The Ohio Independent Baptist, October 2001

liliiitilii)illil D adhneforDecen1berOIB Noven1berr 15 en1alladdress· dandlthomas@glassc1ty net Or write 327 EastDrive Dayton OH 45419 011grat 11(atio11 ! 011gratu(atiorts! ongratufutio1LS! Charl es & Elaine Pagnard of Washington Heights Baptist in Dayton are grandparents of triplets born August 27. Charles is the assistant pastor of worship © (ID G:E) © and music at Washington Heights. From Our Hearts To Yours Dave and Pat Warren StateRepresentative s the title of thi article irnpl ie , I peak to you from deep ,vithin my ou I ,,·hen l peak to you about preaching. Preaching i a happy ta k that i · al ,,·a:y ~ on my mind and ,vhich I think to be a central function of our church I ife. I :en, e that the pa tor in 011r Fe llow hip hare thi empha i with me and for the 1110 t part enjoy the ta k of preachi ng God· \Vord on a regular ba i in their pulpit "' . I al o feel that mo t of our pa tor , ·alue the ta k of expo itory preach ing. Expo itory preach ing happen when the text of cripture i in control of the main MaxandPhyllis Tucker Church Planting Coordinator The Pledge of His Presence ..for ,vhere two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the mid t ofthe1n ." Matthew I :20 le\\ i h regulations required the presence of at lea t ten male to establ i h a ~.:nagogue: thank God we have no uch regulation fro1n God or country to plant a church. Tv:o or three be! ievers e tab Ii h a Chri Lian fello,v hip because Christ is in their 111id t. T/1i is snza/1-''where two or three are gathered together." ow, you cannot ha,·e a n1al ler con1pany than two. ( 'hri t guarantee I-Ji attendance at the ..... malle t Chri tian gathering. Consider. by ,vay of contra t, the epi~ode in the life of Dr. Jo eph Parker, the famou London preacher of a former da) . :\ little chapel. \vith a few truggling people. and celebrating their fir t anniver al). in\ ited Dr. Parker to peak. The great preacher said he ,vou]d not ., poi nt in the n1e age. The length of the tex t i irrelevant in that defini tion. Whether \J e preach long pa ages or imply one ver ~e in a given sennon the in1portant th ing is that we draw our 11ain poi nt fron1 the pa age at hand. Sup– porting point and illu trative 11ateri al n1ay be drawn frorn n1any other ourcc , but \vhen the fo lk ,va lk out the door they houl d have the en e that they under– tand much better now the main theme of the Bible text becau e the pas tor drew hi 11ain point from that pecific pa sage. It al o ee,n the part of wi dom that about 75% of our preaching hould be of thi tripe-expo ition of passages o a to feed our people in a balanced way, o a to avo id our own "hobby hor e ,'' and o as to educate our people over a period of time a to what the Bible actually ay . From time to time, however, unusual ci rcum tance , uch as the happening on September 11 give cause to divert from minister in their miserable little meeting place. Hi s reply, cribbled on a post card, read: "An eagle does not perch on a parrow' s ne t. ' I am glad that this i recorded of Jo eph Parker and not of Jo eph Parker's Lord. How di fferent wa Jesu ! He did not ay "Organize a mammoth rally, etc. , and I vv ill be there.' He even says that if you onl y have two, He will be the third . He say • " I am there by My Spiri t, to enliven their prayer , gu ide their counsel , and answer their petitions. t, This is big - ,vhen we gather in Hi name it mean we are coming together because of Him. We do not start churches in His 1 1emory· He is not embahned. He li ves and makes our little mi sion a pa lace court - whether two or thirty-two, we must reali ze ifwe do not honor Hi presence, nothing can bring u together, and hold us together· and with I-l im nothing can keep us apart. Christi our rnagnetic name. How sweet tl,is is - "There I am," not "There I hall be." The tense is not future, it is the perpetual pre ent. He will ever be the power that launche riew works into realexistence. Let 's all pray for those on the launch– ing pad in Warren County, Medina County, and Marion, Ohio. Al o pray fo r the young couples coming forwa rd to offer thern elves in thi new and exciting the norm. f n additi on to expo ition, timelines i essenti al. It is the part of wisdom to fit the mind- et of the congre– gation and to preach messages that relate di rectly to their current ituation. Good preaching i not imply talki ng to people about the Bible; it is talki ng to people about li fe from the Bi ble. We need both to be connected to the world of the Bi ble as we ll as to the world of today; our task in preaching i to bring the two together for our people. Thus it is appropriate to break into a series to address a press ing need or ituation either in the church the communi ty, or the nation. "A word spoken in due season, how good it is!" (Prov. 15:23).' The Lord ha given me the tongue of the learned that I shou ld know how to speak a word in season to him who i weary" (Isaiah 50:4). Let our nom1al diet be exposi tion; Jet' also fee l free to be timely as occasion demand . It is not either/or but rather both/ and. mini try. Remember, when two or three of us agree upon omething in prayer, our heavenly Father goe into action. "Jesus looked ahead to a new day when he wou ld be present with hi follower not in body, but through Hi Holy Spiri t. In the body of beli evers (the Church), the incere agreement of two people i more powerful than the superficial agreement of thou- ands, because Chri t's Holy Spirit is with them" (Life Application Bible). Thu we have the pl edge of His pre ence! How To Reach Us... State Representative David & Pat Warren 360 College Hill Drive Cedarville OH 45314 937-766-5913 warrenoarbc@juno.com Church Planting Coordinato Max & Phyll is Tucker 9163 Steamboat Way West Chester, OH 45069 513-942-1295 pltucker5@juno.com