Brook Hills College – Blog

Two great quotes to help encourage us toward a life consumed with and conformed to the Word…

John Piper…

We are a people of the Book. We know God through the Book. We meet Christ in the Book. We see the cross in the Book. Our faith and love are kindled by the glorious truths of the Book. We have tasted the divine majesty of the Word and are persuaded that the Book is God’s inspired and infallible written revelation. Therefore, what the Book teaches matters…

There is no salvation from sin and guilt and condemnation and hell apart from faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; Romans 10:13-17; 1 John 5:12). And there is no other authority besides the Scriptures to show you who Christ is and to give you his Word. So don’t leave the Bible, children. Don’t leave the Bible, young people. Don’t neglect the Bible, dads and moms. Don’t ignore the Bible, single people. Under God, the “sacred writings,” the Scriptures, are the greatest treasure in the world. They alone make us wise unto salvation through Christ. O don’t neglect this Book!

Matt Chandler…

“I think you live in a day and age where there’s great teaching available all over the place. So you never really learn to feed yourself. You’d rather live vicariously through other people’s studies. Which is kind of sad because you’ll never love the Lord like the people who studied that, found that and wrestled with that will love Him.

Like if I started talking about all of the reasons I loved Lauren, it wouldn’t make you love Lauren. It would make you maybe go, “Oh, I wish I had that.” But it wouldn’t make you go, “You know, I love her too. She’s amazing. I love her with my whole heart right now.” That’s not how it works. In the same way, you hearing me or some other guy talk about the grandeur and might of God is not necessarily going to make you love Him.

You need to read and let the Holy Spirit engage you, chisel at you, work you over. May we repent of our laziness.”

A helpful blog post from Ashley Benson. Ashley is a graduate from University of Montevallo and current College Small Group Leader. Her post is quite helpful in realizing what “fear of the Lord” means and also how it should impact our daily lives.

The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge: Prov. 1:7 and Prov. 9:10

We see “the fear of the Lord” or some variation of the words throughout Scripture.  It’s overwhelming how many times it is referenced in Scripture….But, what is it?  What does it really mean?  It’s so critical for us to know what phrases we say and hear repeatedly actually mean.

The fear of the Lord is reverence.  It is Godly awe of who God is which leads to devotion and submission.  It can also be fear of God’s displeasure and fatherly discipline which also leads to submission. So, to fear the Lord is to understand who God is and submit to Him.

I like what John Piper say about the fear of the Lord:

“There are two great commands in the Bible. The first is: “Fear the Lord.” And the second is “Fear not!” What we should not fear is to draw close to God and what we should fear is to run away from him. God is a joy and a refuge to those who cling to his neck, but he is a terror to those who flee.”

So the “fear of the Lord” is a very peaceful and secure feeling. In fact, fearing the Lord means counting on our fellowship with God to make us happier in the future than anything else could. Romans 15:4 says that the whole Bible was written to persuade us that this is true: staying close to God and not running away into sin is the most hope-full way to live. Promise after promise verifies it: “the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him” (Psalm 25:14). “How abundant is your goodness which you have laid up for those who fear you” (Psalm 31:19). “The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in His steadfast love” (Psalm 33:18). “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7). “As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him” (Psalm 103:11,17). “As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13). “He fulfills the desire of all who fear him” (Psalm 145:19).”

A.W. Pink says,

“Happy the soul that has been awed by a view of God’s majesty, that has had a vision of God’s awful greatness, His ineffable holiness, His perfect righteousness, His irresistible power, His sovereign grace.”

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:12-13

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

The passage was written right after He pleads with them to walk in humility. (Note the “therefore” at the beginning of verse 12.)  A great definition of humility is to have a right understanding of who God is and your position in relation to Him.  It seems fitting that Paul would then plead with them to work out their salvation with fear and trembling.

Isaiah 66:2 says

“All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit  and trembles at my word.”

Let’s revere God and walk humbly before Him together, fixing our eyes on Christ as we journey together on the race set out before us. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Last one on the issue of modesty. I am well aware that many young ladies are naive when it comes to this issue, so I wanted to share a story that CJ Mahaney uses in a chapter on modesty from his book, “Worldliness“. I have not read all of the book, but what I have read, and based on my respect for CJ Mahaney, I wholeheartedly recommend it to you!

This story comes from a young man in college who describes his daily battle with lust and how young ladies, either deliberately or naively, play a role in his battle.

Each and every day on campus is a battle. A battle against my sin, a battle against temptation, a battle against my depraved mind. Every morning I have to cry out for mercy, strength, and a renewed conviction to flee youthful lust. The Spirit is faithful to bring me the renewal I need and to prepare me to do war against my sin, yet temptations still exist.

I’m thankful God has created me to be attracted to women. However, campus is a loaded minefield. There are girls everywhere, and it is guaranteed that I will pass some attractive girls as I walk in between classes. To make it through the day unscathed, I either have to be actively engaging my mind and spirit in praying, quoting Scripture, listening to worship music, or looking at the sidewalk. Many days it takes all four to be safe. . . .

The thing that women do not seem to fully grasp is that the temptation toward lust does not stop. It is continual. It is aggressive. And it does all it can to lead men down to death. And women have a choice to help or deter the goal and purpose of lust. Sometimes when I see a girl provocatively dressed, I’ll say to myself, “She probably doesn’t even know that 101 guys are going to devour her in their minds today. But then again, maybe she does.” To be honest, I don’t know the truth, the truth of why she chooses to dress the way she does, the way she chooses to walk, the way she chooses to act. I don’t know because I’ve never sat down with a girl and asked why. All I need to know is that the way she presents herself to the world is bait for my sinful mind to latch onto and I need to avoid it at all costs.

For the most part, the church serves as a sanctuary from the continual barrage of temptation toward sin. However, the church’s members are not yet free from sin, and there are girls who are ignorant and unaware of men’s sinful tendencies.

I must confess that even church can have several mines scattered about. To the girls who are ignorant, please serve your brother in Christ and have your dad screen your wardrobe. Ask your dad how you can better choose holiness over worldliness. He’s a guy, and he knows more than you on the issue.

And to the girls who don’t follow the pattern of the world: thank you. Thank you a million times over. You are following Scripture’s commands, and you are helping your brothers in the process.

Below is a post from Mandi Mapes over at her blog, “Shotgun on the Passenger’s Side“. Mandi is on worship staff at Brook Hills, she leads a college small group of girls and will be leading worship for our College Gatherings this fall. Most people know her for her ridiculous amount of God-given vocal/song writing talent. I agree she is pretty insanely talented, but what I appreciate most is her deep desire to grow in her walk with Christ and be used by Him to make disciples of all nations.

I was encouraged by the post when I read it.  So I thought I would pass along the ‘encouragement’ to you!

If you’re looking for a good book to read, I just finished one by Greg Gilbert called What is the Gospel.

Paul declares in his letter to the Romans, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

As Christians, this verse just makes you wanna shout (in a southern country accent) “Ameen! Hallelujer!” And that’s awesome! But at the same time… Do we really believe and live this verse out? Do we really spend time meditating on the core truths of the Gospel and then carving out time to be intentional with our families, friends or the girl we run into at Starbucks twice a week?
It can be so disheartening to see in the Church and even in my life personally, how much time we can spend trying to make ourselves look more like the world rather than making the most of our brief life by sharing the hope of our Savior with the world!

Last year, when I went to South East Asia, it really sank into my heart just how precious the Gospel is. Christian, you have been entrusted with the greatest news in the universe! How can we let a day go by and not once say anything to anybody about Jesus?? How can we suppress the value of this insanely, remarkable news and cling to worthless, temporary things that distract us from what God is calling the Church to do? (namely, making His glory known and spreading his Gospel to the ends of the Earth.)

So, I encourage you.. Get’cha a cold glass of sweet tea, grab some shade (put down your iphone!!) and enjoy this book that I highly recommend

I struggle with how to start this blog post. I have been writing and deleting, writing and deleting for about 10 minutes now. So I am just going to come out and say it, regardless of how blunt it sounds.

There is an alarming number of Christian young ladies (and older ones at that) who are dressing immodestly, and in so doing they are showing little concern for their Christian brothers in their daily battle with lust.

There. I said it. I am not claiming to be the first one to say it either. Just listen to our Pastor’s sermon on Song of Solomon (about 18min in). I am just trying to be another voice speaking into the growing problem of sisters in Christ, either deliberately or naively, leading brothers in Christ astray!

There is nothing I can do about those outside the church. I fully expect for the cultural trend to move toward more immodest dress. The world will always act worldly. “You got it, flaunt it” will continue to be the mindset when it comes to woman’s fashion.

But I can encourage my sisters in Christ to consider their actions. This is no small issue. A large chunk of my time is spent with young men who are desperately seeking to walk in holiness and be used of God to make disciples of all nations. And in light of my time with them, and their openness to discuss their struggles/failures, I can assure you this is no small issue.

So, to help encourage/equip you College ladies in this area, I give you two things…

Number One. Know that the answer is not moralism (wear this/don’t wear this). A list of “acceptable” and “non-acceptable” pieces of clothing will not remedy the problem. That is because the problem is much deeper than that. The problem is rooted in sinful hearts and can only be overcome by the power of the Gospel. It is what CJ Maheney says, “Any biblical discussion of modesty begins by addressing the heart, not the hemline.”  And that is exactly what Elyse Fitzpatrick said in “Gentle, Jesus, Meek and…Modest“. Read the excerpt below.

Hebrews 4:15 informs me that my Savior has been tempted in “every respect” as I have, yet without sin. Could this possibly mean that Jesus was tempted to immodesty but didn’t sin? Because we don’t usually think in these terms about Jesus, perhaps at this juncture it might be helpful for me to define what I mean by “modesty.” Christian modesty is simply a refusal to show off out of love for God and one’s neighbor. Jesus refused to show off His power. For instance, when tempted by Satan, He refused to show off His ability to turn stones into bread or cast Himself off a high tower (Matt 4:1f). When attacked by His accusers, He “opened not His mouth” (Isa 53:7). When facing the humiliation and excruciating pain of the cross, He refrained from appealing to His Father for legions of angels who were waiting to bring Him deliverance (Matt 26:53). Jesus didn’t show off His power or authority because He loved His neighbor, His bride. Jesus was modest because He loved the church.

Conversely, immodesty flows out of the heart of a show off. Maybe we’ve worked hard at the gym or purchased an expensive new pair of jeans. Maybe we want to prove how free we are to dress in any way we choose, no matter how scandalous. When we show-off we’re failing to love our brother (and sisters) who may be tempted to lust or covetousness or sinful imitation. Showing off is a fruit of pride and love of self. Immodesty demonstrates a cold unconcern for the church.

The beauty of the gospel, however, is that it informs us about who we are and what Jesus has already done. While it convicts us that we’re all unloving show-offs (in some way), it also assures us that we’ve been loved and that we no longer need to show off to get other people’s approval because (here’s the best news of all!) the record of our Modest Redeemer is ours! Our identity isn’t wrapped up in the approval or envy or lust of others. Our identity is found in Christ’s life, death and resurrection. Christ is our life. He loved us and refrained from showing off so that we could be His and freed from the need to prove that we’ve got a great body or wardrobe or … because we’ve been lavished with His love instead.

Number two. Nancy Leigh Demoss wrote an excellent article to help you ladies think through your wardrobe. You might be thinking this is too severe, or down right “homely”. But I trust as you continue to consider how to NOT show off out of love for God and one’s neighbor you will begin to realize the gravity of this situation and desire to embrace modesty in your dress.

• Is there writing (or picture) on my clothing that emphasizes private parts of my body?

• If someone were to look me, where would their eyes naturally go— to my face, eyes, hips, thighs, breasts, etc.?

• Where do I want men looking when I come into view?

• Is the fabric that I’m wearing too sheer?

• Could someone see through it to private parts of my body?

• Am I wearing tight, form-fitting clothes?

• Do my pants fit correctly?

• Are my pants too tight? Do they cling to the hips, thighs, etc.?

• Am I wearing anything provocative?

I am praying that you young ladies will be God-focused in your decisions on what to wear, not only as you come to worship with our faith family at Brook Hills, but also in your every day life. I hope that others will say of our young ladies that they were more concerned with showing off the goodness and greatness of God, rather than showing off themselves.

May you young ladies be content in the approval of God through faith in Christ!

A blog post from one of our College Small Group Leaders on her Short-Term Global Trip to East Asia…

__________

As I sat around the dinner table that night in a country where so many have never once heard the Gospel, my heart was pierced in such a way that I fought to keep from weeping four times over.  While the beauty of the gospel moved my soul to praise, the blinded eyes of Belle’s heart flooded my own with great sorrow.  I willed and prayed that my new friend’s heart would be opened as she listened to the story of God’s redemption, of the Christ who set me free.  Further proof of the truth – which by God’s own hand she was diligently seeking – was her stumbling block.  She still insisted that she must witness miracles and travel the world to search for God before she could find Him and believe.

God’s sovereign hand was clearly at work, as evidenced by the fact that a couple of recent graduates from Birmingham were dining with a new friend in a part of the world that is “unreached” with the Gospel.  For my college roommate and I, it was our first time in the country that was once known as “the land of God.”  Only by His grace were we able to come and partner with a missionary family to share the gospel with university students in a city of 6 million.  As for Belle, she was a student we met the evening before during an English corner at a nearby university.

Though Belle was not a believer, she knew about God.  The missionary asked Belle if she would mind sharing her story – how she had come to know what she did.  Belle told us of how she had travelled to Canada with friends and met someone who had told her about God and given her a Bible.  We listened intently to the ways in which God had already been faithfully working in her life.  Even in all her searching, she had so many doubts remaining, so many questions that plagued her.  One of her questions, she wanted to know why it was that God used the rib of a man to make woman; why was it necessary to make her come from him rather than simply using the dirt as He had for man?  Another question she had was why – if God was so loving – could He allow for it to take so long for the Gospel to begin to reach her country, her people?  So many who were educated had never heard… and what about those who were uneducated, who lived out in villages?  They did and would die every day without ever hearing.

God blessed the three of us immeasurably those couple of hours as we ate together, sipped tea, and spent time sharing with Belle.  God spoke the truth of Ezekiel 11 to her through us – that God was the one who would give her a believing heart, one that had faith in Him.  My roommate and I witnessed the grace and love of God in the missionary as God used her to share truth after truth from His Word with Belle.  Though she felt she must go search the world for God, the missionary called her to consider how God was bringing the world to her.  With tears in her eyes, we begged Belle to consider the urgency of eternity, whether she would spend it with God or separated from Him.  Our hearts were occasioned to cry out again as Belle told us that she still needed more… more proof, more time to process, more opportunity to read in her Bible.  We committed to her that we would pray diligently for her, that God by His grace in His sovereignty would give her a believing heart – through whatever ways and in whatever timing He should choose.

Were I to recount the many opportunities in which God allowed us to share the Gospel in our time oversees this summer, many hours would pass and pages would fill.  However, it is in the recounting of them that I see the faithful hand of God at work in my own heart and life.  God used our time in an unreached context in many ways:

(1) to teach me in greater depth what it means to be a part of the body of Christ and to live in community

(2) to remind me of the urgency of the gospel

(3) to teach me that every moment in my life can be used intentionally for sharing the gospel

(4) to drive home the truth that God’s blessing is not separated from obedience

(5) to teach me that I am completely dependent upon God’s Spirit and power in every single moment

(6) to teach me the importance of sharing the whole of God’s story – from creation, to what Christ lives to do for us in this very moment, to what He will do for us in time to come

(7) to grow my passion for the nations

(8) to show me the necessity of living out life with others in order to be able to make disciples.

Since I have returned from that far-away land, I often find myself sipping a cup of jasmine green tea.  In those moments I look back upon the several days in my journey of faith in which God directed my path to share life and the gospel with Belle and fellow university students.  And I pray fervently still that God will deliver them from darkness.  I thankfully consider how God enables our obedience and then works through it… and how He is working to make His glory known and call His people out from among all nations.

Just read this excerpt over at Desiring God Blog from John Piper. And after reading it, I went to the LORD in prayer and asked Him to allow each of our college students at Brook Hills to “see and savor the supremacy of His Son.” I have come to understand that this is key to seeing students break free from the false promises of sin and be unleashed, by God’s grace, to impact nations for His glory. It is just what the great missionary David Brainard once said, “I found that when my people were gripped by this great doctrine of Christ and Him crucified, I had no need to give them instructions about morality”

I hope this encourages you in your walk with Christ-

All the planets of your life—your sexuality and desires, your commitments and beliefs, your aspirations and dreams, your attitudes and convictions, your habits and disciplines, your solitude and relationships, your labor and leisure, your thinking and feeling—all the planets of your life are held in orbit by the greatness and gravity and blazing brightness of the supremacy of Jesus Christ at the center of your life. And if he ceases to be the bright, blazing, satisfying beauty at the center of your life, the planets will fly into confusion, and a hundred things will be out of control, and sooner or later they will crash into destruction.

… Oh, that the almighty God would help us see and savor the supremacy of his Son. Give yourself to this. Study this. Cultivate this passion. Eat and drink and sleep this quest to know the supremacy of Christ.

Rock the Block is a unique opportunity for our local church to take the Gospel to the streets of Birmingham. The week of July 12th our church is hosting Back Yard Bible Clubs in the housing authority in Gate City. This is an area of our city that is stricken with poverty and is in many ways one of the most needy areas in all of Birmingham.

Did you know that…

* 73% of Gate City family households with kids are led by a single adult
* 34% of Households make less than $20,000 a year (15% less than $10,000)
* 93% of all students in Gate City qualify for federal discount/free lunch program
* 62% of grandparents are responsible for grandchildren in East Lake
* 41% of men are unemployed
* 51% of women are unemployed

Our hope is to mobilize the body of Christ (in particular College Students) to go and serve the people of Gate City. We are partnering with an area local church to provide the kids in the housing authority an opportunity to hear and see the Good News of Jesus Christ. If you desire to share with children truths such as, “It is an undeserved privilege to be a child of God” and “Jesus is the most valuable Treasure of all”, then you should commit to 1 night of training next Wednesday Night and make plans to join us July 12th-16th.

The Young Singles Ministry and the College Ministry are going to partner together next Wednesday night for 1 night of training to prepare for a week of ministry! You need to make plans to join us there and get ready to share and show Jesus to a slew of kids in Gate City!

Sign up for Gate City-Rock the Block Training here!


The 2nd most important decision you will make in your life is who you will enter into the covenant of marriage with. Think about it, outside of turning from your sin and trusting in Christ, what is more important? This one single decision of who you will marry will impact the remaining days of your life!

Seven years ago this week I married Angelia Brook Sisson.  You can now call her Brook Sisson Taylor.

By God’s grace, these have been seven incredible years.  Things have not always been easy. They have not always been fun. Our marriage has had its ups and its downs. But through it all, God has continued to pour out His grace in our lives through our relationship together and I can honestly say that I am convinced my wife is “more precious than jewels” (Prov. 31:10)

Tragically, society portrays marriage as  a second class lifestyle that should only be pursued after one sucks all the fun out of singleness. With divorce rates skyrocketing and “shacking up” becoming more and more socially acceptable (sometimes even in the church), it is no doubt that marriage is being devalued in our day. I say this is tragic because I firmly believe one of God’s amazing gifts of grace is experienced in the context of marriage.I see this in Scripture and I see it in my own life.

Most would point to three primary purposes for marriage in Scripture…

• Procreation: In other words, babies are to be conceived, birthed, reared, and unleashed into the world through the marriage covenant. Remember, the first command from God came to the first married couple, “be fruitful and multiply.”
• Sanctification: Simply put, God’s purpose for marriage is not necessarily to make you happy, but to make you holy! One of the greatest lessons I have learned through marriage is that the covenant of marriage is God’s laboratory for my sanctification.
• Illustration: Let me explain, one of the clearest ways to demonstrate the Gospel to the watching world is for two Christ-followers to get married and embrace God’s counsel in Ephesians 5! That is exactly what Paul is referring to in Ephesians 5:32.

Now for all you single college students, I hear the question now…what about sex? Is sex not one of the purposes of marriage? Well, the answer is yes. We need to save this one for another blog post at another time, but I see the gift of sex in all three of these biblical purposes for marriage. For more on this pretty incredible gift from God (ie, sex) watch our Pastor, David Platt, preach on the book of Song of Solomon from a few weeks ago (video below)

So, what can you do now.

I would urge you to begin to prepare yourself to be an excellent spouse. I agree wholeheartedly with Kevin Deyoung that too many young people are praying for 17 things they want in a spouse, and not 17 things they want to be as a spouse. I would recommend THIS book for guys, and THIS book for ladies! Also, I heard someone tell me that in preparation for marriage, they are stalking other godly spouses to help equip them. I would do that, only to the extent that the law allows though (don’t want to encourage you right into jail!)

Also, final point and I am done, be wise in your decision. What I am trying to say is, dont go at this alone! Wisdom is in a multitude of counselors (Prov. 11:14). In other words, dont seek out a spouse (or be sought out by someone to be a spouse) in isolation. Lean heavily on your parents, pastors, and godly friends for guidance and accountability. Sadly many young people are blinded by lust and are unable to discern between a godly spouse and a fake. Dont be that person…proceed with Godly counsel.

There are few people who challenge me more in my pursuit of Christ than John Wesley. If you have never read of his life then I beg you to pick up a Wesley biography.  His devotion to Christ and desire to walk in a manner worthy of Him will convict and inspire you greatly.  It will pretty much ‘rock your world’ (yes, I am aware that is a phrase straight out of the 80’s).

When Wesley was at Oxford he got a few of his closest buddies and formed a small group called the “Holy Club”.  The group had a few other studs, namely George Whitfield and Charles Wesley. The goal was for these guys to grow in their faith daily through biblical community.  They desired to encourage and spur one-another on in their faith and to not allow any one of them to drift into apathy toward Christ.

Within the group they came up with the following questions meant to be used for daily personal reflection.  Each one was to utilize these questions daily in their private devotions.

1. Am I creating the impression that I am better than I am?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words?
3. Do I break confidence — tell others’ secrets?
4. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, habits?
5. Can I be trusted?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
7. Did God’s Word live in me today?
8. Am I enjoying my prayer time?
9. When was the last time I shared my faith?
10. Do I pray about the money I spend?
11. Do I go to bed on time and get up on time?
12. Do I disobey God in anything?
13. Do I have an uneasy conscience?
14. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
15. Am I jealous, impure, critical, touchy, irritible, or distrustful?
16. Am I proud?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Do I thank God that I am not like others?
19. Is there anyone I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, disregard or resent?
20. Do I grumble and complain?
21. Is Christ real to me?

So, I encourage you to do two things…

• Commit your life to Biblical Community: You need it. Others need you. Enough said. Getting your life involved with others to that level will no doubt be difficult and time consuming. But it is  biblical community that is the context where personal change takes place. God models community for us (ie, Trinity). Jesus’ life set the precedent for us (ie, 12 Disciples). The early church practiced it continually (ie, the entire book of Acts). And you desperately need it. Next step? If you are not connected already, go here to connect to a College Small Group!
• Begin to implement some sort of accountability into your Group: Whether is it the 21 questions from Wesley, or some other form of accountability, have a built in component of accountability to your biblical community.  Don’t just study the Word together, allow your lives to be studied in light of the Word. Regularly have those in your life asking the difficult questions concerning your walk with Christ.  Then allow your successes to be opportunities to praise God for His Gospel AND your failures to be opportunities to grow deeper in your dependence of His Gospel.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:19-25