FIRST LIGHT 
A NEWSLETTER OF FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
110 SYDENHAM STREET KINGSTON , ON K7L 3H5
(613) 548-7116
fbckgstn@kingston.net
December 2006
On behalf of Anne-Marie, my children and myself, I would like to thank each one of the First Baptist Church family for your many acts of kindness throughout this past year. I would also wish each of you a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas. May each of you experience the love of our Messiah during this season! We love you!
Christmas celebrates the first Advent of our Saviour Jesus Christ. It also reminds us that a second Advent (coming) will take place when Jesus will return in the manner in which He left (Acts 1:11).
Why did Jesus come to earth in the form of a baby? Hebrews 2:14-18 in the Today’s New International Version declares:
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way, in order that he might become a merciful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Five things come out of this text. First, Jesus made atonement for the sins of His people. He did this by means of His death on the cross. Second, through this same death on the cross, Jesus broke the power of the devil who has the power of death. Third, as a result, Jesus has freed all people enslaved by their fear of death. Fourth, by sharing our humanity, He became a merciful high priest in service to God. Finally, Jesus is able to help us when we face temptation because he himself suffered when He was tempted. Notice that He did not capitulate to that temptation. Rather, as Hebrews 4:15 declares, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weakness but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin.”
Recently, our country has been engulfed in the debate over whether Quebec or the Quebecois are a nation. The Bloc Quebecois leader, Gilles Duceppe, was bringing a motion to parliament asking our members to vote on a motion recognizing the province of Quebec as a nation. To prevent a polarization within our country, our prime minister brought forward a motion recognizing that the Quebecois are a nation within the country of Canada. This passed within the House of Commons. I think with this motion our prime minister was trying to help out Premier Jean Charest, the leader of the strongest federalist party in Quebec. In all probability there will be an election in the province of Quebec next spring.
What does nationhood have to do with Christmas and the coming of Jesus? 1 Peter 2:9-11 declares:
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
I have been thinking of this passage of Scripture. First, nationhood is conferred on Christians by a higher authority than parliament. It is a higher authority than the so-called Charter of Rights. We have become a nation because of God’s word! Second, we are called not only a holy nation but also God’s special possession, a chosen people, and a royal priesthood. What does this mean for us as we move towards Christmas?
A number of these expressions are also used in Exodus 19. The calling that Israel was given is now given to the church of Jesus Christ. We are to be a people set apart for the Lord to enjoy His special presence and favour. God has chosen us to be His people, established us to be a royal priesthood, appointed us to be a holy nation to be a special possession, so that “we would declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”
Isaiah 9, in that wonderful passage which prophecies about the coming of Christ, describes a people: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
The calling of Christians is effectual. Conversion is often described in the New Testament as a transfer from darkness to light (Acts 26:18; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Ephesians 5:8; Colossians 1:12-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:4, 5, 8). God’s call creates faith. This calling is not merely an invitation but is performative so that the words God speaks become a reality.
Clement of Rome (30-100 AD) was the earliest of the post-biblical church fathers. He is mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Philippians (4:3) as one of Paul’s co-workers whose names are written in the book of life. He seems to have been with Paul when he visited Philippi in 57 AD. In his post-biblical letter to the Corinthians, Clement writes in chapter 36:
This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Saviour, even Jesus Christ, the High Priest of all our offerings, the defender and helper of our infirmity. By Him we look to the heights of heaven. By Him we behold as in a glass, His immaculate and most excellent visage. By Him are the eyes of our hearts opened. By Him our foolish and darkened understanding blossoms up anew towards His marvelous light.
For nearly two thousand years this holy nation called Christians, created by the power of the Holy Spirit, has embraced the light. My hope and prayer is that during this Christmas season and in the years to come, we would be the means by which God calls others into the light of Christ. May His light shine through us! May we ponder His call upon our lives! May we see His purpose for us as we go through 40 Days of Purpose beginning on January 13, 2007
Merry Christmas,
(Rev) Kevin Smith
To my First Baptist Church Family,
As a child, the weeks leading up to Christmas were full of anticipation. The Christmas season was a lot of fun for my brother, sister and I. We looked forward to visiting with family, the sweet treats, Christmas television specials, but most of all the presents. We would poke around the house, looking for gifts that had been hidden by our parents (we only ever found one. . .it was a red sled) and the three of us would make deals with each other to tell share what each one of us were getting. As children, we had tremendous difficultly waiting for Christmas morning and when it finally arrived my father would make it even more difficult by forcing us wait until after we ate breakfast before we could open any presents. As a child, it seemed that the anticipation might kill me.
The advent season is about joyous anticipation. Through advent we prepare to celebrate God’s gift to us. God loved each of us so much that he gave us the free gift of his son, Jesus, so that we might be might be reconciled to God and have life. This gift is a gift that is worthy of our anticipation!
It is my hope and prayer that each of us might develop a childlike anticipation as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord.
May God richly bless you as you celebrate the birth of our Lord,
Joshua Mutter
PS A Special Thanks to You! Between Christmas and New Years, I have the opportunity to attend the Urbana conference in St. Louis, Missouri, with two of our university students, Claire Guindon and Ryan Robinson. We will be joining thousands of others young men and women in an experience that has changed many lives. And we look forward to being able to share what God will do in our own lives, upon our return. Thank you for making this experience possible.
FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO READ
Perhaps the best translation available in the English language is the revision of the New International Version called the Today’s New International Version (2005). It along with the New Revised Standard Version (1989) stand head and shoulders above the rest as the most reliable translations in the English language. Therefore, I found it intriguing to discover the release this year of the Zondervan TNIV Study Bible. It describes itself as “Today’s most comprehensive study Bible.” From what I found from using it, it is excellent. The Index to Topics at the back is an excellent quick resource if you want to find out what the Bible says about something. For instance, if you want to know the contents of the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament, it will tell you that it contained a jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the ten commandments and the scriptural texts where this is mentioned.
I have found this Study Bible at Chapters/Indigo as well as most Christian book stores.
I had the privilege of meeting and listening to Calvin Miller during the summer of 2005. One of his more recent books is Loving God Up Close: Rekindling Your Relationship with the Holy Spirit (Warner Faith, a Division of AOL Time Warner Book Group, 2004). I read it recently when I was away. When I was reading through the first chapter, I wondered whether I was going to like this book. I am delighted that I persisted. This is a wonderful practical book. As he always does, Miller writes in an accessible way. I highly recommend this book.
Henry Blackaby, a Canadian now in his early 70s, was the pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Saskatoon from 1970 to 1982. Shortly after he arrived there the revival in Western Canada broke out there in a neighbouring church. It certainly affected his church as they planted 28 churches during his time there. They also established the Christian Training Centre there which trained 400 students in the next decade. It later merged into the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary in Cochrane, Alberta. He has experienced some renown as a result of his book Experiencing God. Some of you may have read it. A much smaller book is What the Spirit is Saying to the Churches ( Portland, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, 2003). Perhaps my expectations were very high before reading Experiencing God. I remember his challenge that if you want to see God at work, go where He is working. There is truth to this. However, there have been a number of significantly large Christian organizations which seemed to have the blessing of God before some Christian leader fell.
Blackaby is not as gifted a writer as Calvin Miller. Nor is he as effective as a preacher. But, unlike Miller, when he speaks at The Cove, the place is packed out. He is a mentor to Anne Graham Lotz, who was at the Cove when he spoke last month. There is a power in this man. I don’t agree with him entirely. But if you want a very fine little book, What the Spirit is Saying to the Churches fits the bill.
Another book I have read recently is David Lundy’s Borderless Church: Shaping the Church for the 21 st Century ( Milton Keynes, UK: Authentic Media, 2005). Lundy is a Canadian who is now the International Director of Arab World Ministries. He challenges us to deploy Christian resources strategically to reach the most unreached such as those within the 10/40 window.
He also uses case studies of three churches which are quite effective. The most intriguing of these is the New Life Church in Worthing, England just outside of Brighton. It is not a huge church. This church which is part of the Baptist Union of Great Britain is just 101 years old. That church began to pray continually for revival in 1966. Six years later, the first significant spiritual breakthrough began when Campbell McAlpine came to conduct special meetings. They gained a passion to reach the lost locally and globally. They have planted 4 churches since 1981. Presently, they have 20 home groups.
During the autumn of 2004, the number of groups doubled as the church corporately went through The Purpose Drive Life. Seekers and lapsed church attendees were attracted by the structured, straightforward approach, one that was user-friendly for the unchurched. Thirty per cent of their budget goes to local and global mission. There is a strong emphasis on prayer, worship and the centrality of the word of God with effective teaching-feeding from the pulpit.
Perhaps you would like to take a break from reading a book. The film The Nativity is in theatres currently. If you have seen it, tell us what you think
