“Baseball Is Life!”

8:15, 9:30, and 10:55 AM

It has been called the “All American Pass Time.”  It unites all generations.  It requires skill and strategic thinking.  It is fun to play and to watch.

It is like a dream come true for Texas Rangers’ fans to be able to go to the World Series for the second straight year. The one thing that could make it an even better dream is when they WIN. It was exciting to watch them win in their American League Championship Series against Detroit last week. Nelson Cruz made it exciting with his record setting performance with 6 homers and 13 RBI’s. Rangers’ fans have waited patiently for a long time for a World Series like this one against the Cards.  (Now you finally get to wear your Texas Ranger’s jersey to church.)

Baseball is a lot like life. There are a lot of ups and downs. There is a struggle. It takes practice and skill. You never know what will happen. Everybody gets their turn at bat. You cannot score a run unless you get on base. And there is so much more.

Baseball has woven itself into the everyday fabric of life and legend. And there are so many great stories that come out of baseball. We love to hear of those who have become great champions and others who have overcome great challenges.  Many of us have loved playing the game and many more have been thrilled at going to the stadium and getting caught up in the enthusiasm of the crowd.  

Even the Apostle Paul seemed to enjoy sports.  He used many sports illustrations in his epistles. He said, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” (I Cor. 9:25). He compared the Christian life with athletics. Anyone who is serious about their sport, whether it is baseball or something else, will train hard and those who train hard usually do well.

I hope you will join us this Sunday, October 23, for “WORLD SERIES SUNDAY!” I will be preaching the message, “Baseball is Life.” It is a rare opportunity to consider some of the similarities between Life and Baseball. It will be both fun and challenging. Let me urge you to invite a friend for Worship and Bible Study.

I want to urge all of the Adult Classes to make preparations for something special in class and try to have your whole “Roster” present.  I know the Youth and Children’s Ministries will also be doing some related things in their classes and children’s church.

“Take me out to the church house…”

You Are Loved,

Bro. Kelly

PS Be sure to wear your Ranger’s jersey, t-shirt, or colors. (Or whatever your favorite team is, we love everybody ) I will be wearing mine.

Play To Win!

19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. 23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

1 Corinthians 9:19-24 (NASB)

It was so thrilling to see so many people who decided to trust Christ as your Savior during our Revival.  The decision to invite Jesus into your life to lead you and guide you through this life is the most important decision in life and all who made that commitment should be congratulated for taking such an important step!  I know that you are in for a wonderful journey.  The Christian life is not without problems, but with Christ in your life and with the principles and promises of God found in the Bible, you will find all the help and hope and purpose you need.

It is our desire here at Highland Terrace to help every new believer to get off to a good start in the Christian life.  We provide a number of things to make this possible such as Sunday morning Bible Study classes with books provided, weekly Worship Services, our Discovery Class, the New Member Orientation, Bibles, booklets, sermon CD’s, personal fellowship, and many other things.  We want to help answer all of your questions about what it means to be a Christian. 

I highly recommend a little booklet that has been read by literally millions of people and helped them take the first step of salvation.  It is called “Four Spiritual Laws.”  You can pick it up at the church office, or also in the Atrium.  Reading this material can help to confirm in your heart and mind what happened when your made your decision to trust Christ as your Savior.  Please read through page 10 and pray through the prayer on that page.  This explains how a person is saved.

We have another booklet we would like to give you called “Beginning Steps:  A Growth Guide for New Believers.”  This great booklet is a short study you can do at home or in a group that will help you to get a basic understanding of the Christian life.  It will also give you a great foundation for the rest of your life.  Be sure to fill out the Spiritual Birth Certificate on page 2 and then try to work through the 2 page lesson each day until you finish all 7 lessons.  If you have any questions, please feel free to call the office and we would love to assist you.

And, of course, there is no better book than the Bible, God’s Word.  I encourage all new Christians to begin reading the Gospel of John in the New Testament.  Just read 1 chapter each day until you read all the way through the book, and then, start over and read it again.  This book was originally written to help people know and trust in our Savior.  In it you will see many of Jesus’ miracles, meet his first disciples, look in on a number of his personal interviews, and hear eye witness accounts of his resurrection.  You will enjoy it.

We will be announcing a special class for those who have recently made a decision to trust in Christ very soon.  So please be watching for it in “The Purpose” or our weekly Worship Bulletin.  In the meantime if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me personally or anyone on our church staff.  They are all great Christians who enjoy helping others.  We will be talking to your soon.

Be Strong In The Lord,

Bro. Kelly

The paragraphs above are a newsletter article I used after a Revival Meeting or Crusade at our church.  We had more than 40 professions of faith on one night and we needed to send a new believer letter to each person with some instructions.  We also needed to find a way to do follow up with them.  I sent a New Believer Follow Up letter with the same basic content as above.  I also used the paragraphs above as my newsletter article for our weekly newsletter, The Purpose. 

We are also scheduling a New Believer Follow Up class for Wednesday evenings.  We will use the “Beginning Steps:  A Growth Guide for New Believers” as our follow up guide for the class.  You can purchase these at the North American Mission Board website.  They also have the booklet as a free pdf download and have a free powerpoint presentation that you can download and use to go through the booklet with a group.  You can find it at the website below.

http://www.namb.net/beginning-steps/ 

Feel free to use the article or letter in your own church or ministry or adapt it as needed.

We are grateful for the ministry of Evangelist Jamey Ragle (http://www.jameyragle.com/ ) and Evangelist Marc Ivey (http://www.marcivey.com/ ) for their ministry to our church during our recent Revival and would also like to recommend them to you.  They are godly men with great talents, gifts, life experiences, and hearts for serving the Lord and His church.  Tell them Bro. Kelly sent you. 

Be Blessed Today,

Kelly

Bro. John Hicks had come into the community to preach that series of messages and stayed with a humble, but believing family in there.  During that week of Revival one little boy was saved.  His name was Wally. 

Many might have wondered about how worthwhile that week of ministry was.  However, Wally, always thought it was worthwhile.  You probably know him as W. A. Criswell, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas for 50 years, and founder of Criswell College.  He published 54 books and received 8 honorary doctor degrees and his ministry led thousands of people to Christ.  I am glad someone brought him to the Revival.

The events of last week hit close to home and remind us how fragile life is and how important it is to CARE about the things that matter the most in the end.

I hope you will take advantage of the opportunities during our 2 weeks of Revival to invite a family member, friend, work associate, neighbor, or anyone the Lord may lay on your heart.  Who knows what may be written 50 years from now because YOU CARED.

“Who CARES?” Sunday in Bible Study is August 28th. 

Call
And
Reach
Everyone

You Are Loved,

Bro. Kelly

If you have ever wanted to share your faith with your friends, family, associates, classmates, or anyone God has placed in your orbit, but did not know how to get started, or what to say, this simple class may be your answer.  Telling people about Christ is not complicated or confusing, but sometimes we are.  Once you learn some of these simple techniques, you will be amazed at how natural it can be to share your faith. 

What you will NOT have to do…

• Learn hundreds of verses and complex outlines
• Knock on a stranger’s door, (or even a friend’s door)
• Take a public survey
• Put people on the spot
• Sell anything
• Say, “Hallelujah” (though you may want to)
• Invest in Expensive Materials

What is covered in the basic six week course? 

• How being “Christ-like” means being a compelling witness.
• How to give a testimony (tell your story) people will really want to hear.
• An easy way to lead a conversation to spiritual things.
• How to end your next public testimony or speech with a real punch.
• Three Simple, Easy to Remember, Proven Effective, Gospel Presentations.  Not Kidding.  Really Easy.
• Number 1:  The Good News Sandwich
• Number 2:  A, B, C, and D
• Number 3:  SH-O-V-E  If you can memorize these 20 words, you cannot mess this up.
• Two Evangelism Methods for Chickens and Newbies.

These topics are also covered because so many church members are so confused on them today:

• What is the Gospel Message?  In other words what are we really supposed to tell people?
• What is Real Faith?  Or, What is God really asking an unsaved person to do?

Also, how anyone can change the world beginning today.

Quiz:

• There are two things you can do on earth that you cannot do in Heaven? 
• Which one do you think God wants you to do? 
• What does Jesus tell us causes rejoicing in Heaven? 
• What can you take with you to Heaven? 

Mesa Baptist Church is located at 

2425 s. alma school road, mesa, az  85210

phone 480-897-2036, fax 480-897-2870

 Contact the church office to sign up or contact Dr. Carr directly.

1.  Write your own pamphlet to give away.  It could be your own testimony with a simple evangelistic invitation at the end.  This method works because people are more likely to read something if they know the author personally.  You can add some evangelistic verses and a prayer at the end.

2.  Wear something that gets people’s attention and makes them ask you a question.  This could be as simple as a T-shirt, or buying a unique lapel pin with a message, or a wristband.   www.ctainc.com Christian tools of affirmation.

3.  Carry copies of your favorite book, CD, or DVD to give away that has a Christian message.  Jesus Movie, Purpose Driven Life, More Than a Carpenter, American Tract Society, www.atstracts.org

4.  Master at least one, easy to follow gospel presentation.  After someone asks you a question, or after you have given your testimony, or they have read your pamphlet, you still have to be able to lead them to Christ.  All effective soul-winners follow some presentation or plan.  Whether it is the 4 spiritual laws, the Romans Road, or the ABC’s, you must have a plan to follow.  I suggest you have more than one, so you are able to choose the one you think will fit best.  Here are the three I like best:  Good News Sandwich, ABCD, and One Verse Evangelism.  All are clear, simple, easy to remember, easy for the listener to follow, non-threatening, actually present the gospel message, and call for a decision.  All of them are very easy to lead into.

5.  A good idea for Pastors and churches is to have one Unified Plan, to teach and use as a church family each year.  Choose one of the methods above, or something different like “power beads” or “one verse evangelism.”  Preach a series on the Plan you are using.  Have a special training session and let everyone know that this is THE plan your church is using this year.  Whenever possible, invite a guest speaker / authority to come in an speak on the subject.  Get all of your leaders on board.  Ask for testimonies of how people have used this to lead someone to Christ.  People will be bolder since they know the entire church is doing this and they are not on their own.  Testimonies will keep people encouraged and motivated.  Use One Verse Evangelism which focuses on Romans 6:23 and call it “One Sentence That Changed The World!”  Example:  “Would you like to hear one sentence that changed the world?”  “Can I tell you how it changed my life?”

Try one of these tactics and see how well it works for you or your church.  Send me a note to let me know or leave  comment at the bottom of this page.

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