Brook Hills College – Blog

  1. Campus Ministry and the Local Church – Part 3

    May 11, 2012 by admin

    We are continuing our series about Campus Ministries and the Local Church.  (Read Part I and Part II.)  Many students feel they have to choose to be involved in or committed to one or the other.  We are discussing the roles of both entities and how they work together to lead students closer to Christ.

    Previously, we discussed how Campus Ministries and the Local Church should not be in competition with one another but cooperating together for the glorify of God among college students.  We also highlighted how Campus Ministries have proximity to students, but the Local Church ultimately has priority in membership with the local body of Christ.  In light of these truths, how can we have a healthy view of Campus Ministries and the Local Church in our lives?

    Students should utilize the ministries present on their campuses.  It would be unwise not to tap into the resources offered through organizations such as CRU, BCM, RUF, Campus Outreach, etc.  Uniting with other believers on campuses through these ministries is a great way to deepen discipleship and biblical community with other college students.

    At the same time, students should unite to a Local Church.  It would be unbiblical not to commit to membership at a Local Church while in college.  If you live in another city for 4+ years, you should at minimum unite to a church in that city through dual membership or watch-care.  Being in college out of your hometown is not an excuse for putting off membership to a Local Church.

    Warning:

    The Church is not an event to attend or a building to go to.  The Church is a local gathering of baptized believers under biblical leadership united to grow in Christ’s likeness and to express the love of Christ to one-another and to the world around them.

    *Beware of campus ministries that fill up so much of your calendar that all you have left in the tank is to “go to church” on Sunday.  That is not only unhealthy, but it is unbiblical and does not honor Christ, who “loved the Church and gave Himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:25)

    *Beware of local churches that do not teach God’s Word and show the importance of intentionally engaging in gospel-centered ministry on the campus that the Lord has brought you to study and live.

    Excellent resources

    9 Marks of a Healthy Church (Dever)

    Stop Dating the Church (Harris)

    What is a Healthy Church Member? (Anyabwile)

    “The Gospel and Church Membership” (Platt)

    E-Journal- Church and Parachurch: Friend or Foes

    Category: Church, College LifeTags: , , | Comments (0)

  2. Campus Ministry and the Local Church – Part 2

    May 10, 2012 by admin

    We are continuing our series about Campus Ministries and the Local Church.  (Read Part I here.)  Many students feel they have to choose to be involved in or committed to one or the other.  We are discussing the roles of both entities and how they work together to lead students closer to Christ.

    In our previous post, we discussed how campus ministry and the local church should not be in competition with one another.  Rather, they should cooperate together to see God glorified in the lives of college students.  Those truths left us with the practical question of how does this look?

    Campus Ministries have proximity and therefore great value in the students’ walk with Christ.  Through the ministry, they can promote Christ-honoring relationships on campus.  Students form relationships through the ministry, and they are able to exemplify biblical truths learned in those friendships.  They also facilitate Christ-honoring ministry on campus.  Through studying and teaching of the Word, students spur one another on towards service on their campus meeting immediate needs of friends and acquaintances in everyday life.  Campus Ministers have expertise that pastors of local churches simply don’t possess due to the sheer amount of focused time campus ministers spend on a specific campus.

    However, the Local Church has priority and therefore should be visibly reflected in the student’s walk with Christ through uniting in membership.  College students can’t “be subject to elders” (1 Peter 5:5) apart from a Local Church.  They should see their ministry and disciple-making efforts under the authority of a set of elders in a specific local church.  Also, college students need inter-generational relationships as outlined in Titus 2 to be trained in biblical manhood and womanhood.  Investing in relationships with people outside one’s age group promotes selflessness and flexibility.  Ultimately, students who only connect to campus ministry and fail to connect to the Local Church during their college years are much more likely to go MIA after graduation.

    Although Campus Ministries have proximity to college students, the Local Church has priority in authority among all believers.  College students must recognize this fact about the Local Church and identify with one in commitment of membership.  For information about committing to membership at Brook Hills, visit www.brookhills.org/impact.

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  3. Campus Ministry and the Local Church

    May 9, 2012 by admin

    We are starting a new series today discussing Campus Ministries and the Local Church.  Many students feel they have to choose to be involved in or committed to one or the other.  We are going to discuss the roles of both entities and how they work together to lead students closer to Christ.

    Look around your university’s campus.  You are likely to find various campus ministries without venturing too far.  Organizations like CRU, RUF, BSU, Campus Outreach, etc. are responsible for incredible outreach among college students and discipleship among their participants.  They are able to meet students where they are directly on campuses.  We praise God for their ministry and what they are doing in student’s lives.

    Therefore, Campus Ministry and the Local Church should not be in competition with one another.  It is not about who can get a bigger crowd.  It’s not even about who can be more effective on a certain campus.  Focusing on numbers and effectiveness misses the point about how we work together.

    Campus Ministry and the Local Church should be cooperating together to see God glorified in the lives of college students.  If you spoke with leadership in a Campus Ministry and a minister at a Local Church, I believe you would hear similar goals and desires for college students.  Ultimately, both want God to be glorified through their ministry.  Both want Christ-following college students to grow into full maturity in Christ as biblical men and women.  Both want Christ-following college students intentionally making disciples of all nations.  Both want unbelieving college students to see their need for Jesus, repent of their sins, and trust in the finished work of Christ.

    We may need to change our perspective on the role of both Campus Ministry and the Local Church.  It is not an either/or situation.  Students do not have to choose Campus Ministry OR the Local Church.  Rather, we should view these two entities as a both/and utilizing BOTH ministries to the glory of God.

    So, how does this both/and relationship look?  We will continue this discussion in Part II of Campus Ministry and the Local Church.

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  4. Mid Term Highlight – Southeast Asia

    April 3, 2012 by admin

    Billy Shepard, a college student and small group leader in our ministry, wrote the following blog post about his time in Southeast Asia last summer. 

    It’s difficult to express succinctly everything I learned this past summer in Southeast Asia. God began to humble me tremendously and teach me that satisfaction and joy are not found in comforts, circumstances, or even people, but in Him alone.

    However, it’s very easy for me to explain why my summer was well spent, and why I would encourage other students to consider spending their summer in an unreached context for the sake of the Kingdom. My interactions with two teenage college students and their response to the gospel explain my convictions.

    Lee is an 18-year-old university student. I met him at our first English seminar taught at the local university. The university set up a “Meet and Greet” for the students to meet their English teachers. The only way to describe the event is that it is similar to the first night of Rush. There were a lot of people standing around talking with a few people standing to the side and watching. Soon after I arrived, I met Lee. I intended merely to say hello and introduce myself, but he proceeded to talk my ear off. In the course of our conversation, I shared the gospel with him.  When I asked him his thoughts, he told me about his Buddhist upbringing.  However, he briefly read the Bible because the creation story interested him. I answered his questions for a few minutes, and he then told me that he wanted to trust in Christ.

    God saved my new friend before we were in the country an entire week. Over the next several weeks, it became clear that God gloriously saved him. He was so hungry to grow in the gospel. It was my joy to teach Lee the commands of our Lord and to see him begin to understand the call of discipleship. God worked in spite of myself and gave me the great blessing of a man who became a dear brother in the process.

    Lee and Billy

    Why There Is Need for More Workers:

    Iquan is a 19-year-old university student from a very rural area who is studying to become an Imam (Teacher of the Quran) in the Muslim faith. We met him while serving on the second part of our trip and teaching sports to his class of future Imams. Each night we would spend time talking with the students. One night after some small talk, Iquan asked me, “Billy, are you a Muslim?” I used that wide open door to share with him about how he could have a clean heart through what Isa al Massih (Jesus’s name in the Quran) had done on his behalf. He quickly told me that he didn’t need Isa, because he would be counted righteous before God by his prayer, fasting, and abstinence from alcohol. My heart broke for him then and now as I recall the story. He trusts in his own righteousness and his good works bearing the wrath of God for his sin, because he didn’t trust in the One who bore it for him.

    Iquan is one of millions like him. The particular people group Iquan represents is a group of more than 10 million who are spread across Southeast Asia. Only a few hundred known believers in Christ live where the other 10 million plus people are Muslims. It was for the sake of this people group and others similar to it that I urged my small group men to put aside the pursuit of lesser joys for one summer in order to seek great joy in bringing God glory by proclaiming His gospel among nations where He is not known.

    Josh, dance teacher, and Billy in typical SE Asian attire

    As college students, our summers are unique opportunities to use in a variety of ways. I would encourage anyone to set aside one summer for the sake seeing gospel transformation similar to Lee and for the sake of loving and sharing truth with unbelievers like Iquan. God promised in His word to save people from every tribe, tongue, and nation and told His people that preaching the gospel is the way He will do so. God doesn’t need us in order to make His glory known, but He gave us this opportunity to share in His work in the world because of His love for His people.

    “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’.”
    - Matthew 9:37-38

    Category: Mission Comments (0)

  5. Belief in Adam = Anti-Intellectualism?

    March 14, 2012 by admin

    Brandon Bennett, our College Ministry Intern, put this article together based on Kevin DeYoung’s post, “Reasons to Believe in a Historical Adam,” on the Gospel Coalition blog.

    In many university classrooms, even religious ones, professors claim Adam from Genesis did not really exist.  They go on to say that the creation story is simply a myth meant to engage initial readers with a familiar story.  How do students maintain faith and defend truth in this discussion?  Or do they?  If you have been thinking through whether Adam really existed, here’s some help.  Kevin DeYoung has given us ten reasons to believe in a historical Adam:

    1. The Bible does not put an artificial wedge between history and theology. Of course, Genesis is not a history textbook or a science textbook, but that is far from saying we ought to separate the theological wheat from the historical chaff. Such a division owes to the Enlightenment more than the Bible.

    2. The biblical story of creation is meant to supplant other ancient creation stories more than imitate them. Moses wants to show God’s people “this is how things really happened.” The Pentateuch is full of warnings against compromise with the pagan culture. It would be surprising, then, for Genesis to start with one more mythical account of creation like the rest of the ANE.

    3. The opening chapters of Genesis are stylized, but they show no signs of being poetry. Compare Genesis 1 with Psalm 104, for example, and you’ll see how different these texts are. It’s simply not accurate to call Genesis poetry. And even if it were, who says poetry has to be less historically accurate?

    4. There is a seamless strand of history from Adam in Genesis 2 to Abraham in Genesis 12. You can’t set Genesis 1-11 aside as prehistory, not in the sense of being less than historically true as we normally understand those terms. Moses deliberately connects Abram with all the history that comes before him, all the way back to Adam and Eve in the garden.

    5. The genealogies in 1 Chronicles 1 and Luke 3 treat Adam as historical.

    6. Paul believed in a historical Adam (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:21-22, 45-49). Even some revisionists are honest enough to admit this; they simply maintain that Paul (and Luke) were wrong.

    7. The weight of the history of interpretation points to the historicity of Adam. The literature of second temple Judaism affirmed an historical Adam. The history of the church’s interpretation also assumes it.

    8. Without a common descent we lose any firm basis for believing that all people regardless of race or ethnicity have the same nature, the same inherent dignity, the same image of God, the same sin problem, and that despite our divisions we are all part of the same family coming from the same parents.

    9. Without a historical Adam, Paul’s doctrine of original sin and guilt does not hold together.

    10. Without a historical Adam, Paul’s doctrine of the second Adam does not hold together.

    Read the Whole Article Here: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2012/02/07/reasons-to-believe-in-a-historical-adam/

    For further consideration:
    Douglas F. Kelly, Creation and Change
    Vern S. Poythress, Redeeming Science: A God-Centered Approach
    C. John Collins, Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?: Who They Were and Why You Should Care
    Center for Science and Culture, Discovery Institute http://www.discovery.org/csc/scientificResearch/

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  6. Professional Psychologist or Simpleton Christian? (Follow Up)

    March 12, 2012 by B. Taylor

    In the previous post, we stated that followers of Christ and even ministers/pastors too quickly shuffle people and their problems to the so-called professionals.

    My thought after hitting the “upload” button on the WordPress site was, “Wow, I can’t just say that without any type of follow up.”

    So, onto post two (a few months later)… A follow-up to the previously-written, somewhat-controversial, desperately-needed entry entitled, “Professional Psychologist or Simpleton Christian?”

    I stated that the ideal situation would be for all Christians to study God’s Word toward the end of glorifying Him by becoming more faithful counselors to their brothers and sisters in Christ (Rom. 15:14). And even said this needed to take place daily.

    So, post 2 will be some ways that you can become a more faithful counselor of God’s Word in the days ahead.

    Several suggestions here…

    First off…read, read, read the Bible. Study it. Meditate on it. Don’t minimize it or ignore it. Continue to go back to it. Whatever it takes for you to have a steady diet of the “pure milk” of God’s Word, do it! I personally utilize the Discipleship Journal Daily Reading Plan. This allows me some flex days throughout the month. Whatever the resource that you choose to utilize, just make sure you read the bible…all of it. And then read it again. Don’t underestimate the level of comprehension and understanding you can have of God’s Word in 5, 10 even 20 years from now if you give yourself daily to His Word.

    Secondly… study, study, study the book of Ephesians. Dr. David Powlison has said, “You will not go wrong if you plunge into Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Master it. Be mastered by it. Work Ephesians into your thinking, your living, your prayers, and your conversation. The Bible is vast and deep, and human life is diverse and perplexing. But in a pinch you could do all counseling from Ephesians.” (Seeing With New Eyes, 17) Wise words from a wise man. Know Ephesians.

    Thirdly…read a few important books in regard to personal ministry (i.e., biblical counseling). I can’t think of a better book for all Christian college students to read than Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands. Also, a few other key books are entitled, When People Are Big And God Is Small and How People Change by Tripp. Both offer biblically faithful teaching on how to counsel your brothers/sisters in Christ.

    Finally…go to CCEF.org often. A small group member is struggling with depression? A dorm mate tells you they are homosexual? A friend loses her parent to terminal cancer and is devastated as he/she grieves the loss? All of these should be  dealt with wisely. And I have found the guys/gals at CCEF to be humbly rooted in Scripture.

    Really, this is the last thing…read this article.

    Praying God would mature our college students and me in His Word for His glory and for the good of others.

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  7. J.I. Packer on the Church

    March 1, 2012 by B. Taylor

    From J.I. Packer in Concise Theology, page 201…

    “Essentially, the church is, was, and always will be a single worshiping community, permanently gathered in the true sanctuary which is the heavenly Jerusalem (Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22-24), the place of God’s presence. Here all who are alive in Christ, the physically living with the physically dead (i.e., the church militant with the church triumphant) worship continually. In the world, however, this one church appears in the form of local congregations, each one called to fulfill the role of being a microcosm (a small-scale representative sample) of the church as a whole. This explains how it is that for Paul the one church universal is the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-26; Eph. 1:22-23; 3:6; 4:4), and so is the local congregation (1 Cori. 12:27).” 

    The Church at Brook Hills, which is “called to fulfill the role of being a microcosm of the church as a whole“, welcomes for membership all individuals who have trusted in Christ for their salvation and have been obedient to Christ through believer’s baptism by immersion. Prospective members will complete the IMPACT New Members’ Workshop and affirm the membership covenant. The next IMPACT Workshop will take place in April/May on Sundays, April 15, 22, 29, and May 6 from 4:00-6:00pm.

    Register here for the upcoming Impact Workshop.

     

     

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  8. The Battle of Pornography

    February 29, 2012 by rachelmnewman

    Brandon Bennett, our College Ministry Intern, wrote the following blog post.  Currently, Brandon is a student at Beeson Divinity School at Samford University. 

    The Statistics…

    + Worldwide revenues for the pornography industry in 2006 were at least $97 billion, with revenues in the United States fourth highest among all countries at $13.3 billion. Previous numbers put the worldwide revenues for pornography at $57 billion for the year 2003.
    + Pornography revenues in China were the highest for 2006 at $27.4 billion with South Korea at $25.7 billion and Japan at $20 billion.
    + Every second $3,075.64 is spent on pornography; 28, 258 Internet users view pornography; and 372 Internet users type adult search terms into search engines.

    Ten Encouragements for Your Battle…

    [Adapted from David Platt’s Secret Church: Marriage, Family, Sex, and the Gospel]

    + Cultivate unshakable zeal for the glory of God’s name.
    So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

    + Acknowledge your sexual drive as a good gift from a gracious God.
    The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own    body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time (1 Corinthians 7:3-5).

    + Run from every temptation, knowing that one sin is enough to warrant infinite damnation.
    But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires (Romans 13:14).

    + Guard yourself with godly friendships and gospel accountability.
    Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:12-13).

    + Contemplate the price Christ paid for your purity. See Him writhing on a cross in agony. Fight tempting images with that image.
    Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (1 Peter 1:13-19).

    + Consider the compassion Christ has for the souls of men and women. Love and pray for them; don’t exploit and abuse them.
    From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16).

    + Believe that God is for you… and knows what is best for you.
    He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things (Romans 8:32)?

    + Memorize and meditate on Scripture.
    Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:1-2).

    + Ponder the eternal danger and destruction associated with sexual sin.
    Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming (Colossians 3:5-6).

    +Ponder the eternal delight and joy associated with future salvation.

    Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73:25-26).

    If pornography has become a sinful pattern for you, confess your sin to God. If you are an unbeliever, look to Christ who bore sin and death and then crushed it by rising from the grave. But if you are a believer, look to Christ too, for he has truly set you free. Remember that because you are a now a slave of God, you are no longer a slave to sin (Romans 6:6). Then seek another believer who can hold you accountable in fighting this sin:  “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1-2).

    Speak to your small group leader immediately or contact the College Ministry at Brook Hills at college@brookhills.org.

    Further Reading:

    Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor

    Sexual Detox: A Guide for Guys Who Are Sick of Porn, by Tim Challies

    Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is), by Joshua Harris

    You Can Change by Tim Chester

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  9. “One Another” Commands in the New Testament

    February 22, 2012 by B. Taylor

    A great study for all of us is to work through is the “one another” commands of Scripture. Below is a list of passages pulled from an article entitled, Member Care in the Mega Church by the Bart Box.

    Read them.

    Pray through them.

    Confess to others how you have not kept them.

    Also, ask God to give the college students at Brook Hills the grace to walk in them.

    Mark 9:50  Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.

    John 13:34  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

    John 15:12  This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

    John 15:17  These things I command you, so that you will love one another. 

    Romans 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

    Romans 12:16  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited.

    Romans 14:13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

    Romans 15:5  May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus.

    Romans 15:7  Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

    Romans 15:14  I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.

    Romans 16:16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

    1 Corinthians 11:33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.

    1 Corinthians 12:25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

    1 Corinthians 16:20 All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

    2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

    Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

    Galatians 5:26  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

    Ephesians 4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

    Ephesians 4:32  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

    Ephesians 5:19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart.

    Ephesians 5:21  submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

    Colossians 3:9  Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices

    Colossians 3:13  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

    Colossians 3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

    1 Thessalonians 3:12  and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,

    1 Thessalonians 4:9  Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.

    1 Thessalonians 4:18  Therefore encourage one another with these words.

    1 Thessalonians 5:11  Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

    1 Thessalonians 5:15  See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

    2 Thessalonians 1:3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

    Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

    Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 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.

    James 4:11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.

    James 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

    James 5:16  Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

    1 Peter 1:22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

    1 Peter 4:8-10 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:

    1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

    1 Peter 5:14  Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

    1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 

    1 John 3:11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

    1 John 3:23  And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

    1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

    1 John 4:11-12 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

    2 John 1:5 And now I ask you, dear lady- not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning- that we love one another. 

     

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  10. Prayer Focus

    by rachelmnewman

    This past January approximately 20 from BH:College Ministry flew out to the 10/40 Window on Short Term Mission Teams from Brook Hills to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. I know I speak for all who were a part of these short-term teams, that we were humbled to engage unreached Muslims as we sought to “glorify God by making disciples of all nations”.

    One thing we all probably came away with was a greater awareness of spiritual warfare and the need to engage in the battle through prayer. Hopefully in the coming days we will post something of a “How To” for college students in Birmingham to engage Muslims with the Gospel. However, I thought we first needed to call everyone to meaningful prayer for the nearly 1.6 billion followers of Islam.

    How can we pray for the people who make up nearly 1 out of every 4 people on the planet…

    First off, Paul says in Colossians…

    At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— (Colossians 4:3)

    Would you pray for opportunities for the Church to share the Gospel with Muslims? Many of the 1.6 billion Muslims live in closed countries. They are not giving out missionary visas for anyone to come share the Gospel and plant churches in most Muslim countries. However, many are in school at universities we attend, live next door to us, work alongside us, possibly even married into our extended families. Let’s pray for God to burden His people and that those in open countries as well as closed would lovingly, humbly and boldly “declare the mystery of Christ” to those who follow Islam.

    Secondly, Paul writes in Romans…

    Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (Romans 10:1-2)

    Would you pray for the salvation of Muslims? Paul’s “heart’s desire and prayer to God” in Romans 10 was specifically for his fellow Jews, yet the same principle can and should be applied with the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. There is great zeal for Allah (“God” in Arabic) among Muslims, but it is not according to knowledge. Only God can bring death to life and the blind into seeing and embracing Isa al Masih (“Jesus the Messiah” in Arabic) as Lord and Savior. Let’s pray desperately, asking God to do what only He can do, namely reconcile sinners to Himself through His Son, Jesus (Mark 10:26,27).

    Finally, our Lord Jesus said…

    “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”(Matthew 9:37-38)

    Would you pray the Lord would send out more “laborers into His harvest”? At Brook Hills we have seen that the entire church is intended by God to join Him in His mission, making disciples of all nations. The command is universal. However, the calling as to how that specifically plays out in each person’s life is very personal.  Would you pray to the Lord of the harvest to raise up more workers who see their calling to take the Gospel to Muslims?

    Statistics show only 0.05% of Christian workers in the world having Muslims as their focus. That is unbelievable knowing that 1 out of every 4 people in this world are followers of Islam.  The stark reality is that most Muslims will die without ever having someone share with them the Gospel. Let’s pray for more “laborers”.

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