Tuesday Night Book/ Bible Study

Hello friends,
I am so happy to invite you this summer to a book and Bible study that I will be in charge of as part of my internship responsibilities.  We will be going through the book Why God Created the World by Ben Stevens.

I am so happy to revisit this book with you.  It has made a profound impact on my life.

This study will take place on Tuesday nights at 7.  My plan is to begin on May 27th.  I am not sure where it will be, because I need to know how many individuals are interested in attending.  Please either sign up on the bulletin board in the church hallway or email me at drew.bundy@my.bbc.edu.  That address may change in the future, because Baptist Bible College has officially changed to Summit University.  I will keep you updated on that.

This is a time for people of many ages to come together and grow together in our understanding of God and our role in His world.  I look forward to working with you.

To participate in the study, I ask that you endeavor to regularly attend as you are able, and to bring a copy of the Bible and Why God Created the World.  It is a fairly easy book to get a hold of; it is available as a hard copy from many websites, and it is available on both kindle store and iBooks.  If you need further help getting a copy please email me.  It usually costs around $10.

Below I have linked a video of the author describing the book and quoted the back of the book so that you may get a sense of what it is about.

"From the mind of one of America's greatest theologians, Jonathan Edwards, comes a powerful discussion about why God created the universe and everything that exists.  It's a classical work that has transformed theological thought and has impacted individual lives like none other.  Now, this thought-provoking, paradigm-shifting modern adaptation of one of the most important theological works of all time challenges the pop-theological notions that God created our world because He was lonely or insufficient in Himself.  Explore these truths through this updated version paraphrased especially for today.  Discover, through logically applied Scripture, the real reason God created man and the world.  And see why many of Christianity's greatest modern thinkers count it among the most important and life-changing cooks they've ever read."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBfIIQMGPZE

In Introduction

Dear family and friends,

I am delighted to be serving at First Baptist Church of DuBois this summer as an intern. I hope to learn and grow in purposeful ways this summer.

I am truly blessed to be supported by a loving and encouraging church family. I am indebted to you greatly. You have raised me. I want to thank my school teachers, youth leaders, pastors, Sunday school teachers, choir directors, praise team leaders, VBS crew leaders, prayer partners, and everyone who taught me the beautiful truths and implications of the Gospel, whether through words or actions. 

I am looking forward to a productive and full summer. I need your help in order to accomplish all that I need to do well. Firstly, I ask for your prayers. I may plan and practice to the best of my ability, but if my deeds are not thoroughly drenched in prayer, it will have been in vain. It is most definitely not me who is doing the work that you will see and participate in. It is God. How grateful I am for that!  Secondly, I ask that you would carefully consider what ministry you can be involved in and take initiative in those fields. We are blessed with many opportunities to share the message of the Gospel. Thirdly, please verbally encourage those who are involved in these ministries. I could never accomplish these things this summer without the support and help of my brothers and sisters in Christ on my various teams. I will continue to keep you updated on who these people are and how they are helping me. I will endeavor to post things that you can be praying for my team members. 

The purpose of this blog is to keep you informed and involved in my various ministries this summer. Below is a list of the specific ministries I will be involved in:

VBS - running the Bible room

Praise team - choosing song sets and scripture and leading that time Sunday morning 

Preaching - four times throughout the summer, two will be Sunday Night Praise

Teaching 1-6 Sunday School

Summer Spirit

Tuesday Night Bible and Book Study

Helping Pastor Ben with the music in the prison ministry

I am excited and somewhat nervous about these ministries. Many are new responsibilities. Please pray that I will have the strength and wisdom to carry these out well. Pray that the Holy Spirit would work through me, and that I might not get in the way. Above all, pray that all I do would be done in love. As Paul reminds us, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 ESV). Please pray that I might emanate Christ and His love to those to whom I minister. 

I will post a weekly review every Sunday afternoon discussing the previous week and preparing for the next. I will also be doing a Bible reading program this summer. I plan to accomplish reading the whole book through the summer. I want to do more than simply survey the text; I want to grow deeper in my understanding of God and His Word. So, each day I will post thoughts on what I read the day before. This will allow me an opportunity to grow personally and encourage you, my family in Christ, and it will give me incredible accountability to finish this task. 

Thank you for your prayers. I am overjoyed at the thought of how much I will have the opportunity to grow under and serve you. Thank you for this opportunity and your encouragement. May God bless you and keep you.  I pray that His Love and His life changing Gospel will be ever on your hearts and minds.

- Pastoral Intern, Drew Bundy