The Open Bible Bulletin - December 2020 by New Brunswick Bible Institute

OPEN BIBLE BULLETIN

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, visit our website or call us closer to the time of each event for further updates and cancellations.

MEN FOR GOD RALLY able, we will release it on our website. Please visit nbbi.ca/mfg.

VOL. 61 NO. 12 DECEMBER 2020

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Men for God is still on! We have not cancelled our Men for God rally yet. We are currently exploring various options to make it work. If our rally was to take place, there would be limited space on campus for those in the Atlantic Bubble, and some creative ways to get those outside the Atlantic Bubble involved are being explored. As new information becomes avail-

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Many options are being explored for our Encounter Retreats 2021. As new information is released, it will be posted at nbbi.ca/encounter. Please visit this site regularly and if you have any questions contact us at 506-3759000.

Merry Christmas

from the Board of Directors, Staff and Students of New Brunswick Bible Institute!

NBBI

God’s Purpose Our Passion Established 1944

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

2 Timothy 2:15

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FOCUS

BY KEITH MCMAHON Christmas Lights In The Darkness Recently I was reading through a prayer letter of one of our grad-missionaries serving in South America. He was describing some of the challenges of missions during this present season of COVID. In his letter, entitled “Lights in the Darkness”, he characterized the last few months as Dark, partly because of the seasonal change in daylight hours as well as the restrictions experienced because of quarantines and lock-downs. These are terms and concepts that we have all become too familiar with. In spite of the this sense of discouragement, he stated, “Thank God for the lights in this present darkness.” He was speaking of the various opportunities for ministry and outreach via virtual, on-line meetings. He spoke of new contacts and spiritual growth that he was witnessing, in spite of not being able to use their rented church space to meet in person. At the end of his letter, he wrote the following: “And what if things don’t change soon? Pray we’ll keep on shining.” I was moved by his and his wife’s commitment to the people to whom they were called to reach.

The beauty and joy of the Christmas season is enhanced by the lights we see. I expect that many will be looking at Christmas lights once again this year. You may even have some of your own that you have strung for others to enjoy. Yet, the greatest thing we can do is to show others the light of Christ as we interact with them. That’s what God did for us! When Jesus was brought to the Temple as an infant, He was recognized by Simeon to be the very light that God had promised to send many years earlier. “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” Luke 2:30-32. John wrote of Jesus: “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:4-5 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12. Paul reminds us: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of

God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6. Concerning believers, Jesus said: “Ye are the light of the world...Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14, 16. This Christmas season you and I have the opportunity not to simply string up our Christmas lights to encourage others, but to bear the light of Christ to those who are still in the dark.

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PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE BY MATTHEW LITTLE

He Shall Be Great I am certain you have read the Christmas story as many times as I have. In fact, it has been a tradition in my home since I was a child and one I carry on to this day with my children. I can quote Luke 2 from memory, having read it so many times over the years. Unfortunately, familiarity has robbed many believers, including myself, from seeing the wonder of this event. As I was reading through Luke 1, a phrase gripped me. Verse 31 reveals the name of the Child Mary was destined to have. His name would be Jesus. Then the first phrase in verse 32 is, “He shall be great...”. As my eyes were fixed on those words, shame came over me. Jesus is the Name above every name but often it has become so familiar to me that I have lost the wonder of what it represents. “He shall be great” is a statement of triumph, superiority and wonder. It causes us to sit up, take notice and proceed with the utmost caution and reverence. So why

STUDENT TESTIMONY

BY JANA GERARDI

Junior Student from Dexter, Maine When I was sixteen, I went to a teen program that equipped us for teaching children. My supervisor, now a graduate of NBBI herself, explained to our group that she had just finished her freshman year. Then I attended the NBBI presentation by Mr. Little. I toyed with the idea of going to NBBI someday, but as far as I was concerned, it was just one of those ideas that comes and goes. But a little seed had been planted in my heart. With the encouragement – and yes, pushing – of good friends, discussions with my parents about the Lord’s will for my future, and a hunger for learning more of the Word of God, that seed sprouted; it didn’t go to waste. God continued to work in my heart and mind, and over four years later, I embarked on my first year at NBBI. 2

was Jesus great? This article could not begin to fully answer such a question. In fact, John 21:25 says, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.”

said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” Mary carried in her womb the One who created her. She would take refuge, by faith, in the One who took refuge within her. The incarnation becomes more mind-blowing when we consider that Jesus was the “Son of the Highest”.

Although we cannot exhaust the greatness of God, Luke reveals two things that made Jesus great. First, Luke 1:32 says Jesus is the, “Son of the Highest”. He (Jesus) shall be great because He is the eternal Son of God. There is little doubt that Mary would have missed the magnitude of this title. Her child, Jesus, was equal with God because He was God. In Jewish thought, the phrase “son of” referred to possessing all the qualities of the father. We know this because after Jesus told the Jewish crowd that God was His Father, John 5:18 says, “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but

Second, Luke reveals that He is the rightful King. He is the Heir to the throne of David but His spiritual kingdom is also without end (Luke 1:33b). I have put my faith in Jesus Christ and made Him my Saviour and King. So what does this mean for us at Christmas? As Billy Graham so aptly put it, “When we come to Christ, we are no longer the most important person in the world to us; Christ is. Instead of living only for ourselves, we have a higher goal: to live for Jesus.” Jesus is undeniably great, but the question remains, Is He great in your life?

God used my entire experience that year in my life, and I loved it so much that I wanted to come back. I enjoyed great friends who turned into second family – friends who could be there for me, straighten me out when needed, and just were fun. I got to truly experience what it meant to be a true friend to many. I was blessed to sit under staff and teachers and mentors who cared about every integral part of school life and loved each and every student. I feasted on the Word of God in every class, every chapel, and every service. Even disrupted plans (how about COVID-19?!) turned into ways to see the goodness and faithfulness of God, especially through the resolve of staff to adapt and switch us to finish the year strongly with remote learning. With that in mind, I consider this year a special privilege and even a miracle: we are here, together, learning and growing on campus!

vent them from running in the race. Athletes will neither run aimlessly nor look back; their eye is on the prize. In the same way, we must lay aside the weights of sin, wrong thinking, and self. We must run with purpose and keep our eyes on the prize: knowing Christ.

One major lesson that was driven home last year was the idea of leaving the past behind. We studied the book of Philippians for just a month in the second semester, and chapter three speaks of this truth, comparing Christians to athletes competing for the prize. We, as Christians, must run the race of life. Athletes make sure they lay aside every weight that could drag them down and pre-

I am a worrier; I find it difficult to let things go. I replay things over, and over and over again in my mind. But Philippians 3 talks about the idea of leaving the things of the past behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. Glorying in past success boasts in what I did, not what Christ has done. It may be satisfying personally, but it takes my eyes off the goal. Dwelling on past failures and disappointments keeps my attention on my inadequacies and not on Christ’s sufficiency. It’s an unnecessary burden that weighs me down and impedes my progress. Focusing on either – the good that I have been part of, or the bad I’ve been through – distracts me from knowing Christ and walking in the good works that God has prepared for me. I need to learn lessons from what has happened but I cannot let yesterday weigh me down and hinder me from making choices today that please the Lord or distract me from my ultimate goal: knowing Christ and making Him known!

2020 Graduates Associate Diploma of Biblical & Theological Studies NBBI

God’s Purpose Our Passion Established 1944 2 Timothy 2:15

Diploma of Biblical & Theological Studies

Advanced Biblical Ministries/Bachelor of Theology & Bachelor of Religious Education