Posting your comments

it is quite simple to post a comment to this blog. Simply look to the end of the particular entry for which you would like to post a comment. You will find there a gray shaded place that says "0 Comments" or a number followed by the word Comments. click on this link and a dialog box will open with a place for you to type out your comment or comments. Select from the list how you would like your comment to be identified then click the button that says Submit your comment.

It isn't anymore complicated than that.

Proposed Changes to the Sunday morning Routine

If you were around this morning you probably heard the announcement about changes in the activities for Sunday Morning. Maybe you weren't there but heard about it from other church folks. Either way, thanks for investigating to find out more information and take part in the ongoing discussion about the changes that will be presented at the next congregational business meeting. You may post comments either for or against on this blog. Other church members who visit will be able to see them and add comments of their own. Even if you don't know enough to form an opinion, please post a comment with any questions for which you may want answers. You probably will not be the only person for whom that is a question.

What changes are being considered?

The Church Council will present the following motion at the Congregational Business meeting next Sunday October 3. "Should IBC discontinues the Sunday morning Bible Study at 9:30 am and expand the current Children's church format to include several classes covering children and yout up to and including age 13?

Why are these changes even being considered?

These changes are being proposed for a variety of reasons:

1. Sunday school attendance has been low for several years.
   
2. We have identified Sunday school as one reason many one-time visitors do not return for a second visit.
   
3. Finding teachers for the Sunday school classes has been a difficult task to say the least.
   

What will the new Sunday morning schedule look like if these changes are implemented?

IBC will continue to meet for morning worship at 10:30 AM on Sunday. We will not have Adult or any other Bible Study at 9:30 AM. We will being our fellowship at 10 AM on Sunday before Morning worship. Anyone who wishes to do so may stay and talk after church, bitings and snacks will be available before worship. Following the offering youth and children 13 and younger will be dismissed for youth and children's worship. As the program progresses, we would look into increasing the length of Youth worship.

When will we set aside time for Adult Bible Study?

Adult Bible Study will be conducted on weekday evenings at various locations around town. It is hoped by the committee that Midweek Bible Studies will increase in attendance and importance as a result of these changes. The intended purpose is for these bible studies to change in their scope to the point that they are the primary point of interaction for church members. Their purpose would include not only Bible Study but also, Discipleship, Evangelism, ministry and mission opportunities.

When will these proposed changes take place, and how long would they be in effect?

Pending congregational approval the proposed changes will take effect the following Sunday October 10. At first plans are only to implement the changes for the remainder of 2010 as a sort of trial run. One reason they would be implemented this quickly concerns timing of the arrival of expatriates in Dar. Many of the newly arrived Expats are still searching for a church home in Dar.

A second reason has to do with the timing of the Church nominating committee and fiscal year. If the changes produce the hoped for positive result there will be no need to identify as many Sunday School teachers for the upcoming year. If the changes are not satisfactory and the church decides the old method is better we still have time to identify and recruit adequate Sunday School workers.

 

I sincerely hope this question and answer format provides you with enough information to begin asking other questions. It is not my intent to answer all of your questions or provide enough information for you to make a decision on how you would vote. It is my intention to provide a starting point for the discussion that needs to take place. May God bless and direct our efforts as we seek the best methods to carry out the mission and vision He gives us for being His church in Dar es Salaam.

Blessings,

Pastor Eric

Sermon Notes from 26 September 2010

The Importance of Motive and Attitude

Matthew 20:1-16

 

We encounter numerous difficulties in hearing this parable

 

The apparently absolute foolishness of the landowner

    Who gives a full day's pay to one who works 1 hour?

    Why doesn't he value the hard work of the first hired?

    What does this say about his sense of Justice?

 

Because the landowner in the parable obviously represents God anything we say about the landowner we are saying about God. This is troublesome to those who are working for a reward.

 

Who are these workers?

    The first-hired are confident, self-assured and even proud.

    The second, third and fourth groups also fit this category

    Even in Jesus' day, some people and some work started later.

 

Why the same reward for everyone?

    Everyone gets the same reward in the parable.

    Only those hired at sunrise had a contract.

    The next groups agreed to whatever is right.

    The last-hired only came because they were invited.

 

In the kingdom of Heaven, motive and attitude bear on reward.

 

The last-hired expected nothing and received a full reward.

The first-hired bargained with the land-owner, received their reward and grumbled.

 

Peter's question, "Look, we have left everything and followed you, so what will there be for us?" is the true setting and background for this parable. Only as an answer for this question does the parable make sense.

 

We must relate to Christ in Love with generous giving and receiving. We give Him our all and receive Him in return.

Grace is not Cheap

What is Discipleship? To many Christians today, discipleship has lost any meaning that it may once have held. Even just recently a person was explaining to me that they thought that becoming a Christian meant they would not have any problems. They understood that becoming a Christian meant God would take care of all their needs, physically and financially and that their life would become much easier and better. Even as I write this I trust that none of us have been taken in by this deceitful and wicked misconception of the new life we have in Jesus Christ.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a famous study on Christian discipleship entitled "The Cost of Discipleship". In it he makes the statement, when Christ calls a man, He bids him come, and die. The point of the book and this saying is that the call to life in Christ is a call to die to oneself so that we might live to God. Jesus' own words on the subject were "If anyone would come after me let him take up his cross and follow me." We recognize clearly in this and other commands a requirement that we put to death our old way of life and put on the new man who is recreated in the image of Christ.

Discipleship is the process we go through in fulfilling that calling. Paul sums it up in Romans 12:1-2 by saying ¹ Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. Transformation is the end result of discipleship. But what transformations are we expected to undergo. Those who say that the goal of the new birth is to make us wealthy would answer from rags to riches, from want to plenty. What if Jesus died not to make us happy, but to make us holy and to teach us how to love.

If so (and I believe the latter answer is the correct one) we can make a few observations about the process. First we will live out our discipleship in community with other believers. This will require that we learn not only how to get along with people who are different than us but also how to demonstrate love to the same. Along the way we will encounter people who are further along their transformation than are we. These will offer us encouragement and sound advice. We will also encounter those for whom we can provide guidance and support. In Solomon's words; "Iron sharpens Iron, so one man sharpens another."

Secondly, since God wants to make us holy we must deal with the presence of Sin in our lives. The salvation we receive from our new standing with Christ is a completed project. We are saved. Sin however is still present and we must allow the Holy Spirit to convict us of it and also convince us of the righteousness that is available in Christ. This is His job. Careful study of Scripture and prayer is the method He uses to carry out this work. This part of our discipleship is done both privately and in community with other believers. We must find time alone to hear God's voice and time with other believers to learn to live out that obedience.

Another point to consider is that we must be intentional about our discipleship. It is not easy. Grace is not cheap. God offers it to us freely for us to receive. But like the parable of the treasure in the field, it will cost us all that we once were. We give ourselves freely to Chris without holding back. This is not an accident but something we must be involved in as a regular part of our day.

There is also a personal level to discipleship that will be different for each of us. Just as sin does not affect each of us to the same degree and in the same manner, the path of our transformation will be different for each of us. There is a close relationship between the gifting and calling we receive from God and the plans He has for our discipleship and transformation. Following the call of God for your life is the way you are to be a Disciple. This call and ministry must be different for each of us and it is up to the Holy Spirit to spell this out for us.

A final point is our discussion but far from a final point on the subject) is that we must be humble in acknowledging our needs. Not only humble before God, but with each other. No one of us is perfect and no one of us is beyond reach. My grandfather used to tell me "There is so much bad in the best of us and so much good in the worst of us, that it ill behooves any of us to speak ill of the rest of us." We must be humble enough to be honest and trustworthy enough not to gossip.

So let us tomorrow look at how we "do" Discipleship as one of the functions of International Baptist Church. What are we doing to provide each other the opportunity to sharpen one another and be sharpened by one another? How are we providing people the opportunity to learn to be holy and loving?

Blessings,

Pastor Eric

Why Church?

After His resurrection, Before Jesus returned to heaven He gave His disciples a serious charge. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20") We commonly refer to this command as the Great Commission. Earlier in His ministry Jesus told Peter that on the rock of his confession of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, He would build His church. (Matthew 16:13-20) Paul also reminds us that Jesus loved the church and Gave Himself (all His life, work, love and effort) for it. His purpose in doing so is to present the Church to Himself as a bride; pure, spotless and blameless. At Pentecost God sent the promised Holy Spirit, the Comforter who will take the things that are God's and make them known to us as individuals and collectively as the Church.
This same church has endured across the centuries, and not only endured but triumphed. Governments have opposed, tortured, persecuted and harassed her and still she has grown and spread the good news of the kingdom of God across the continents. Even when the Roman Empire co-opted the church and used her for political purposes there were faithful people who proclaimed salvation. Within the first generation of believers there is evidence that the Gospel went into every known civilization and that individual churches were started. Across the centuries the Church has stood for truth, integrity and justice. There have been times where segments and different communities have apostatized and fallen back from the clear commands of Christ. God has raised up reformers from within His church to return her to the first love of her early days.
There are also lasting changes in cultures around the world that are a direct result of the influence of Christ's Church on the culture in which she was established. In the power of the Holy Spirit, the church has abolished Slavery in most of the world, elevated the standing of women in cultures around the globe and pushed for reforms in education. The church has championed treatment of the poor, ministry to those in prison, defended the rights of the fatherless, cared for orphans and widows in their distress and found ways to penetrate cultures with an appropriate expression of the good news of forgiveness of sins and a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ her Lord.
The apostles traveled across the width and breadth of the Roman Empire and turned their world on end because of what they had seen and what they knew. This same Jesus whom was crucified God has raised from the Dead and made Him Lord. Because of this truth, and what they knew the Apostles and early followers of the way could not be dissuaded from proclaiming the Gospel and wherever they went, they started churches. Small groups of believers who met regularly for fellowship, for hearing God's word, for breaking of bread and prayer.
There was no central organization necessary for planning and planting churches. No neighborhood surveys were conducted. People simply heard the gospel, believed it and told the message to others who heard it and believed and then began meeting together.
But the question remains, why would Jesus choose the Church to carry out and continue the work of the Kingdom of Heaven? Why not a missionary society? Why not a school? Why not a recovery group or a self help program? Why not create a theocracy and local government that would legislate the ethics and rules of the Kingdom of God among its subject and then seek world domination through political might.
There are several answers to that question but before we discuss them, take time to think about and reflect on this. Why would Jesus choose to create this institution we call a church? And how are we as a local church carrying out His will, following His commands and fulfilling the Great Commission?
Blessings,
Pastor Eric

What in the world is our church doing to change the world?

The International Baptist Church of Tanzania is an English Language Church - with our targeted mission group - the international peoples living in Dar. We maintain an international outlook, while maintaining a strong central core membership composed of local Tanzanian citizens who themselves will have an international outlook.

This is our Mission Statement. A mission statement seeks to answer the question for what purpose has God established another Church in a country where 35 to 40 % of the population are professed or at least nominal Christians. A mission statement also helps to differentiate one local congregation from other local congregations. It can solidify an identity for a local church.

But even the best mission statement has limitations. It cannot provide life for a church. It cannot provide Unity for the people who make up that local congregation. It does not provide spiritual power and growth for the body of Christ. All of these things require the direct working of God's Holy Spirit in the lives of individual men and women inside of that fellowship. Speaking of being the body of Christ isn't this identity what we are all supposed to strive for. Not that we strive in our own power but rather in the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. Hasn't God called us individually to perform some ministry in the body to improve the overall performance of the body.

A Mission statement gives overall direction and clarity to the reasons why we gather but it is not our life. It is neither the source of our strength nor the source of our spiritual sustenance.

A mission statement does help a local Church answer how they will carry out the five functions of a New Testament Church. One of the ways it helps with this crucial task is giving an intentional direction to the process of organizing these Five Functions. In alphabetical order those Five Functions of a New Testament Church are Discipleship, Evangelism, Fellowship, Ministry and Worship. I used Alphabetical order because it is easy. Arranging the functions according to order of importance in the life of the Church requires prayer, asking questions, seeking God and much discussion. All of this work is what goes into formulating a Vision Statement.

A vision statement answers the question "How does our Church go about carrying out the Mission God has called us to fulfill?" Please allow me to draw on a Sports analogy to explain. A College Football team in the US may adopt as its mission, "we will win our conference championship and play in a BCS Bowl Game this year." The Vision statement would necessarily have specific statements about things necessary for achieving their mission. They would be such things as "we will have the most dominating pass rush and run defense in the conference." or "The offensive line will be the largest and most talented line in the conference."
A Vision statement does help strengthen the Unity that God gives through the indwelling, sanctifying and securing power of His Holy Spirit.

Over the next few weeks, The International Baptist Church of Tanzania will be reviewing our vision. Sort of a check up if you will to review who we are as part of the family of God in Dar es Salaam. While we are doing this please feel freedom to comment or post on this blog with your feelings, impressions and desires about our Vision and how it supports the mission statement of IBC. I look forward to having this conversation with you as we seek how to be God's people in Dar.

God's blessings to you,
Pastor Eric

Sermon Notes from 19 September 2010

The Sower and the Soils

the path often ran through the middle of a field
rocky ground goes along with hilly country
the thorny soil not visible plants but rather seeds already present and unseen in the soil
The good soil deep, rich, well-watered and free of pollutants and corruptions

Jesus explains His use of parables

THe moral condition of His hearers determined how they would receive and respond to the message of the kingdom and the gospel.

The soils of a human heart

The path
A person who cannot commit but follows every new doctrine
the seed arrives but never has a chance to sprout

Rocky Ground
Simple minded people who never meditate deeply enough to fully grasp the demands of the gospel

The thorny soil
People in whom the gospel must compete for occupancy and primacy in the heart and affections

The good ground
Honest and good heart
Hold onto the word and endure
Only this soil produces mature fruit

Church Council Meeting

This Sunday, September 19 there will be a church council meeting following the Morning Worship Service and Fellowship. If you are a member of the church council please plan to be in attendance at the Morning service of worship and stay around for the Council meeting.

Sermon Notes 12 September 2010

The Blade, the Ear and the Grain
Purpose of the Parable
"This is how it is with the kingdom of Heaven"
Key element is the growth of the seed
Not the identity of the sower or the type of seed

Our maturity in sanctification and spiritual graces is comparable to growth in the natural world around us.

The blade is like the new birth of the believer
Sincerity and joy are not to be confused with maturity

The ear is the maturing faith of one who has begun to grapple with the depth of their sinful nature.
It is harder to believe than not to believe during this season.

The full grain is the mature fruit of the Spirit in us. Galatians 5:22-23

What is necessary on our part?

Waiting on the Lord Psalm 27:13-14
Trusting in His faithfulness Psalm 125
Resting in His mercy Hebrews 4
Hoping in His glory Romans 5:1-5
Believing His promises II Peter 1:3-9
Studying His word II Timothy 2:14-16

The first words we will say in heaven: "of course".

Nominating committe members

Special thank you to Lucy Mrema, Dorothy Miller and Vijay Somgal for agreeing to serve as our nominating committee for the upcoming year. This month they will be working to identify the people God has called to serve as our Worship Leader and Sunday School Director. Their names will be presented at the October 3 Business meeting for approval. Those 5 people will serve as the full committee and begin identifying the leadership positions and personnel we need to carry out the ministry opportunities God has presented us with for the next year. Please be much and deeply in prayer for these people. Also be in prayer about who should serve in the positions to be identified and if God would have you to serve in one of these positions.

Sermon Notes from 05 September 2010

The Seeds of the Kingdom

What is the kingdom of God
Crucial question
Future or present?

Old Testament understanding of the Kingdom
Day of the Lord Malachi 4:1-3
Reign and Rule of God as Judge Psalm 96:10-13
Jerusalem His throne II Chronicles 7
God re-establishing David's throne II Samuel 7:16

The start of the Kingdom
John's appearance and announcement Luke 3
Jesus' inaugural address Luke 4:16-21
John's question and Jesus' response Luke 7:18-30
Kingdom present in Jesus' Ministry Luke 11:14-23

The growth of the Kingdom
External
From small to the world
Hidden from the world
Active in History

Internal
Transformational
Invasive
Salvation is a foretaste

A warning: John, greatest among men, almost missed it. The religious leaders eagerly awaited it and then completely rejected it. Simple fisherman, sinners and women could not avoid being captivated by its appearance. What will you make of it?

Bible Study Update

We are currently reviewing our Midweek and Sunday Morning Bible Study classes. God has blessed and we will need to add more classes on Sunday Morning and would also like to add one weekday Bible Study Class. Hosting a midweek bible study in your home is a great way to beat the traffic and still enjoy a meaningful small group bible study. It is not necessary for you to lead the study or even decide what to study. The church has materials and trained leaders ready to assist you. If you are interested in hosting a midweek study let Pastor Eric know this Sunday.
We are also going to be adding a few Sunday Morning Bible study classes for different age groups. The nominating committee will be looking for leaders to teach these classes.

Sermon Notes from 22 August 2010

That we may Know Him

The Setting

 

Between The Lord's Supper and Gethsemane

Jesus Looks up

The Hour has come

 

We know Him as

 

The bread of life             John 6:35

The light of the world            John 8:12

The door of the Sheep        John 10:7

14 The good Shepherd        John 10:11

The Resurrection and the life        John 11:25-26

The way, the truth and the life    John 14:6

The true vine                John 15: 1

 

Because we know Him

 

We Love one another.        John 13:34

We know true humility.        Phil 2:1-3

We know peace            Ephesians 4:31

We know forgiveness            Ephesians 4:32

We know acceptance

 

We must demonstrate the same to others