Life = Love
If you are a Christian, then there must be evidence in your life.
- If you are a Christian, then your life must be characterized by love for others.
- If you are a Christian, then your life must not be characterized by hatred.
Sermon Notes: 1 John 3:11-15
11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Announcements for the Week of March 15
March 14, 2009 by Pastor Dave
Filed under JIBC news
Men’s Bible Study (evening edition) will be this Wednesday at 7 PM in the JIBC office. Come for fellowship and Bible Study.
Interested in digging deeper into the Word of God? Registration is open for JIBC’s own Reformed Baptist Institute. Please pick up a flyer off the Welcome Center table today for more information.
If you are interested in being baptized at JIBC then please speak with Pastor Stephen or our Ministry Assistant, Dina, today.
Youth Sunday Practice will be held in the Occasion on Saturday 21 from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The entire youth group is invited. If you volunteered as a member of the praise team, as an usher or greeter, or for reading or prayer, please be sure to attend. Lunch will be provided. Please contact Edna Romulo or Jill Sharp with questions.
Light for the Way
March 12, 2009 by WebPastor
Filed under Weekly Words
Dear friends,
Years ago, I worked for the maintenance department of the college Jennifer and I attended. Every year, workers from our department needed to crawl through a 90 meter tunnel to inspect pipes for leaks or damage. The tunnel was about 1.5 meters wide and 1 meter tall. It was dirty, old, and very dark. On one occasion I had crawled about halfway through when my flashlight went out. It was totally black, like being in a cave. Both ahead and behind me were pipes and valves that I would need to climb over and through to make my way to the exit. For about a minute, I laid uncomfortably in the darkness contemplating my predicament. It was then I remembered the little penlight on my belt! The small bulb made enough light for me to see the way through to the end. Light is very welcome when you are stuck in the darkness.
Sometimes life is like that creepy tunnel. It is full of obstacles and dirt. It can also be very dark and difficult to get through. There are times when we simply cannot fathom a way out of the hard circumstances we find ourselves in. However, that is when we can be most thankful for the light! The Lord knows we need something to show us the way, so he has given us the scriptures. In the Bible we find what we need to make our way through and come safely to our destination in glory with God! So get out your copy (or go get one) and turn on the light!
“Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).
Your servant,
Stephen
Rev. Stephen St. John
Pastor/Elder
The Transformed Life
If you are a Christian, then your are completely transformed.
1. When you place your faith in Jesus, there is an inner transformation of the heart.
2. When you place your faith in Jesus, there is an outward transformation of life.
Sermon Text: 1 John 3:3-10
3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 10By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
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Announcements for the Week of March 8
Men’s Bible Study (Lunch edition) will be this Wednesday at 12 PM. Come for fellowship and Bible Study
There will be an elders meeting on Sunday March 15 at 9 AM. Please be in prayer for these men who are “responsible for the primary direction and policy determination of the church” (JIBC Con. 6.5). Pray that God will give them great wisdom from the scriptures for this task.
Friday Youth Fellowship (FYF) will once again be meeting at the Baguley’s on Friday from 6:00 - 9:00 to enjoy an evening of spiritual and physical food. Kids eleven to sixteen are invited. For further information, find Edna Romulo or Jill Sharp after the service.
Seminar “CHRISTIANITY OR JESUSANITY” by Prof. Darrel Bock Ph.D., the writer of ‘Dethroning Jesus’, will be held Saturday, 14 March 2009, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Auditorium Manggala Wanabakti – Senayan. Please contact 021 71688108 for more info. www.pionkristus.com
There is going to be a Theological Symposium March 24-29 in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of John Calvin. There is an excellent array of international speakers. All the meetings will be conducted in English. Informational brochures are available at the Welcome Center Desk this morning.
Next week there will be Missions Moment from Baptist Church Kebayoran.
Business News
March 5, 2009 by WebPastor
Filed under Weekly Words
Dear friend,
Here are some headlines (or partial headlines) from the business section of yesterday’s Jakarta Post:
Industrial Output to Fall;
Aid to Carmakers, Steel-makers a Waste;
Palm Oil to Drop;
Rupiah Gains After Excessive Losses;
Most Asian Stocks Drop on Economic Concern;
Disastrous Losses.
And these are from just one day of typical economic news. If you read the paper regularly, then you know there are similar headlines every single day. There are scores of economic experts lining up to tell us we had better be worried!
Now, I do think you should seek wise financial counsel in these unusual times. Listen to what the experts say and consider what your responsibility is. However, I thought you might like to read some “Bible Headlines” that address the world economic crisis:
One’s Life Does Not Consist in the Abundance of His Possessions (Luke 12:15);
Do Not Lay Up For Yourselves Treasures Upon the Earth. . . But Lay Up For Yourselves Treasure in Heaven (Mt. 6:19-20);
Do Not Be Anxious About Your Life (Mt. 6:25);
There is Great Gain in Godliness and Contentment (1 Tim. 6:6);
Those Who Desire to Be Rich Fall Into Temptation (1 Tim. 6:9);
The Love of Money is a Root of All Kinds of Evil (1 Tim 6:10);
I Have Not Seen the Righteous Forsaken or his Children Begging for Bread (Ps. 37:25);
Seek First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and All These Things Will be Added to You (Mt. 6:33).
The Bible’s perspective is not the same as that of the world. The Lord reassures us and commands us not to worry. We can trust Him to take take of us! Perhaps we need only to adjust our expectation of what this life will be like and ensure that we are seeking our treasure in heaven rather than on the earth. That is the most important thing to do during this difficult season. It is a financial strategy that never fails!
Your servant,
Stephen
Rev. Stephen St. John
Pastor/Elder
Children of God
Because God loves us, we must respond to his love. How? What does God want from us?
- God wants us to be his children (v. 1, loved by him).
- God wants us to live for him (v. 2, love toward him).
- God wants us to be like him (v. 3, loving others
Sermon Text: 1 John 3:1-3
1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
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