Pastor's Notes

     Greetings and grace to you in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Wow!  The Lord certainly blessed the month of August in so many ways.  He alone is worthy of all praise, honor and glory!  God is good, all the time!  Let’s keep our eyes and hearts focused upon our Lord, being obedient in every aspect of our lives that His life can be seen in us. 

     September has schools in full swing and ERBC batting 1.000% with Sunday School, AWANA, J.A.M. and Youth Ministry with all students.  Thank you ERBC family for your loving support of all the ministries to every age of student, and please continue praying for each ministry.  We have a team going into Haiti Sept. 21-30 to install metal roofs for GSM schools at Biclair and Savane Carree.  Please be in prayer for this team as they prepare and go do this work.  ERBC will have several students and adults participating in the First Priority ministry at Elkmont Middle & High Schools as well as Piney Chapel and Elkmont Elementary schools.  God has granted us an effectual open door of ministry in our schools and we must be faithful to it.  A fellowship meal is planned for Sunday, Sept. 30 immediately after our AWANA/Discipleship classes.  Hope you take advantage of every ministry opportunity.

     One of the blessings the Lord has granted me is your eagerness to hear the preaching of God’s Word.  Praise the Lord for how He blessed during the sermon series Pastoral Advice, which will conclude on Sept. 2 with Be Godly Committed from 1 Timothy 6:20-21.  The Lord has laid a series of sermons on my heart about how He has made us to be Kings & Priests, as stated in Revelation 5:10.  During these sermons we will be learning from the Word of God both what this means for us and what our responsibilities are as Kings & Priests.  Let us initially consider Revelation 5:10, “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”  It is the Lord Jesus Christ that hath made us to be Kings & Priests unto our God.  The church of the living God is a priesthood rather than having priesthood.  As Baptist, we value the Doctrine of the Priesthood of the Believer.  The truth that each and every believer can go directly to God the Father through Jesus, God the Son, without a human mediator (1 Tim. 2:5).  As Priests, we are to live our lives ministering unto God and the Lord Jesus Christ (Ex. 28:4; Col. 3:23-24).  Yes we touch human lives for the Lord, but ultimately all ministry is unto the Lord (Matt. 25:40).  Never forget this truth!  As children of God we are members of a royal family rather than merely being ruled by a king.  We should certainly be submissive unto the King of kings and Lord of lords, but He has made us kings within His kingdom.  A king possesses authority and power, and as Christians, the Lord Jesus has granted both to us in His name!  We must not be negligent or abusive of this authority and power which we now possess, but faithfully exercise authority and power under Jesus’ authority.  As we live out in our daily reality as Kings & Priests, we will be truthfully manifesting “For to me to live is Christ!” (Philp. 1:21a).

By His grace,

Toney