Britton Christian Church

Hi Everyone,

It’s almost 6 am here in Jerusalem and almost 10 pm where you are, if you are in Ok City. We had a truly remarkable experience yesterday that stayed with me during the night. I hate that I didn’t get much sleep, but middle of the night worship going on in my mind was something amazing! Yesterday afternoon we went to the Pool of Bethesda where, for many years, “the lame, blind, and paralyzed,” would gather by the pool. Basically, those with no hope in society congregated at the side of the pool to spend their days. They gathered there because many believed that the angel of the Lord would stir the waters and when that happened the first one in the water would be healed.

John 5 tells us that there was a particular man there one day who had been sitting beside the pool for 38 years. 38 YEARS! As we sat by the ancient pool I read the Scripture to our group and asked them, “Do you really think that after 38 years the man had any hope of being healed? Do you think he woke up that morning and said, ‘Today is the day! I can feel it in my bones!!’” I don’t think so. I think he had given up all hope, but that he continued to go to the Pool of Bethesda each day because that was his routine, those were his friends, and that was his social network.

Well, on this particular day Jesus showed up at the Pool and healed the man. The man didn’t go looking for Jesus–Jesus came looking for him. When Jesus showed up at the pool the man didn’t say, “Jesus, Son of God, please me!” Jesus asked him, “Do you want to get well?” Jesus came looking for the man in need and He met his need.

What a great lesson for us. I told our group sitting by the Pool of Bethesday, “We all are needy people. We can’t fix our situations any more than the man could get himself into the water. We can trust the Lord to meet us at our point of need and lead us through.” What a blessing it is to be able to study God’s Word right in the place where these events took place.

We got up from our Bible study time and walked about 20 yards to one of the most amazing churches in the world. Not amazing because of it’s architecture or beauty, but because of its acoustics. In The Church of St. Anne there is no teaching or talking allowed–only singing. When we walked in there was a group of believers from Slovakia already singing. Actually it was one man, Jozef, I later found out. Jozef was singing “Ave Maria” and it sounded like Pavoratti! He sang about 3 stanzas of the song and all of us were moved to tears. The tone and reverb in the ancient limestone church was absolutely amazing. I’ve posted a picture of Jozef and Pat Trompeter, our own Pavoratti, for you to see.

After the Slovakians finished singing the BCC crew took their place in the pews and we sang like you’ve never heard singing before. There were people in our group who actually came up to me after we finished and said, “You sounded good.” You know that those must be some amazing acoustics to pull that off!

Seriously, it was such a moving moment for us to lift our voices together and sing, “Amazing Grace,” “I Love The Lord,” and “He is Lord!” I wish you could have all been there.

Hi Everyone,

We arrived in Jerusalem yesterday afternoon. We went to Mount Scopus, overlooking the city, and then to the Garden of Gethsemane. What an amazing way to enter into the Holy City! While we were in the Garden we looked out over the Kidron Valley where Jesus walked with His disciples after they shared the last supper together. They sang a hymn on their way across the Valley and to the Garden. I read from God’s Word to those who are with us. In Luke 22 we read where Jesus “as usual” went to the Garden. The Garden and the Mount of Olives were places where Jesus was able to retreat, to get away from the crowds and the pressures of life, and spend time with the Father. On the night in which Jesus was betrayed, the Garden became a place of agony as Jesus prayed and drops of blood poured from His forehead.

Jesus prayed, “Not My will, but Yours be done.” What a blessing it was for us to realize that for our own lives, when we go through agonizing trials and heartbreaking experiences, there is a place where we can go to find peace and to experience the presence of God.

Shalom!
We spent our second day traveling throughout the Holy Land today. Before the day began I woke up and spent time reading God’s Word on the Sea of Galilee. How about this shot! How would you like to wake up to a scene like this every day?

After breakfast we took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee to the Museum of the Ancient Boat. You can see Doug and Kathy Hall standing at the entrance to the museum in the picture I’ve posted. There is a marvelous fishing boat from the first century that has been found and preserved in the museum. It’s probably not one of the boats that Jesus sailed in, although it could be, but at the very least it is similar to those used by Jesus and the disciples. I had been to the museum when I was in Israel two years ago and everything was pretty much the same, except for the fact that the man who discovered the boat submerged in the mud was at the exhibit answering questions and taking pictures with folks. It was really awesome!!

After we left the museum we headed to the far north of Israel, to the area where the tribe of Dan migrated from the coast. The excavations that have taken place in Tel Dan are really remarkable. We were able to see Canaanite gates that archeologists have unearthed from the time of Abraham. You can see Nick and Peggy Duncan standing in front of these ancient city gates in the picture I’ve posted.

I was so blessed to have the opportunity to teach from God’s Word about the life of Jeroboam. It is one of the saddest stories in all of the Bible, but it has great application and relevance for us living today.

Jeroboam was a humble, faithful servant of King Solomon. He was not “in line” to be King, he had no aspirations to be King, he was just doing his job when God sent the prophet to let him know that he would be the first king of the northern kingdom. God would rip the kingdom from Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, because of the waywardness of the hearts of the people. When the “United Kingdom” split in two, Jeroboam was the first king of the northern kingdom. God promised him that He would give him an enduring kingdom like He had given David, if Jeroboam was simply follow God’s statutes and commands. You can read the story in 1 Kings 11-14.

Jeroboam began to think for himself, consult his advisers, and came to the conclusion that if his people traveled all the way to Jerusalem to visit the Temple they may never travel that long 100 mile journey back to the north so he built two alternative worship centers, came up with his own priests who were not Levites, and built two golden calves, one for the worship center in Dan and one for Bethel in the southern part of the northern kingdom. Needless to say, God didn’t order Jeroboam to do these things. As a result of Jeroboam’s disobedience he has been largely forgotten rather than having an enduring Kingdom like King David. I urged our folks not to forget the lesson of King Jeroboam. We must be faithful to God. The trials that we face are real just like the possibility Jeroboam faced of losing his citizens, but we must not compromise–we can trust Him.

In His Steps,
Mike

Hi Everyone,
We’ve been planning, praying, and preparing for the journey of a lifetime for almost one year now. It is hard to believe that in just four more days we will be on the plane and heading to the Holy Land. I can remember having lunch with Dr. Norman Neaves last summer and sharing our stories of our visit to Israel when he asked me, “Have you ever thought of taking a group yourself?” I said, “Not really. Our church is small and going to Israel is expensive–I don’t think we could get enough people to make the trip.” Dr. Neaves said, “You’d be surprised. You should give it a try.” I never dreamed that 47 people would come forward and make the commitment to spend twelve days in Israel together.

We will leave Oklahoma City early Monday morning and hit the ground Tuesday in Tel Aviv. From there we will spend three nights on the Sea of Galilee and visit sites like Caesarea, the first Gentile convert was baptized, Mt. Carmel, where Elijah had the showdown with the false prophets of Baal, Capernaum, where Jesus performed the majority of His miracles, spend time baptizing folks in the Jordan River, and much more. Then we will head to the Holy City of Jerusalem where we will spend time in the Garden of Gethsemane, walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, visit the City of David, pray at the Western Wall, visit the Temple Mount, and much more. When we leave Jersualem we will head south to Masada, the Dead Sea, visit En Gedi where David was on the run from Saul, and go to Jordan where we will visit Petra, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is going to be an amazing trip–truly the Journey of a Lifetime!

I want to ask all of you who read this blog to keep us in your prayers. I have been praying, for all of those who will travel with me, that this will be more than a vacation or sight-seeing tour, but that the Lord will transform our hearts while we are walking where Jesus walked. I will have seven opportunities to teach from God’s Word at various sights and it is my prayer that these lessons from God’s Word will minister to our people in a powerful way so that they will never read God’s Word the same way again.

Thanks for your prayers, and for all of you who have signed-up to make the trip with me, I hope that you are half as excited as I am to be going to the Holy Land. During the next few days before we leave I want to encourage you to check out the postings under the heading, “BCC Trip to Israel.” It will get you pumped.

In His Steps,
Mike

Hi Everyone,
There is a special group of guys who make our occasional BCC breakfast get-togethers super special! Just last Sunday we had a special event to honor our 2008 Graduates and Teachers and once again the “PK Breakfast Crew” worked their magic. Thanks guys for all of your hard work in whipping up the best breakfast in town!

In His Steps,
Mike

It was an amazing morning at BCC! We want to congratulate all of those who are part of the Class of 2008!