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Then came the persecution.  Paul was annoyed that a demon possessed slave girl was following him around proclaiming that “these men are servants of the most high God and proclaim the way of salvation.”  Yes, the message was true, but he did not want the Gospel linked to the demonic activity of this diviner. 

Fortune telling was a common practice in Greek and Roman culture.  Demon possession is a real thing.  When people dabble and are curious into the world of the occult, it is possible for them to surrender their will to the influence of a demon.  Many people came to her masters and paid money to hear her predict the future or answer a question.  She probably spoke in some guttural supernatural tones as she gave her predictions.  The “spirit of divination” means “a python spirit.  In Greek mythology, Python was a snake that guarded the oracle at Delphi.  Paul cast out the demon which resulted in the loss of income to her masters.  They grabbed Paul and Silas and demand the city rulers do something.  They did.  Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned without a trial.  As you read Acts 16 you discover that the light of Christ and His Gospel shines brightest in the crucible of suffering. 

Following the earthquake, we have one of the clearest declarations in the entire New Testament on how to be saved – “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved”  Acts 16:31.  Paul and his team left the city, but not before establishing a strong missionary hearted and giving church.  He loved them dearly as is displayed in his letter he wrote them from Rome. 

20 centuries have passed and we continue to see the persecution of believers both in America and around the world.  Our hearts are saddened when we see unbelievers rejoicing at the murder of God’s children.  And yet, we are amazed at how God takes tragedy, like the death of Charlie Kirk, and turns it into a spiritual revival – with hundreds coming to faith in Christ.  What a demonstration of the love and forgiveness of Christ displayed by Charlie’s widow – even unbelievers have admired her supernatural response of forgiveness. 

Take courage!  As we heard at Charlie’s memorial service:

“Any attempt to extinguish the light causes it to burn brighter.”

“If you take down a tyrant, his power goes away.  If you take down a martyr, his power grows.”

“Let’s make it our goal to make heaven crowded.” 

How to prepare for Spiritual Warfare and Persecution:

A.  Be Alert.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” I Peter 5:8

            B.  Put on the Whole Armor of God, Ephesians 6:11-19.

            C.  Resist the Devil.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  James 4:7

            D.  Walk in the Spirit, Galatians 5:16-18.

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Paul often referred to sporting events and athletes to inspire Christians to give their best and play by the rules.  In the same way an athlete has to follow the rules of the game, so we as Christians need to follow the rules of the Word of God in our Christian life. 

Paul said…

“Fight the good fight of faith.”  I Timothy 6:12

“Run with patience the race that is set before us”  Hebrews 12:2

“We wrestle not against flesh and blood”  Ephesians 6:12

“I…fight not as one that beateth the air.”  I Corinthians 9:27

Paul’s inspired epistles are peppered with references to the Greek sporting games.  His familiarity with these sports analogies shows us that Paul, no doubt, attended these sporting events as a spectator. Just as Jesus used the familiar sights of his listeners to teach spiritual truth, so did the apostle Paul.

Spiritual Lessons from the Sports World

The Athlete’s Discipline, I Corinthians 9:27a

The Athlete’s Purpose, Hebrews 12:1-3

The Athlete’s Passion, Philippians 3:13

The Athlete’s Commitment to Follow the Rules, I Corinthians 9:27b

The Athlete’s Goal, Philippians 3:14

Spiritual Lessons from the Super Bowl Champions

1.  Give praise to God in victory or defeat.

“All glory to God.  Thank you, Jesus.”  Coach Nick Sirianni

   “Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus”  Ephesians 3:21

2.  As believers we are more effective when we work together as a team.

“What a lesson to the entire world what good teamwork does.  We have selfless guys who don’t want to let each other down.”  Coach Nick Sirianni

   “The church is one body.”  I Corinthians 12:12

   “Stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel.”  Philippians 1:27

3.  Love for each other makes us stronger.  

“They love each other.  Love is a strong thing and it takes a lot of work to develop that.” Nick Sirianna

   “Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”  Philippians 2:2

4.  Set aside petty squabbles and forgiveness must rule the day for us to win.

“Me and Jalen are good.”  A.J. Brown following some “locker room drama.”

   “That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.”  I Corinthians 12:25

5.  Walk in humility by acknowledging the success of others. 

“God is good.  He is with us in the highs and lows.  I couldn’t be here without my teammates.”  MVP Jaelen Hurts

   “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace was bestowed upon me.”  I Corinthians 15:10

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On Monday, April 8, 2024 a total solar eclipse crosses North America with parts of 15 U.S. stats with the path of totality – from Texas to Maine.  Tens of millions of people, crammed into a 100-mile-wide path will gaze at the awesome creativity of God.  The next total solar eclipse that can be seen from the contiguous U.S. will be on Aug. 23, 2044.

This massive nationwide spectator event, and especially for people of the Christian faith, is evidence of God’s majesty, glory, creativity, and power.  God made the universe beautiful on purpose, and one of the beauties is a solar eclipse. 

What is remarkable is this – of the many moons in our solar system, our moon is the only one known to yield the most perfect solar eclipses when viewed from the surface of the earth.  Is it just a coincidence that the one planet in the solar system that produces the most perfect solar eclipses just so happens to be the one planet that hosts conscious intelligent observers to appreciate them?  Only one other moon in the solar system appears the same size when viewed from its host planet – a small moon of Saturn called Prometheus. But this moon moves so rapidly around Saturn that its solar eclipses endure for less than a single second.

Solar eclipses are a spectacular sight to behold. But they have also contributed significantly to scientific discovery. The sun’s corona, the star’s outer atmosphere, becomes observable only during a solar eclipse. This has allowed scientists to conduct experiments during solar eclipses.  A 1919 solar eclipse led to the confirmation of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity that he had proposed three years earlier.  If Einstein’s theory was right, starlight should bend as it passes the sun.  The 1919 experiments during the eclipsed confirmed Einstein’s theory. 

The conditions for this dazzling display are incredibly rare. The moon has to be just the right size, orbiting a planet just the right distance from its host star. The sun is 400 times farther away from the earth than the moon is, but it is also 400 times larger than the moon.  This is why the sun and the moon appear to be at approximately the same size in the sky.  The result – total solar and lunar eclipses.  The one place in our solar system where you can see a total solar eclipse is on our planet where people can see it. 

Yet, many skeptics are not convinced.  David Dickinson denies that all of this planetary engineering suggests intelligent design.  He calls the many preconditions necessary for solar eclipses a “happy celestial circumstance.”  Other faith deniers call solar eclipses: 

“a coincidence” “natural phenomenon” and “ a rare celestial spectacle.”  They would be more accurate to call it a “miracle of intelligent design and divine engineering” Genesis 1:14-16.

Fred Espenak, famed eclipse expert (who has witnessed 27 eclipses on 7 continents), says the air gets noticeably colder by about 10 degrees.  You feel something in the pit of your stomach like something is not right.  As totality begins, and the shadow sweeps over you, the hairs on the back of your neck and arms stand up. You just go, ‘Wow.’  Flowers tend to close up like its nighttime. Birds tend to stop singing. I’ve seen cows head back to barns. I’ve heard crickets.  All of a sudden now the sun, which was too bright to look at seconds ago, is replaced by this black disk with this ghostly halo around it, which is just exquisitely beautiful.”

Solar and lunar eclipses add to a growing body of data that suggests that our Universe was designed for intelligent life. Yes, the heavens do declare the glory of God, Psalm 24:1.

www.premierchristianity.com/Blog/Could-solar-eclipses-be-evidence-for-God

http://www.icr.org/article/10138/256/

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From the early days of meeting in the Upper Merion Middle School until now, our singular desire as a church is to honor the Lord Jesus Christ by fulfilling the Great Commission and giving glory to God.  18 folks are in our church today who were with us over 33 years ago in the rented public school building. 

Miracles of Salvation, Land, Buildings

As a church family, may we never get over the fact of God brought us to this location!  As a small congregation with only $60,000 in the bank, God took little and made it much!  We purchased four acres for $130,000 (half of it on credit) and then began building.

One of my fondest memories is what we call “The Night God Spoke at the Planning Commission Meeting.”  It was a dark and rainy evening, and the Upper Providence Planning Commission leaders had just finished their review of our church’s construction plans.  The chairman, John Hughes, asked the others, “Gentlemen , what’s your vote on this submission by Valley Forge Baptist Temple?”  During the silence of a long pause, a thunderclap boomed from heaven as the sound of a firing canon and rattled all the windows in the building.  In a roar of laughter the chairman said, “We’d better vote YES on this one!”

Impacting the World

World Missions has always been a priority.  We began supporting the Goettes and Enochs even before we organized as a church.  The growth of our church is a testimony of God keeping His promise to a Missions Hearted Church…

“But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:19

By God’s grace and faithfulness we now partner with over 230 missionary families and projects.  Today we celebrate God’s blessings on a church family who has kept “the main thing the main thing.”  What a miracle for our church to build and expand during this post-Covid season!

The Message NEVER Changes!

My prayer has always been and will continue to be until I enter eternity…

“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”  I Corinthians 2:4

Praise the Lord that for 38 years we preach the same message – Jesus Saves!  This year on Anniversary Sunday, 13 souls professed the Lord as their Savior!

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A Tribute to  Mothers

Mother’s Day is a reminder to everyone to say “Thank You” to God and to the wonderful ladies for the life we so enjoy.  Without God (and Mom) we would not even exist.  If your mom is no longer with you, take a moment to thank God for her and say a word before your family and friends to honor her this weekend (If you have children or teens at home, please read this post to them). If your mom is still with you, then take a moment to share a tribute to her – you can do this in a card or with a gift or a phone call (if you do it in a “text” please make it significant – something more than a “smiley” emoji). Share your loving gratitude with her today…  no one has the promise of tomorrow.  

A Tribute to Mom and Grandma 

My mom trusted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior along with her friend at the age of 10 at a summer Bible camp.  In the greatest trials of her life (losing her first husband to cancer and her second husband totally dominated by alcohol), she turned to the Lord in prayer and in the Bible (sadly her denominational church did not teach God’s Truth).  God answered her prayers and miraculously saved her husband and brought her to a true church where Christ was exalted.  For the last 46 years, my brother Steve and I have been blessed with a mom who is a prayer warrior, spiritual influencer, cheerleader, and a soul winner.  Only heaven will reveal the many blessings on our church family because of Suzie Groninger Beaver Wendal Jones.  “I love you, Mom!”

My grandma was born in 1900. As a little boy, my grandma made me feel safe.  Because of the large crowd at the farmhouse, I shared a bed with grandma. I remember her cleaning out my pocket that I had stuffed full of glowing lightning bugs. As a teenager I spent 5 summers working on the farm and I had breakfast everyday with her – just me and Grandma.  She spoiled me with homemade applesauce, cookies, and pie.  She cooked all the fish I caught (even an eel).  My grandma never lost her temper or raised her voice. She loved God, served her family, and brought us all great joy.  I was honored to share the Gospel at her funeral (before I became a pastor).  At 61,… I still miss her greatly.  

A Tribute to my Wife

Celebrating 25 years of marriage this last week has given me time to reflect on what a gift from God Jodie has been to me, our family, and our church. God wonderfully answered the prayers of many the day we met.  I know I am closer to God and love others more because of the godly influence of my wife.  She not only rescued me from a deep loneliness but she brought spiritual sunshine to our church family and visiting guests.  She deflects all praise to God and she is extremely thankful for the godly influence of her parents on her life.  She is truly a Proverbs 31 woman.  “Sweetheart, I’ll love you forever!”

All of our pastors’ wives carry burdens, confidences, and face spiritual attacks that few in our church will ever experience.  May you join me in honoring and praying for the moms of our spiritual leaders (pastors, deacons, and staff wives) as we worship and serve our Wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

The best thing you can do for your mom is love and obey God with all of your heart.

Moms, Happy Mother’s Day and THANK YOU!

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Here is my list of 12 Lessons from 2020.  I am sure you can add to the list and even jot down what God is already teaching you in 2021.  We can experience God’s peace as we seek to walk with Him each day this year!  If there are events you cannot attend at your church, you can still be a part of what God is doing through giving and praying for your pastors, church family, and the ministry to our community and the world!

We’ve always lived in a world of change, but nothing as extreme as last year.  Our faith in our Sovereign God has been strengthened.  He predicted that in the last days “perilous times shall come” 2 Timothy 3:1.  We have not only seen a rise in “lawlessness” but we now understand how the antichrist will be able to exercise global power in the coming Tribulation.  As we draw closer to our Lord’s return, we should not be filled with worry, fear, or anxiety, but great excitement and anticipation.  The writer of Hebrews said, “When you see this day approaching” [the events predicted before the return of our Lord], then be more committed to “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together”  Hebrews 10:25.
Let’s never forget that “the darker the night, the brighter the light.”  Our country and world is under a great blanket of spiritual darkness, and yet the light of one Spirit-filled Christian gives enough light to draw others to Jesus Christ.  Let’s shine God’s light through us in 2021.

12 Lessons from 2020

1.  Christ can give me Peace in a Pandemic.

“I need to focus my heart on God and receive His peace.”

2.  It’s not about me.

“I need to be less selfish.”

3.  God has a bigger plan than I can possibly know.

“I need to let God be God.”

4.  Difficult times reveal what’s in our hearts.

“I need to learn to depend on God when things don’t go my way.” 

5.  My plans can be changed overnight.

“I need to learn how to be flexible.”

6.  We need God’s wisdom when misguided leaders step outside of their God-given authority.

“I need to know when to submit; when to appeal; and when to quietly resist.”

7.  Taking time to re-evaluate the direction of your life is vitally important.

“I need to look to God to determine the purpose and goal of my life.”

8.  The church of Jesus Christ CAN be flexible.

“I need to value and support my church.”

9.  Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. 

“I need to be kind to Christians I disagree with.”

10.  Treasuring family and friends is important.

“I need to realize that the lives of my family and friends are precious and fragile.”

11.  Thanking God for the gift of taste and smell.

“I need to be grateful for the little pleasures and gifts from God.”

12.  Christ is Enough.

“I need to learn to be joyfully contentment regardless of anything:  persecution, finances, politics, masks, vaccines, riots, etc.”

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