Every Thursday, from 06/16/2016 to 09/01/2016, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Summer has arrived! With the warm days and breezy summer evenings come the anticipation of a slower pace. Hopefully, you'll find time this summer to slow down, spend time with the family, relax, perhaps even take a vacation. Those are good things. However, while summer provides a great time to take a break from work, there is never a good time to take a break from God. Actually, quite the opposite. While God does command seasons of rest, He never intends for His people to find their refreshment in anything apart from Him.
So let me encourage you to join us this Summer for our outdoor Bible Study. Starting Thursday, June 16, at Prince Charles Park, Kamloops, First Baptist Church of Kamloops will be gathering for a time to eat together, bringing our own picnic dinner to enjoy in the park, watching our kids run around and play in the pool and playground, and enjoying a time of prayer and study of the Word together.
This summer we will be discussing the 9 Marks of a Healthy Church as proposed by Mark Dever, in his book, "9 Marks of a Healthy Church." This summer is a good time to be reminded of what God intends to accomplish through us, individually, as Christians as well as what He wants to do in and through our church for the larger community of Kamloops and British Columbia. Together we make up the body of Christ, the Church. So let's make sure we have a good understanding of what God intends for us to do in and through the church.
We will meet at 5:15 PM at Prince Charles Park for a picnic dinner together; be sure to bring your own picnic dinner for yourself and your family. Our study of the Word will start at 6:30 PM with someone to supervise the kids as they play on the playground. Here are the weeks that we'll be meeting and the topics that we will be discussing:
- Thursday, June 16th: Expositional Preaching: Am I an Expositional Listener in Church on Sunday mornings and evenings? What is expositional preaching? Why should we have it in lieu of other types of preaching? What does the Bible say about the type of preaching I should be listening to?
- Thursday, June 23rd: Youth Night! Join us for a bar-b-que and celebrate with our youth group the conclusion of another successful year.
- Thursday, June 30th: Biblical Theology: Am I the sort of person that has a comprehensive understanding of Theology? Do I view the world through the lens of Scripture? What is Biblical Theology as opposed to some of the teachings of the world around us? How is it different?
- Thursday, July 14th: The Gospel: What is it? Do I know it? Can I share it with those around me? What difference does it make whether or not we insist that everyone in our church know the Gospel?
- Thursday, July 21st: Real Conversion: Am I truly saved or do I just think I'm saved? How can I have confidence? Does our church press for people to be truly saved or do we just press for increased attendance at our services? What's the difference and why does it matter?
- Thursday, August 4th: Doing Evangelism God's Way: How do I share the gospel with other people? What is it that they really need to hear in order to trust in Jesus? Do they need to hear that God is their buddy or do they need to hear that they are sinners in need of a Savior? How does my approach to evangelism positively or negatively impact my church? Why does it matter?
- Thursday, August 11th: Church Membership: Does the Bible really require formal membership and attachment to a local church, or can I go to whichever church I feel like on any given Sunday? Does our church allow anyone to serve in its ministry, or do we ask for them to join our body? What difference does it make?
- Thursday, August 18th:Church Discipline: Does the Bible actually say that we need to kick people out of the church for unrepentant sin? Why should we do this? How is that loving? In what way are we deeply loving an individual by asking them to leave?
- Thursday, August 25th: Discipleship and Growth: Does God expect us to grow spiritually? What does this look like? How do I know if I'm growing spiritually? Should I be helping those around me to grow spiritually? What difference does this make to our church if we neglect our personal growth?
- Thursday, September 1st: Congregationalism and Pastoral Leadership: What is the balance between congregational oversight and pastoral leadership? When does the pastor get to decide things and when is the congregation entitled to decide things? What role do the pastors play in the life of church? What role does the entire congregation play in the life of the church? Is it important to have more than one pastor appointed by the congregation within the church?
We look forward to seeing you in the evenings on Thursday this summer.