is weighed and more blood is drawn. Over the 30 days, he gained 27 pounds and his bloodwork turned horrendous.
The movie ended and it was time for me to find something for dinner. Here's the funny thing. After watching Morgan eat fast food over and over, I really wasn't in the mood for any fast food from anyplace. I had a late lunch, so I didn't want anything real heavy.
So what choice do you have when you are staying in a hotel? It took me a while to make my decision.
Do you know what sounded good? Fruit. (My wife probably just spewed coffee all over her keyboard)
Fruit isn't something I've ever had as my dinner. Ever. But that's what sounded good.
Fortunately, there was a Whole Foods store a few miles away. They didn't have watermelon, but they did have cantaloupe and grapes. So that and a bottle of water was my dinner.
Where am I going with this? I had the choice between eating healthy or not-so-healthy. This time, I chose healthy.
On Sunday morning (9:50 a.m., of course) we'll be looking at choices of another sort. We'll look at Session 6 entitled "Numb to the Word".
The scripture passages we'll talk about are Ephesians 2:1-2, Romans 6:23, Isaiah 64:6, and Romans 3:10-12.
Finish Friday strong. Enjoy Saturday with your family. See you Sunday!
Loyally yours,
Darren Bayne
“We can’t afford to waste tears on might-have-beens. We need to turn the tears into sweat that can take us to what can be.” Denis Waitley
Morgan's plan is to eat three meals a day for 30 days at McDonald's. If the person behind the counter asks if he wants his meal to be "Super Sized", he must agree. Before starting, doctors weighed him and took blood samples to establish a baseline.
It follows Morgan for 30 days as he travels across the country interviewing people about the nation's growing epidemic of obesity. Each week, he is weighed and more blood is drawn. Over the 30 days, he gained 27 pounds and his bloodwork turned horrendous.
The movie ended and it was time for me to find something for dinner. Here's the funny thing. After watching Morgan eat fast food over and over, I really wasn't in the mood for any fast food from anyplace. I had a late lunch, so I didn't want anything real heavy.
So what choice do you have when you are staying in a hotel? It took me a while to make my decision.
Do you know what sounded good? Fruit. (My wife probably just spewed coffee all over her keyboard)
Fruit isn't something I've ever had as my dinner. Ever. But that's what sounded good.
Fortunately, there was a Whole Foods store a few miles away. They didn't have watermelon, but they did have cantaloupe and grapes. So that and a bottle of water was my dinner.
Where am I going with this? I had the choice between eating healthy or not-so-healthy. This time, I chose healthy.
On Sunday morning (9:50 a.m., of course) we'll be looking at choices of another sort. We'll look at Session 6 entitled "Numb to the Word".
The scripture passages we'll talk about are Ephesians 2:1-2, Romans 6:23, Isaiah 64:6, and Romans 3:10-12.
Finish Friday strong. Enjoy Saturday with your family. See you Sunday!
Loyally yours,
Darren Bayne
“We can’t afford to waste tears on might-have-beens. We need to turn the tears into sweat that can take us to what can be.” Denis Waitley
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