Past-Present-Prophecy

Our Bible study this week led us through Exodus, chapters 12 and 13.  We saw the hand of God deliver the children of Israel from the house of bondage (Egypt).

We talked about the Holy Land and the fact that the Jews are back in the land.  In chapter 13, God instructed Israel to remember what He had done for them in the past.  He also instructed them to remember each year going forward.  In the future (prophecy) life they were instructed not to forget our God.

You may be worshiping God today, but never forget where He found you (past) to help you honor Him with the rest of your life (future).

Remember, today is a gift from God.  That is why we call today the present.  It is a present from a gracious God.

The first month of 2020 is a start to the new year and a new decade.

We are so excited to see what God has done and is doing in the life of our church.  We are blessed beyond measure!

Our prayer and plans are to reach more people for Jesus than ever before.  Regardless of your age, whether you are married or single, we have a home for you here at Trinity.

As we work together to volunteer, pray, serve and give, we can be used by the Lord to change lives.

God honors hearts of caring and compassion.

Mark 8:2-3     “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and having nothing to eat…”

We see quickly that this physical food of 2,000 years ago could also represent another need in 2020.  This could represent a spiritual need.  No spiritual food in the lives of people leaves them weak.  Our church is to be a hospital of hope; a place for the renewing, healing and feeding of the soul.  It is help and hope for this generation.  Jesus will save you and He has the power to keep you!

Blessings in the past, grace for today’s journey and hope to know our future is wrapped in the prophecy of God’s word. 

Pastor Ralph

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2020 Seeing Jesus

What a wonderful start to the New Year!  Though some were still traveling back from Christmas trips, many of us were able to be in church together 

Jubilee choir, thank you for your faithful service!  From the powerful Christmas worship to the funeral service of our friend, usher, and musician, Ronnie Radcliff, you have blessed our lives.

Our safety team has worked very hard over the special days from Thanksgiving to our Watch Night Service.  We thank each one and also their kind, patient, long-suffering wives and children!

Thank each one of you for your faithful gifts to our church.  Just a few weeks ago the total debt of our church was $530,000. Today, with your prayers and giving, that total debt is reduced to only $376,947.04.  WOW, praise the Lord!  Remember this giving is above our regular budget giving.  This shows the power of, every week, each one of us giving God’s tithe and our offerings. 

We must keep the doors open, the lights and heat on, the staff paid, and our campus safe and well maintained but together we can do more!  We can impact this community for Jesus and grow our families together in a community of grace and fellowship.

Trinity Baptist is a treasure of love, care, and support in a cold culture that only shows apathy to hurting lives. 

From our Bible Institute to our Celebrate Recovery, we are seeing hearts and lives changed each week.

By praying together, working together, worshipping together and giving together we can have a place to call home.

A dream, a goal, and now a vision to make it happen, let’s work to see Jesus in all we do in the year 2020!

You are loved, 

Pastor Ralph/ John 3:30

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Happy New Year

Praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy that we are alive to start another year of serving the Lord together!  Our church was given great opportunities in 2019, and already God has opened great doors for us to go through in 2020.

Our vision for this year is to See Jesus.  May our prayers and labors let others see Jesus as we faithfully present Him to our families and friends.

Seeing Jesus in all that we do is an effort to remind us of what matters.  Life is way too short to be entangled with the temporary things of this world.  We are teaching the next generation with the example of our lives as we are loving the Lord, being faithful and caring for each other.  May others see that our lives reflect the saving grace of Jesus!

Together as a community of faith we are going into an exciting new time in the life of Trinity Baptist. 

We start 2020 with the report that over 1,096,792 minutes of our church services have been watched, live!  That does not include our television or our radio audience.  That means the people have sat and watched over 18,279 hours of church.  God is using our church to reach a spiritually hungry generation.

Our watch night service and country breakfast were a wonderful start to 2020.

All of our hearts were encouraged with the messages of seven young men in our church who are called to preach. 

Seven young men had prayed, prepared, and then preached with the touch of the Lord on their messages.  We are blessed beyond measure!

Happy New Year to you and to all those you love.

You are loved, 

Pastor Ralph John 3:30

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Vision 2020 …Countdown!

Today is the last Sunday in the year 2019 and the last Sunday in the year that I can attend church.  It is also the last Sunday in the decade!  All the opportunities to serve the Lord this year and the past decade are in the rear view mirror of my life.  The past is marked with the words, “too late”.

The good news is that the windshield of my life is full of road signs:  Welcome to 2020!  We are counting down the last few hours of 2019 and then we will welcome a brand new year.  It is a year to start over and to begin anew in my walk of faith.  It is a year of new opportunities to serve the Lord.

This is our Vision 2020, that we have a Biblical worldview.  To see the hurting with the compassion of Christ.  To provide a place of Hope and Healing for teens and singles.  To provide support for the family and the single mom.  To help the children to learn and grow in knowledge of Jesus.  To be sure that parents and grandparents feel loved and in a caring community of faith.

We are Trinity Baptist, Asheville’s Family Church. A place to call home, with a vision to see that we need each other and a vision to see Jesus in all that we do.

We are counting down to a New Year that is for sure!  We are also counting down to the greatest days of our lives and the mission of our church as we know and proclaim that Jesus is the answer.

Happy New Year to you and to all those that you love!

I pray that God knits our hearts together as we work and pray for our families and our future in 2020!  

You are loved, 

Pastor Ralph

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Happy Giving Day

Last week a visitor wondered, “What is the Birthday Offering for Jesus?”

This day of giving is a celebration of our faith that is focused around the birth of Jesus.

We celebrate Christmas as a memorial day, a day to remember.  It is not so much that we believe December 25th is the actual day of Jesus’ birth.  No! But it is the fact that we know that Jesus the Christ was born and that He is coming again.  The date, December 25th, is the day that the known religious world has agreed to use as our day out of the year to remember.

We know that God gave His Son Jesus as a gift to us for our salvation.  We know that Jesus gave His life as a gift to us that we could have eternal life. We remember the gifts of God and of Jesus.  On a personal basis, we place gifts under our Christmas trees so we will remember God’s gift on this Happy Giving Day!

Some of the markers of our Christian faith are the caring and compassion that are exhibited in our giving. 

In obedience to the Word of God, we tithe our income (first fruits) to our local church.  We also give special gifts (alms) above our tithes to assist the local congregation and to bless others. 

So, the Birthday Offering for Jesus was born many years ago to launch our end of year giving and to bless others. 

This year our gifts are very important!  We have had over $100,000 of repairs to our campus and we have many families that are depending on us to help. 

We also have a major target to see our ministry increase and for the safety of our children and teens.   We need to upgrade our campus internet to commercial-grade and expand church security for every department.

Today is our Happy Giving Day!   This is the day that we give out of our blessings, to bless our church and others.  Your gift is so important today as we all make the effort to give, above our tithes. 

Our goal today?  That we pray and that every person gives according to how God has blessed each of us.  

Serving together! Praying together! Giving together for the cause of Christ!  

You are loved, 

Pastor Ralph

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