Community Baptist Church, South Riding, Virginia

One Mother Put It Like This!

maylestock — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:52:16 +0000

The job description of “Mom” defies exhaustive statement. I love this experience from one mom as she described her job.

Family Management and Relationship Specialist

“The first time she sprang it on an unsuspecting group, there were several other professional wives standing around. After all explained their grand and glorious jobs, they turned to her and asked, ‘And by the way, Kate, what do you do?’

“Without hesitating and with an enthusiastic smile, she replied, ‘Oh, I’m a family management and relationship specialist.’

“‘That sounds interesting, tell us more.’

“‘Well,’ she said, ‘I prioritize goals and objectives within the family constellation and work out a plan of operation whereby these objectives can be reached, thus fulfilling the needs of individual family members. I organize the living space and am a troubleshooter within the home environment. My biggest job right now has to do with conflict resolution of different age and rank. It’s really quite a challenging job.’

“Stop referring to yourself as ‘just a housewife.’”

Well put! After God’s more lengthy description, He said “Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.” Proverbs 31:29

18th Anniversary Spring Revival – May 24-26

maylestock — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:57:07 +0000

It’s Easter!

maylestock — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 21:53:47 +0000

Every year a flurry of activity surrounds churches. From sunrise services to cantatas to resurrection sermons…with lots of chocolate thrown in.

Sunrise services have never been high on my “Gotta Do” list. I like a tweet Chris Cisler retweeted the other day. It was reflecting on the original “sunrise service” when the women arrived at the tomb early in the morning to find it empty. They rushed to the place were the apostles were to tell them that Jesus was not in the tomb. The tweet – “A more authentic Sunrise Service would be attended only by the women who would later return to tell the men about it.”

I can handle that!

Seriously, why do we make such a big deal about Easter? It doesn’t get any better than this – Jesus is alive! Now that’s something to get excited about.

This year I am preaching from my favorite “Easter” passage – 1 Peter 1 where God allows us to soak in the reality that we have so many benefits because of Jesus’ resurrection. We’ll be considering “What I Got ‘Cause of What He Did!”

Bring someone with you to church this Sunday as we meet to celebrate God’s greatest victory.

Sermon Series Dealing with the Bible and “End Times”

maylestock — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:51:22 +0000

Devotions at Weekly Adult Prayer Meeting

maylestock — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 14:04:22 +0000

Boy Scouts & Homosexuality

maylestock — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 21:41:37 +0000

Letter sent to the “Boy Scouts of America” via their website:

I want to thank you for your heritage of supporting and building into young men a morality rooted in the Bible and embraced by generations of Americans — the very moral foundation that was instrumental in the establishing and building of America. Your name has been synonymous with integrity, morality and character.

When the Girl Scouts embraced a radical feminist agenda, you maintained your dedication to God’s morality. When culture changed, you recognized that moral truth emanates from God, not from human perspective. When you were sued, you refused to bow to corporate and/or radical minority insistence that you embrace their view as having merit and being acceptable. Even the Supreme Court of the USA recognized that such was your right.

What happened? Did God change? Did you discover in your Bible that Sodom and Gomorrah had suddenly become moral places? Does corporate sponsorship influence your view of what is moral? Does your character have a price tag? Will you teach future young men that right is right only as long as it does not cost too much?

I am disappointed that the great American (“American” in the historic identity of all it has stood for in the past) icon we know as the Boy Scouts of America would even discuss whether money and prestige have the power to change wrong into right.

God has strong words for people who find themselves struggling with moral issues: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20)

Please do not misunderstand my heart. I do not hate those who practice homosexuality. “Homosexuality” is not who people are. It is what people choose to practice. Such is true of all sinful behavior – people make a decision to practice something God forbids. Some people feel tempted to lie, some to steal, some to sexually abuse small children, some to murder and some to have intimate sexual relationships with people of their same gender. When he yields to the temptation, and performs the act, he has sinned against God. All such actions are perversions of God’s moral character.

God, and God alone, is the determiner of what actions constitute morality and what constitutes perversion. God created life. He instructs His creation regarding what is true, right, moral and to be accepted as proper. There was a day when the Boy Scouts of America would have championed this worldview.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share my heart with you. May God, and not corporate sponsors or radical lobbyists, grant you wisdom.

The most amazing reality is this – God loves me. He loves each one who perverts His morality. On the Cross of Calvary He died in my place. The Holy One named Jesus took upon Himself the sinful choices of every perverted being and suffered the judgement each person earned as they sinned. Why? He loved us and wanted to provide a way for us to be forgiven, rescued, changed into His moral image and privileged to spend eternity with Him. What a loving God He is!

Blurring the Line Between Salvation & Discipleship

maylestock — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 07:08:14 +0000

Blurring the Line Between Salvation & Discipleship

The Result of Some Reading & Meditation – January 2013

and 35 Years of Preaching & Teaching Romans & Galatians

by Mike Aylestock

The “teacher” in me wants to dissect texts and pigeon hole them into categories according to their topic. In doing so I want to separate this thing of coming to Christ into…

• what I have to do to get into heaven from what I have to do to excel in heaven;

• of how to make the team from making 1st string on the team;

• of being in the family from becoming the favored son.

• I want to get into heaven (miss hell) but I may be content with just getting by.

• I want to be saved but just enough to squeeze into heaven.

• I want Jesus to save me but I’m not sure if I want Him to lord over me.

Yet often in Scripture I find that line blurred. Jesus seemed to always blur that line. It was either reject Him or be “all in.” Either miss heaven altogether or forsake all and follow Christ.

I see this most profoundly recorded by the Holy Spirit through Matthew & Mark just before Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what we now know was the Sunday of His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Remember? Palm Sunday and the borrowed donkey?

A young, rich man sought of Jesus the answer to a vital question: “How can I know I will end up in heaven.” Jesus handled the question in a startling way – I say “startling” against the backdrop of some current witnessing training.

When the unsaved man walked away sad, grieved and still unsaved after listening to what Jesus told him, a teaching moment presented itself. To the disciples Jesus talked about the difficulty of unsaved people getting saved…not because of what they “have to do” but because of their love of their sin.

But what of those who repent of their sin and follow Jesus? Jesus promised great blessings – amazing blessings! – on those who abandon all and follow Him. Oh yes, and in the world to come…eternal life!

Read this story carefully – Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31. There was no “in between position offered to the man or described to the disciples. No “just get saved today and later we’ll talk about discipleship.”

“Coming to Jesus” was, well…compare this to the jailor in Philippi. At wit’s end, in utter abandon, he fell on his face before the living God (at least, before His representatives!) and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. There was no bargaining with God. No, “how little can I do to seal the transaction and later we’ll discuss if I plan to obey You.”

Did he have to enumerate his sins and forsake them one by one? Of course not. In abandon, he fell before God and embraced Jesus. Anything Jesus will now ask of him is no big deal – he has just been delivered from sin, eternal death, hell!

In the words of Peter (Mark 10:28) “…we have left all, and have followed thee.” Was Peter perfect? Did he never “backslide”? Did he never commit another sin? Well, we know too well the answers to those questions. But he did forsake all and follow Jesus.

Now let’s see, was that at the “point of salvation” or at a “later decision”? Oops! I’m in “teacher” mode again looking for my pigeon holes. But check it out. You’ll find Peter mentioned early in all four gospels. However, you won’t find a clear “salvation” decision one day and a “follow Jesus” as a disciple decision at a later date, at least not in my opinion.

By the way, I do not find that it is within my realm of ability to pass judgement regarding who is genuinely saved and who is not. My responsibility is to preach the truth as I understand it, love people and pray for those who are not on Jesus’ 1st string. Like in salvation, the moving of God’s Spirit in maturing a believer is a mystery to me.

Here is my conclusion (at today’s point in my ever-learning and ever-developing understanding of truth – but not necessarily where I end up. Everything will be fixed later…when I see Christ!).

A lost person must:

• become poverty-stricken before Christ regarding their sinful state (Matthew 5:3);

• mourn over their utter failure to measure up to God’s standard (Matthew 5:4);

• yield their heart, soul, life (whatever) to God in complete abandon (Matthew 5:5).

Salvation is theirs! They are ushered into the family of God! Sinful people who are broken over their sin and yield their hearts to Jesus become part of the kingdom of heaven, are comforted by the refreshing salvation they experience and will one day inherit Jesus’ earthly kingdom (Matthew 5:3-5).

This new believer will:

• hunger for God (Matthew 5:6);

• become merciful to others (Matthew 5:7);

• become pure as they “see” God in His Word (Matthew 5:8);

• become peacemakers like God – forgiving and restoring broken relationships (Matthew 5:9); and

• become the target of persecution because of their righteous living (Matthew 5:10-12).

Such disciples of Jesus Christ will become the salt and light that an unsavory, wicked and dark world so desperately needs (Matthew 5:13-16).

This (Matthew 5:1-16) is the beginning of, and perhaps the summary of, Jesus’ manifesto of His kingdom (see Matthew 4:23). It continued through Matthew 7 and is known as His Sermon on the Mount. Yet, Jesus did not make the division between “salvation” and “discipleship” stages that I made in the above list. Why? He seemed to blur that line as He invites the lost to “come to Him and believe.”

May I suggest that perhaps it is because He expects everyone who “comes to Him” to “become salt & light”?

This begs me to ask more questions:

• Do I soften my appeal to people to come to Jesus?

• If so, is it because I want more people to come and don’t want to make it difficult? If so, it is a noble motivation, but…

• Am I following Jesus’ example in presenting truth to the lost? Consider whether He softened the truth as He reached out to the lost in John 6:22-71 (especially vv. 58-71) and in Mark 10:17-31 (especially vv. 21-26). Certainly I don’t love the lost more than Jesus does!

It seems to me that in those two passages (John 6 & Mark 10) Jesus is dealing with people who have not yet been brought to brokenness by the teaching/preaching of the law of God. They were not ready for “believe” and would not be ready for that until sin in their life has become “exceedingly sinful.”

Jesus seemed to deal differently with the thief on the cross and Zacchaeus. Those men seemed to be very conscious of their sinfulness when Jesus reached out to them, as did the jailor in Philippi when Paul answered his wonderful question with “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved….”

Could we say that Jesus’ methodology (and thus Paul’s) was “Law to the Proud and Gospel to the Humbled”? Do I assess where a person is in their brokenness and adjust my message accordingly?

I have found that a study of Jesus actual one-on-one witnessing accounts make interesting studies of truth and methodology. There are only seven of them in the gospels. I enjoyed preaching through them on Sunday mornings at Community Baptist Church in 2001 under the series title “Learning to Fish.”

NOTE: it is the law (10 commandments) that accomplishes the first two bullet points under “A lost person must:” in my musings on the Sermon on the Mount above. Then the gospel brings them to the third bullet point. Mentoring focuses on all the bullet points under “This new believer will:”. It is my understanding that all preaching of the gospel in extended meetings, revivals, etc. before the 1900′s focused on the law until guilt was produced and only then was the gospel preached. This would be in keeping with the teaching of the purpose of the law found in Romans and Galatians.

Here are some interesting quotes regarding the preaching of the law by previous generations of preachers…

D.L. Moody – “It is a great mistake to give a man who has not been convicted of sin certain passages that were never meant for him. The Law is what he needs… Do not offer the consolation of the Gospel until he sees and knows he is guilty before God. We must give enough of the Law to take away all self-righteousness. I pity the man who preaches only one side of truth – always the gospel and never the Law.”

Martin Luther – “The first duty of the Gospel preacher is to declare God’s Law and show the nature of sin, because it will act as a schoolmaster and bring him to everlasting life which is in Jesus Christ.”

John Wesley – “Before I preach love, mercy and grace, I must preach sin, Law and judgment.”

John Wesley – “Preach 90 percent Law and 10 percent grace.”

Charles Spurgeon – “They will never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy Law.”

Charles Finney – “Evermore the Law must prepare the way for the Gospel; to overlook this in instructing souls is almost certain to result in false hope, the introduction of a false standard of Christian experience, and to fill the church with false converts.”

George Whitefield – “First then, before you speak peace to your hearts, you must be made to see, made to feel, made to weep over, made to bewail, your actual transgressions against the Law of God.”

John Newton – “Ignorance of the nature and design of the Law is at the bottom of most religious mistakes.”

Charles Spurgeon – “I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the Law.”

Charles Spurgeon – “The Law cuts into the core of the evil, it reveals the seat of the malady, and informs us that the leprosy lies deep within.”

J.I. Packer – “Unless we see our shortcomings in the light of the Law and holiness of God, we do not see them at all.”

God – “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7

Above quotes re: preaching the law came from: http://www.royalpriesthood.info/Godblogs/firstthelaw.htm?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=700&width=600

Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones – “A gospel which merely says, ‘Come to Jesus,’ and offers Him as a friend, and offers a marvelous new life, without convincing of sin, is not New Testament evangelism. (The essence of evangelism is to start by preaching the Law; and it is because the Law has not been preached that we have had so much superficial evangelism.) True evangelism… must always start by preaching the law.”

Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones – “The trouble with people who are not seeking for a Savior, and for salvation, is that they do not understand the nature of sin. It is the peculiar function of the Law to bring such an understanding to a man’s mind and conscience. That is why great evangelical preachers 300 years ago in the time of the puritans, and 200 years ago in the time of Whitefield and others, always engaged in what they called a preliminary law work.”

Above quotes by Martin Lloyd-Jones came from:

http://www.john336.net/lawquotes.html

Who Brings Peace?

maylestock — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 01:52:04 +0000

Our world continues to spin from conflict to conflict with “peace” as merely a hopeless dream. Some look for a political leader with some magic up his sleeve while others see peace as the state that will only exist after they destroy all who disagree with them.

A Christian and politician from America’s early 1900′s had an interesting perspective. William Jennings Bryan was an active Christian and Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1915. He said: “I have more confidence in one foreign missionary bringing peace to the world, than I have in all the armies and navies of the world bringing peace to one soul.”

Jesus was introduced to the world by angelic beings shouting “Peace on earth.” He and His emissaries (you and I) have been in the business of bringing peace to earth one soul at a time. This in my work, your work, in Northern Virginia. It is also our work through our missionaries who we have sent to the far-reaches of our globe.

Missions works! Peace comes to a heart only through the gospel. Peace comes to a people group when they collectively practice the principles that were rooted in their heart individually by Jesus Christ.

Enjoy our missions day – it highlights a work infinitely more effective than the United Nations in bringing peace to earth.

Be Our Guest This Sunday!

maylestock — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 21:05:45 +0000

Do You Have a Multi-Generational Vision?

maylestock — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:31:30 +0000

Some people live from moment to moment with little serious thought and preparation for the future. Perhaps this is a symptom of our entitlement society where many want the government to take care of them from the cradle to the grave, with other people’s money of course. But is it possible that living a life that requires little forethought, planning and strategy could lull us into a complacency that robs us of future value?

Could such complacency impact the spiritual state of your children and grandchildren? Notice how God encourages a multi-generational vision of godliness in the following promise:
“Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.” Psalm 128:6

In this 128th Psalm God highlights the blessings that come to a man who fears God and walks in His ways. The blessings listed are family blessings regarding his wife, children and grandchildren. These familial blessings add up to become a rich heritage indeed!

If you take time to read and study this psalm you will discover that these blessings are granted to a man whose mind and purpose are wrapped around God. A multi-generational vision of godliness in your family is possible, even probably, if your heart is passionate about God and you purpose to pass that faith to your children.

That beats a life of wondering what trouble your kids are into now! Need help envisioning, strategizing and launching a multi-generational vision? We are here to help!