Dear Friend in Christ,
One of the greatest passages in the Old Testament which prophetically captures the New Testament vision for missions is Psalm 67.
Psalm 67:1-7 (ESV)
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
[2] that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
[3] Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
[4] Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
[5] Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
[6] The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
[7] God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!
Notice the connection between verses 1 and 2. Verse 1 is a prayer for God’s gracious blessing on our lives. Verse 2 gives the reason for God’s blessing: “that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.” The reason God blesses us is so that we can make him known on earth. God allows us to live in the most prosperous nation on earth, increases our the profits in our businesses, grants us salary increases, and blesses our investments with high earnings not mainly to raise our standard of living, but to raise our standard of giving. He wants to increase our capacities to be involved in making him known. One of the ways you can help make God and his saving power known among the nations is to help provide books and training materials for Bible college students in Africa.
From August 7 – 16 of this year I will be leading a team of seven people who will be working with the students of the Back to the Bible Training College in Barberton, South Africa. Our purpose is to help equip these future pastors, missionaries, and church-planters in Africa with the skills and tools they need to be effective communicators of God’s Word. This year we will be involved in two projects: (1) We will complete an intensive three-year training course called Strategy 1:12 with a select group of students and (2) we will spend one week training the entire student body (about 100 students) in the basic principles of expositional preaching.
One of the greatest passages in the Old Testament which prophetically captures the New Testament vision for missions is Psalm 67.
Psalm 67:1-7 (ESV)
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
[2] that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
[3] Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
[4] Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
[5] Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
[6] The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
[7] God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!
Notice the connection between verses 1 and 2. Verse 1 is a prayer for God’s gracious blessing on our lives. Verse 2 gives the reason for God’s blessing: “that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.” The reason God blesses us is so that we can make him known on earth. God allows us to live in the most prosperous nation on earth, increases our the profits in our businesses, grants us salary increases, and blesses our investments with high earnings not mainly to raise our standard of living, but to raise our standard of giving. He wants to increase our capacities to be involved in making him known. One of the ways you can help make God and his saving power known among the nations is to help provide books and training materials for Bible college students in Africa.
From August 7 – 16 of this year I will be leading a team of seven people who will be working with the students of the Back to the Bible Training College in Barberton, South Africa. Our purpose is to help equip these future pastors, missionaries, and church-planters in Africa with the skills and tools they need to be effective communicators of God’s Word. This year we will be involved in two projects: (1) We will complete an intensive three-year training course called Strategy 1:12 with a select group of students and (2) we will spend one week training the entire student body (about 100 students) in the basic principles of expositional preaching.
Our time with these students is most effective when we can leave them with good resources to further develop both their knowledge of and their ability to teach and preach God’s Word. This year I hope to equip each of these 100 students with a good study Bible, a one-volume Bible commentary, a Bible dictionary, and a book on expository preaching. We are working with publishers to get the best possible prices for these books, but it still costs to purchase and ship the books. A gift of $125 would equip one student with these resources. A gift of $1200 would equip close to ten! Even a small gift of $25 will ensure that at least one student gets a good study Bible or commentary.Would you be willing to help?
If you would like to participate in this project by giving, you can send your tax-deductible contribution to:
Fulkerson Park Baptist Church
1234 Fulkerson Road
Niles, MI 49120
Please send your gift by July 15, 2007 and write “2007 Mission Trip: Books” on the memo line.
Please join us in being a blessing to others. Thank you so much!
Brian G. Hedges
Pastor for Preaching
Fulkerson Park Baptist Church
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