Ironbridge Church | Pastor’s Corner

Today is the first day of our annual “Disciple Now” Weekend for the middle school and high school students at Ironbridge Church. More than eighty students will be participating in this spiritual, high-octane weekend of evangelism, discipleship, and revival in the lives of our teenagers. We can expect that students will be saved, and many others will get serious about their walk with Jesus.

As always, an exciting team of spiritual leaders from Liberty University will be here to challenge and disciple our students. Doug Ponder, a young man who spent several of his younger years as a member of Ironbridge with his family, has now grown up and has become a world-class communicator. Doug will be bringing a powerful message to our students throughout the weekend.

The hour is late, and the battle is raging for the hearts and minds of our young people. We’re living in a desperate hour. Recent surveys of “Christian” students—kids raised in Bible-believing churches—has revealed some ominous results. Only 9% of “born-again” teens believe in moral absolutes. I hope you’re sitting down, because recent trends indicate that 88% of Christian teens will leave the church by the age of 18 and 50% of those that leave will never return to an active involvement in the church in their lifetimes! Scary stuff, indeed. Now is the time for all believers to “pray & fast” for our young people. Not only are their lives at stake, but also the future of our church and the future of Christianity in America! The stakes couldn’t be higher.

Today’s Scripture Promise: “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.” (I Timothy 4:12—New American Standard)

Back in the good old days, people took pictures with a “film” camera.

It would work something like this—you’d load your camera with film and then take snapshots of…whatever. In theory at least, you’d then take the small metal canister (containing the film) to the nearest film developer and in three or four days you’d get a package of glossy prints. Many of these prints might or might not make it into the family album.

Now we’re sophisticated and use “digital” cameras. You can take hundreds and hundreds of pictures on a single memory card and only print the good ones!

Whether film or digital, the pictures we’ve taken become a record of our past. Our efforts at photography thus become a kind of remembrance of our lives. If the film canisters stay in the desk drawer or the memory cards are never accessed, many wonderful memories will be forgotten. The picture prints help us to remember.

Throughout God’s Word, the Lord commands His people to remember. The Psalmist declared, “I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; surely I will remember Your wonders of old.” (Ps. 77:11) Whenever God’s people were faithful to remember the work of the Lord, it bolstered their faith. In those times when they forgot the legacy of God’s faithfulness, the people fell into unbelief, disobedience and idolatry.

Take a few moments out of your busy day to remember. Remember what God has done in your life. Get the spiritual film of your life developed, and enjoy the memories!

Today’s Scripture Promise: “Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face continually. Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth.” (I Chronicles 16:11-12)

If you want to be blessed, look up into a cloudless night sky.

This amazing universe that God has created is truly unfathomable. Our solar system is a part of a galaxy that is called the Milky Way. I thought you’d like to know that it’s 100,000 light years in diameter! Light travels at 5.88 trillion miles per year so it will take you a while to go from one end of the Milky Way to the other. The next closest galaxy is called the Andromeda Spiral, a mere 2,400,000 light years away from earth! These two galaxies are on a collision course, closing in on each other at a rate of 300,000 mph. Don’t lose too much sleep because it’ll be five billion years before their cosmic fender-bender!

Scientists now believe there may be as many as a billion (that’s “B” as in billion) galaxies out there in the universe. Did I mention that there are more than 200 Billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy alone? Rightly did the Psalmist say, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?” (Psalm 8:3, 4)

So the next time you think your problem is too big for God, step out into the cool night air and lift up your eyes.

Today’s Scripture Promise: “Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:26—New American Standard)