So this is more of a personal info post, just wanted to keep everyone up on what was going on in my and my wife’s life.

First, we have some great news! My wife is expecting and we are looking forward our first child. He is a boy, Jackson Carter Kinsey.

Second, we are moving the end of this week to Estill Springs Tennessee. I will be filling the position of Youth Pastor and working with a great group of teens. We will be at Faith Baptist Church, under the leadership of Pastor Randy Jackson.

I am my last class for my Master of Divinity, which is extremely exciting! Graduation is this Thursday, and we leave Friday morning for Tennessee.

So this is just a brief post, and update! I hope to be posting semi-regularly in the near future.

~ Nate

Galatians 6:2,5 “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ…For every man shall bear his own burdens.”

Those who would criticize the Bible and who try to find fault with it might see a contradiction in these two verses. This is not the case though, and with just a little study one can see the great truth that God has written here for us.

First, so that we can fully understand what Paul is say, we must take a closer look at the word burden in both verses. It will be noticed that the word in the original language for the word burden is different in both verses. In the first verse the word for burden carries with it the idea of “oppressive suffering” or “great weight” this is something that is too much for one person to bear. In the second verse the word for burden is a diminutive form of another word meaning “cargo” or burden”. Since it is the diminutive form, it carries the idea of a “small burden” or a “small cargo”.

Now that we have a better understanding of these two words what can we learn from these two verses, and how can we apply it to our lives?

There are burdens and pressures that come into a Christian’s life that are too much for one person to bear. These can come in all shapes and sizes and can range from financial to persecution to the death of a loved one. This would be a great weight to them, and might even be a weight that would “crush” them emotionally or spiritually. It is the duty of fellow Christians to come along side this burdened Christian during this time in their life and to bear their burden with them so that it is not too much for them.

There are burdens that come into a Christian’s life that are just the normal day to day things of life. These can be things like chores, work, fulfilling one’s responsibilities, and other things of this manner. It is the individual responsibility of the Christian to attend to their own tasks, and the normal issues of life, and to not try to get others to carry his work for him.

Let’s apply this to our lives starting today. If you see someone who is going through a hard time, and dealing with some big issues, come along side them and help them carry this heavy weight. Take responsibility for the tasks of your life and the day to day responsibilities you must fulfill.

~ Nate

It has been awhile since I have posted! Been a busy month, lots of school, and great things happening in my life. I thank you for those of you that have kept reading. We are still working on getting a larger readership, so if you enjoy reading what is posted here, please tell your friends and family!

Well this week we have Thanksgiving and there is one thing that I really want to share.

A special speaker said something at our church this week, something that I had been thinking, and I would like to reiterate it here!

As Christians we should not be celebrating Thanksgiving only one day a year! I can name many things that God has done, and been doing in my life. Yet, so often I don’t say thanks except for once and awhile. We all do this, I know. We need to change!!! God is good to us all the time, we should be thanking Him all the time!!!

SO this Thanksgiving, remember that this is only 1 of the 365 days of Thanks Giving that we have every year!

~ Nate

Last night Pastor Cooley at Burgess Road Baptist Church preached a sermon on being judgmental. It was very thought provoking, so I wanted to give some of his ideas and a few comments of my own!

James 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou are not a doer of the law, but a judge.

The issue of being judgmental is a hot topic. Most often people who are doing wrong like to quote the phrase “judge not that ye be not judged” thinking that that means Christian should not tell unbeliever or fellow Christians they are sinning. Yet, this is not what is being said. I want us to consider two things: When can we judge, and When can’t we judge!

1. When Can We Judge? The answer is simple, NEVER! I know I have most everyone’s attention now, either you’re saying “yeah, give it to them”, or you’re saying “you heretic, we don’t just over look sin!” Well sorry to both parties, but I doubt either of you will be completely happy with my answer. We are not to judge, that is not our responsibility, the Law is to judge, that is it’s responsibility! We are only to point out what the Bible has to say on issues and the Bible is our standard, not what we THINK/WANT the Bible to mean/say! The Bible is the authority on right and wrong, it decides we don’t!

2. When Can’t We Judge? Now you’re thinking this sounds a bit repetitive, but with this point my goal is to look at areas where we are often judgmental and should not be. We often find ourselves judging the spiritual level/condition of a person by the external: what they wear, what they listen to, where they go, etc. Though there are some guidelines in the Bible, often these areas are not spelled out, and guess what?!?! it is not our job to spell them out for everyone, we are not the lawgiver. Another area that we often judge is people’s intentions: “this is what they really meant,” “they only did that for attention, ” I know why they did that,” etc. Though at times we may be able to guess someone’s intentions, often we’re wrong, and it is not our responsibility to know if the intentions were right or not. To go along with the last point, sometime we judge people’s actions as wring when their intention might have been good (I’m not talking about sinning with a “good intention”). I think of times when I have tried to help someone, but in reality I only made it worse. When this happens we need to be careful on to judge. On a larger scale we need to be careful about judging other ministries! Often when a person does something new in a ministry, those that don’t agree label them as comprises. Now we must be careful not to compromise with the world, but there are many times where new things are not compromise just different. If we are going to “judge” them as compromised, we must make sure that what we think is wrong, is said to be wrong according to what the Bible says (not what we THINK/WANT it to mean/say).

I hope this gives you food for thought! Be careful about judging people by standards that are not Biblical, because if you do you will be judged by those same standards, “judge not, that ye be not judged.”

~ Nate

I recently heard a preacher go off on the doom of America. I understand that things don’t look the greatest and that we are slipping in many ways, yet the way that he went on was disgraceful.

This man had given up all hope in America except for a definite divine intervening miracle by God. He went on to list all the ways that America was falling, and even through in a pop shot at a politician. The basic theme of his message was, America is going to fall, get ready and here is how to live in that world.

Now I am not trying to say that America isn’t that bad, I know that there are lots of problems and sin is rampant. What bugs me is the attitude take towards it, it was one of “it’s going to happen so let get ready to deal with it.” I think a better attitude would be one of “America’s got problem, I’m a Christian and I know the solution.” Now we might not be able to turn America around, but I’d rather lose the battle trying to save it, than to give up without even trying.

Don’t give up hope for America! We need to be praying for America, that includes: ourselves, our churches, our fellow citizens, the unsaved, the leaders, and all that have ties to America! God can work through us and in spite of us. Don’t stop living for God and evangelizing America until God calls you home!

~ An American citizen – Nate

ECCLESIOLOGY

Summary Statement: I believe that the Church is the body of Christ and a family. It is God’s instrument to accomplish His purpose on earth. Though God has set aside Israel He has not forgotten her, and has not replaced her with the church. The Church finds is beginning at Pentecost and it’s conclusion at the Rapture. There are two Biblical offices in the church, Pastor and Deacon, though this does not limit ministry to only these offices. There are also two ordinances for the church to continue in, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The churches primary function is the edification and training of the believer.

1. Body of Christ – One of the important aspects of the Church is that it is a body. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 we see this description give to the Church. This is important to understand. The Church is made up of many individuals that contribute to the ability of the Church to accomplish God’s work. Yet, though there are many individual part, they for one complete whole, whose head and purpose is singular.

2. Family – “Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.” In these verses from the writings of Paul was find another characteristic of the Church, it is a family. This has many implications in church practice. We need to treat one another like we our family, inside and outside the church. Christ says that the world will know that we are his disciples by our love for eachother.

3. Instrument to accomplish His purpose – When the Jews rejected Christ and crucified Him. God turned to the Church to be his light in the World. Israel had been the light for the world to see and come to. Now the church was God’s light to the world to show the world who God is, and they were to go out into the world.

4. Set aside Israel, but has not replaced her – In Chapter eleven of Romans Paul deals with Israel being broken and the church believer being grafted in. Paul makes is clear though that we are not to get high-minded because God can do the same to the Church. He also points out that Israel is only set aside and not disposed of. He reminds that in the end of days, there will be a deliverer come to redeem Israel and return her to her previous state.

5. Pentecost – The Church finds it’s beginning at the time of Pentecost. Jesus had instructed the disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they had received the promise of the Father (Luke 24:49). At Pentecost, after receiving the Holy Spirit, the church goes out into the entire world. This is the beginning of the Church.

6. Conclusion at the Rapture – At the Rapture God takes the church out of the world. When he does so we see the end of the church and the reinstating of Israel as His tool. It will take time, specifically through the Tribulation, for Israel to come back to Christ, but they will.

7. Pastor – The Pastor is the leader of the Church. He responsible for leading the Church in the direction that God would have them to go. In first Timothy chapter three Paul gives the qualifications of the Pastor. Though all these qualifications are important, they are all governed by the first, which should be considered the most important. To be blameless. If this characteristic is prominent in one’s life the rest of the qualifications will likely be met.  His main responsibility is to be in prayer and study of God’s Word so that he can train and lead the people of God (Acts 6:4)

8. Deacon – The Deacon is to assist the Pastor in the day to day needs of the Church. In Acts 6:1-3 we seen the need of the Deacon mentioned. The needs of the Church were multiplying as the number of the Church was growing. The Deacon is to have basically the same qualifications as the Pastor. The Deacons are to serve the Church, they are not to be lifted up but are to remain humble.

9. Does not limit ministry – To clarify, the Pastoral and Deacon roles are not the only possible ministries in the Church. There are many ministries that all can be active in, there will still be qualifications, but they will vary by position.

10. Baptism – Baptism is one of the ordinances of the Church. Baptism is for the purpose identifying with the church, which is important. This identifying is important, because it signifies a leaving of the world and coming to Christ. Baptism is also important because it is an illustration of what Christ has done for the believer. For this reason (as well as others), I believe that baptism is to be by emersion, as it seems to be the Biblical precedent is emersion, as well as the best way to illustrate what Christ has done for us.

11. Lord’s Supper – The Lord’s Supper is for the remembrance of what Christ has done for us. The Lord’s Supper is to give time to reflect on Christ, and to search our hearts to make sure that we are right with him. Christ commanded it to be done, and we see that it was being practiced in the New Testament in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Though Paul had to correct their practice, he did not tell them to cease. The Lord’s Supper is for the believer and not for the unsaved.

12. Primary function is the edification and training of the believer – I believe that Acts 2:42 gives the primary function of the church. “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Though some might see the Church as an evangelization organization, this is not the primary function of the church. The Church is for the edification and training of the believer. The church is to train and build up the believer so that there is fellowship between believer so that they can function as a family, and most importantly the training of the believer so that THEY can evangelize. When this is accomplished the church will become an organization of evangelism.