There is a whole world out there that has never heard…
Help Wanted from Heritage OKC on Vimeo.
In May of 2012 a group of students from Heritage went to Riverland. This is their story.
If we are abiding in Jesus, let us begin to work. Let us first seek to influence those around us in daily life. Let us accept distinctly and joyfully our holy calling, that we are even now to live as the servants of the love of Jesus to our fellow-men. Our daily life must have for its object the making of an impression favorable to Jesus. When you look at the branch, you see at once the likeness to the Vine. We must live so that somewhat of the holiness and the gentleness of Jesus may shine out in us. We must live to represent Him. As was the case with Him when on earth, the life must prepare the way for the teaching. What the Church and the world both need is this: men and women full of the Holy Ghost and of love, who, as the living embodiments of the grace and power of Christ, witness for Him, and for His power on behalf of those who believe in Him. Living so, with our hearts longing to have Jesus glorified in the souls He is seeking after, let us offer ourselves to Him for direct work. There is work in our own home. There is work among the sick, the poor, and the outcast. There is work in a hundred different paths which the Spirit of Christ opens up through those who allow themselves to be led by Him. There is work perhaps for us in ways that have not yet been opened up by others. Abiding in Christ, let us work. Let us work, not like those who are content if they now follow the fashion, and take some share in religious work. No; let us work as those who are growing more like Christ, because they are abiding in Him, and who, like Him, count the work of winning souls to the Father the very joy and glory of heaven begun on earth.
If you work, abide in Christ. This is one of the blessings of work if done in the right spirit—it will deepen your union with your blessed Lord. It will discover your weakness, and throw you back on His strength. It will stir you to much prayer; and in prayer for others is the time when the soul, forgetful of itself, unconsciously grows deeper into Christ. It will make clearer to you the true nature of branch-life; its absolute dependence, and at the same time its glorious sufficiency—independent of all else, because dependent on Jesus. If you work, abide in Christ. There are temptations and dangers. Work for Christ has sometimes drawn away from Christ, and taken the place of fellowship with Him. Work can sometimes give a form of godliness without the power. As you work, abide in Christ. Let a living faith in Christ working in you be the secret spring of all your work; this will inspire at once humility and courage. Let the Holy Spirit of Jesus dwell in you as the Spirit of His tender compassion and His divine power. Abide in Christ, and offer every faculty of your nature freely and unreservedly to Him, to sanctify it for Himself. If Jesus Christ is really to work through us, it needs an entire consecration of ourselves to Him, daily renewed. But we understand now, just this is abiding in Christ; just this it is that constitutes our highest privilege and happiness. To be a branch bearing much fruit—nothing less, nothing more—be this our only joy.
Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ (Kindle Edition)
5 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, 6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, 7so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; 8and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
(Psalm 78:5-8)
This is one of the passages the Lord has used to drive our passion for ministry to children and parents. It’s our desire that the children at Heritage would surpass the generation before them in faith and knowledge and love. Like the Psalmist, we hope that the next generation will learn from the mistakes and the rebellion of our generation and firmly set their hope in God. As John says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth”(3 John 1:4). We must be faithful to nurture the faith of the children who have been entrusted to us.
There is growing concern about the low standards and expectations for ministry to children in many churches today. A popular conviction expressed by many contemporary children’s ministry leaders is that “kids should have fun in church…they should have positive experiences in church so that when they grow older they will continue to enjoy coming to church.” We certainly want children to enjoy their time at church, but ”fun” is not the main objective of our children’s ministry…or any other ministry at Heritage for that matter. As a church we want people to feel welcomed and comfortable but if this becomes our primary goal we will soon find ourselves identifying more with Disneyland than we do with the Disciples. Fun and friendships are significant, but they must remain secondary values.
Our ministry to children and parents seeks to be God-centered rather than man-centered. God, rather than man, is the main character in the Bible. The stories of Noah, Moses, David and Jonah are not about their courage or faith or accuracy with a slingshot. Instead, these stories reveal a personal, trustworthy, gracious, merciful God interacting with fallen man to accomplish His will. He is the giver and He gets the glory. We are blessed to be a part of His story. By God’s grace we are privileged to be called: children of God, ambassador for Christ, a royal priesthood and ministers of reconciliation. While all of this is true, the focus of Scripture is on the glory of God, not man. Our focus therefore must be on God rather than man.
This philosophy of ministry steers everything we do from the curriculum we use, to the programs we plan, to how we communicate with children, parents and leaders. By no means do we have it all figured out, but by God’s grace we are continuously seeking to please the Lord rather than man. In the long run, this is the best thing we can do to influence the next generation.
What Happens During Service?
During service, we all sit or stand along with rest of the congregation. I share my Bible or hymnal or worship folder with my little one, because use of these is an important part of the service.
The beginning of the sermon is the signal for “notetaking” to begin. (I want a child’s activities to be related to the service. So we don’t bring library books to read. I do let a very young child look at pictures in his Bible, if he can do it quietly.) Notetaking doesn’t mean just scribbling, but “taking notes” on a special pad used just for service. “Taking notes” grows up as the child does. At first he draws pictures of what he hears in the sermon. Individual words or names trigger individual pictures. You might pick out a word that will be used frequently in the sermon; have the child listen carefully and make a check mark in his “notes” each time he hears the word. Later he may want to copy letters or words from the Scripture passage for the morning. When spelling comes easier, he will write words and then phrases he hears in the sermon. Before you might expect it, he will probably be outlining the sermon and noting whole concepts.
Goals and Requirements
My training for worship has three main goals:
- That children learn early and as well as they can to worship God heartily.
- That parents be able to worship.
- That families cause no distraction to the people around them.
So there are certain expectations that I teach the young ones and expect of the older ones:
- Sit or stand or close eyes when the service calls for it.
- Sit up straight and still—not lounging or fidgeting or crawling around, but respectful toward God and the worshipers around you.
- Keep bulletin papers and Bible and hymnal pages as quiet as possible.
- Stay awake. Taking notes helps. (I did allow the smallest ones to sleep, but they usually didn’t need to!)
- Look toward the worship leaders in the front. No people-gazing or clock-watching.
- If you can read fast enough, sing along with the printed words. At least keep your eyes on the words and try to think them. If you can’t read yet, listen very hard.
Creating an Environment in the Pew
For my part, I try to create an environment in our pew that makes worship easier. In past years, I would sit between whichever two were having the most trouble with each other that day. We choose seats where we can see the front better (while seated, not kneeling on the pew; kneeling leads to squirming and blocks the view of others). Each child has a Bible, offering money and worship folder at hand, so he doesn’t have to scramble and dig during the worship time.
Afterward
When the service has ended, my first words are praise to the child who has behaved well. In addition to the praise, I might also mention one or two things that we both hope will be better next time.
But what if there has been disregard of our established expectations and little attempt to behave? The first thing that happens following the service is a silent and immediate trip to the most private place we can find. Then the deserved words are spoken and consequences administered or promised.
Closeness and Warmth
On the rare occasions when my pastor-husband can sit with the rest of us, the youngest one climbs right into his lap—and is more attentive and still than usual. What a wonderful thing for a young mind to closely associate the closeness and warmth of a parent’s lap with special God-times.
A child gets almost the same feeling from being next to his parent or from an arm around the shoulder or an affectionate hand on the knee.
The setting of the tight family circle focusing toward God will be a nonverbal picture growing richer and richer in the child’s mind and heart as he matures in appreciation for his family and in awe at the greatness of God.
This was originally written by Noel Piper and can be found here.
When our four sons grew to be young men, we assumed that the worship-training chapter of our life had ended. But God has wonderful surprises. Our youngest son was 12 when we adopted our daughter, who was just a couple of months old. So our experience with young children in the pew started more than twenty years ago and will continue a while longer.
Getting Started Step by Step
We discovered that the very earliest “school” for worship is in the home—when we help a baby be quiet for just a moment while we ask God’s blessing on our meal; when a toddler is sitting still to listen to a Bible story book; when a child is learning to pay attention to God’s Word and to pray during family devotional times.
At church, even while our children were still nursery-aged, I began to help them take steps toward eventual regular attendance in Sunday morning worship service. I used other gatherings as a training ground—baptisms, choir concerts, missionary videos or other special events that would grab the attention of a 3-year-old. I’d “promote” these to the child as something exciting and grown-up. The occasional special attendance gradually developed into regular evening attendance, while at the same time we were beginning to attempt Sunday mornings more and more regularly.
I’ve chosen not to use the church’s child care as an escape route when the service becomes long or the child gets restless. I don’t want to communicate that you go to a service as long as it seems interesting, and then you can go play. And I wanted to avoid a pattern that might reinforce the idea that all of the service is good, up until the preaching of God’s Word—then you can leave.
Of course, there are times when a child gets restless or noisy, despite a parent’s best efforts. I pray for the understanding of the people around me, and try to deal with the problem unobtrusively. But if the child won’t be quiet or still, I take him or her out—for the sake of quick discipline and for the sake of the other worshipers. Then I have to decide whether we’ll slip back into service or stay in the area reserved for parents with young children. It depends on how responsive the child seems and whether there’s an appropriate moment in the flow of the service. If we stay in the “family area” outside the sanctuary, I help my child sit quietly as if we were still in the sanctuary. By the time they are four years old, our children assume that they’ll be at all the regular weekly services with us.
Preparation All Week Long
Your anticipation and conversation before and after service and during the week will be important in helping your child learn to love worship and to behave well in service. Help your children become acquainted with your pastor. Let them shake hands with him at the door and be greeted by him. Talk about who the worship leaders are; call them by name. Suggest that your child’s Sunday School teacher invite the pastor to spend a few minutes with the children if your church’s Sunday morning schedule allows for that.
If you know what the Scripture passage will be for the coming Sunday, read it together several times during the week. A little one’s face really lights up when he hears familiar words from the pulpit.
Talk about what is “special” this week: a trumpet solo, a friend singing, a missionary speaker from a country you have been praying for. Sometimes you can take the regular elements of the service and make them part of the anticipation. “We’ve been reading about Joseph. What do you think the pastor will say about him?” “What might the choir be singing this morning?” “Maybe we can sit next to our handicapped friend and help him with his hymnbook so he can worship better too.”
There are two additional and important pre-service preparations for us: a pen and notepad for “Sunday notes” and a trip to the rest room (leaving the service is highly discouraged).
Read Part 2 of this post here.
This was written by Noel Piper and can be found in it’s entirety here.
At Heritage we urge parents to bring their children with them to the worship service. We recognize worshipping together counters the contemporary fragmentation of families. It seems that our culture, and often the church, feels the need to cater to and focus on each and every member of a family in a separate and unique way. We recognize that children and adults can certainly benefit from age-specific teaching and fellowship opportunities and those opportunities are regularly a part of our weekly schedule during the Sunday school hour and Wednesday night programming. Having said that, it’s also incredibly important to do things as a family, to defer to one another, to share experiences of faith together.
Hectic American life leaves little time for significant togetherness. It’s hard to overestimate the power of families doing valuable things together week in and week out, year in and year out. We believe a weekly corporate worship gathering can be an extremely valuable time for families, especially in regards to the faith development of children. The cumulative effect of over 650 worship services with Mom and Dad between the ages of 4 and 17 is incalculable.
Parents have the responsibility to teach their children by their own example the meaning and value of worship. Therefore, parents should want their children with them in the worship service so the children can see their parents worship the Lord. From an early age children should see Mom and Dad bow their heads in earnest prayer. They should see how Mom and Dad sing praise to God with joy in their faces and how they eagerly listen to His Word being preached.
We recognize it may be easier and more convenient for parents to send their children to “children’s church” so they can be free from the responsibility of shepherding them during the service but this responsibility is God given and should be counted as a privilege. Like most of our attempts to shepherd and discipline our children; easy is rarely best. We are compelled to encourage parents to take full advantage of the precious opportunity to worship as a family.
With this conviction in mind, Heritage offers childcare options during the service for children birth thru 4-years-of-age. We encourage parents to bring their children into the service as early as possible. To sit still and be quiet for an hour or an hour-and-a-half on Sunday is not an excessive expectation for a 5-year-old who has been taught to obey his parents. It requires a measure of discipline, but that is precisely what we want to encourage parents to impart to their children in the first five years. Special arrangements can certainly be made for families with special circumstances.
It’s important to note that children absorb a tremendous amount that is of value, even if they say they are bored. Music becomes familiar. The message of the songs will begin to sink in. Even if most of the sermon goes over their heads, experience shows that children hear and remember far more than we give them credit. These shared experiences provide for natural follow-up conversations about things like: baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the children’s message or what sanctification means. Oh, how precious these conversations are between and parent and child.
It is to be expected that bringing children into the service at an early age will likely mean there will be momentary disruptions and at times Mom or Dad will need to exit the service occasionally to continue training. We do not expect children to obey perfectly and remain in constant silence throughout the service. We recognize there will be an occasional crackle of a candy wrapper or dropped Bible or an unusually loud whisper. Instead of being overly uptight and distracted by these minor interruptions, it is our desire that these moments would cause us all to worship the Lord. Let it be a reminder of how precious these dear children are. May we be filled with gratitude that they are with us in these moments. May we be reminded in the “interruption” that we have a great responsibility to point them to Christ. There is no greater calling.
For some practical suggestions on how to bring your children in to the service I would encourage you to read “Some Practical Suggestions from Noel Piper.” Let me reiterate, it is our desire to support parents as they strive to bring their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. If we can help serve or equip you or if you should have any questions please contact Shawn McGill or Chad “Kicker” Kositzky.
The life changing story of a family looking to be faithful. Watch and be challenged.
The Sawi were headhunters and cannibals when a young couple named Don and Carol Richardson arrived in their village carrying their seven-month-old boy Steve—and a message that would change the tribe forever. The year was 1962, and Steve—and later, three more children—spent their youth among the Sawi, learning the language and embracing the culture in ways that would shape the rest of their lives. Their story was immortalized in the best-selling book Peace Child and a feature film of the same name, inspiring a new generation to take the gospel to the remaining isolated tribes of the earth.
Fifty years later, Steve joins his father, Don, and two brothers, Shannon and Paul, to visit the Sawi village where they grew up. What is the state of the church they planted among the Sawi? Are the friends they played with still alive? Will anyone remember the mark their family left on the tribe? Journey with Steve as he travels to the swamps of Papua, Indonesia, to introduce you to the Sawi, and explore the impact of the gospel among a previously unreached people group.
– For more information on Pioneers, visit http://www.pioneers.org.
– Check out “Never the Same” on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/neverthesamemovie
– To order “Never the Same” on DVD or Blu-ray Disc, visit http://www.pioneers.org/store.
Music Credits:
“A Beautiful Tale” and “Revival” by Ryan Taubert © 2012 SHOUT! Music Publishing Courtesy of SHOUT! Music Australia
“O My Soul”, “The Introductions” and “Moving Frames” by Adam Taylor, used with permission
“The Father’s Heart” by Tony Anderson, used with permission
“The Ladder” by Drake Margolnick, used with permission
The following quote is from the pen of Horatius Bonar (1808 – 1889), the great Scottish preacher, poet, author and hymn writer. It talks about the nature, the true nature, of unbelief. It’s worth reading and pondering.
“In all unbelief there are these two things–a good opinion of one’s self and a bad opinion of God. Man’s good opinion of himself makes him think it quite possible to win God’s favor by his own religious performances; and his bad opinion of God makes him unwilling and afraid to put his case wholly into His hands. The object of the Holy Spirit’s work (in convincing of sin) is to alter the sinner’s opinion of himself, and so to reduce his estimate of his own character that he shall think of himself as God does, and so cease to suppose it possible that he can be justified by an excellency of his own. The Spirit then alters his evil opinion of God, so as to make him see that the God with whom he has to do is really the God of all grace.
But the inquirer denies that he has a good opinion of himself and owns himself a sinner. Now a man may SAY this, but really to KNOW it is something more than SAYING. Besides, he may be willing to take the name of sinner to himself, in common with his fellow-men, and yet not at all own himself such a sinner as God says he is–such a sinner as needs the cross, and blood, and righteousness of the Son of God. It takes a great deal to destroy a man’s good opinion of himself; how difficult it is to make a man think of himself as God does! What but the almightiness of the Divine Spirit can accomplish this?
Unbelief, then, is the belief of a lie and the rejection of the truth. Accept, then, the character of God as given in the gospel; the Holy Spirit will not give you peace irrespective of your views of God’s character. It is in connection with THE TRUTH concerning the true God, “the God of all grace,” that the Spirit gives peace. That which He shows us of ourselves is only evil; that which He shows us of God is only good!”
This was lifted from www.challies.com
The following is a response to the DeYoung article I posted. It is good because it goes into great detail on how to study Scripture, how to have a disagreement, and how to interpret this passage. You can find the original article here.
My attention was directed recently to an article by Kevin DeYoung, entitled“Who Are the 144,000 in Revelation?” DeYoung pastors a Reformed church in Michigan and identifies himself with the “young, restless, and reformed” movement.
Generally, I don’t make a habit of responding to the blogs of others, as (1) I am not the “correct” police and (2) I have a billion (literally…almost) other issues to deal with. However, because of the increasing influence of “young, restless, and reformed,” and because of specific requests that I answer this article, I thought it appropriate to offer another perspective on the subject matter.
Further, I do so with all due respect to the article’s writer, Pastor DeYoung, a man I have not met, and one whom I expect loves the Lord with all his heart and seeks to discover the truth of His word. I challenge here the conclusions he draws and the methodology whereby he arrives at them, but I commend him for caring enough about the Lord to attempt to resolve difficulties he perceives in the Bible. We all must have room to grow, and we need to be cautious in challenging each other to be sensitive to that process. So, if my responses to his article come across as harsh or even personally antagonistic, please know, reader, that my intentions are to avoid that entirely. We must be able to challenge one another in a loving manner, speaking the truth in love. I have attempted to do that here.
Now, onto the article, which asks the identity of the 144,000 in Revelation 7:4, quotes the verse, and argues that “the 144,000 are not an ethnic Jewish remnant,” but instead references “all of God’s people under the old and new covenant.” The article relies on five pieces of evidence, which I represent here exactly as the writer put them forth.
First, hermeneutics (method for interpreting texts) is worth mentioning, because usually theological differences are rooted primarily in hermeneutic differences. Some attempt (as I do) to rely consistently on the literal grammatical-historical method, while others, including Reformed (and Covenant) theologians, regard as legitimate the use of allegorical (non-literal) and theological interpretive methods. These distinctions in hermeneutic method often undergird irreconcilable differences in theological conclusions, and almost every area of Biblical understanding is touched by such differences in interpretive method.
So it is no surprise that different interpretations exist. The question is this: when there are competing interpretations of a passage, how does one determine which interpretation is closer to the author’s original intent? I believe the best understanding of a passage is always through the literal (natural) grammatical (considering the rules of grammar for the language used) historical (considering the rules of that language in the historical context of the passage’s writing), because the literal grammatical-historical hermeneutic best represents our means of arriving at authorial intent and offers the most objective understanding of the passage in question. So let’s apply those principles to Revelation 7:4.
The passage itself reads, “and I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.” The writer thinks it doesn’t mean 144,000 and he doesn’t think it means Israel.
In a literal grammatical-historical understanding of the passage, we would begin by assuming the plain sense of the words written unless there is something within the text indicating a metaphorical meaning. In an allegorical or theological understanding of the passage we can begin with any meaning supported by our overall theology. The writer does the latter. I will do the former.
Let’s consider the text itself. Ton arithmon (accusative) is the object of the verb ekousa – what was heard was the number – not a number but the(definite article) number. The passage begins with an emphasis of what was heard. What right do I, as the interpreter, have to discard the number when the text says that what was heard was the number. If we dismiss the number as being allegorical, then the entire premise of the verse becomes subjective, and the verse, meaningless. Ton esphragismenon (perfect passive, participle, genitive) identifies that the number that was heard was the number of those having been sealed. The number was ekaton (one hundred) tesserakonta (forty) tessares (four) chiliades (thousands).144,000. The words have only numerical value in the Greek.
The next phrase describes from where the sealed 144.000 derive:esphragismenoi (perfect passive, participle, nominative) – those having been sealed, emphasized again. This is a second connection in the span of two phrases connecting those sealed with their number. Those sealed are ek pases, out of (or from) every phules huion Israel – tribe of the sons of Israel. If these don’t reference simple numbers of people from a specific lineage, then they have no discernible meaning.
To dismiss the number and the origin of those sealed is embarrassing in its lack of basic scholarship, arrogant in its enthroning of the interpreter above basic principles of meaning, and foolish in its disregard for the simple and obvious meaning of God’s word. Such textual gymnastics pay no attention to the text itself. Many otherwise wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ do at times commit these three errors (errors from which I am also not immune), but they are severe errors worthy of attention, nonetheless.
What literary right does an interpreter have to so mangle God’s word? The writer offers five evidences for his interpretation:
(The Writer): “First, in chapter 13 we read that Satan seals all of his followers, so it makes sense that God would seal all of his people, not just the Jewish ones.”
I respond: Satan doesn’t seal his followers in Revelation 13 – the beast (distinguished from Satan in Rev. 19:20) requires a mark (the Greekkaragma – a mark or a brand, not exactly a seal). This is a different word and a different concept from what God did to the 144,000 – this is the same word used of these sealed by the Spirit in Ephesians 1:13. Textually, the two markings (by God and the beast) are unrelated. Logically, on what basis should the interpreter seek out similarities between God’s activities and Satan? Certainly, Satan is a great counterfeiter, but if I am expecting each of Satan’s actions to counterpoint those of God, then I am in for some interpretive frustration. And if I place that expectation above the plain verbiage of the text, then I have hopelessly missed the mark. This first offering of evidence ignores the referenced passage (7:4) entirely, in favor of a questionable comparison in a more distant context. Does that seem methodologically fair to Revelation 7:4?
(The Writer) Second, the image of sealing comes from Ezekiel 9 where the seal on the forehead marks out two groups of people: idolaters and non-idolaters. It would seem that the sealing of the 144,000 makes a similar distinction based on who worships God not who among the Jewish remnant worships God.
I respond: Again, this is another discarding of the plain text of 7:4 in favor of a distant-context reference. Interestingly, this strand of evidence assumes a literal interpretation of Ezekiel 9:4. But if we can’t interpret 7:4 literally, why should we do so in Ezekiel 9:4? In fact, if some of the Scripture can be arbitrarily allegorized, then I can’t help but wonder how I can know that Christ really died for my sins, and that I have eternal life by belief in Him? How do I know that if the words that say as much can’t be trusted to say what they say?
Further, Ezekiel 9:4 also identifies the specific people to be marked – those located in the midst of Jerusalem, and specifically those who “sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.” 9:5 prescribes not a marking for the “idolater,” but rather the death penalty for those not marked. Notice also the issue at stake in Ezekiel 9. Ezekiel himself wonders aloud to God, “Alas, Lord God! Art Thou destroying the whole remnant of Israel by pouring out they wrath on Jerusalem?” Ezekiel’s concern is for the remnant of Israel.
If Revelation 7 and Ezekiel 9 are connected, as the writer asserts, then how can he be so quick to deny that Revelation 7 references the remnant of Israel (a theme both passages seem to explicitly share). Again, this seems remarkably unfair to both the Revelation and Ezekiel texts.
(The Writer) Third, the 144,000 are called the servants of our God (Rev. 7:3). There is no reason to make the 144,000 any more restricted than that. If you are a servant of the living God, you are one of the 144,000 mentioned here. In Revelation, the phrase “servants of God” always refers to all of God’s redeemed people, not just an ethnic Jewish remnant (see 1:1; 2:20; 19:2; 19:5; 22:3).
I respond: 7:3 uses the word bond-servants (doulous), and so do 11:18 and 15:3 – two passages the article curiously omits. 11:18 references the prophets as bond-servants, and 15:3 describes Moses as the bond-servant of God. The word bond-servant certainly does not always refer to “all of God’s redeemed people.” Are all of God’s redeemed people prophets (11:18)? Are all of God’s redeemed people Moses (15:3)?
The article has here committed the logical fallacy of affirming the consequent
P1: “Bond-servants of God” always refers to all of God’s people.
P2: The 144,000 are called bond-servants of God
C: All bond-servants of God are the 144,000
Whether or not the conclusion is true in this case is to be determined by the text itself. But the form of the argument itself is invalid, being fallacious.
As for the immediate context, a number of different bond-servants of God are identified in Revelation. The immediate context must be considered in order to understand to whom the term refers in each instance. 7:3 anticipates the sealing of bond-servants of God. 7:4 tells exactly the number and derivation of those bond-servants.
(The Writer) Fourth, the 144,000 mentioned later in chapter 14 are those who have been “redeemed from the earth” and those who were “purchased from among men.” This is generic everybody kind of language. The 144,000 is a symbolic number of redeemed drawn from all peoples, not simply the Jews. Besides, if the number is not symbolic then what do we do with Revelation 14:4 which describes the 144,000 as those “who have not defiled themselves with women”? Are we to think that the 144,000 refers to a chosen group of celibate Jewish men? It makes more sense to realize that 144,000 is a symbolic number that is described as celibate men to highlight the group’s moral purity and set-apartness for spiritual battle.
I respond: I argue that the writer has not even begun to earn the right to make the statement, “This is generic everybody kind of language.” Speculating is not exegesis. Interpreting the 144,000 literally does not preclude the possibility that they could be redeemed from the earth or purchased among men. Just because God has redeemed others from the earth and purchased others among men at different times does not give indication that those others are part of the 144,000. To assert the contrary is a repeat of the earlier logical fallacy of affirming the consequent.
Further, the writer asks if we are “to think that the 144,000 refers to a chosen group of celibate Jewish men.” He concludes without explanation, that “It makes more sense to realize that 144,000 is…symbolic…” But why? This is speculation, and speculation is not exegesis. Why does it make more sense to disregard the verbiage and context in favor of a symbolic meaning? Why can’t this refer to those who have remained pure in a sexual sense? On what textual basis is the symbolic interpretation to be preferred? My apologies to the writer, but the symbolic interpretation doesn’t “make more sense,” in fact it makes little to no sense – especially in the absence of any textual appeal whatsoever.
(The Writer) Fifth, the last reason for thinking that the 144,000 is the entire community of the redeemed is because of the highly stylized list of tribes in verses 5-8. The number itself is stylized. It’s not to be taken literally. It’s 12 x 12 x 1000—12 being the number of completion for God’s people (representing the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles of the Lamb) and 1000 being a generic number suggesting a great multitude. So 144,000 is a way of saying all of God’s people under the old and new covenant. And then look at the list of the tribes. There are over a dozen different arrangements of the twelve tribes in the Bible. This one is unique among all of those. Judah is listed first because Jesus was from there as a lion of the tribe of Judah. All twelve of Jacob’s sons are listed—including Levi who usually wasn’t because he didn’t inherit any land-except for one. Manasseh, Joseph’s son (Jacob’s grandson), is listed in place of Dan. So why not Dan? Dan was left out in order to point to the purity of the redeemed church. From early in Israel’s history, Dan was the center of idolatry for the kingdom (Judges 18:30-31). During the days of the divided kingdom, Dan was one of two centers for idolatry (1 Kings 12:28-30). And there is recorded in some non-Biblical Jewish writings that the Jews thought the anti-Christ would come out of Dan based on Genesis 49:17. The bottom line is that the number and the list and the order of the tribes are all stylized to depict the totality of God’s pure and perfectly redeemed servants from all time over all the earth. That’s what Revelation means by the 144,000.
I respond: To argue that the tribal list is “stylized” and as such is to be interpreted non-literally is baseless. Does the writer disregard other such lists as figurative? Lists like the genealogy of Jesus, or the two census’ of Numbers? Are also these “stylized” and intended as figurative? If so, it bears explanation what numbers and names in the Bible are to be taken literally – if any at all. And who determines what profound spiritual message is conveyed by these allegories? The writer again speculates that “144,000 is a way of saying all of God’s people under the old and new covenant.” But how does he know? There are no references in the context to either covenant – all that is found is a very detailed list. Finally, the writer speculates on Dan’s omission in the list that “Dan was left out in order to point to the purity of the redeemed church.” But how does he know? On what does he base this claim?
I conclude: I commend those who consider themselves young, restless, and reformed, for their intense desire to discern God’s word. I commend them also for their diligence in His service. However, I am reminded of Paul’s exhortation to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:7, “But have nothing to do with worldly fables…” and again in v. 16, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching…”
If we are not handling the word of God accurately (a trap into which we can all fall if we are not on guard), then we are to be chastised and not commended. I pray that those in the young, restless, and reformed camp will understand the importance of a truly Biblical theology – one that is built on Scripture and that accurately represents Scripture, and one that is necessarily less influenced by theological traditions than by exegesis. When we handle His word poorly it reflects poorly not just on us, but also on Him. When we say, “Thus says the Lord,” thus better have said the Lord.
The passage we are studying in Revelation has good people on all sides of the text. I wanted to post some of the viewpoints to help further the discussion for those interested. The following is from Pastor Kevin DeYoung and was originally posted at the Gospel Coalition Blog.
And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel. (Rev. 7:4)
Many sincere Bible-believing Christians would understand the 144,000 like this: The church is raptured prior to the great tribulation. During the time when the church is gone, a remnant of 144,000 ethnic Jews is converted (12,000 from each tribe). These Jewish converts, in turn, evangelize the Gentiles who make up the great multitude in white robes in v. 9. That’s one understanding of Revelation 7. A lot of godly people hold that understanding. Let me explain why I understand the 144,000 differently.
The 144,000 are not an ethnic Jewish remnant, and certainly not an Anointed Class of saints who became Jehovah’s Witnesses before 1935. The 144,000 represent the entire community of the redeemed. Let me give you several reasons for making this claim.
First, in chapter 13 we read that Satan seals all of his followers, so it makes sense that God would seal all of his people, not just the Jewish ones.
Second, the image of sealing comes from Ezekiel 9 where the seal on the forehead marks out two groups of people: idolaters and non-idolaters. It would seem that the sealing of the 144,000 makes a similar distinction based on who worships God not who among the Jewish remnant worships God.
Third, the 144,000 are called the servants of our God (Rev. 7:3). There is no reason to make the 144,000 any more restricted than that. If you are a servant of the living God, you are one of the 144,000 mentioned here. In Revelation, the phrase “servants of God” always refers to all of God’s redeemed people, not just an ethnic Jewish remnant (see 1:1; 2:20; 19:2; 19:5; 22:3).
Fourth, the 144,000 mentioned later in chapter 14 are those who have been “redeemed from the earth” and those who were “purchased from among men.” This is generic everybody kind of language. The 144,000 is a symbolic number of redeemed drawn from all peoples, not simply the Jews. Besides, if the number is not symbolic then what do we do with Revelation 14:4 which describes the 144,000 as those “who have not defiled themselves with women”? Are we to think that the 144,000 refers to a chosen group of celibate Jewish men? It makes more sense to realize that 144,000 is a symbolic number that is described as celibate men to highlight the group’s moral purity and set-apartness for spiritual battle.
Fifth, the last reason for thinking that the 144,000 is the entire community of the redeemed is because of the highly stylized list of tribes in verses 5-8. The number itself is stylized. It’s not to be taken literally. It’s 12 x 12 x 1000—12 being the number of completion for God’s people (representing the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles of the Lamb) and 1000 being a generic number suggesting a great multitude. So 144,000 is a way of saying all of God’s people under the old and new covenant.
And then look at the list of the tribes. There are over a dozen different arrangements of the twelve tribes in the Bible. This one is unique among all of those. Judah is listed first because Jesus was from there as a lion of the tribe of Judah. All twelve of Jacob’s sons are listed—including Levi who usually wasn’t because he didn’t inherit any land-except for one. Manasseh, Joseph’s son (Jacob’s grandson), is listed in place of Dan. So why not Dan? Dan was left out in order to point to the purity of the redeemed church. From early in Israel’s history, Dan was the center of idolatry for the kingdom (Judges 18:30-31). During the days of the divided kingdom, Dan was one of two centers for idolatry (1 Kings 12:28-30). And there is recorded in some non-Biblical Jewish writings that the Jews thought the anti-Christ would come out of Dan based on Genesis 49:17. The bottom line is that the number and the list and the order of the tribes are all stylized to depict the totality of God’s pure and perfectly redeemed servants from all time over all the earth. That’s what Revelation means by the 144,000.
This is an interesting thought most have probably never given any attention to. The problem is too often we fail to think what we are to be about. So, in light of our discussions on Sunday mornings about “How to choose a church and what makes a healthy church member” I decided to bring you this little article from Tony Payne. Enjoy. Think. Discuss.
Apologies for posing what, at first glance, may seem an obvious and even silly question, but it’s one I’ve pondering lately: is evangelism a key purpose of Christian assemblies (or ‘churches’)?
Now, at the very least, we would have to say, “Yes, evangelism should and will happen in Christian assemblies, because of their very nature as places where the word of God is prayerfully proclaimed”. In any true Christian gathering, the gospel will be taught and heard, and since outsiders or non-Christians will often be present (by invitation or otherwise), evangelism, by definition, will take place.
There’s another sense in which the answer is yes: the Christian assembly functions as a testimony to Christ by its very existence. This is Paul’s point in Ephesians 3. In the assembly, God’s manifold wisdom is on display as he brings together Jew and Gentile in one new humanity. Mind you, in Ephesians 3, it’s the powers in the heavenly places who receive this testimony, so maybe it doesn’t really qualify as ‘evangelism’ in the normal sense.
However, even if we acknowledge that there will be ‘gospel’ things happening all over the place in church, it is also important to say that evangelism is not the purpose of Christian assemblies. It is certainly not their focus. In the New Testament, churches are characteristically the fruit of evangelism, not its agent. Evangelism usually takes place outside the assembly—in the marketplace, the synagogue, the prison, and in daily gospel conversation.
More to the point, theologically, the Christian assembly is a fellowship of the redeemed. It is a manifestation, as well as an anticipation or foretaste, of the great assembly that Christ is building—the assembly of the firstborn in heaven that will be revealed on the last Day (Heb 12:22-24). The purpose of our earthly assemblies, therefore, is to fellowship together in what we already share—our union with Christ—as we listen to and respond to him together, and build his assembly by the words we speak.
This runs counter to the common (although often unspoken) assumption that one of the main aims of a church gathering is to be attractive to non-Christians—to draw them in, to intrigue them, and to evangelize them. Perhaps it’s a legacy of the parish model, where those attending the Sunday assembly were often not Christians at all, and evangelism consisted of preaching the gospel to them. Or perhaps it is the influence of the seeker-service model, where the main aim is to attract and win over unchurched Harry. Or maybe it’s a bit of both.
There is an important difference, it seems to me, between running a Christian gathering whose focus is on evangelizing the outsider, and running a Christian gathering that is welcoming and intelligible for the outsider, but where the focus is on fellowship with Christ, in speaking, hearing and responding to his word.
Those who can look with delight or any degree of pleasure upon the sins of others are not holy. We know of some, who will not themselves perpetrate an unseemly jest, yet, if another does so, and there is a laugh excited upon some not over-decent remark, they laugh, and thus give sanction to the impropriety. If there is a low song sung in their hearing, which others applaud, though they cannot quite go the length of joining in the plaudits, still they secretly enjoy it; they betray a sort of gratification that they cannot disguise; they confess to a gusto that admires the wit while it cannot endorse the sentiment.
They are glad the minister was not there; they are glad to think the deacon did not happen to see them just at that moment; yet still, if there could be a law established to make the thing pretty respectable, they would not mind.
Some of you know people who fall into this snare. There are professing Christians who go where you at one time could not go; but, seeing that they do it, you go too, and there you see others engaged in sin, and it becomes respectable because you give it countenance. There are many things, in this world, that would be execrated if it were not that Christian men go to them, and the ungodly men say, “Well, if it is not righteous, there is not much harm in it, after all; it is innocent enough if we keep within bounds.”
Mind! mind! mind, professor, if thine heart begins to suck in the sweets of another man’s sin, it is unsound in the sight of God; if thou canst even wink at another man’s lust, depend upon it that thou wilt soon shut thine eye on thine own, for we are always more severe with other men than we are’ with ourselves. There must be an absence of the vital principle of godliness when we can become partakers of other men’s sins by applauding or joining with them in the approval of them.
Let us examine ourselves scrupulously, then, whether we be among those who have no evidences of that holiness without which no man can see God. But, beloved, we hope better things of you, and things which accompany salvation. If you and I, as in the sight of God, feel that we would be holy if we could, that there is not a sin we wish to spare, that we would be like Jesus,—O that we could!—that we would sooner suffer affliction than ever run into sin, and displease our God; if our heart be really right in God’s statutes, then, despite all the imperfections we bemoan, we have holiness, wherein we may rejoice.
Charles Spurgeon
This is an excerpt from “Holiness Demanded,” a sermon preached in 1862 at the Met Tab in London.
Are you building relationships of trust? Take time to look at yourself, your marriage and other relationships in the mirror of these questions.
A TRUST QUESTIONNAIRE
1) Is there more unity, understanding, and love in your marriage now than there has ever been?
2) Do you both do what you promise in the time that you have promised?
3) Are you attentive to what your spouse sees as important?
4) Do you make excuses for failures to do what you’ve promised, or are you ready to confess?
5) Do you listen well to your spouse and act on what you’ve heard?
6) Do you follow through with mutually agreed-upon plans?
7) Do you work together on planning and scheduling priorities, or do you demand that the other do it your way?
8) Do you share with your spouse your thoughts, desires, hopes, dreams, and concerns, or is it easier for you to be quiet or to share with someone else?
9) Is there any evidence that you’ve withdrawn from the other in protective distance?
10) Would your spouse say that you’re good for your word and faithful to your promises?
11) Do you carry wrongs around with you, or do you trust one another to confront and confess?
12) Do you ever wonder what the other is doing when not with you?
13) Are you conscious of editing your words and withholding your feelings because you can’t trust your spouse to deal with them properly?
14) Is your marriage partner the best friend in your life or has your dream of this kind of companionship evaporated?
15) Is your sexual relationship mutually satisfying, or is it hard for you to give yourself physically to your spouse?
16) Do you say things to other people about your spouse that you’ve not communicated to him or her?
17) Do you look forward to sharing times together, and when you have these times are they peaceful and enjoyable?
18) Are there problems between you that remain unsolved because you don’t have the bond of trust necessary to work together on a solution?
19) Are you comfortable with the vulnerability that a good marriage involves?
20) Do you ever wonder if you made a mistake in marrying the person who is your spouse?
21) Do you ever fear that you’re being manipulated or taken advantage of in any way?
22) Do you ever wonder if your spouse cares for him- or herself more than for you?
So, look over your answers. What do you think? Is trust solid in your marriage? Is it growing in your other relationships? As you commit yourself to build a sturdy bond of trust, remember you don’t do that work alone or in your own strength. The One, who defines what trust is and does, is with you and offers you every grace you need to build relationships that picture his grace and point to his glory.
This post was written by Paul Tripp and can be found on his blog, here.
Written by Chad P.
With everything going on around us it is easy to lose sight of the goal, to be distracted by the pressing, and to trade the precious in your life for something less than permanent. Not having confidence in our ability to evaluate ourselves, I want to ask your wives. What do you think they would say?
If you return home every night to your family you are immediately more faithful than a good percentage of people in this country, but that is not our standard. We are told to love our wives as Christ loved the Church (Ephesians 5:23;28). So just making it home is not the goal. When you get home are you “still working”? Are you able to leave your job at the garage door? Do you long for your “man cave” or to spend time with your family? What would your wife say?
All of us have THE LIST. You know the one… That list of things to get done. If you are even moderately successful at getting through your list, you are doing better than me. It really doesn’t matter if it is yours, your wife’s list for you, or your boss’s. the issue is that it is there. There is always something competing for our time and there will never be enough time. So what’s getting your attention? Loving your wife as Christ loved/s His Church is an enormous task. It will require us to pay attention, which is probably one of the reasons we are told to “fix our eyes on Jesus Christ” (Hebrews 12:2). Are we focused on Christ by knowing and loving our families or are we buried in our iPhones and fixated on football? What would your wife say?
Do you remember when she walked that aisle towards you? When those doors were opened and there she was? Do you remember the feeling when you said “I do”? No one had to convince you she was precious… I’m now a few years into marriage. I am no expert, but I am past those first steps. We are to the “warts and all” part, the “for better or for worse” stuff. I definitely know my wife much better today than I did when she first came through those doors. But knowing the “not polished parts” and going though the difficulties has only made her more precious. That being said, I can be distracted by the weeds in my grass (stop judging me for my less than perfect lawn). The Thunder game (even in December against the Bobcats) can suck an entire evening of my attention. And then there is always something hilarious on Twitter begging for a response (@DeathStarPR gets me every time with stuff like this).
I’m telling you what my wife would say… She would tell you, “Yes, Chad thinks I am precious, but he often forgets”. What would your wife say? Proverbs 5:28 says, “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth…”
Written by Pastor Chad “Kicker” Kositzky
Do you remember the show Dragnet? There was of course, the required mystery. And each show would end with a tidy bow – the criminal being caught and the police being praised. In the middle of the story was the famous phrase, “Just the facts, Ma’am.” 
While the show made fine entertainment, the phrase has lived in pop culture ever since. Unfortunately, most people don’t want the facts. Today, most people want happy thoughts, popular opinions, and pats on the back. But when talking about our families we need to hear the truth. We need the facts if we are going to figure out what to do.
The Lord has given parents the primary responsibility for bringing up their children in the discipline and instruction of Lord. The Heritage Student Ministry does not, in any way, want to replace your God given responsibility and authority. In fact, we will continuously challenge students to understand the importance of honoring their father and mother in the Lord. We desire to link arms with parents, to come alongside parents and echo, Lord willing, what is being taught at home. We do believe, and have seen time and time again, God use leaders and the community of believers in the local church to greatly impact students for the kingdom. Surrounding teenagers with godly influences is as important now as it has ever been.
Never before in America have teenagers been at such a crucial life juncture. They must choose between a lifestyle of hedonism or responsibility. Since the 1960’s students have increasingly chosen the path of irresponsibility. In response, adults and society at large appears to continue to lower expectations for those 13-19 years of age. Sadly, I’m afraid the church has all too often lowered the bar and, at times, even watered down the Gospel message and call of Christ to make it more palatable to teenagers.Sadly, I’m afraid the church has all too often lowered the bar and, at times, even watered down the Gospel message and call of Christ to make it more palatable to teenagers.
A closer look at the nature of Student Ministry in general led us to some startling conclusions. George Barna asserts, “We discovered fairly strong correlations between understanding how to use the Bible for life decision-making with becoming a born-again Christian during the younger years, having an active spiritual life as characterized by consistent prayer, Bible reading and church attendance, and possessing a biblical worldview.” Barna added,
“Unfortunately, less than one out of every ten churched teenagers has a biblical worldview. In other words, the result of their involvement at a church is that they can recite some religious facts, they made some friends, and they had fun. That’s wonderful, but we also find that most of them have neither accepted Christ as their Savior nor altered the basis on which they make their moral and ethical decisions in life. For most teenagers who have spent years attending church activities their faith is not integrated into who they are and how they live. Most of the young people who claim they developed an understanding of the Bible that enables them to make decisions based on biblical principles show no evidence of using that understanding in relation to the core beliefs and lifestyle choices that we studied.“
In light of this information we have to step back and evaluate the common practices of most American youth groups. The typical church youth group places great emphasis on getting young people to come to activities. In order to get them to come to activities, excitement and fun become the main drawing points. The idea is, “if we can just get them to come, then we can interest them in the things of the Lord”. While this is common practice and appears pragmatic, reality is much different. This philosophy fails to produce lasting results and most importantly, it’s unbiblical.
So those are the facts. We don’t have to like them, but we will have to deal with them. The structure and strategy of any ministry to teens needs to take these facts into consideration. Part two looks to how we address these issues and why it matters.
Written by Pastor Chad “Kicker” Kositzky
You may be saying, “Those are some ugly facts”… Our hope is for the truth of the situation to drive all of us to prayer for teenagers as they struggle to grow up. It is a shame most Student Ministries have chosen a path of entertainment to address these facts. My goal is to be clear about the heartbeat of this ministry and the course we are charting.
Throughout Scripture we see an emphasis on the Church’s need to “equip the saints for the work of ministry”(Eph. 4:12). Nowhere in Scripture do we see an effort to draw as many people as possible with fun and games while adding a light Gospel message hoping that some might come to know Christ. Time after time crowds gathered around Jesus, but as He spoke and called them to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Him, the crowds would disperse. Many would head on down the dusty roads looking for someone or something else to follow that would ask less of them. In the flesh the Gospel message can seem ridiculous and even harsh(1 Cor. 1:18), but as the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to soften hearts and opens eyes to see God’s amazing love and grace displayed on the cross, that same message truly becomes Good News!
There are two options… We can lower the bar and keep everything light so everyone who shows up will feel comfortable and be at the same level, or we can raise the bar and challenge everyone to truly surrender, deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Jesus. We trust Jesus wants us to love and challenge the people we are charged with shepherding. This is why the Heritage Student Ministry is committed to teaching the Word of God and challenging students to live it out. We have made a concerted effort to prayerfully and Biblically evaluate everything we do. We are constantly asking not just What CAN we do? but rather, What SHOULD we do? It’s easy to fill up a calendar with events. Busy is easy. Effective is difficult. We want to do everything possible to sow seeds, till the soil, and be prepared to reap a harvest of young people that will follow the Lord for the rest of their lives.
This philosophy of ministry forces us to emphasize biblical teaching, serving, discipleship, worship, and true Biblical fellowship. We do not emphasize events, entertainment and fun. Don’t get me wrong, we have a blast together, but it’s primarily as we serve others and live life together in a covenant community. Our fun is based on more than a trip to Six Flags or summer camp on the beach. Our fun happens as our students sing songs, share the Word and their testimonies and give piggy-back rides to children in an apartment complex. Our students have a blast as they step into the role of primary care-giver for children with disabilities each summer at Camp Barnabas. Rather than looking for and scheduling fun, we pursue opportunities to grow and serve and be stretched. It’s in those moments where we become more aware our own selfishness and need for a Savior. The Lord uses those experiences to increase our faith, deepen our friendships, and experience true joy.
– We choose to pattern our efforts after those of the apostles to the early church:
3 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4 On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6 We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.
As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7 but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well,because you had become so dear to us. (1 Thes. 2:3-8)
Refresh My Heart…… A Journey of Hope
Heritage Baptist Women’s Retreat 2013
May 3-4, 2013
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all the joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”
Romans 15:13
“Refresh My Heart Women’s Retreat 2013” has been planned and designed to be a time a rest, encouragement, relaxation, fellowship and growth. We know everyone’s day to day lives are busy and full! This retreat will give you time to slow down, hear what the Word has to say about relying on Jesus and build relationships. Godly relationships are so important for our everyday lives, yet, they seem to be one of the areas we don’t make time for. This retreat will be an excellent opportunity to foster those Godly relationships and make new ones. Also, because this is a multi-generational retreat, there will be opportunities to learn from other women who have been right where you are now. This is a wonderful setting to expand friendships within the church family!
The DETAILS
The SPEAKER
The LOCATION
The “Refresh My Heart Women’s Retreat 2013” is for all women, college age to senior adult. We are bringing in an excellent speaker, Tara Barthel, and she is going to speak on the topic “Fear Not”. The retreat topic will apply to all women, and many different seasons of life. We all desire to strengthen our relationship with Christ and learn to depend on Him fully. The goal for our 2013 women’s retreat is to strengthen relationships, build new relationships and, most importantly, grow closer to the Lord.
Our prayer is for you to plan on being a part.
Topic:
Fear Not: Finding God’s Comfort for My Fearful Soul
Peace and rest are great concepts in the abstract—biblical, Christ-centered, even pleasant and healthy. But if we are honest, most Christian women do not experience much peace in their day-to-day lives. We often are rushed, stressed, and anxious. God’s Word says He loves us and will provide for us, but we live as though we have to take care of everything ourselves. Our bodies are tense, our hearts are restless, and deep down we are exhausted by our worries. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Jesus understands that we are weary and burdened and He calls us to find rest for our souls in Him (Matthew 11:28-30). Join us and see how common your fears are—you are not alone! Be encouraged by biblical and practical ways to experience God’s rest even in the busyness of your life. Jesus really does give you His peace (John 14:27). God truly invites you to cast all your anxieties on Him (1 Peter 5:7) and to find comfort for your soul (Psalm 94:19).
What to Expect:
Encouraging worship
Relaxing environment
Time to hear from God
Refreshing our hearts
Building new friendships and strengthening old ones
Who This Is For:
Women of ALL ages!!
College to Senior Adults
When:
May 3-4, 2013
~Retreat begins at 7pm Friday night, but you may check into the hotel anytime after 3 to begin your weekend early. (Dinner is not provided.)
Cost and Payment Information
$85 Registration Deadline: March 31
~After this date, we can not guarantee availability.
Retreat Cost of $85 Includes:
Double Queen bed suite with Queen pull-out couch
Breakfast at hotel Saturday morning
Retreat Materials
Refresh My Heart 2013 t-shirt
Payment Options:
~ Pay by check written to Heritage Baptist Church with “Women’s Retreat” in memo line
~ Down payment of $50 is due at the time of registration. The balance ($35) must be paid in full by March 31.
Scholarships:
We do not want finances to be an obstacle for any woman to attend “Refresh My Heart…A Journey of Hope”. If you would like scholarship information, please Email Judy Dancy or contact her at the Church.
~ If you would like to make a donation to provide scholarships for others to attend, you can make an additional contribution with your registration payment.
What to Bring:
Comfortable, casual clothes
Bible
Notebook and/or journal
Money for lunch Saturday (We will provide a list of local restaurants.)
~Indoor pool and workout facility available
Retreat HOME
The SPEAKER
The LOCATION
Where:
2501 Conference Drive
Norman, OK 73069
Embassy Suites Norman – Hotel & Conference Center provides spacious two-room suites along with two Presidential Suites. Our hotel features separate bedrooms and living areas ensure that you’ll have plenty of space to relax, dine or catch up on your work while in Norman, OK. Stay connected with high-speed wireless internet access, or enjoy a movie on the plasma screen TVs. Guests of this Norman, OK hotel are invited to enjoy the comprehensive range of hotel amenities, including an inviting indoor pool and whirlpool, a modern fitness center, and a cozy lounge. Guests will also enjoy the bright and airy atrium-style lobby of this hotel.
Wake up to a delicious cooked-to-order breakfast, and end your busy day with the nightly Manager’s Reception*. For additional dining needs, try the North Park Grill restaurant. This hotel and conference center is wonderfully equipped to take care of all of your business meeting needs. With over 50,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, 20 different meeting rooms of varying sizes and a 28,000 sq. ft. ballroom, you can rest assured that our Embassy Suites Norman, OK hotel has the facilities you need whether you’re planning a business meeting or an unforgettable special event. In addition to this, business travelers can also enjoy an on-site complimentary 24/7 Embassy Business Center.
