The Open Bible Bulletin - December, 2022

Page 1

OPEN BIBLE

DAVID DOHERTY December 4 Belleville Baptist Church Belleville, NB Sunday Services

Evelyn Nanninga (Assoc. ’20) to Ben Jost (ABM/B.Th. ’22) on May 28, 2022.

Births September 26, 2022 - to Ryan (’14) and Emily (Olmstead, Assoc. ’14) Legere, a daughter, Lindsey Eliza Ryanne.

Homegoing Norma Kelly, NBBI graduate of 1962, was promoted to Glory on July 3, 2022. Norma served with the Africa Inland Mission for over 45 years in various parts of Africa and England.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our board, staff & students!

nbbi.ca/mfg

After a two year unexpected break, our Men for God Conference is returning in 2023. As the Apostle Paul anticipated the Day of the Lord, he encouraged the believers to “...comfort (exhort) yourselves together and edify one another, even as also you do.” (1 Thess. 5:22). Our Men for God rally is a great opportunity for men to build each other up in our faith. The dates for our upcoming conference are January 27-28, 2023. Plan

on joining us for solid teaching, great food and encouraging fellowship. Our speaker this year is Pastor Deric Bartlett. His passion for the Word of God and powerful preaching will be an encouragement to all who come. Deric was raised in New Brunswick, “the promised land”, as he affectionately calls it. He was ordained to the Gospel ministry at 22 years of age and took his first pastorate the same year. He has shepherded local churches in Maine, Nova Scotia, Indiana and Ontario. Deric and his wife April have been married for 39 years and have four married children and eight grandchildren. He is the senior pastor at City Centre Baptist Church in Mississauga, ON, a multicultural family of believers from around the world. Deric’s focus is on equipping the church family to work together in reaching others with the Gospel. Please visit our website for more information and to register: nbbi.ca/mfg.

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

4

BULLETIN

January 27-28, 2023

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 MIKE GRANT I’ve Told You A Thousand Times

Canadian publications mail product sales agreement #40012001

Wedding

Men For Go Godd Rally

Printed in Canada

FAMILY FILE

VOL. 63 NO. 12 DECEMBER 2022

Growing up I frequently heard this statement, “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times…”. Maybe you also heard this statement when you were a child or perhaps you have said it to your children. In their defence, children typically have a short attention span, need to be taught, and often need to be reminded of the task to which they were assigned. After all, children are young and immature. They are learning and often don’t listen or pay attention. This seems to follow us into adulthood. It seems that our flesh is plagued with neglecting two areas in which we have been repeatedly instructed to be faithful. One of these areas is prayer. God’s Word clearly instructs us to be diligent in prayer and so many Christian authors also remind us of this crucial element of the Christian faith. Recently, I was conversing with someone about the needs in missions. Our conversation led us to discuss one area that we are instructed to pray for. Matthew 9:37-38 says, “The harvest is truly plenteous, but the labourers are

few; pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” The needs in missions are overwhelming. No mission agency is overwhelmed with trying to place all the missionaries desiring to give their lives to serve the Lord. Prayer should govern our lives. The Apostle Paul exhorted us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). The Lord spent all night in prayer before calling the twelve disciples (Luke 6:12). Are you going through a hard time? Are you facing a difficult decision? Do you have unsaved loved ones? Are you struggling with sin? Take these things to the Lord in prayer. The second area that we neglect, despite instruction and constant reminders, is reading and studying God’s Word (2 Timothy 2:15). Years ago, I was talking to a discouraged missionary who was extremely busy serving the Lord. It was a well-known fact that he had a short fuse. In the course of our conversation, I asked him when he had last read the Bible to feed himself rather than for ministry purposes. Without hesitation, he told me that it had been five years. We could easily shake our heads in disgust or shock, but it is important to evaluate ourselves in this area also. Are we spending time in God’s

Word to feed ourselves, rather than solely to feed others? Unlike the roughly 2,500 languages that do not have one verse in their language, we are so blessed to have the Bible in many different forms. May we desire God’s Word like David did (Psalms 42:1; 63:1; 119:131). May we not be like immature children that need to be reminded a thousand times, but rather let us be mature believers that commit ourselves to prayer and spending time in God’s Word.

@

Check us out

nbbi.ca

1


PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE BY MATTHEW LITTLE

C h r i st m a s ! The Impossible Story Christmas is a reminder that God is in the business of accomplishing what may seem to be impossible. In fact, the birth of Jesus in a stable is proof of that. C.S. Lewis once commented, “Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.” Furthermore, Mary was carrying in her womb the One who created her (Colossians 1:16). In Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus, an Angel was relating God’s plan to Mary who was unable to fathom how any of it was possible. Her response to the angel was, “How shall

this be…” (Luke 1:34a). Just three verses later the angel responded, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (verse 37). Christmas is the unfolding of a plan that seems to have “impossible” written all over it. How could a virgin give birth to a child? Yet, this is exactly what happened. As we scan the various components of the Christmas story, we are confronted with one impossibility after another. His birth was impossible. His perfect life seems impossible. His sacrificial death seems impossible. His triumphant resurrection seems impossible. The Holy Spirit living within the believer, empowering them for service, seems impossible. The Christmas story is God’s declaration to the world that God is in the business of doing the impossible. When God enters the scene, all that seems hopeless is now

NBBI has been privileged to host annual teen retreats on our campus for many years. Thousands of teens have been a part of the retreats and many lives have been changed. Our retreats are more than just great games, delicious food and non-stop fun. We provide an opportunity for teenagers to meet with God in a life-altering way. Don’t miss out on the chance to join us on February 24-26 or March 24-26, 2023. You can find more information on our website at nbbi. ca/encounter

Speaker

Brent Finchum Brent Finchum is the South-East Regional Coordinator for Word of Life. He and his wife Stacy, and their four children live in Birmingham, Alabama. Through his ministry, he is involved in training ministry leaders and helping them implement strategic, discipleship efforts within their local church. Brent also leads a team of ministry coaches serving alongside local 2

hopeful; all that is out of reach is now within our grasp. We have a solution for sin (Romans 8:1); we are joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17); we are new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). God is still in the business of doing the impossible. We often acknowledge our belief that God can do whatever He wants but we don’t live like it’s true. God wants to do the impossible in your life but there is one thing that is necessary. After Mary had a chance to dissect all that God was proposing and seeking to do in and through her, she said, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word…” (verse 38). God usually does the impossible through those that believe Him and are willing to adjust their lives to the awesome work He has planned for them. Never forget that the impossible story of Christmas includes you if you know Jesus as your personal Saviour. Your transformed life bears testimony to the unfathomable work of God. Christmas is the story of God doing the impossible so that now all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

NBBI

2023 Youth Retreats February 24-26 March 24-26 For those in Grades 7-12 nbbi.ca/encounter churches throughout the southeast region of the United States. Over the past decade of serving churches, Brent has had the opportunity to minister to thousands of students and leaders, both in the U.S. and abroad. Through his ministry, he endeavours to challenge young people to become wholly-devoted followers of Christ. Brent’s aspiration is to see this generation rise up and lead a movement that will wake up the church and change the world as we know it.

CAMPUS NEWS

BY JOSEPH GRANT NBBI Softball 2022

This fall we had a great season of softball here at NBBI! We had four teams made up from the student body with a staff member coaching each team. My team was coached by Mr. Leubner. Our team name was the “Cook’s Crumbs”. Over the course of a few weeks, the teams all played each other at least two

common bond in Christ. Even just spending time with fellow believers by doing something simple like playing softball is refreshing and encouraging. I had a great time this softball season, and although I had a lot of fun playing and winning the championship, it was even better to have this extra fellowship with the other students.

Joseph Grant Junior Student from Wallace NS

times, and then we had the playoffs. Our team made it to the championship game where we faced the Little’s Marauders. It was an intense game, coming right down to a few plays in the last inning. In the end though, our team was able to pull it off and we became the NBBI softball champs for 2022! We had a great time playing and competing against each other, but much better than this was the fellowship we were able to have during the season. Softball creates a great opportunity to build relationships with other students and get to know the freshmen and those who are new this year. It is good to have the chance to spend some time with each other outside of just our time in class and at the school. The change in environment can be nice and the team setting is a great way to get to know people with whom you might have otherwise not spent much time. Psalm 133:1 says “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” There is something special about the fellowship we can have with one another because of our 3


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.