It is hard to believe that this is so, but the calendar proves that it is! When the first Sunday of June rolls around I will have spent ten years as the pastor of Elim Baptist Church. On the one hand it just doesn’t seem possible that ten years have elapsed, and on the other hand, when I consider all that has taken place, it seems incredible that everything has happened over a period of only ten years!
I can still recall that first weekend when I was moving the books into my study. Along came one of the young men of the church who began helping me move in. It wasn’t too long until we were engrossed in a serious conversation that ended up greatly changing that young man’s life. And it is such a joy to know that he is still a part of Elim, and he continues to grow in the things of God. Read more…
Posted on June 1st, 2008 by Pastor Larry
Filed under: Elim Refresher Newsletter, From the Pastor’s Pen | Comments Off
For review this month, Our Sufficiency in Christ by a familiar author in Elim’s library, Dr. John MacArthur. Instead of a complete overview, I feel that there are several paragraphs that represent the jist of the book. Read more…
Posted on May 1st, 2008 by Janet
Filed under: Elim Refresher Newsletter, From the Church Library | Comments Off
John Wesley is a well-known name among Christians, and with many a good reason. Although there is much within his theology with which I am at odds, he was a tireless servant of Christ and His Church until his death at age 87. That he should serve long and well is really no surprise, for one of the most “famous” quotes of this preacher, evangelist and reformer summed up his penchant for living with an eye toward service:
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
Read more…
Posted on May 1st, 2008 by Pastor Larry
Filed under: Elim Refresher Newsletter, From the Pastor’s Pen | Comments Off
It’s February, the shortest month of the year, as I write this review. And I’ve just finished reading the shortest book yet to be reviewed—96 pages! This will also be the shortest book review to date. And yes, we sing Doxology , a very short song, almost every Sunday. Read more…
Posted on March 1st, 2008 by Scott
Filed under: Elim Refresher Newsletter, From the Church Library | Comments Off
Our book review this month is The Sovereignty of God by Arthur W. Pink. This book was recently given to those who attend the Tuesday morning BIble study, but I am confident a copy will find its way into the library. It is also worth mentioning that we are reading a book similar in subject to two previous reviews, Sinners in the Hands of a Good God and Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ. Read more…
Posted on February 1st, 2008 by Scott
Filed under: Elim Refresher Newsletter, From the Church Library | Comments Off
Allow me to offer a very profound sentiment as I begin this month—pain hurts! Even now, as I write these words, I can hear the echoed “Amen” all over town. The “pain of pain” is something well-known to most of us, and it is one of those things that we are fairly certain we could do without.
But we would be wrong. Read more…
Posted on February 1st, 2008 by Pastor Larry
Filed under: Elim Refresher Newsletter, From the Pastor’s Pen | Comments Off
Our book review this month is The Unfolding Message of the Bible by G. Campbell Morgan. If you can’t or are not willing to “read through the Bible in a year”, this could be an alternative. Keep in mind, this overview is not inspired; however, at over 500 pages, it is united and complete in terms of relating the entire canon of the Bible in a manual all can appreciate. Read more…
Posted on December 1st, 2007 by Scott
Filed under: From the Church Library | Comments Off
It is a natural thing to use the end of a calendar year and the beginning of the next as a time for reflection. Regardless of whether you make “New Year Resolutions” or not, it is not unusual at all to spend some time in the last few days of December and the first few days in January thinking over what has already taken place in our lives. Read more…
Posted on December 1st, 2007 by Pastor Larry
Filed under: From the Pastor’s Pen | Comments Off
As a follow-up to last month’s reviewed book on soteriology by David Clotfelter, Sinners in the Hands of a Good God—Reconciling Divine Judgement and Mercy, we’re going to look at another book written almost 4 centuries ago. Clotfelter’s book offers a clear and easy-to-understand style of writing. John Bunyan, on the other hand, is a master of complexity, so intricately integrating the same subject in his soteriological book, Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ, taken from this verse: All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out (John 6:37). Read more…
Posted on November 1st, 2007 by Scott
Filed under: From the Church Library | Comments Off
Over the past several months I have endeavored to write for you some understanding of the Christian’s relationship to the world around him or her. We have certainly not exhausted the texts of Scripture that relate to this aspect of the disciple’s life, and we may well return to the topic in the near future. But, this month, I do wish to take a brief departure. Read more…
Posted on November 1st, 2007 by Pastor Larry
Filed under: From the Pastor’s Pen | Comments Off
