BRIGHTO MICHIGA OPEN BIBLE BULLETIN SEPT 30, 2018
PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE BY MATTHEW LITTLE
JOHN HOAG October 20, 27 Belleville Baptist Church Belleville, NB Sunday Services MIKE GRANT October 6 People’s Church Somerville, NB Morning & Evening Service October 20 Peoples Church Truro, NS Morning & Evening Service DAVID DOHERTY October 6, 20 Open Bible Campus Church Victoria Corner, NB Worship Service October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 Open Bible Campus Church Victoria Corner, NB Prayer Meeting KEITH MCMAHON October 25-27 Perham Baptist Church Perham, ME Missions’ Conference
Have you ever heard the expression, “You’re invading my personal space”? American anthropologist Edward Hall identifies four “ bubbles” to describe the space around a person. The first is “intimate space” (18” or closer), reserved for family and those closest to you. The second is “personal space” (1.5 ft to 4 ft). This is for friends and acquaintances. The third is “social space” (4 ft to 12 ft) where interaction with strangers can take place. Finally there is “public space” which is for everyone. To be frank , I can’t say I have ever given any of these bubbles much thought or attention. But they do remind me of a tragic mistake ancient Israel made and one that we often repeat. Psalm 78:41 says, “Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” The word “limited” is an interesting word that only occurs three times in all of Scripture. It means that the Israelites set a “mark” or “boundary”. They drew a circle around their lives as if to say to the Lord, “You can come this far but no farther.” The verses following recount how faithful God had been to them in delivering them over and over and protecting them from all that might bring them harm. Yet, they “limited” God from coming too near. Why would they do such a thing?
They did if for the same reason we do. The closer we are to something, the more clearly it can be seen. If you look at an ant, little, if any detail will be revealed, but examine that ant under the lens of a magnifying glass and the most minute details become apparent. Even though God already knows the darkest, most sinful parts of our lives, somehow we feel that if we can keep Him at a safe distance, our secrets are safe and remain hidden. Here is the truth. Drawing a spiritual circle around our lives to keep God out of our intimate bubble does not prevent the God of this universe from knowing all about us, for He made us. Instead, a greater tragedy will result. Psalm 78:42a says, “They remembered not His hand…”. The circle we often form around our lives does not prevent God from knowing who we really are, but it will prevent us from knowing who He really is. They remembered not His hand! Maybe today you would admit that you have been attempting to keep God at a distance. That boundary around your life will do nothing more than limit your understanding of the only One who has the answers for the deepest desires and longings of your heart.
c ollege DAY
VOL. 60 NO. 10 OCTOBER 2019
SHEPHERD OF THE LAKES LUTHERAN CHURCH 2101 SOUTH HACKER ROAD | BRIGHTON, MI New Brunswick
75th
Bible institute EST. 1944 GOD’S PURPOSE OUR PASSION
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October 21-25 Word of Life Bible Institute Owen Sound, ON Teaching
Arms’ Length Christianity
Printed in Canada
MATTHEW LITTLE October 4-6 Palermo Christian Church Palermo, ME Missions’ Conference
NEW BRUNSWICK
KEITH + KRISTYN GETTY and friends
KEITH + KRISTYN GETTY and friends
OCT 19, 2019 9:00 AM-12:00 | CONFERENCE & DINNER 7:30 PM | CONCERT 2335 RT. 103 | VICTORIA CORNER, NB 506-375-9000 | NBBI.CA/GETTY
Join Keith & Kristyn Getty with their Irish and Bluegrass musicians for an exciting and inspirational evening of Singing together!
GettyMusic.com/SingBRIGHTON Admission to Conference and Concert by ticket only To purchase your tickets for either venue, or both, go to nbbi.ca/getty
for a
New Brunswick Bible Institute 2335 Route 103 Victoria Corner NB Canada E7P 1C7 Phone: (506)375-9000 Fax: (506)375-1800 Website: nbbi.ca Email: nbbi@nbbi.ca Editor........................................Larry Rushton Writers... Faculty, Staff, Students & Alumni Typist........................................Brenda Cabral Layout & design................................Larry Rushton Copy proof.................................... Rose Meed Printer....................................... Merritt Press
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Nobody likes to be lost - that feeling when you look around and realize you have no idea where you are and how to get where you need to go. The same is true for life! Without a map or a clear set of directions, how do we know where we are to go and how to get there? Psalm 119:105 says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” NBBI is a place to come and
learn the map for your life. God’s Word is the source of truth that can lead you effectively through life. Why not consider committing one year to coming to NBBI and learning God’s Word? Visit our campus and see how exciting biblical training can be. College for a Day will be held Thursday evening to Saturday morning, November 14-16. Visit nbbi.ca/cfad for details.
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FOCUS
BY JOHN HOAG Yours With A Thankful Heart My life span closely parallels the 75 years that NBBI is celebrating on this special anniversary year. Throughout the years I have often signed the letters of appreciation to supporting friends with the words, “Yours with a thankful heart.” As you read this article, I am praying that the Holy Spirit will lead you to pray, thanking God for someone who touched your life for Christ, through their connection with NBBI. NBBI, A Story of God’s Anointing in Individual Lives A loved one once reminded me convictingly, pointedly and powerfully, “Dad, the book of Job is not all about Job, it is about God.” NBBI has been a story of God’s anointing of individuals, some known and many unknown, who, by God’s grace, became evangelists, missionaries, founded camps, Bible schools, planted churches, served in local churches and became leaders in many different organizations, serving Christ honourably in
CHAPEL SPEAKERS October 9................................Merla Gogel Send International October 17.................................... Tyler Hill Crossworld, Bosnia October 24.............................. Barry Speck Word of Life Canada October 29-30........................... Frank Roe Crossworld October 31................................ Gary Stairs Word of Life Canada
FAMILY FILE HOMEGOING
Catherine Jean (Smith) Witham, NBBI graduate of 1968, went to meet her Lord and Saviour on August 20, 2019. Pray for her husband Arthur and family. 2
both the secular world and Christian organizations throughout the world. “I believe that God first anoints a person, not a movement or a ministry. When a person is anointed, then the ministry can be anointed, and ultimately God builds a monument to His glory. Pride cannot be a part of the process.” Dr. Dino Pedrone A Principal’s Prayer Forty-one years ago, the first Principal of NBBI, Ken Robins, gave to the Board of Directors his prayer for the school as he turned over the reigns of leadership to a younger man that night in 1978. “My prayer is, however, that whatever expansions and changes are made, the basic Christian and biblical philosophies we now hold will be maintained. Ever this school should remain solid in discipline, spiritual in outlook, missionary in outreach and simple in its faith and practices. It must ever be a school where the Word of God is taught, practised and honoured.” Importance of Biblical Teaching and Godly Examples I, that younger man, am now a much older man and in this 75th anniversary celebration year, thank God
that the above prayer has been answered in the lives of many students of NBBI through successive changes under godly staff, to the present day. President Matthew Little, the Board of Directors, staff and students seek to carry out “God’s Purpose - Our Passion.” Our staff is now composed of graduates who have been joined by other gifted teachers, missionaries, pastors and Christian workers to teach the Word of God. We thank God for all the staff including those in administration, food services, and maintenance. I see on campus today eager, growing young men and women desiring to follow their leaders’ examples. They understand that the gospel is the only message “worthy of universal acceptation” for this needy world. A recent letter of thanks from a graduate with 45 years of Christian service powerfully addresses two important aspects for effective ministry. He says, “Thank the Lord for biblical teaching but also godly examples.” The final and perfect evaluation of the 75 years of NBBI’s ministry is in the hands of the Author and Finisher of our faith.
WHO IS IT ? Larry Rushton’s
Margaret Holmes Gualtieri
Margaret graduated from NBBI in 1957. She served with her first husband, the late Ronald Holmes (’57) in Argentina, South America. Margaret retired in June 2001 and now resides in Bradenton, Florida with her husband, Art.
FIELD TRIP
WITH LIZ (FURLONG) NICLASEN To the Philppines 40 years ago, we arrived in the Philippines for the first time. Only by God’s Grace are we still here! He has gently guided us through each step of our journey from studying the national language, Tagalog, when we first arrived to moving into a remote tribal village with the Kankanaey; from moving numbers around in our finance office in Manila to pushing papers for the new airplane to clear customs; from planting rice and harvesting coffee with the natives in our tribal village to building an airstrip to save hours in
travel; from homeschooling our sons in our little “classroom” to sharing God’s Word with the people we had come to love; from traveling to various churches in Canada who were partnering with us to settling into yet one more house in England; from watching our young sons go off with their friends to cut our firewood to seeing them graduate from high school in Manila and then tear-jerking good-byes when leaving them behind as we returned to the Philippines.
Whether flying in a single engine airplane in the mountains of the Philippines or crossing the Atlantic in an Airbus 380; whether squashed in a tricycle in heavy traffic in Manila or bouncing around in our 4-wheel-drive vehicle over muddy roads going to our tribal village, we knew we were safe in God’s loving arms. Looking back over our 40 years here, it has been worth every minute. Yes, we have missed family, grown weary of packing and unpacking, and been discouraged when being misunderstood in a foreign culture, but we can honestly say that the pros far outweigh the cons. We have had the joy of seeing many Kankanaey friends go from living in fear of their ancestors, continually offering sacrifices to please them, to now worshipping our great Creator and Saviour. How amazing and well worth our 40 years here!! One day we will have the joy of spending eternity with them in heaven. Revelation 7:9 says, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” During these 40 years a few “home assignments” were thrown in as well as a six year stint at our NTM British Headquarters. Our years in the Philippines were divided between the Manila office,
various support ministries and our time in the Kankanaey tribal area. We are so thankful that God has blessed us with two wonderful sons, Ryan and Craig, who grew up here in the Philippines. Ryan and Kara and their five children live in the Niagara Region in Ontario, and are heavily involved in their local church there. Craig and Claire and their three daughters live in Birmingham, England. They are missionaries with OM, working with the Kurdish People in that area. Since the Kankanaey have no study materials in their own language, right now we are developing evangelism, discipleship and teaching material for the believers. At the moment, we are working on the book of Acts, with the goal of continuing on through to the book of Revelation. We would appreciate you praying for us and the huge goal set before us. We are not young anymore, but as long as God continues to give us the health and strength needed, we would love to keep moving forward in this massive project.
PARTNER WITH US
nbbi.ca/donate
Donate Now! For 75 years, NBBI has been providing a biblical foundation for life and ministry by training men and women in the Word of God. We are so thankful for those who have faithfully supported this ministry along the way. Would you consider partnering with us today by investing financially in the Christian leaders of tomorrow? Here are a few different ways to donate to NBBI: 1. Online: Click the Donate Now button. Make a one-time gift or choose the re-
curring option for automatic monthly support. 2. Mail: If you prefer to give by cheque, please send it payable to: New Brunswick Bible Institute 2335 Route 103 Victoria Corner NB E7P 1C7 U.S. Donors may send a cheque payable to: East Hodgdon Bible Church Attn: NBBI Fund PO Box 828 Houlton ME 04730-0828
3. Call: Call us toll-free at 1-800-771NBBI (6224). We would love to hear from you! 4. e-Transfer: You may send an e-Transfer via the bank of your choice to nbbibusiness@gmail.com. 5. Please contact our business office for additional gift options. Thank you! Danny Robins, Business Manager