Brook Hills College – Blog

  1. General Advice to Young Men

    April 26, 2010 by Britten Taylor

    I recently posted JC Ryle’s “Five Dangers Young Men Face” from his booklet Thoughts for Young Men. The little booklet is pretty much gold. It is gold for the college guys who wish to gain wisdom in how to conduct their life to the glory of God, and it is gold for the college ladies who are deciding what type of man they will allow to pursue them in marriage. So basically, regardless of gender, you should read this!

    Below is another excerpt from Ryle’s little booklet entitled, “General Advice to Young Men“. Enjoy…

    1. Try To Get A Clear View of The Evil Of Sin.

    Young men, if you did know what sin is, and what sin has done, you would not think it so strange that I exhort you as I do. You do not see it in its true colors. Your eyes are naturally blind to its guilt and danger, and therefore you cannot understand what makes me so worried about you. Oh, don’t let the devil succeed in persuading you that sin is a small matter!

    Think for a moment what the Bible says about sin.

    • It dwells naturally in the heart of every man (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23)
    • It defiles our thoughts, words, and actions continually (Genesis 6:5; Matthew 15:19)
    • It renders us all guilty and abominable in the sight of a holy God (Isaiah 64:6; Habakkuk 1:13)
    • It leaves us utterly without hope of salvation, if we look to ourselves (Psalm 143:2; Romans 3:20)
    • Its fruit in this world is shame, and its wages in the world to come is death (Romans 6:21, 23).

    Think what an awful change sin has worked on all our natures.

    Man is no longer what he was when God formed him out of the dust of the ground. He came out of God’s hand upright and sinless (Ecclesiastes 7:29). When he was created he was, “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Now he is a fallen creature

    +Ruined            +Corrupted            +Impotent

    +Disorderly      +Confused

    +Ignorant         +Degraded

    Like a rudderless ship tossed to and fro by every desire. What a wreck man is!

    The Holy Spirit describes man as:  blind, deaf, diseased, asleep, and dead,

    Think what it has cost to make atonement and provide a pardon for sinners

    • God’s own Son must come into the world, and take upon Him our nature, in order to pay the price of our redemption, and deliver us from the curse of a broken law.
    • He who was in the beginning with the Father, and by whom all things were made, must suffer for sin the just for the unjust–must die the death of a criminal, before the way to heaven can be laid open to any soul.

    See the Lord Jesus Christ and then consider what must be the evil and guilt of sin.

    • See Him despised
    • See Him rejected
    • See Him scourged
    • See Him mocked
    • See Him insulted
    • See Him bleeding on the cross of Calvary
    • Hear Him cry out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
    • See how the sun was darkened, and the rocks shook at the sight

    Think of all the misery and sorrow that sin has caused and is causing

    • Pain • Disease • Death

    • Strife • Quarrels • Divisions

    • Envy • Jealousy • Malice

    • Deceit • Fraud • And Cheating

    • Violence • Oppression • Robbery

    • Selfishness • Unkindness • Ingratitude

    Sin has marred and spoiled the face of God’s creation

    Young men, consider these things. Will you play with poison? Will you sport with hell?

    Will you take fire in your hand? Will you harbor your deadliest enemy in your arms?

    2. Seek To Become Acquainted with Jesus Christ

    This is the cornerstone of Christianity. Without Christ religion is useless, like a watch that does not keep time.

    You must know Christ

    • His mercy
    • His grace
    • His power

    You must know Christ by Faith, in your heart

    • As your peace
    • As your strength
    • As your life
    • As your consolation
    • As your Physician
    • As your Shepherd
    • As your Savior
    • As your God

    Hear the request I make of you this day–if you love life, seek to become acquainted with Jesus Christ.

    3. Remember, Nothing Is As Important As Your Soul

    Your soul is eternal. The world and all that it contains will pass away. Think for a moment why God made you…

    • Not merely to eat and drink, indulge the desires of the flesh, dress up your body, and follow its lusts, not merely to work, sleep, laugh, talk, and enjoy yourselves.
    • No! You were placed here to train for eternity.
    • Young men, God does not look at riches, titles, education, beauty, or anything of the kind. There is only one thing that God does look at, and that is the immortal soul.
    • Believe me, the day is fast coming when the soul will be the one thing men will think of, and the only question of importance will be, “Is my soul lost or saved?”

    4. Remember, A Young Man Can Serve God

    • It is as snare of Satan that says young men cannot serve God
    • The world seems to take it for granted that young people must be irreligious, and that it is not possible for them to follow Christ.
    • Young men, I will ask you this simple question–Where will you find anything of this in the Word of God?
    • Is not sin–sin, whether committed at the age of twenty or fifty? Will it form the slightest excuse, in the Day of Judgment, to say, “I know I sinned, but I was young then?

    5. Make The Bible Your Guide And Adviser

    The Bible is

    • God’s merciful provision for sinful man’s soul
    • The map by which he must steer his course
    • All that we need to make us peaceful, holy, or happy, is richly contained there

    Young men, I charge you to make a habit of reading the Bible

    • Read it with the prayer that the Holy Spirit’s grace will help you understand it.
    • Read it reverently, as the Word of God, not of man, believing implicitly that what it approves is right, and what it condemns is wrong.
    • And read it regularly. Become “mighty in the Scriptures.
    • Do not let newspapers, novels, and romances be read, while the prophets and Apostles are despised.

    Young men, give the Bible the honor due to it every day you live. Whatever you read, read that first. And beware of bad books: there are plenty in this day.

    6. Never Make An Intimate Friend Of Anyone Who Is Not A Friend Of God.

    Distinguish between acquaintances and friends

    • Be courteous, but do not open your whole heart to the ungodly
    • Never be satisfied with the friendship of any one who will not be useful to your soul
    • There is no telling the harm that is done by associating with godless companions and friends.
    • The devil has few better helps in ruining a man’s soul
    • Good education, early habits of morality, sermons, and books, are of little help if you cling to ungodly friends.

    Good Friends

    • Good friends are among our greatest blessings
    • Good friends keep us from evil
    • Good friends remind us of our course
    • Good friends speak an appropriate word at the right time
    • Good friends incline our thought to
    • Good friends encourage us

    Bad Friends

    • Bad friends are a burden
    • Bad friends are a weight continually dragging us down
    • Bad friends chain us to earth

    Choose your friends wisely:

    • Friends who will benefit your soul,
    • Friends whom you can really respect,
    • Friends whom you would like to have near you on your deathbed
    • Friends who love the Bible, and are not afraid to speak to you about it
    • Friends that you would not be ashamed of having at the coming of Christ, and the Day of Judgment.

    Category: College Life, Uncategorized Comments (0)

  2. Disciple-Making Reminders (pt 1)

    April 22, 2010 by Britten Taylor

    A series of reminders in your Disciple-Making efforts from John 17…

    Disciple-making is for the glory of God. Earth shattering, I know. But before you stop reading because all I am doing is stating the obvious, let me say that we need to be reminded of this often.  We need to evaluate our efforts and the motives of these efforts on a regular basis.  I firmly believe this is an area where our confessional theology can be out of alignment with our functional theology. You might be able to say “glory to God”, but do your actions and attitudes declare something different?  Disciple-making is not for our fame; it is for the glory of God.

    So how can we determine whether or not our disciple-making efforts are for the glory of self or for the glory of God?  We should bombard our efforts and our motives behind those efforts with questions such as…What do I love about my disciple-making efforts? What do I hate about my disciple-making efforts? What do I desire most in disciple-making efforts? What are my goals and expectations for my efforts? What is my worst fear in my disciple-making efforts? What factors determine success for me?

    Once we have determined the answers to these questions, I believe we can assess whether or not disciple-making efforts are about making much of self, the disciple-maker, or about making much of God, the One to Whom all glory is due! If our efforts are spewing forth from a deep desire to glorify God…stay the course. If our efforts are coming out of anything other than that…repent or stop your efforts until the course is corrected.

    I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

    Isaiah 42:8

    Category: Mission, UncategorizedTags: | Comments (0)

  3. We’ll Play for India

    April 20, 2010 by Britten Taylor

    Jesus from John 4:13-14

    “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

    India

    In India an astounding 900 million living on less than US $2 a day and some 130 million without access to clean water. And India has more (and larger) people groups with no Christians, churches or workers than any other part of the world.

    Neverthirst

    Everyone needs water, physical and living. It is Neverthirst’s mission to make both available to the impoverished and forgotten in developing countries.

    NeverThirst sees India as a target country due to the ability to help encourage the local church through clean water projects in a land where so few have any knowledge of the Gospel.  It’s a way for Neverthirst to help the local church engage the lost as they give a true representation of who Jesus is and how He cares for the poor.

    Brook Hills College Small Groups

    Two of our college small groups are coming together to host a concert to raise money to provide clean water to villages in India via Neverthirst Ministry. By raising funds that will go to provide clean water for the people of India, our college small groups will literally be partnering with local churches of India to take the Gospel to those who have yet to hear the Good News.

    Free Concert – Free Coffee

    Mandi Mapes + Chris ‘Wilder’ Adkins will be playin’ some tunes on Friday, May 7th from 7pm – 9pm @ the UCF House.

    Come out and enjoy LIVE music and FREE coffee! There will also be jewelry, artwork, photography, possibly even some sweets for sale! All proceeds of the evening will go to Neverthirst for the building of a well in India.

    (Click HERE to register your attendance for the concert)

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  4. Rescue Mission

    April 1, 2010 by Britten Taylor

    Disciple-making is NOT JUST about believers growing deeper in their walk. It is also about rescuing sinners (i.e. Evangelism). To say it another way, evangelism and disciple-making should never be seen as an either/or.  They are inseparable.  To fully devote your life to Disciple-making will inevitably lead you to devote your time to going into all nations with love boldly proclaiming the Gospel (i.e. Evangelism). I say that because many, including myself at times, are so focused on strengthening new/immature that we neglect the practice of evangelism.  And to quote my 5yr old on that one…”THAT is not good!”

    Think this through with me. There are literally thousands in our city that at this moment are “children of wrath.” (Eph. 2) And there are several BILLION among the nations who are in the same desperate condition. With that reality before us, we must remind ourselves that Scripture clearly teaches the only hope for those “under the wrath of God” (Jn 3:36) is to believe in the Gospel. And for this to happen, someone must open their mouth and communicate the Gospel (i.e Evangelism).

    Therefore, we can rightly conclude that all of us need to be flaming evangelists!

    Whether we have the gift or not, we need to regularly share the Gospel. Whether we are good at it or not, we need to regularly share the Gospel. Whether we feel like a moron when we do it or not, we need to regularly share the Gospel. Seriously, how can we truly believe what we believe (eternal delight or eternal destruction awaiting everyone) and not share the Gospel frequently and fervently?

    To be committed to disciple-making is to be committed to going into all the world and admonishing all to believe in the Gospel. With that said, I point you to Thom Rainer’s recent blog post. In it he offers some really good insight into the patterns in the life of those who share the Gospel often.

    Seven Characteristics of Highly Evangelistic Christians:

    1. They are people of prayer. They realize that only God can convict and convert, and they are totally dependent upon Him in prayer. Most of the highly evangelistic Christians spend at least an hour in prayer each day.
    2. They have a theology that compels them to evangelize. They believe in the urgency of the gospel message. They believe that Christ is the only way of salvation. They believe that anyone without Christ is doomed for a literal hell.
    3. They are people who spend time in the Word. The more time they spend in the Bible, they more likely they are to see the lostness of humanity and the love of God in Christ to save those who are lost.
    4. They are compassionate people. Their heart breaks for those who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They have learned to love the world by becoming more like Christ who has the greatest love for the world.
    5. They love the communities where God has placed them. They are immersed in the culture because they desire for the light of Christ to shine through them in their communities.
    6. They are intentional about evangelism. They pray for opportunities to share the gospel. They look for those opportunities. And they see many so-called casual encounters as appointments set by God. They are accountable to someone for their evangelistic activities. They know that many good activities can replace Great Commission activities if they are not careful. Good can replace the best. So they make certain that someone holds them accountable each week either formally or informally for their evangelistic efforts.

    Which of the 7 do you need to develop in your life? Always remember there is urgency in our mission.

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