Fanny Crosby, Ira Sankey, P. P. Bliss—names now fading even to older Christians, but once familiar as composers of the so-called “gospel hymn”. Composed for mass production and quick consumption, these hymns Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for 2011|Yearly archive page
A New Series of Blog Posts
In Personal Update on April 12, 2011 at 3:19 pm“The Lord is for me in my helpers” (Psalm 118:7a).
Turn, turn, turn—the calendar flips by, and time has flown, while Bob has been absent from his post.
But now, I hope to “post” at my post and be a good host to you, who may occasionally drop in for “a word to the weary” (Isaiah 50:4).
God has done some good things these past few months through several “helpers”:
- Through one member and the counsel of a close friend, God provided the new MP3 recorder and start-up fees to put our sermons and messages online at SermonAudio.com.
- Through my son, these messages are edited and regularly put online.
- Through several friends, I now have a laptop of my own, on which to type a new series of blogs. To a writer, this is like a driver getting a new car. Let’s go somewhere!
Neither Jesus nor the apostle Paul fulfilled their ministry single-handedly (Luke 8:1-3; Philippians 4:2-3). Nor will I.
Lord God, thank You for being for me through those who have helped me! Bless them. Amen.
Get Up, and Walk Around
In Pastoral Meditations on February 1, 2011 at 3:10 pm“Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee” (Genesis 13:17).
As Abraham lifted his feet and walked through his land,
As Abraham lifted his eyes and the starry host scanned,
So you too, Christian, walk and now scan all that God plans to give you in Christ, the Seed of Abraham.
So often we think that we are too busy to enjoy life, and to poor to do anything about it. And yet how much would it cost us, as Christians, to walk through the heaven of heavens, and to survey our eternal inheritance in Christ Jesus? How much time would it take for us to count the blessings tied to a promise? For all the time we devote to worrying, surely there must be some time to savor the favor of God! Silly creatures, aren’t we?
Richard Baxter, the Puritan pastor, used to spend one half hour every day thinking on nothing but heaven. Having recovered from a near-death experience, his first book was on heaven, The Saint’s Everlasting Rest. It is the contention of Randy Alcorn, the current-day author of a book on heaven, that Christians do not view heaven as a real enough place, and thus we tend to live earth-centered. In a sense, we need a Copernican revolution around the Son! Could it be that we do not view heaven as real simply because we have not walked around it enough in our minds?
One way to do this is through prayer. Fifteen years ago, I was introduced to real prayer through an older man in the congregation who used to grab the pastor’s hand and my hand with his big hands and then start praying with mention of God as Creator, and as wise and faithful and gracious. It was then that I began to realize Read the rest of this entry »
Listen to a Sermon from Open Door Bible Church
In The Pulpit on January 1, 2011 at 9:23 pmThe Bible is very clear that Christians are not to believe everything they hear, but rather to “test the spirits, whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1, NKJV). In particular, a Christian must know whether the preacher is faithful to the revealed teaching of the New Testament. Preachers who are “of the world” speak as “of the world,” and the world listens to them; but the apostles are “of God,” and we who know God listen to them (1 John 4:5-6). “To the law and to the testimony,” said Isaiah, “if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).
Given technology today, testing out preachers just got a lot easier. While in the past a person had to show up in person, or somehow obtain an audio copy, today a sermon is just a click of the mouse away. At SermonAudio.com, you can enter “Open Door Bible Church” in the search line at the top of the home webpage, and sample from several sermons in a growing collection. Please do, and as you do, do not hesitate to double-check what you hear with the Scriptures. Given the fact that the Bible commends the Berean Jews for double-checking Paul (Acts 17:11), it certainly must be commendable to double-check lesser preachers like myself, as long as it is done in the spirit of eager humility to find the truth. If you have any problems with this means, or have questions based upon what you hear, please let me know by email at Qoheleth1210@gmail.com.
God bless, and Bon Appetit!
Sincerely, in Christ’s service,
Bob Snyder
Pastor, Open Door Bible Church, Hudson, Michigan
