Today I have the privilege of preaching at Pierpont Baptist Church in Charleston, SC. This church is pastored by my good friend and fellow seminary student - Greg Smith. Nancy and I attend Pierpont whenever we are in the Charleston area and have grown to know and love the church. This is wonderful congregation of about 200-250 people and it reminds me much of the Shepherd's Church. There is a real love for Christ and His word. When you get around pastor Greg, he talks about a three-fold vision for the church;1. The worship of God - this includes both a corporate and individual worship by knowing Him and making Him known
2. The fellowship of believers - this includes the one another's of the New Testament as those in the body get to know, pray, exhort, admonish and teach one another.
3. The continuous discipling of believers - there is an institute that Greg is forming that presently has two phases or levels of learning for those within the church. This includes subjects like Bible doctrine so that people can get in the word and the word can get in them.
The message for this morning is "Do you know this Jesus?" And I am planning to read the announcement of the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:26-38), the actual birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1-7) and then speak on the truth about who Jesus is, what He is doing and why He is doing it? (John 1:1-18)