Tag: The Bible

Pastor’s Notes – October 27, 2023

Posted on by River Westlake Baptist Church

Halloween is Occult, It Should Be Avoided.

“Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.”
 – Psalm 141:4 –

 

No Christian should be involved in Halloween in any way.  Halloween is not innocent, it is demonic.  Halloween is a celebration of the occult.

A lot of people try and dress up Halloween in Christianity.  That is compromising with evil.  There is no such thing as Christian occultism, just like there is no such thing as Christian heroin.

Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan said: “I am glad that Christian parents let their children worship the devil at least one night out of the year.  Welcome to Halloween.”

Don’t fall into this trap.  Just stay away from evil as much as you can.  Do things that would please Jesus, not the things that please Satan.

 

 

 

 

Pastor’s Notes – July 16th, 2021

Posted on by River Westlake Baptist Church

Predestination:

 

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?  and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?”
– Romans 10:13-14 –

Calvinism/Reformed Theology is sweeping through churches these days, but it will not sweep through River Westlake Baptist Church, because we understand that Calvinism/Reformed Theology is “ANOTHER GOSPEL.”  God does NOT predestinate approximately 85% of humanity to hell fire with no chance of salvation from their sins.  That is a Satanic belief. 

One of the many Calvinist/Reformed problems is their misunderstanding of the concept of Predestination.

When Paul is speaking to the Ephesians about them being predestinated, nothing Paul is saying is wrong (of course).  The problem arises when Calvinist/Reformed people think that this predestination that Paul speaks of is only for the Ephesians.  Everything Paul spoke to the Ephesians is true, but it also applies not only to the saved Ephesians, but to everybody else also.

Ephesians 1:4-5: “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.”

Those saved Ephesians WERE chosen and predestined “to be holy and without blame before him in love.”  And they WERE “predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,”  but so was everyone else that has ever lived.

Here is the problem:  Being predestined for something doesn’t mean that it is going to happen.  We are ALL predestined to be reconciled to God.  Every single person ever in history, and every single person living today, was predestined or chosen to be “IN HIM,” and “that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.”   But that doesn’t mean that we are going to be.  Most people will not “be holy and without blame before him in love.”  Why?  Not because they weren’t predestined, because they were, but because they do not BELIEVE who Jesus is and what He has done for us.  We get saved from our sins by our belief.

We were CREATED by God to be in fellowship with Him.  We were PREDESTINED by God to be in fellowship with Him.  But sin broke that fellowship with God, so now God commands us to be reconciled to Him, though Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:20: “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

There is a massive misunderstanding about being PREDESTINATED.  Calvinists/Reformed people think the “Predestined” are only THEM; only certain people.  God has chosen and predestined us ALL “to be holy and without blame,” but that doesn’t mean that it is going to happen.  Just because something is “predestinated” doesn’t mean it is going to happen.  We either choose to believe on Jesus or we choose to reject Jesus,  We were all predestined to believe, but many, to their shame, choose not to believe.

 

 

Pastor’s Notes – August 26th, 2020

Posted on by River Westlake Baptist Church

 

Pastor’s Notes – Get Away From Me!

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”
– 2 Timothy 4:2 –

We pray everyday that God will build his church here at River Westlake Baptist Church.  We know that God works through people, and God has inspired us to print cards with info on this new church on one side and Bible verses about salvation on the other side.

We’ve been putting these cards out in the Rocky River and Westlake areas en masse, and, praise God, there has been some response, with people contacting us for more information on the start date for services.  Maybe you are reading this right now because you got a card on your door.

However, while putting these cards on the doorsteps, we sometimes encounter people wearing masks, by themselves, outdoors.  We attempt to hand them a card and try to talk to them about the church and what God’s plan for salvation is.  In return for our concern about their eternity, we are very often greeted with “GET AWAY FROM ME!” or “GET BACK!” Or “STOP TALKING TO ME!” or “#%*@!%#&$@^*&$!# (unleashing a barrage of hate and cursing)!”

The mask has given people who already have anger against God (the God they say that they don’t believe in) more boldness and aggressiveness, to be as mean and ugly to caring strangers as possible.  The Bible warns us that this would be the case in the end times.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (KJV) tells us very clearly that these times of anger and hatred of the Word of God would come…

“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”

We know this anger is only going to get worse, but God implores us to soldier on, be long-suffering, and continue to spread His word.  It is a privilege to do so.  Praise God!.