Sermon Video: In Christ all will be made alive - 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

The fear of death is common to all of humanity, and in the present COVID-19 crisis, it is being felt keenly by millions. But death is not the natural state of humanity, it is an aberration, one that God has provided the solution to. Because the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a historical fact we can place our hope for life beyond death in Jesus. Those who are in Christ, that is, those who have repented of their sins and chosen to live by faith in this world according to God's Word, have not only received a promise of full live in the world to come, but a more abundant life here and now as well. This is the blessing that God offers to all who believe.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

A COVID-19 inspired opportunity: History of the Bible seminar through ABCOPAD - online and free

April 7th, 14th, and 21st
7:00-9:00 PM

I've taught my seminar on the History of the Bible several times in person, at my own church and at 4 other area churches, but now (in part because of the need to offer ways to connect remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic) there will be an opportunity for many others to virtually attend this seminar online via ABCOPAD and Zoom. 

Here is a description of the seminar:
The history of the copying, preservation, and translation of the Bible will be given in a three-part seminar taught by Pastor Randy Powell of First Baptist of Franklin. This seminar will include helpful visual aids that will assist in the telling of the amazing history of God’s Word, beginning with the original manuscripts in Hebrew and Greek, and ending with the modern English translations that we read today. When we understand the history of how an accurate rendering of the original words of the authors of the Bible have been preserved for two millennia, our faith in its trustworthiness will only increase. The seminar will include an opportunity for Q&A, is free and open to the public with no reservation required; it will be a benefit both to novices and to those who only need a refresher, including pastors.

To take advantage of this opportunity, follow the link below to ABCOPAD's website (American Baptist Churches of Pennsylvania and Delaware) which contains the link to Zoom {It is very easy to join a zoom meeting, even tech novices can handle it, here is the link to the Zoom help center to answer any questions}.  If you have any questions, please call me at the church office prior to the first class (814-432-8061).

History of the Bible information through ABCOPAD

As an alternative, if the day/time of the seminar doesn't work for your schedule, or you'd simply like to take the material at your own pace, I do have a high quality recording (thank you 1st Baptist of Linesville) of this same material made a few years ago that you can watch via Youtube.

History of the Bible page on this blog

Sermon Video: Pity the Christians? - 1 Corinthians 15:12-19

Here's a hypothetical: What if there is no resurrection from the dead (Jesus included)? For Christianity and Christians this is catastrophic, not only would our message and mission be invalidated, and worse yet be found to be a lie, but our own hope of salvation from our sins would be false. There is no Christianity, no Gospel, without the triumph of Jesus Christ on Easter. To those who imagine a better world without Christianity (and religion in general), that world has no hope at all, for humanity's embrace of evil is indisputable, and it cannot be solved by non-spiritual means. Without the resurrection there is no hope, not just for us, but for the whole world. Praise be to God, then, that Jesus Christ has risen in triumph from the grave.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: By the grace of God I am what I am - 1 Corinthians 15:8-11

Having already detailed the many witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul offers his own experience last of all.  Paul does this for a very important reason, he was 'one abnormally born' in the Holy Spirit because he was called by God's grace when he was in the midst of persecution the Church.  God's grace reached out to Paul in a dramatic way, turning his life of violence into a life of self-sacrifice and dedication to the Gospel.  The thing is, everyone alive today is a recipient of God's grace, every breath we take is an example of God's grace falling upon the righteous and unrighteous alike {Jesus makes this point in the Gospels when referring to the beneficial rain falling for the both the just and unjust}.  We are all what we are because of God's grace.  As John Bradford said, "There but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford."  None of us deserve God's grace, both our sinful human nature and our broken human civilization (nurture) would doom us all to lives that are 'violent, brutish, and short' if not for the grace of God.  Like Paul, we too are dependent upon God's grace, and we too must respond to that grace with self-sacrificial service on behalf of the cause of the Gospel...The next time you see a Lost sinner, let this phrase be in your heart, "There but for the grace of God, go I", and then show God's love to that person.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Coronavirus: It will reveal our true character

In the past twenty-four hours, the impact of the Coronavirus upon life in America accelerated greatly:  The NBA is on hiatus (with other sports and entertainment events soon to follow), colleges are sending students home (primary schools will be next), and as expected the stock market is in free fall.  At this point, certainty about the eventual impact upon both lives lost and the global economy is impossible.  It will be significant, it will last a while, people will lose their jobs, and some their lives.  This is not the first time that a global pandemic has brought life to a halt, with the 1918 Influenza Pandemic as the worst example in modern history.  This pandemic will not result in a Mad Max style apocalypse, but it will have a significant impact, no matter what precautions are put in place.
The question today is this: What will this crisis reveal about our character?  Will it showcase our xenophobia, our greed, and our callousness to the potential harm of others, or will it remind us that we all live on the same planet, that resources are not our possession but gifts from God, and that our proper response to the needs of others is compassion?  In other words, will be respond to this crisis with good or evil?  In our everyday lives we face opportunities to choose to act in selfless righteousness, and opportunities to act in selfish immorality.  These are only made more acute and more consequential during a crisis.  Who you truly are is revealed when pressure is applied.  To whom you owe allegiance is made manifest when tough choices need to be made.
For Christians, the answer to this crisis is simple: continue to embrace righteous living and reject immorality, continue to serve others, continue to place your faith and hope in the Lord, continue to pray.  We as a Christian community fail to fully live up to this standard when times are easy, we are not an unvarnished reflection of our Savior, and for this we are rightly criticized and must repent.  A crisis like this will propel some Christians to extraordinary acts of bravery and charity, and it will reveal the deficiencies in the character of other Christians.  Every crisis is an opportunity to rise to the occasion, in the weeks and months ahead the world will be watching to see how the people of God react; for the sake of the Gospel, we must, by the grace of God and through the power of the Spirit, reveal ourselves to be true disciples of Jesus Christ in word and in deed.
In the Gospels, the repeated response of Jesus to the need of individuals and large crowds is compassion (Matthew 9:36, 14:14, 15:32, 20:34; Mark 6:34, 8:2; Luke 15:20).  In each case that compassion leads to action.  What actions we can take, as a Christian community, to help during this public health crisis are not yet clear, but they will be.  The opportunity to help will arise, we must be ready and willing.