The Open Bible Bulletin - December, 2021

OPEN BIBLE BULLETIN

...FOCUS continued

from our board of directors, staff and students!

May you have a

blessed New Year!

MEN FOR GOD & ENCOUNTER RETREATS

FAMILY FILE

Due to the continued instability surrounding COVID-19, we feel it best to cancel our Men for God Rally 2022 and Encounter 2022 Youth Retreats. We do not know what the future holds but we are trusting God every step of the way. Thank you for the support you have shown NBBI and we look forward to the day we can begin hosting our many retreats and conferences again. If you have any questions, please contact the school.

Homegoing Marilyn (Wilson) Hatt, graduate of 1964, went home to be with the Lord on September 23, 2021.

Larry Linton, graduate

of 1960 was promoted

to Glory on October 14, 2021.

Would you like to visit our campus and take a tour of the classrooms, dorms and other student buildings? Even though we have to take extra precautions during tours at this time from those outside our student body, we would be glad to show you around. Please call us and we can schedule a day for you to be here. Please bring your mask! Email us at registrar@nbbi.ca or call (506) 375-9000 extension 247. We’d love to meet you!

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VOL. 62 NO. 12 DECEMBER 2021

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

For weekly updates visit us at nbbi.ca/connect

PARTNER WITH US

nbbi.ca/donate

Give online: Click the Donate Now button. Make a one-time gift or choose the recurring option for automatic monthly support.

Give by mail: Send your cheque payable to: New Brunswick Bible Institute 2335 Route 103 Victoria Corner NB E7P 1C7 U.S. Donors: East Hodgdon Bible Church Attn: NBBI Fund PO Box 828 Houlton ME 04730-0828 Give by e-transfer: Send an e-Transfer via the bank of your choice to nbbibusiness@gmail.com.

For additional options: Call us toll-free at 1-800-771-NBBI (6224).

FOCUS

BY MATTHEW LITTLE

Canadian publications mail product sales agreement #40012001

Christmas reminds us that Jesus came for those who don’t have it all together. He was born to seek and to save those who are lost (Luke 19:10). He is calling out to the disheartened, discouraged and despondent, telling them there is a place at the table of grace for them.

The world leaves the lowly behind but the gospel stoops down and gathers them up. In Luke 1:53 Mary added, “He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.”

It always amazes me that Jesus was born with nothing of the world’s goods yet He fills all those who come to Him with every “good thing”. What a Saviour! What do we say to such things? “This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?” (Mark 12:11).

Merry Christmas

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fools are counted wise. Christianity is not an elite club made up of the who’s who, but led by Jesus, born in the most humble of circumstances and seeking those who are lowly as well (Matthew 11:28-29).

Mary’s Christmas Message of Hope

world ever needed.

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33.

When Mary contemplated the ramification of being the mother of Jesus she preaches a sermon of praise, a triumphant song of thanksgiving. In it she reveals an amazing truth that the birth of Jesus would bring to all mankind. Mary said, “He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.” (Luke 1:51).

God’s ways and wisdom are so much higher than ours. Let’s be honest: if you were writing the script of how God would save the human race, I doubt your story would start with a baby in a manger. To think that the Creator of everything (Colossians 1:16) condescended to us in such a weak and vulnerable state is mind-boggling. Nothing could be more humbling than for God to become like you and me, and yet this is what He did; a plot twist that even the most accomplished writer would not see coming. Jesus was born with nothing of what the world saw as important and yet in Him was all that the

The birth of Jesus would run counterintuitive to the sinful priorities and thinking of man. God wrapped His plan up in the weakest among us when Jesus came as a helpless baby. Oh how that must have shattered the prideful thinking of the religious establishment of the day.

The ecclesiastical hierarchy of Jesus day thought that the wise, mighty and noble were the chosen heirs of all that God had to offer (1 Corinthians 1:26-27). In Luke 18, a Pharisee thanked God that he was not like the publican that was standing afar off. This is because, in his faulty way of thinking, he felt he was closer to God by virtue of who he was and what he had accomplished. In the “imaginations of his heart” the Pharisee had missed the true heart of God. He cast a disparaging glance in the direction of the lowly publican as if to say, “God is not looking for

people like you”. How the thoughts of such men were scattered that eventful night in Bethlehem when a baby was born in a barn, with no royal, religious, or social pedigree. Even Satan, who is the “prince of this world” (John 14:30) offered Jesus all that the world considered valuable when he tempted Him (Luke 4).

Mary envisioned the Redeemer turning everything around. The weak, who were trampled in society, become the strong, while the strong become weak.

The poor are filled while the rich end up poor. The wise become fools and the Continued on back page...

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

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CAMPUS NEWS

FIELD TRIP

BY TIM LEUBNER

BY ETHAN GRANT

2021 Softball Season

Summer Camp Ministry

NBBI Softball, a yearly tradition, was once again successful in its goal: to facilitate relationship-building between staff and students. This year we had five teams competing and our English Professor, Derek McKinnon was umpire. We were blessed with mostly mild weather, while we enjoyed the colours of fall. We saw many levels of talent this year, ranging from experienced to first-timers and we saw marked improvement in everyone as the season went on. Our games were played after supper in Hartland, NB. There were two fields, so four teams were able to play each night. The top four teams made the playoffs, with our final game being played under the lights. The game came down to the wire, with a photo-finish at home plate. In the end, our champions this year, for the first time in almost a decade, were “Cooks Crumbs”, led by our Food Service Manager, Tim Leubner. We cannot say for certain, but there was a rumour going around that he may have cried tears of joy.

Playing sports together may not seem as important as classroom instruction, though, it does, in fact, bring folks together for a common purpose, facilitates comraderie and definitely helps break the ice as the freshmen are welcomed in. If you ever find yourself in the Hartland area in September, stop in and cheer us on, won’t you?

This summer I had the incredible opportunity of serving on staff at Tay Valley Bible Camp in Taymouth, NB. I had no plans of going to camp as I was working for Irving. Thankfully, God opened the door for me to go and serve for a month.

Over the camp season, we saw eight kids come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Most of our campers were regular attenders of Tay Valley, so it was very encouraging to see new campers accept the gospel. Not only did we see many kids come to know Jesus, but we saw many of the campers grow in their faith and deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ. One of the boys in my cabin had a period of growth in his spiritual life. The previous summer, he had been one of the most difficult campers to deal with.

Seeing God’s grace work in his life was a blessing for me. This summer, he was a leader in the cabin and he constantly set an example for his fellow campers.

The staff at Tay Valley have made it a point to keep in touch with campers throughout the year as we know that middle school and high school can be a very challenging time for young believers as they face continuous pressure from the world. Through this, we have seen how God is working in these kids’ lives. They have been sharing the gospel with their friends at school and inviting them to camp.

Often, when we think of camp, our focus goes directly to the camp-

ers. Something that I learned was that camp isn’t just for the campers, it’s for the staff as well! At Tay Valley, I was able to put my faith into action. I had taken in so much information and knowledge from my freshman year at NBBI without any way to apply it. Being at camp gave me the constant opportunity to apply those principles. I was allowed to lead Bible studies for the staff as well as daily devotionals with the campers. I enjoyed

every opportunity that was given to me and I am confident in saying that I would not have been able to do it without God’s grace and the wisdom and teaching from the amazing staff at NBBI.

Ethan Grant is a Junior student at New Brunswick Bible Institue

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