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“TRUTH IT SHALL MAKE YOU FREE”

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Truth
Open Door Baptist Church Easter Drama 2010

Note: The following report is from Pastor Jason Murphy. Pastor Murphy and the church membership proved once again that with prayer, hard work, and vision you can get visitors to church and many can be won to Christ. I challenge pastors to ignore those who preach that sinners cannot be saved, and that you are selfish in your attempts to reach them. Some of you should contact Pastor Murphy for some ideas and help on how to attract and reach the lost for Christ. Pastor Murphy said:

Truth
We had a great presentation of “Truth” written and directed by Brother Pat Halliday. Our cast and crew are all Open Door Baptist church members, who did an outstanding job memorizing lines and putting everything they have into such a great job, well done!

Our first service was Saturday night at 7pm and we had 281 in attendance, which is one of our largest Saturday night services. On Sunday we had 537 in attendance (over 100 came back from Saturday) so really we had just over 700 with the 2 services. We had over 140 visitors in the 2 services; most of which were invited by the people of Open Door! We had 10 people indicate that they accepted Christ as their Savior, and 15 that renewed their commitment to Christ!

One man came to me personally to hand me his response card and said: “This is the first time he heard the gospel so clear and Lord used that presentation to bring his guard down.” He said to me, “I prayed with you at the invitation and I know I am saved now.” It was an Amazing day, we serve A Risen Savior!

John 4:34-37 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

TRANSFERRED OR TRANSFORMED

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By Ken Blue

Churches should be adding new families on a regular base. I am aware that location has some bearing on ones effectiveness. However, the truth is that the only additions to some churches are transfer members. If this is the case, we are failing in our outreach to the lost. We should welcome transfer member, but they should not be the only additions we have. Do not become content to have only transfer members; this is like taking a dollar bill from one pocket and placing it in the other.

A church should keep records of who joins by transfer and who becomes a member by conversion and baptism. This information will reveal much about the evangelistic efforts and effectiveness of the church. It will signal where you need to make changes and focus your resources.

You will get what you go after. If you are content to have transfer members only, that’s what you will have. But, if you will concentrate on seeing the lost transformed and added to your church, you will see it happen. Evaluate your membership, is it built on the transferred or the transformed?

GET OUT OF DEBT FREE

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YOU OWE A DEBT YOU CANNOT PAY

By Ken Blue

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Romans 6:23.

That most Americans are so far in debt they can’t see a way out is an understatement. However, there is a much greater debt accumulating that few know about or give much thought to. God tells us that our sins carry with them a debt. All of us are sinners, therefore all are debtors. We sin each day in word, thought, and deed. If you only committed three sins per day; at year’s end you would have 1095 sins, and you would be practically perfect if you only sinned three times per day.

Suppose you live fifty or sixty years and only commit three sins per day, you would face God with 65,700 sins against your account. You see, the wages of sin is death; sin is death to your spiritual life, to your physical life and to your eternal life. You and I owe something that we cannot pay!

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]You can get out of debt free![/perfectpullquote]

Now, for the good news; you can get out of debt free! Notice that our text says the gift of God is eternal life. Because we sin willfully, we have accumulated a debt we cannot pay. Because Jesus Christ never sinned, He paid a debt He did not owe. In simple bookkeeping, we have a -1 in our account and He has a +1 in His account. If we could get His +1 moved to our -1, it would balance the books and we would not owe anything!

That is exactly what God does for every sinner who realizes that he cannot pay what he owes. We acknowledge our hopeless state and receive God’s gift of mercy and life in Christ. You see, death is the wage for our sins, but eternal life is God’s free gift to all who will receive it.

Notice that it is a free “gift”. You don’t work for a gift, you can’t pay for it, nor do you deserve it. Your only option is to reject it or accept it. If you want to get out of debt FREE, accept God’s gift in Jesus Christ today.

GOD’S BLESSINGS ON OPEN DOOR BAPTIST CHURCH

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By Pastor Jason Murphy

One year ago I took over as the Senior Pastor at Open Door Baptist church in Lynnwood, WA for Pastor Ken Blue who had started and pastored Open Door for 39 years. I can honestly say that I don’t believe the transition could have been any smoother. That is a testament to God’s Grace; Pastor Blue’s handling of the transition, a good staff, great people at Open Door, a supportive wife, and many of God’s people praying. Through the years at Open Door, there was rarely a Sunday that we did not see someone make a decision to accept Christ as their personal Savior. By the grace of God, that has continued this past year. Pastor Blue asked me to write an article sharing what God has done at Open Door in the last 12 months. Since Oct 12th 2008 we have seen:

196 first time visitors- These are the ones who filled out visitor cards.
71 professions of faith- These indicated that they were accepting Christ as Savior.
23 baptized-These were publically baptized.
96 people joined our church- These 96 people took the mandatory 3 hour class which covers:

Our Structure
Our Strategy
Our Doctrinal Statement
Salvation-Baptism and the Lord’s supper

At the end of this class they are required to sign the Membership Covenant of Open Door Baptist Church

I have trusted Christ as my Lord and Savior and have been baptized by immersion (or will be baptized at the next opportunity). I enthusiastically support Open Door’s purpose and strategy and I desire to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.

I. I will share the responsibility of my church by:
• Praying for her health • Inviting my unchurched friends
• Warmly welcoming those who atten • Sharing my personal testimony (Romans 14:19, Romans 15: 7, John 1:41, 2 Corinthians 5:20)

II. I will support the message of my church by:
• Attending worship faithfully • Honoring Christ in my lifestyle
• Getting involved in a Small Group • Giving regularly
(Hebrews 10:25, Acts 2:42, Philippians 1:27, 1 Corinthians 16:2)

III. I will protect the unity of my church by:
• Acting in love toward other members •Following the leadership
• Refusing to gossip (1 Peter 1:22, Ephesians 4:29, Hebrews 13:17)

IV. I will serve the ministry of my church by:
• Discovering my gifts and talents • Developing a servant’s heart
• Finding a place of ministry (Romans 12:6, 1 Peter 4:10, Philippians 2:3-4,7)

As a pastor, I am honored anytime someone would make a decision to join our church and allow me to be their Pastor. So, if the Lord tarries we will continue to do what we are doing and always try to improve in every area. We are living in exciting times with a tremendous opportunity to reach people for Jesus Christ. Below is a picture of those who just joined our church in the last 3 months by taking our membership class, which we have 4 times per year.MEMB

TURNING INWARD

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By Ken Blue

Churches, like individuals, have birth, growth, maturity, and death. For a church to have birth and growth, it must be outward focused. This ought to be obvious. It is also necessary for a church to mature as pastors and teachers do their appointed ministry. However, unlike individuals, most churches don’t have to die. They begin to die as soon as the pastor and people change their focus.

I read years ago that the average church, twenty years old or older, has turned inward and has shifted from a mission outreach to inward ministries. That is, buildings and programs become center stage. The pastor and the people are busy, but their busyness has little or no consideration for the lost or church growth.

Activities and ministries, in many churches, are for existing members only. How to use that ministry to include outreach is seldom considered in the planning, if any planning is done. Sermons are crafted for the members as pastors dive deeper and deeper into the hidden mysteries of the Word. In other words, the church has shifted from a growth mentality to a maintenance mode.

The pastor’s job is unique. He must maintain a red-hot outreach ministry. He must improve the buildings, and he must mature his congregation. But, he need not let the church die. How can that be prevented? Don’t allow the church to turn inward. Keep an outward focus in everything you do.