First Baptist Church of New Carlisle, Ohio has a rich and unique history in our community. Since 1955 we've been establishing ourselves as a lighthouse for Jesus Christ in our hometown of New Carlisle, Ohio.

We have Bible Study at 9:15 am and Worship Service at 10:30 am every Sunday. Childcare/nursery provided for all services. Wednesdays we have Prayer Meeting at 7:00 pm and Revive Student Ministries for youth at 7:00 pm

Saturday, March 5, 2016

The Rapture - By Ken Lawler

Four days before Jesus died and rose again He said to His disciples, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:3).  Most of us believe the second coming of Christ will be in two stages; first, in the air for the rapture of the church, then when He returns to the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem at the end of the tribulation period.  The Bible gives numerous signs of things that will happen before the second stage of His return, but there is no specific sign before the rapture takes place.  All we're told is that "the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (James 5:8), "the end of all things is at hand" (I Pet. 4:7), and that "the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night" (2 Pet. 3:10).  Probably the best description of the rapture comes from Paul in I Thess. 4:16-17.  Tim LaHaye, co-author of the Left Behind series, is concerned that more Christians appear to be looking for the antichrist than are looking for Christ's return.  The Bible plainly says He is returning (Acts 1:11).

Most of the prophecies of the last days relate to Daniel's 70th week (Dan. 9:27).  The book of Revelation identifies that week as the 7-year tribulation that will end "the times of the gentiles" and will usher in the Millennial Kingdom when the returned Lord will rule the earth for 1,000 years.  There is much controversy over when the rapture of the church will occur in relation to this Millennial Kingdom.  The five common doctrines being taught are:  Pretrib, Midtrib, Posttrib, Pre-wrath, and Partial Rapture.  The following is a brief look at each of these positions.

Pretribulationism.  This view, which I believe is the correct one, means the church will be raptured before the tribulation and will not go through the judgments prophesied in the book of Revelation.  Some of the scripture supporting this view are:  Rom. 5:9, I Thess. 1:10 & 5:9, and Rev. 3:10.  It's also interesting that the church is mentioned 19 times in the first 3 chapters of Revelation, but not once in chapters 4-18 where the tribulation is detailed.  Pretribs believe that's because the church is gone.

Midtribulationism.  This is the view that Christ will rapture the church in the middle of the tribulation.  These folks typically point to the number of passages placing emphasis on the midpoint of the tribulation, such as Dan. 9:27 and Rev. 13:5.  They believe when   I Thess. 5:9 says, "God hath not appointed us to wrath," it's talking about the really bad last 3 ½ years of the tribulation.  They also believe the two witnesses in Rev. 11 who are caught up to heaven are a "type" of the church, raptured midtrib.

Posttribulationism.  This view has the church raptured at the end of the tribulation at the same time Christ physically comes to earth to defeat the antichrist at Armageddon.  Their main scriptures are Acts 14:22, Rev. 3:10 (also used by pretribs), and Rev. 20:4-6.

The Pre-wrath View divides the tribulation into four 21-month periods.  They say since the word wrath does not appear in the book of Revelation until after the sixth seal judgment, God can wait to rapture the church until just before the seventh seal and still keep the church from actually experiencing God's wrath.  Ron Rhodes, president of Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries, says, "I see a lot of wrath in Revelation long before the seventh seal is broken."  The pre-wraths don't cite any other scripture in favor of this opinion.

The Partial Rapture View teaches that only those believers who are watching and waiting for the Lord's return will be found worthy to escape the tribulation.  They say the "prepared and expectant" section of the church will be raptured, while the rest will go through the tribulation.  Their scriptural references for this belief include:  Matt. 19:28-30, Luke 9:62, Phil. 3:8-14, Rev. 2:11 & 3:5.  This view has the tribulation being used as a kind of purgatory for those "less-than-worthy" Christians.  You have to ignore an awful lot of scripture about how Christ's death paid for our sin to accept this view.  Erwin Lutzer, senior pastor of The Moody Church in Chicago, says, 'Everyone in the boat gets to the other side, even though some are rowing and some seem to just be along for the ride."

A "partial preterist" pastor in Tennessee who believes most of what's prophesied in Revelation has already happened has said to me, "I assume you are a futurist, dispensational premillennial, pretrib rapture person."  He left out fundamentalist and literalist, but I told him I was guilty as charged.
 

A Quilter: that would be me! - By Wanda Hess

I have always loved to sew.  If it be by hand or on the sewing machine.  I began with the doll clothes which I sewed by hand.  Barbie dolls needed many outfits to satisfy a little girl.  Then I found I could have a unique wardrobe when in high school and sewed my clothes.  During those days when you liked a boy you went “steady”. A fun thing to do was to wear shirts to match.  And yes it was on!  I made our shirts to match or a tie for him and a dress for me to match.  And after marriage and birth of children my sewing went back to little outfits for the children.    Now in my “golden years” I have found how to quilt.  If it be by hand or on the sewing machine.

Recently, I read a book called “Quilts are Forever , A patchwork collection of Inspirational Stories” by Kathy Lamanaousa.  It told how persons found comfort in quilts they received from family members or quilting itself.  From the very beginning of picking out fabric to deciding on a design to using a needle to make those tiny stitches.  Most gave their quilts away and all remembered the warmth they felt in the giving or if they received a quilt.

Perhaps you have been lucky one to receive a quilt.  A lot of time goes into making a quilt.  Time that a person puts into something for you and stops the time spent on “stuff” for the creator. A person puts a lot of their soul into a quilt.  And the person who receives a quilt can see and feel the love expressed in this masterpiece.

Kinda’ like GOD does for us.  We each are his masterpiece.  One that he spends a lot of time on.  He is the potter we are the clay it tells us in Jeremiah Chap.18.  Each of us had a life given to us by GOD.  We come in all sizes and shapes.  We grow from teachings from parents, grandparents, Sunday School teachers, School teachers, our Pastor, to have the knowledge on what a person should be.  Those persons are the patches in our life quilt.  While we often have no control over the pieces of fabric GOD gives us, we can decide in to what pattern we stitch that fabric.  And knowing GOD personally turns us out to be the masterpiece that he wants.  We take all those teachings and sew them together in our quilt of life.  But having GOD keeps those golden threads from breaking! Remember we reap what we sew!

Kitchen Korner - Cookies

These cookies are just called, COOKIES.  At home I refer to them as "Funeral Cookies."  Ken calls them "Jim-Dandies."  There's a reason for all three names.  First of all, Agnes Andrew gave me the recipe and she just had "Cookies" at the top of the recipe card.  I call them "Funeral Cookies" because that's where the recipe came from in the first place.  Ken calls them "Jim-Dandies" because Jim Andrew was the one who got the recipe from some person at the funeral home.  Are you confused yet?  I know I am.

However, Jim and Agnes served these cookies to us one day, along with a bunch of other goodies, and we found them very delightful.  Ken bragged and went on so about them until Agnes obviously felt sorry for him and sent a little bag of them home with us, (which Ken devoured in no time).

            Nothing doing, but Ken insisted I get the recipe.  I did and now I'm sharing it with you.  (You can name them whatever you want.)  The name "Jim-Dandies" has a good ring to it, don't you think?

COOKIES

1 Butter Pecan Cake Mix
2 Eggs
2/3 Cup Oil
1 Cup Craisins (Ocean Spray)
1 Cup Pecans
½ Cup White Chocolate Chips

Drop by spoonful on cookie sheet.  Bake 10-13 minutes in a 350° oven.

Please submit a favorite recipe to: Dolly Lawler @ lawlers@windstream.net