Looking ahead to 2013

As we approach the new year, so often thoughts wander to what we wish we could have accomplished in 2012. Other times, we think of what we would like to see and do, or even become in 2013. The change of the calendar seems to invoke a sense of resolve in us all, yet truly January 1st is just another day in God's timeline of history. The day itself means nothing, and truly any resolution made at this time of year would not be more earnestly fulfilled than other promises or plans we may have made over this past year. It is with this in mind that I would like to share how we believe that rather than making New Years resolutions, we ought to commit to faithfully love the Lord our God, to obey His commands, to know more about the character of God, and then to look back at what the Lord has accomplished in conforming us to the image of His dear Son, Jesus Christ our Savior.

Looking back 10 months, our family moved back to Maine as led by the Lord. We had hopes and plans for many things, local church fellowship, Gospel outreach, goals for ourselves and our children. Many of these hopes were not fulfilled in the way we hoped they would, but we also have to recognize that our plans are not always God's plans, and at times we plow forward with what we think is God's plan rather than waiting on the Lord.

This past  year, we gave up our formal commendation for the work of evangelism. We now meet in our home to remember the Lord Jesus and have fellowship with another family around the Lord's Table. We are few in number, but our hearts are united in Christ and only clinging to the love of Christ and the obedience to the Scriptures. My plans needed changing to align less with what I hoped for, and more with what God has in mind for us. So often this is the case, being zealous for the Lord we tend to run ahead of Him in zeal. We run ahead and hope the Lord blesses our plans rather than submitting ourselves in humility and brokenness to His plans, which are always better! 

We have not organized any large scale evangelistic outreach in our area. I (Mark) have only preached publicly once since March, and that was in Tennessee (a long ways from Maine), and have no plans at this point for public preaching or teaching. These very typical events associated in the life of a man whose heart beats for the proclamation of glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, one might think that this is a fault, but indeed there has been more fervent prayer and more faithful sharing of the Gospel in our lives this past year than before. I have found there is great value in large outreach events, but that often things die down immediately thereafter. I have also had to learn that my desire for door to door evangelism and other venues to proclaim the Gospel are not always what God wants from all people. We are all commanded and expected to proclaim the Gospel, to have compassion on the lost and reach out to them with the truth of sin and salvation. We are not all commanded to knock on doors, have children's Bible clubs, talk to folks at nursing homes, or any of a thousand other ideas from which there is much fruit for God's Kingdom. 

The largest idea of this past year, and the one for which I look earnestly forward to coming days, is that of discipleship in the family. With much research, prayer, conviction, and even obvious needs in regard to the local church and family, we have resolved not only for the new year, but for each day of our lives been transformed from a nice little family who loves the Lord to a passionate group of disciples following the only Teacher worth following. 

It is imperative as we see the commands of the Lord not only to know and obey them, but to love righteousness and to see every good work as a means by which we glorify the Father in the Son.. 

Nursing Home Ministry (Post from 12/28/2012)

This encouraging email came in today regarding nursing home ministry. Many folks have a desire to reach out to those who cannot get out to church or other community events, yet often we hear that folks don't know where to start or whether this type of ministry would be profitable. Below read the experiences of the Hughes family in Rockland, Maine. The Hughes family attend Lakeview Presbyterian Church in Rockland, Maine. The Knox Center, mentioned within, is a long term care facility in Rockland. 

We hope this in depth look at the details of nursing home ministry, complete with tips of some things to be sure to do and other things to avoid, is welcome here at Equipped Ambassadors. We are so thankful for many others like the Hughes family, who labor in the name of Christ. 

If you have an equipping and encouraging story about the proclamation of the Gospel and related ministry, feel free to send us a description or story and we may feature it here on the blog. The body of Christ is made up of such diverse people with various talents, gifts, and abilities, yet one united body given to the glorification of our blessed Savior. What a privilege it is to serve alongside other saints for the glory of God.

EAC

Good morning!

In regard to your query today about nursing home ministry...Our family has been involved with a monthly outreach at the Knox Center for the past 13 years. We took up the charge at the request of our Session at Lakeview OPC (Orthodox Presbyterian Church), having had a natural connection with the Knox from the time that my dad was a resident there. On the first Sunday of every month, we lead an afternoon worship service which includes the reading of scripture, prayer, a brief Gospel devotional message, and the singing of hymns. John leads the service and Sean and I help out with the musical side of things. Another church deacon regularly comes with us to assist.

We have found that these residents are longing for spiritual food and for reminders of the grace and encouragement for their souls that is found only in Jesus Christ. John leads them in a chronological study of one book of the Bible, always pointing them to the gospel, encouraging them to embrace Jesus Christ, or reminding them of the hope that they have in Him. Right now we're starting in the gospel of Mark, having just finished the gospel of John, a study that took at least two years for us to complete.

We minister to residents at all levels of care, including the dementia patients. It always amazes us that those who have lost their short-term cognitive abilities still hold onto the familiar hymns and scripture passages that they learned in their youth, quoting John 14 or Psalm 23 with us from memory, or remembering ALL of the verses to all of the hymns! Even when natural mental capacity is failing, God's Spirit continues to minister to their souls through the truth of His incomparable and changeless Word.

Because we are there every month, we have come to know many of the residents by name, and a little bit about their lives. For anyone involved in nursing home ministry, I would say that this consistency is very important. If I had my "druthers", I would want to have a "Knox Team" of perhaps half a dozen church members to lead the service every month, so that the residents see the same faces and we can build relationships with them even more effectively than we do now. Many of these residents are at the Knox for several years, and we always feel as though we have lost a friend when one of them passes. There have been several occasions when we have sent our condolences to surviving family members, because we have such sweet memories of our time with their mum or dad, around the Word of God.

It is important to touch the residents, to hold their hands and pray with them, to get down on "wheelchair level" so that you can look them in the eye. Staying for a few minutes after the service to work on a jigsaw puzzle together or ask about their children and grandchildren can open up more opportunities to share the love of Christ with them. Having our whole family involved in the ministry has been important, too, as the residents have been able to watch Sean grow up before their eyes. It gives them a connection with an intact family, something that they lost when they moved into the facility.

While not every resident attends each service, we have a core of "regulars" who look forward to our coming, and sometimes we have visiting family members join us for the service as well. Since our service is on Sunday, the Knox is often functioning on a short weekend staff, and it takes extra planning and motivation for the CNAs to get their residents fed, toileted and ready for the service at 2:00 p.m. Therefore, I always try to remember to thank the staff before we leave, knowing that their involvement can either make or break the success of our ministry. They hear what goes on in our services, and they know that we're there in the name of Christ, so a word of encouragement to the staff can speak volumes as to the validity of our Gospel witness.

Our church also has an ongoing ministry at Bartlett Woods one Sunday afternoon every month. The physical needs of the residents there are not as acute, but the spiritual hunger is still very evident. Our pastor leads that service, helped by his family and several other church members. That outreach began because one of our own members was a resident there and was finding it difficult to get out to services at our church. She passed away about five years ago, but the outreach has continued on.

Sorry my message is so lengthy. I hope that there is some information here which you'll find helpful. We love our friends at the Knox and pray that God will continue to bring eternal fruit from the seeds that have been planted there.

Have a blessed day,
Pam

The Truth About Grace- Review

As we have become a bit behind in our expected schedule for book reviews, I have to preface this review with an apology. This book, The Truth About Grace by John MacArthur, has been one of those books that didn't leap off the page to me. Maybe it is the writing style, or possibly the fact that I have listened to Mr. MacArthur on the radio for so many years, but I felt this book just fell flat.

The Truth About Grace is not qualified as a textbook, but was above the standard teaching methodology employed in many pulpits across the world today, as many have rather gone into great depths to provide entertainment and milk teaching rather than getting into the meat of God's truth. It is with this in mind that I admit that I did not learn much about the topic at hand from brother MacArthur, but rather a restating of that which I already knew or believed. I must also admit that this man's teaching on other doctrines, I do have a bit of skepticism in regard to any teaching. Surely this review is not the place to discuss other doctrines, and so I will say shortly that this book is a good read and an encouragement of the grace of God for the average Christian.

We reviewed this book for Booksneeze.com and were provided with a free ecopy  of the book for the purpose of review. As always, you get our honest opinions, the good and the bad. Thanks Booksneeze.com 

Shop Amazon - Year End Deals

The first of many home made wooden toys

Today, we got our scroll saw, an early Christmas present from Sara's mom and dad. We got home and started work on our first project, a simple and fun wooden toy.

This bear was cut out with the scroll saw, drilled holes in the bear's hands (paws) and the laced some nylon rope through the holes. A simple toy that the kids are enjoying immensely.

This is the beginning of a new venture for the Cowperthwaite family. Nathaniel wants to learn how to use this saw and other woodworking tools in order to make various wooden toys. He hopes to sell them online and at local craft fairs.

Sara and Virginia are the ideas department, with Virginia thinking of fun things to make that kids will enjoy. Sara has lots of ideas for educational games and also has a flair for the artistic.



My father, George Cowperthwaite Jr. lives in Gouldsboro, Maine and has been working with his scroll saw for many years now and makes everything from 3D optical illusion art to clocks, puzzles, and ornaments. We hope to help dad sell some of his wood art via the website Nathaniel is building.

In the coming days and months, we hope to have more projects like this to share with you all. We also plan to make kits of multiple age appropriate wooden toys to send to missionaries. These toys will be great for the children living in the city, the country, the jungle, and more. Pairing these with Sara's education toys, and we just might be onto something here. Whether we make money doing it or not, we love working together and sharing with others, so I see this as a win/win situation.


       

Nuclear Strength Apologetics by Dr. Jason Lisle

This series is a great introduction to presuppositional apologetics and logic. It is worth watching more than once to be sure you get the concepts as Dr. Lisle tends to talk pretty fast. Still, a free lecture series like this and many more at Answers in Genesis are very valuable. Though these are free, donations are readily accepted as they want to make material available to all, but the high quality products cost a lot to produce.

Here's the link for the free on demand video of Nuclear Strength Apologetics by Dr. Jason Lisle

Be sure to check out all of AiG's videos on demand, as they are good quality, well researched Biblical science from credentialed scientists and researchers.