Can you be a Democrat AND a Christian?

Can a person be a Democrat and a Christian? First we have to look at what it is to be a Christian. The word “Christian” literally translates to be “Christ-like” meaning one who strives to maintain the same character as Christ. Many people assume that if you are born-again you are a Christian which is not necessarily true. You must be born again to be a Christian but you can be born again without being “Christ like”. So the title Christian is one earned after being born again not at the time of Salvation.

With that definition of a Christian established we look at some of the tenants of the Democratic Party.

1. Pro-abortion – The Democratic Party has come out strongly. Almost ghoulishly, in their desire to kill unborn children. Christ was very much against killing children as observed in Matthew 8:6 where Jesus states But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
2. Homosexual marriage – The Democrats have come out full force in support of what God calls an abomination.

3. Environment – The Bible teaches that man is over the animals. In an attempt to pervert God’s perfect order the Democratic Party is constantly pushing legislation that makes man lesser than the animals. Example; you can legally own a business whose only purpose is to facilitate the murder of unborn humans. But, you can be imprisoned for accidentally killing an unborn turtle.

4. Special protection for sinners while condemning the Saints – The Democratic Party has pushed through legislation to increase the penalty for crimes committed against those who chose to commit sodomy. When a homosexual and a heterosexual are the victims of the same crime the penalty for the offender should be the same but they are not. At the same time “hate crime laws” are being used to threaten Pastors for reading portions of the Bible that deals with the sin of sodomy.

Because of these and other examples I do not believe that someone can be both a Christian and a Democrat at the same time. That being said I am finding it harder to be a Republican and a Christian at the same time as well. This country must get back to the Christian roots that we were founded on. The values that carried us through the World Wars, freed the slaves, and made us the greatest country in the world.

Christmas or Xmas?

Several years ago the “Xmas” as an abbreviation for Christmas became popular. Many theories abound as to why this started and why it has gained popularity. Some have attributed it to the notion that the word Christ in the Greek can be spelled with an X as the first letter others have argued that X was used by the Romans as an abbreviation for the word Christ because of the Greek spelling (even though x was more commonly used for the number 10. While both of these explanations are shaky at best neither explains the insurgence of its use today, since most people today do not write in Greek and last time I checked the Roman Empire was still dead. More likely the use today stems from one of two areas. The first cause I believe is a combination of laziness and ignorance. People are simply too lazy to write out the whole word Christmas and ignorant of the message they are inadvertently sending when they eliminate Christ from His own birthday celebration. The second reason has to do with the world’s hatred of Jesus. It is difficult to see Jesus without being reminded of our sinful situation and our need for repentance. The thought of writing down the name of someone they hate is simply more than they can bear so the “x” Christ out of Christmas. Jesus left Heaven and came to earth to live and die for the worlds sins. He was motivated 100% by a love that is incomprehensible to us. He knew being born meant that he was going to be falsely accused, beaten, mocked, spat upon, and crucified but his love for us was so much greater than the pain. This season don’t leave Christ out of His Birthday Celebration. Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has come and gone but the attitude of thanksgiving is one as believer we should have all year long. As a believer no mater how bad things are you can be thankful that your soul is kept secure in Jesus’ hand (John 10:28) and God the Father’s hand (John 10:29). We can also hold fast to the promise given in I Corinthians 10:13 that we will never be tempted above that which we are able to handle.

Our God is a good and mighty God and we should never forget that. He is a loving Father that takes care of His children and provides our needs. This year let’s try and make the act of thanksgiving a daily thing instead of a once a year thing.

Why don't some ministries produce fruit?

I was recently asked how we are seeing so many souls coming to Christ every week in our jail ministries when others are seeing few, if any, conversions in a year.. The simple answer is we invite them to make a decision. Many well meaning brothers and sisters fail to take the simple step of sharing Jesus Christ as part of their Bible studies. They do a good job setting the table, but never invite anyone to eat.

A couple of months back I was asked to fill in at a smaller study for someone who could not be there. I was informed that this was a Christian group so there was no need in preaching on salvation. I gave the message God laid upon my heart and half of the men came forward for salvation. It wasn’t anything special that I said, it wasn’t anything of me. The Holy Spirit had been working on these men for some time they were eager and hungry to be saved, but no one shared Jesus with them. Lots of morals and Bible stories, but no Jesus.

As Christians we need to be bolder in our sharing of the Gospel. If we would simply take the step of inviting many more would come to know Christ.

There is another reason why many ministries or seemingly Godly men never have a conversion. The value of a ministry is easily determined by the fruit it produces. I know men who have worked in their “ministries” for years without one person being saved, without one life changed in any sense of a positive way. Matthew chapter 7 talks about these men. It calls them “false profits” that need to be “hewn down, and cast into the fire”. These men contribute more to their own pride and martyrdom than to the Kingdom of God. Beware of ministries that do not produce fruit. Just as a healthy orange tree will always produce oranges, a healthy, Godly Ministry will always produce Godly fruit.

Ron & Debi Williams were the services this Sunday

This week we were blessed to have Ron and Debi Williams, missionaries to the Maasai & Warusha people of Tanzania, in our services this week. Ron presented the ministry that God has given them to reach out to the “bush” of Tanzania with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Since arriving in Africa three years ago they have seen over 2000 people accept Jesus as their Savior. We count it all joy to be able to support them prayerfully and financially and consider it an honor to be their sending church.
Those of you who have not had the opportunity to meet Rod & Debi have missed out on a blessing. You would be hard pressed to find a more genuine couple who truly love the Lord and the people they have been sent to minister to. Ron and Debi will be back in February for our Missions Conference.
They are currently raising money to finish their church building. The walls are now up to the tops of the windows and the work is progressing nicely. They are currently about $3000 short in what they need to finish. If you would like to make a donation to this project you can mail it to Crossroads Baptist Church and mark it for Ron & Debi Williams.
We were also blessed this week by having another Christian decide to join the church. Welcome, David, to the Crossroads Family, we look forward to worshipping with you! It is awesome to see how the Holy Spirit is working in the Church!

King’s Kids is going strong!

King’s Kids is going strong! With our highest ever attendance ever this week King’s Kids continues to be a positive influence on kids in the 1st thru 6th grades. The kids are learning about Jesus in a safe and fun atmosphere. The Treasure Chest has been restocked and is ready for the next batch of kids. Don’t miss out on the fun! King’s Kids meets every Friday evening at 7:00. For more information contact Pastor Jay at 407-891-8688.

Sunday was awesome!

Sunday was awesome! With the “veil of darkness” removed the Holy Spirit was in full effect. Attendance was up, giving was up, we had first time visitors, returning visitors, and for the first time in a long time, the altar was packed with people making decisions for Jesus. PRAISE GOD!

More Friend Day Photos!

Friend Day was a huge success!

Friend Day was a huge success as we had our highest attendance in the last two years but fell short of our goal slightly. This means that while I did get to keep my hair I did take a number of pies to the face. Between the food, fellowship, bounce house, pie throwing, and games a great time was had by all in attendance!

A special thank you goes out to the following local merchants who helped make sure that this was the best Friend Day ever;

A1 Pizzeria
1561 E. Irlo Bronson
407-891-0333

Black Belt World
51 13th Street
407-957-4900

Bonnie Lee’s Fried Chicken
900 13th Street
407-892-8318

Buffalo Wings & Rings
2911 Canoe Creek Rd
407-891-9464

Evelyn’s New England Seafood
4115 Neptune Rd
407-957-8669

Nature Table Café
1925 S Narcoosee Rd
407-891-0703

Wal-Mart
4400 13th Street

Whistle Junction Buffet
4551 13th Street
407-891-0194

What Will Pastor Jay Do For Friend Day?

Friend Day is October 21st and the masses have spoken. The two stunts with the most votes are “shaving the Pastor’s head” & “throwing a pie in the Pastor’s face”. So I will be doing both! Every person who brings a visitor on Friend Day (a visitor is someone who has not been in our services for the last 6 months) will get to throw a pie and try and hit me in the face. You will get one pie for each visitor you bring! Also, if we have 115 persons present for the entire morning service on Friend Day I will have my head shaved. In addition the person bringing the most visitors will decide who shaves my head.

Following the morning service on Friend Day we will be having lunch on the grounds and games and activities for the kids. Some local merchants have stepped forward and have donated prizes for a raffle to take place during the luncheon. Thank you Whistle Junction & Bonnie Lee’s!

WAIT ON ME!

This morning Pastor Jay delivered a sermon on the Biblical Doctrine of waiting for God.

I. SOME BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF WAITING UPON THE LORD:

A. ABRAHAM AND SARAH (FOR ISAAC)
B. NOAH (FOR THE FLOOD AND SUBSIDING WATERS)
C. JOSEPH (FOR HIS "TIME" IN POWER)
D. JESUS (FOR THE "TIME TO BE FULFILLED")
E. MARY AND MARTHA (FOR JESUS TO ARRIVE WHEN LAZRUS DIED.
F. THE DISCIPLES (FOR THE PROMISED HOLY SPIRIT)
G. ALL BELIEVERS (AWAITING HIS RETURN)

*IN EACH CASE THEY
1. KNEW GOD’S PROMISES
2. RESTED IN GOD’S CHARACTER
3. RELIED UPON HIS LOVE

* IN EACH CASE, IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT!!

II. THE ENERGY AND EFFORT REQUIRED TO WAIT UPON GOD:

III. THE ENCOURAGING RESULTS OF WAITING UPON GOD

A. RENEWED STRENGTH (spiritually, emotionally and
sometimes physically)
B. MOUNT UP WITH WINGS LIKE EAGLES
C. RUN(THE RACE OF LIFE) AND NOT GET WEARY
(FACING LIFE'S RACE IN GOD’S STRENGTH NOT OUR OWN)
D. WALK AND NOT FAINT


Listen on line at http://crossroadschurch.podbean.com/2007/10/07/wait-on-me/

Is Jesus God?

Some of the most common questions I get asked refer to the Deity of Jesus Christ. Many cults today, e.g. Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, ect, teach that Jesus was only a good man or simply a Prophet, even though this belief stands in direct contrast to the Bible and God the Father.

To understand that Jesus was more than just a Prophet or a "good man" we need to see how the scripture describes him. In Micah 5:2 it is declared that Jesus existed prior to his physical birth on the earth. And in Colossians 1:16 we are told that Jesus is actually the creator of everything we know. No Profit or man was ever described in such a way or had such thing declared to him.

The crime that Jesus was crucified for was the crime of declaring himself to have Godly powers and in effect declaring himself God. This alone should disprove the “good man” or “Prophet” theory. Only three types of persons declare themselves to be God. The first is the liar – if Jesus was a liar then he could not be a good man. The second is the lunatic – if Jesus was a lunatic he could not be a Prophet. The third is God himself.

In John 1:1-14 we see again how Jesus existed prior to the earth, was God, and was made flesh and dwelt among us. He was also worshipped as God by the angels - Hebrews 1:6, The Wise Men - Matthew 2:2 & 11, His Apostles - Matthew 14:33 and many others throughout the New Testament in spite of us being told in Revelation 22:8-9 that the only one that is to be worshipped is God.

But probably the greatest witness to the deity of Jesus is found in Hebrews 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. In case you missed it this is Father God addressing Jesus as God!

The next time you hear a teacher or preacher describe Jesus as anything less than God himself, get up, walk out and don’t let that false teacher put any more filth into your mind.

NEW POLL

With Friend Day quick approaching we need to decide what “stunt” the pastor will need to do should the attendance goal be reached. You can voice your opinion by voting on the poll to the right.

Come Into The Ark

During this mornings service we studied Genesis chapter 7. We looked at the similarities between the invitation that God extended to Noah to come into the ark and the invitation of salvation that Jesus freely offers today.

I. IT IS AN INVITATION TO SURVIVE GOD’S WRATH
II. IT IS AN INVITATION TO TAKE A STEP OF FAITH
III. IT IS AN INVITATION TO EVERYONE

Listen online http://crossroadschurch.podbean.com/

When is a good time to pray?

When is a good time to pray? In Thessalonians Paul tells us to pray without ceasing, that is pray all the time for everything. Often we look to prayer as a last resort, a last stitch effort when all else fails. God wants us to pray first and let God be God. Let him handle the things we worry over. Dr's tell us that stress is the root of most of the health problems we face. If that is true how much more can we live life abundantly if we would only go to God with the things that stress us out?

The men of the church meet every Sunday before church and pray for the needs of the community. If you are in the area you are welcome to join us in the fellowship hall at 9:30am. If you can not make it to the prayer time you can post your requests here and we’ll pray for you.

10yr Anniversary Celebration is a Hit!!

Crossroads Baptist Church celebrated their 10yr anniversary on Sunday with a special afternoon session where we were blessed to have Pastor Mark Hodges from Winter Haven Baptist Church bring us the message God laid on his heart. WHBC, along with the Florida Baptist Bible Fellowship, was instrumental in the formation of CRBC 10 years ago. They gratuitously supported us with funding and prayers during the early years.

The regular morning service was followed by a luncheon on the grounds and the the special 2:30 service with Pastor Hodges. We saw our highest attendance of the year during the morning service. Left to right in the picture Pastor Jay McCaig, Vee McCaig, Denise Hodges, Pastor Mark Hodges.

Remembering What God Has Done

During this mornings service we studied the book of Joshua chapter 4 – Remembering What God Has Done. We looked at three points concerning the building of memorials in our life, they are;

1. IT IS TO BE A TIME OF REMEMBERING WHAT GOD HAS DONE
2. IT WAS TO BE A TIME OF RENEWING PERSONAL COMMITMENT
3. IT WAS TO BE A TIME OF ROLLING AWAY OLD DEFEATS

Listen to the entire service at; http://crossroadschurch.podbean.com/

This Time is Going to be Different!

I met Daniel at the Osceola County Jail last Tuesday. He was part of a class I was leading for 22 men living there. He had come to the jail earlier in the week and having nothing but time on his hands had started reading the Bible, again. Daniel had accepted Christ as his Savior the last time he was in jail and intended to follow him when he was released, but, like so many who pass through those doors his return to the outside world was met by the old friends and old vices and soon Jesus was forgotten.

This time is going to be different. Daniel told me that he is sure that God allowed his arrest to get his attention again. On Tuesday night as they announced Bible Study in the dorm his intention was to go playing cards with his newly acquired friends. But, the Holy Spirit had another Idea! Daniel said that the pull to attend the study was almost overwhelming, so he put down his cards and picked up his Bible. The Lord led the study and the passages that were taught were the same ones that Daniel had been studying earlier in the day and had questions about, they were dealing with the Deity of Jesus Christ.

After the study he got down on his knees and rededicated his life to the Lord. Daniel called me on Wednesday. Shortly after his rededication, much to his surprise, he was released from the jail. Daniel has a desire to be baptized and start serving the Lord. Please be praying for him. As we know Satan is angered when someone surrenders to the work of the Lord. We need to pray a hedge of protection around Daniel. Won’t you please pray for him right now? Daniel will be at church on Sunday, why don’t you stop by and say hi.

Before Facing The Giants...

There was Flywheel. Produced by Sherwood Baptist Church and using an all volunteer cast and crew Flywheel was filmed on location in Albany, Ga. It was originally shown in one local theater in Albany and played for six consecutive weeks. Now, on November 13, FLYWHEEL: Director's Cut will be available everywhere you buy DVDs, including your favorite Christian stores! Re-edited with improved sound and picture, the Director's Cut also has lots of new bonus material. Find out more at the FLYWHEEL website

Upcoming Events for September

Sept. 23rd – 10yr Anniversary Celebration. Our Morning Service will be followed by a pot-luck dinner on the grounds. We will also have a special afternoon service starting at 2:30pm where guest speaker Mark Hodges will bring us the message. Brother Hodges is the pastor of Winter Haven Baptist Church ( http://www.whbc.info/ ) and presently serves as the Treasure of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International.

Sept. 27th-28th – Ladies Retreat. Keynote Speaker - Janet Perez Eckles. Janet is an outstanding speaker and author of the book "Trials of Today, Treasures for Tomorrow" . For more information about Janet please go to her website http://www.janetperezeckles.com/

King's Kids is off and running!

King’s Kids met for the first time on Friday and will continue to meet every Friday through the school year. King’s Kids is a program for children in the 1st – 6th grades where they can play games and learn about the Bible while making new friends and having a good time. Many of our teens and several of out adult staff have graciously volunteered their time to work with these awesome youngsters. We are excited about the potential this ministry has to reach the kids in our community.As with all of our gatherings visitors are always welcome.

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! This is our first attempt at blogging so please be patient while we work the bugs out.