First Baptist Church

FIRST LIGHT

A NEWSLETTER OF FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
110 SYDENHAM STREET KINGSTON , ON K7L 3H5

(613) 548-7116
fbckgstn@kingston.net
March 2008

Peter denied that he had been with Jesus three times during the time of his trial. Humankind has been in denial ever since. We refuse to take responsibility. It is the government’s fault. But who elected the government? It is the referee’s fault. It is the policeman’s fault. It is the teacher’s fault. It is the doctor’s fault. It is the nurse’s fault. It is the minister’s fault. It is always somebody else’s fault. It’s the wife’s fault. It’s the husband’s fault. When all else fails - blame it on our parents. After all, they brought us into this world.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Consider Jeremiah 17:9, where the Spirit of God speaks through the prophet, saying, “The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse - who can understand it?”

Or consider Ecclesiastes 7:29, “See, this alone I found, that God made human beings straightforward, but they have devised many schemes.”

Or if we go back to Genesis 6:5, we hear this report, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.”

The Apostle Paul agrees with the rest of Scripture in asserting that all humans are created in the image of God. But he also writes in Romans 3:23, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Earlier in Romans 3:9, 10, Paul writes that we are all under the power of sin: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one.”

The reality is that we have much reason to be ashamed of everyone else in the world. They, in turn, have much reason to be ashamed of us. It is only the vain and proud that don’t see their own sin. We are all sinners. Romans 5:12 declares, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned.”

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Oh, yes! And “sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble” as the anonymous hymn writer declares. Yes, we were there. Yes, we have sinned and continue to sin.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Those who put Jesus to death represented us. We were there.
As Stanley Grenz, the late Canadian Baptist theologian, put it in Created for Community, “So easily we grow smug about how much more “self-sacrificial” and “giving” we are than most “other people” we know. And how often do we carefully measure the kindness we show toward others according to the personal profit we hope to gain in return? .... In these and many other ways, we show how deeply ingrained sin is in our hearts. We fail - we fall short of God’s standard.” Are Canadians ever smug?

But sin carries consequences. It leads to alienation from God. Again Grenz writes, “We experience sin’s alienation in our relationship to God. God created us to be his friends - even his children. But we have chosen to live as God’s enemies (Romans 5:10a).... God desires that we be able to enjoy the divine presence. But instead, we flee from God. We live in fear, presuming that he is hostile toward us. In fact, however, we are the hostile ones and project our hostility on God. We run from the only one who can overcome our fear, brokenness, and hostility. We seek to get away from the only one who can fulfill our deepest needs.”

Because we are alienated from God, sin alienates us from other humans as well. God designed us to enjoy wholesome, enriching relationships with each other. But we find ourselves exploiting and being exploited. We jostle with each other for power, influence, and prominence. Or we allow others to rob us of our dignity and sense of worth.

We are also alienated from creation. God intended that we live in harmony with what he has made. But rather than seeing ourselves as divinely mandated stewards of creation, we seek to enslave it and make it serve our wants. We no longer see the earth as an organic whole which we manage on God’s behalf. Instead, in our insatiable but misguided quest, we view creation as the raw material for our industrious activity or as an untamed foe we must conquer. As Paul declares, creation itself now exists - yes, “groans” - under the bondage caused by human sin, awaiting the liberation of the new creation (Romans 8:19-22).

The alienating effects of sin reach even to our personal existence. We do not fulfill God’s design for us. As a result, we are alienated from our true selves. We simply are not who we were created to be. And we sense within ourselves this disruptive loss. For this reason, we are our own worst enemies.

But just when we think we are without hope, Paul’s words speak to us:
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person - though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:6-11)

As we enter Holy Week and move beyond, let us never forget our hopelessness without Christ and the free, unmerited salvation he paid for us on the Cross. But let us also remember that he is not a dead Saviour. As the hymn writer proclaims in verse 5:
            Were you there when He rose up from the dead?
            Were you there when He rose up from the dead?
            Oh! (Sometimes I feel like shouting glory, glory,) glory!
            Were you there when He rose up from the dead?

May you all have a blessed Holy Week!

Your Servant in Christ,
(Rev) Kevin Smith

The Gospel in ‘Seinfeld’
The subject of judgment shows up often in the New Testament. We don’t hear as much about it in churches. Some want to hear it more often. Others would prefer if it were not touched for another thousand years. There is an episode in Seinfeld, the hilarious television series which we can often see in reruns that might spark our interest. Remember Elaine, the female lead of the television series. Her boyfriend, Puddy, becomes a Christian. He starts listening to Christian music and begins badgering Elaine about going to hell. At one point he asks her to steal the neighbour’s newspaper for him because she’s “the one going to hell, so [she] might as well steal it.” Elaine explodes, starts whacking him with the newspaper, and screams, “If I’m going to hell, you should care that I’m going to hell!”

She has got a point doesn’t she? The topic of ‘hell’ should never be approached without ignoring the human impact. What a terrible thing if we were indifferent to people who need Jesus Christ today! As Charles Spurgeon, the great Victorian preacher, put it, “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.” I will leave it to God to determine who receives judgment and who doesn’t. I refuse to play God. But I dare not be indifferent either. I am my brother’s and my sister’s keeper.

Terry Winter came about 25 years ago to Kingston for some form of mission. A generation later, Youth With a Mission is arriving during Holy Week for the Impact World Tour at the K-Rock Centre in downtown Kingston from April 3-6. I have no personal experience with Youth With a Mission and the Impact World Tour. I have heard positive things about it. I suppose many of us are somewhat cautious about what might happen. But what happens if our cautiousness leads to missing an opportunity to allow people to hear about Jesus? Frankly, I would rather take somebody to it and risk being embarrassed by what might take place than to miss out on someone hearing the good news of Jesus Christ. There will be a major event at the large St. Paul the Apostle Roman Catholic church at 1111 Taylor-Kidd on April 2 just prior to the mission. I plan to be there to find out more. In the meantime, I will be inviting people to go to the mission. I’m already praying for this mission. The gospel has always been offensive to some. That has been the case for 2000 years. I would rather err on that side than to err on the side of indifference towards people who need Jesus. Pastor Josh’s article has the details.

Who Are You Going to Bring To Impact World Tour?
As Christians we know that we live in the midst of a community who needs to hear of Jesus Christ in a way that will make sense to them. Our community needs to hear this message because it is full of broken and lost people who are searching for significance and meaning in all sorts of places. As Christians we know that what they are looking for can be found in Jesus. But the message of Christ needs to be presented in a meaningful way in order for people to see the relevance that it has to their lives.

The organization, Youth With a Mission (YWAM) understands this. They understand that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has never lost its power and relevance; that our greatest challenge now, as a Church, is to present this message in a relevant way. As Martin Luther said, “If you preach the Gospel and do not relate it to the issues of the day, you’re not preaching the Gospel at all.”

This passion has led them to partner with the local churches of Kingston to bring YWAMs Impact World Tour to our city. Impact World Tour is a large scale evangelistic event that will be held in the newly opened K-Rock Centre (formerly known as the Kingston Regional Sports and Entertainment Centre) April 3-6, 2008. Impact World Tour is designed to present the Gospel in 21st century relevant ways using elements of the culture to deliver the message of Jesus.

I believe that with this event coming to our city, that we should each be looking for people who we can invite to join us at Impact World Tour. I have no doubt that the performances will be spectacular; this will draw many people in on its own. But it is the opportunity for our friends, co-workers and family members to hear the message of Jesus that should cause us to prayerfully seek out those who we can invite to join us on the event nights.

For your information, you will find below the schedule of Impact World Tour events happening at the K-Rock Centre April 3-6.

Thursday April 3rd Team Xtreme 7PM
Shattering concrete bricks and ice blocks with bare hands and forearms, blowing up hot water bottles, snapping steel handcuffs in tow and bending steel bars around necks and between teeth are just some of the incredible acts preformed by Team Xtreme. Their mission is to help youngsters and to encourage Generation X and let them know they’re important.

Friday April 4th - Island Breeze 7PM
An internationally renowned group of musicians and dancers from throughout Polynesia, their colorful, energetic programs include authentic costumes, traditional music and intricate dances representing a variety of Pacific culture, from Hawaii’s graceful hula to the haka of the New Zealand Maori and the electrifying Samoan fire knife dance.

Saturday April 5th – GX International 7PM
GX International is a global expression of aggressive skating, hip hop dancing, freestyle motor-cross and biking. Youth from all over the world will hit the stage and blow your mind with skateboard airs, grizzes, crossups; you name it, they can do it. The GX crew has travelled the world with a positive message and awesome demonstrations.

Sunday April 6th – Combo will all 3 Teams 7PM

May it be our prayer, that God would use these events to turn hearts to him and to transform our city.

Respectfully Submitted,
Pastor Joshua Mutter

FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO READ
One of the best Christian writers out there today is Jerry Sittser. If you don’t believe me then believe my wife, Anne-Marie, who loves his writings. Sittser is a professor of religion at Whitworth College out in Washington State. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and a doctorate in history from the University of Chicago. In the fall of 1991 a drunk driver jumped his lane and collided with the Sittser minivan. Jerry lost his wife, Lynda, his mother Grace, who was visiting them for the weekend, and his daughter Diana Jane. Sittser survived along with three of his children, Catherine (then age eight), David (then age seven), and John (then age two). The latter was seriously injured. That experience has caused Sittser to write several books from different angles. One of these was When God Doesn’t Answer Your Prayer. Another was the bestseller A Grace Disguised which deals with the grief process. Both of these are excellent books. But the one I draw your attention to today is one that is appropriate for those facing graduation or other changes in life. It is The Will of God as a Way of Life: How to Make Every Decision With Peace and Confidence (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004). Sittser writes at a very accessible or popular level. Yet he deals with very important subjects. I highly recommend all his books. But this latter one will be appreciated by most. The title is self-explanatory. However, his perspective challenges some notions that you might have heard in some Christian circles. I encourage you to read it so that it might challenge you.

It is interesting that well before First Baptist Church called Pastor Josh, I was in touch with a graduate of Whitworth College about the position of Next Generation Pastor. The person wasn’t all that interested in coming to Canada. But in the course of the conversation, I asked what Christians had deeply impacted her life in a positive way. The first name that came out was Jerry Sittser. As a professor, he impacted her life in a powerful way. Through his books all of us can be blessed as well!