The Open Bible Bulletin, April, 2023

Page 1

Births

December 12, 2022 - to Robyn (Wesseling, Assoc. ’05) and Jerry McElyea, a daughter, Flora Elinor.

January 30, 2023 - to Ben (ABM/B.Th. ’20) and Lydia (Violette, ABM/B.Th. ’20) Coolidge, a son, Silas Jude.

January 30, 2023 - to Candace (Rushton ’09) and Sam Stranks, a daugther, Hannah Faith.

March 1, 2023 - to Collin (ABM/B.Th. ’18) and Vashti (Potter, ABM/B.Th. ’18), a son, Seamus Royce Myles.

Homegoings

William Gallant, Jr., NBBI graduate of 1969, was promoted to Glory on August 28, 2022. Please pray for his wife Suzette (Walls, ’69) and their family.

Robert “Bobby” Borden Somers, NBBI graduate of 1963, was promoted to Glory on February 5, 2023. Please pray for his sons, Richard “Ricky” (Rainne), and Robert “Robby” (Marie Josee) and his stepchildren, Maureen (Rick), David (Joanne), Scott (Barb), Janet (Dave), Christine (Don), Elizabeth, Angela (John), and Jennifer and their extended families.

Earl Edward Colson, NBBI graduate of 1957, entered into the presence of his Lord and Saviour on February 9, 2023. Pray for his wife Nancy (Dow, ’59) and their children, Earl, Thomas (Beverly), Sharon (attended ’82-’84) (Kevin) Kirk, Jonathan (Kerry), Mark (’88) (Susan), Samuel (attended ’89-90), Aminta (David) Matthews, Nathan (’96) (Rebecca), and Adam (Assoc. ’96) (Johanna) and their extended families.

Is God calling you to consider Bible School training? No matter what He may be leading you to do with your life, a foundation in biblical truth should be the starting point. At NBBI you will learn God’s Word, get opportunities to put your faith into practice, build lasting friendships, and be involved in regular discipleship. Why not consider joining us for our upcoming College for A Day. Meet our staff and students, sit in on classes, enjoy great food and fellowship and discover the amazing place NBBI is. Register today!

Vacation

with a Vision

April

6-8,

CHAPEL SPEAKERS

April 13-14

April 20, 21

Shelley Stone

Mission Go

Frank Roe

Crossworld Canada

nbbi.ca/cfad

2023

Have you ever considered how you might be able to partner with NBBI in helping train today the leaders of tomorrow? If you have some time and a willing heart, we can put you to work. Every year we host Vacation with a Vision, which is an opportunity for God’s people to come to our campus and help us complete some much-needed summer projects. Our facilities are necessary components of our training program. Students enjoy the many improvements we have made to our campus over the years and many of those projects have been completed through our Vacation with a Vision program. Whether you can come for a day, a few days, or a week, we can use your help. We will house you, feed you, and provide you with opportunities to meet other believers and enjoy great fellowship. We also have a children’s program throughout the day for kids age 5-12. We would love for you to prayerfully consider joining us.

FOCUS

Our Financial Goal: $40,000. Projects: - Complete the renovation of both bathrooms in Liberty Hall (Ladies’ dorm). This will complete our multiphase dorm project which began in 2019.

- Build an addition onto the dining hall for much needed storage for tables, chairs, kitchen equipment, etc.

- Process the wood needed for our outdoor wood furnace for the winter of 2023-2024.

Questions And Concerns

One of the most surprising perks of pastoral ministry is the opportunity to think through questions that arise as people read through their Bibles. Often, it begins like this. The phone rings, and somebody says, “Pastor, I was reading in such and such a place in my Bible and I noticed this word. What does it mean when the Bible says…?”

Over the years, the Lord has allowed this to happen on a frequent basis. It is never an interruption of time to think through those questions with my friends. One day not too long ago, I got three of those kinds of calls in one morning. One of those discussions ended with a direct and clear answer. The other questions were really left unresolved, but with more fodder for thought.

his hearers, was a masterful, reasoned approach by which Paul could proclaim the gospel. After all, the philosophers said, “We want to know what these things mean.” (Acts 17:20).

I began thinking about these conversations. Are there some guidelines that can help keep the talks productively on course? Here are some thoughts that have occurred to me:

1) The only infallible guide we have for knowing and understanding truth is Scripture (2 Timothy 3:15-17). What the commentary writer said is far less authoritative than what the Bible says.

2) Some of the best clues to finding answers are in the actual nitty-gritty of the Biblical text. All of it is significant (Matthew 5:18). Jesus said even the small details matter.

the volume of the book is written of me” (Psalm 40:7; Hebrews 10:7). Look for Him.

Our days are filled with all kinds of conversations. The best ones are centred around God and His Word. I trust that you have walked away from a talk and said, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us ...while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32).

May we pray that the Lord gives us opportunities to have talks like that with people. May we ever search the Scriptures for the answers. May the Holy Spirit guide our words and thoughts that we would see and understand the truth. May that understanding lead us to see and know the Lord better than we did at the beginning of the conversation.

(6224).

In the book of Acts, Paul got into a situation on Mars Hill where the Lord put him in a place described this way: “For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or hear some new thing.” (Acts 17:21). What followed for Paul and

3) We’ve got to be able to differentiate between things that are critical and things that are not. Paul warned us about debates that are non-productive (Titus 3:9-11).

4) Don’t go looking to merely increase your knowledge. Go looking for how the Lord has revealed Himself in the text. The Psalmist, and the writer of Hebrews quoted the Lord Jesus as saying that “in

Printed in Canada Canadian publications mail product sales agreement #40012001 4 OPEN BIBLE BULLETIN 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 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
VOL. 64 NO. 04 APRIL 2023
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- Various painting, carpentry, maintenance projects around campus. 2023 for
a

PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE

Praising God In The Pit

Psalm 34:1 says, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

The unbeliever may see the Christian’s approach to praise as farcical. After all, how can you “praise God” no matter what comes your way? Many respond that this unrealistic outlook on life is religious credo reserved for the delusional and deceptively naive. Can this be the case? Can praise be the interminable testimony of my life at all times? I must confess that Psalm 34:1 is not always the triumphant song flowing from my lips.

Perhaps the answer to this quandary is in another Psalm penned by David. In Psalm 138, David is speaking about God’s goodness and faithfulness when we read, “I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to You.” (verse 1). Here is a man who had trouble written all over the pages of his life and yet he is praising God. To praise God is to

SPRING BIBLE CONFERENCE

MAY 5-7, 2023

Spring Conference is right around the corner. After three years of not hosting any events on our campus, we are thrilled to invite you back to enjoy great Bible teaching, fellowship and food. We will also have missionaries sharing about what God is doing through their ministries around the world. We will cap it all off with our Commencement Exercises on Sunday, as we honour and send out our current graduates. Our conference is scheduled for May 5-7. Our Bible teacher will be Dr. Wendell Calder.

Wendell was born on Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada and was born again at an early age in his home church, North Road Baptist Church. He is a 1959 graduate of New Brunswick Bible Institute and began his pastoral ministry the week following graduation.

honour and worship Him in spite of what is happening around you. Praise is not rooted in our circumstances but established in spite of them. Notice in Psalm 138:2 that David declares, “I will worship toward Your holy Temple (italics mine), and praise Your name…”. Did you notice the potential dilemma this verse presents? David’s praise is directed towards the Temple and the Temple has not even been built yet. We know that David longed to build the Temple and yet, because he was a man of war, God forbade it (1 Chronicles 28:3). As David penned this Psalm, the Tabernacle was in Shiloh. Although one could make the case that he is speaking of the Tabernacle, David’s love for the Temple and desire to see it come to fruition leads me to believe that he is longing for something that is currently out of his reach. Could this be the key to maintaining a heart of praise at all times? True praise is always clinging to, and rejoicing in, that which is beyond our current experience. In fact, this is the very nature of faith. Our praise is not being

fuelled by our present problems but God’s future plan and purposes. If our praise is rooted in the here and now, we will be like Snoopy who said, “Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog. Tomorrow I’ll probably still be a dog. Sigh!” There’s so little hope for advancement.

Instead, we boldly declare, “...we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). Your problems may abound but your praise is steadfast because it’s not rooted in problems but in a Person. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Therefore by Him (Jesus) let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Your praise can be uninterrupted throughout life if it is focused on the unchanging nature of our gracious Redeemer. Your life may be falling apart but you are eternally attached to One whose isn’t. That is some food for thought and fuel for praise!

Men For God Rally 2023 God

Wendell pastored a total of 16 years and founded the Woodland Baptist Church, Baileyville, Maine in 1963. He founded Living Waters Bible Conference in 1970, a ministry which continues to reach all ages with the gospel of Christ. He founded their present ministry of Local Church Evangelism in 1975. This ministry has taken him to six continents sharing the gospel message. In May, 1982, Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, TN conferred on him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. Wendell and his wife, Joan, reside in Florida.

Whosoever Will May Come: Did Jesus Die For You ?

Dr. David Doherty, Academic Dean and long-time faculty member of NBBI, has written a book entitled, “Whosoever Will May Come: Did Jesus Die for You?” Dr. Doherty is known as being a serious student of God’s Word, and has always challenged others with his clear, methodical and no-nonsense approach to Scripture. In this book, he tackles the deep issues surrounding Soteriology and seeks to steer us to a Biblically-balanced understanding of God’s Salvation plan and how it relates to you. Contact us if you would like to purchase a copy.

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