I heard from Toby about an hour ago. They had about 3 hours worth of sleep last night and were on a bus on the way to the airport in New Delhi. From there they will fly to Bangalore then take a bus ride to Anantapur. Please continue to pray for safe travel. As you can see their travel time is not complete yet. I will keep you posted as I am posted. Can’t wait to see you all in the morning to worship the one true and living God!

In Christ Alone,

Sonia

I just received a text from Toby. They have arrived in New Delhi, India safe and sound! The local time there is 10:15 p.m. They are about to get off the plane and head to the hotel. I love the feature on the computer that allows you to track a flight. I was watching it and saw where they were landing when he text me!
In Christ,
Sonia

Just wanted you all to know the team flew from Louisville yesterday and arrived safe and sound in Chicago. They have completed all of the orientation and training classes and Toby said all went very well. They are at the airport now awaiting their flight to New Delhi, India. The flight is at 7:15 p.m Chicago time and will be 14 hours long. They will spend the night in New Delhi then another flight to Bangalor, India. Then a drive to their final destination in Ananthapur, India. Please continue to pray for safe travel as you can see they still have a lot of travel time ahead of them. Also pray for them and those they will come in contact with. May God be lifted high! Love ya’ll and stay tuned for more post.
In Christ Alone,
Sonia

Well, the time has arrived for us to depart for India.  There are so many different things that go through your mind as you prepare to leave.  There is that part of you that doesn’t want to leave your family, and then that other part is driving deep within you to go and bring the gospel of Life to the nations.  I wonder what it was like for William Carey, the father of modern mission, as he waited to board a ship that he would be on for months making the voyage to India.  I know the task that lay before him was much more difficult than the one that lay before us, but I believe that which drove him drives us.  The Spirit of God compels me to go to the nations, and I must go.

There are so many people in India who have never heard that name which is above every name.  There are so many who have never heard the sweetest name I know.  They don’t know that they are loved so much by God that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for them.  I can’t explain how awesome it is to stand in front of them and preach the gospel.  The looks on their faces, when they hear about this God who loves them and came and died for them, are breath taking.  I can’t  begin to explain the joy that fills my soul when they bobble their heads, after you have asked them, “do you want to give your life to Jesus?”.  When they bobble their heads, they are saying yes I want to believe the gospel.

Please pray for God to open a door to the Word in India, Colossians 4:3.  Pray that He would cause us to speak in the power of the Holy Spirit with clarity, Colossians 4:4.  Pray for our safety, for our families, and for our own spiritual growth.  Also pray for God to move in our Church in such a way that when people see it, they know, there is no other explanation for what is happening at First Baptist Church Henryville, except that the Spirit of God is moving amongst them.

I want all of you to know that I love you and I am so grateful that God has called me to be your pastor. I’ve taught Sonia how to write and publish a post, so she will be giving updates on the Pastor’s blog, so keep coming back and checking.

Because of the Lamb,

Toby

Someone called yesterday and let me know that House bill 1032 was not going to pass.  That is very good news!  I wanted to thank everyone for your quick response.  The other great news is that it snowed last night.  it is so beautiful!  i just love it.  I will be posting another blog on the 28th about our mission trip to India, so keep checking back.

I want to thank all of you for giving generously to Haiti.  Also, I want you to be praying about whether our Church should go to Haiti next year.  I know that this nation will need help for many years to come as they try and rebuild their nation and lives.  This is a door that God has opened for us to go and show them Christ, and to teach them that they need to build their lives on the solid rock of Jesus Christ.

In Christ,

Toby

Indiana House of Representatives will be voting January 27, 2010 on legislation that would greatly restrict churches that have a daycare or school.  It is very important that you call 317-232-9600 or  1-800-382-9842 and tell them that you want to vote “no” on House bill 1036.  I just called and it didn’t take but one minute to cast my vote.  If this bill passes then our church would loose control of the day care.  The State of Indiana would then tell us who we could or could not hire.  They would tell us how much education they had to have.  It is a bill that would open up the door to our Sunday School, Awana’s, Youth group and anything else that had to do with kids.
Please call this number and let them know how you feel.  It is so easy.  When they answer the phone, you say, “I want to vote “NO” on House Bill 1036.  They will then ask you if you want to give your name and address.  You do not have too, but I would encourage you to stand up and be counted.

If you know someone who does not visit our site or have internet, please call them and give them this information.  If you belong to First Baptist Henryville you must make this call.

In Christ,

Toby

As all of you know, on January 12 Haiti was struck by the strongest earthquake the world has seen in 200 years.  Pictures flood the internet that will literally make you sick to your stomach.  Then turn on the 700 club and listen to Pat Roberts speak about this being God’s punishment on the Hatian people and you will be hugging the toilet for sure.  Dr. Mohler wrote a great response to what Pat Robertson said at http://ow.ly/WA7p. I encourage you to read it.

When hurricane Katrina hit my home town, destroying many of my families homes, I was forced to admit that I don’t know why catastrophes happen.  All I knew to tell my church and family was that it was the result of the fall.  However, I told them that all things work together for good for those that love God and are called according to his purpose.  As the time passed it was very apparent that God was using Katrina for His glory and for the advancement of the gospel.  People flooded out of New Orleans seeking refuge where ever they could find it.  It just amazed me to see how God used that Catastrophe to bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Many of the people who, fled from the devestation, were placed in churches in Mississippi where I served.  God brought so many people to a point where they felt hopeless.  They lost everything they owned.  The only things they had left were the clothes on their backs.

People were questioning God.  Is God in control?  If He is in control, then why would He allow this to happen.  We heard preachers preaching God is not in control.  We heard preachers  preaching, this is God’s judgment for the Casino’s that riddle the cost.  The disciples ask Jesus the very same questions about the Tower of Siloam that fell and killed 18 men.  Jesus asked them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?  Jesus replies, No I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish, Luke 13:4-5.

If God wishes to judge a Nation, then He has every right to do so, but it is not for us to say whether He is or is not.  Every Nation and individual deserves the wrath of God and will all likewise perish if they don’t repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is the reason I write this post this morning.  We are not called to be anyone’s judge.  As we saw Sunday morning, the Father has given all judgment to the Son.  Jesus Christ is the only one who has the right to judge.

What are we to do then?  We are to spend and be spent to bring the gospel to the nations.  Jesus told His disciples, “Lift up your heads and look, the fields are white and ready for the harvest.”  I believe, Jesus is saying to the Church today, lift up your heads and and look at fields of Haiti, they are white ready for the harvest.  The Southern Baptist were the first ones to show up when Katrina hit my home town.  They came with food, clothes, water, and a shoulder to cry on.  They came with the love of Jesus Christ.

The Southern Baptist are mobalizing as we speak, to do the same thing in Haiti.  The Florida Baptist convention has a 20 year relationship with the Haitian Baptist Convention, so we already have an avenue through which to work.  We will begin working through the IMB’s disaster relief fund.  You can give to this fund by going to gobgr.org.. 100% of the money you give goes directly to disaster relief.  The main reason I urge you to give through the IMB and not to one of the many other disaster relief efforts is because the IMB will not just be bringing physical water; they will bring Living Water.  The IMB will not just bring food; they will bring the Bread of Life.  The Southern Baptist’s desire is that through helping people in need; we can show them the Love of Jesus Christ.

I want our Church to join in this effort to bring the gospel to Haiti by taking up a love offering Sunday, January 24, 2010.  We will send the money to the IMB disaster relief fund.  Right now, the only way we can help is by praying and giving.  However, as the IMB organizes there will be opportunities opening up for people to go.  I will keep you posted on ways I  believe we can help as a church.

Also, I want to encourage you to continue to pray for our team that leaves for India on January 28.

Because He lives,

Toby Jenkins

Safe Harbor has invited us to come and worship with them this Sunday night, 1/17/2010.  They have invited me to preach and our choir to sing for the service, and then after the service they are going to feed us.  I wanted to encourage everyone to come out and be a part of this service.  The service will start at 5:00 p.m.  We will eat after the service.  We will meet at our church and leave at 4:30 but if you want to just meet us there, here are the directions:

Leaving the church you turn right on 160 and proceed to the stop light.  Go straight to the railroad track at the bottom of the hill.  Once you cross the rail road track you make an immediate right that will bring you right beside the grocery store.  You will follow that road until you come to another 4 way stop.  You will continue to go straight through this stop as well.  Follow this road for approx. 3 miles and you will see the church on the left side.

I look forward to seeing you all there.

In Christ,

Toby

Why is it that we don’t look forward to death?  Is it because we are afraid?  We look at the Apostle Paul like he is nuts when he says, to live is Christ and to die is gain?  Christians should wait for death like I waited for the Poison Ivy shot the doctor would give me when I was a kid.   I can remember how afraid I was going to the doctor knowing he was gonna give me a shot.  I don’t think they knew about pills yet.  If you had a stomach ache they would give you Pepto through a syringe.

Anyway, I remember going back to that room, agonizing because I knew he was going to give me a shot.  The nurse came in the room, and she could read me like a book, so she reached down and pulled open that bottom drawer.  I could hear the hallelujah chorus fire up in the background.  My doctor had a drawer full of little toys in the room where he gave the shots.

The nurse would come in and pull open the drawer and tell me that I could look and decide which one I wanted, but I couldn’t have the toy until I was a big boy for the doctor and let him give me a shot without me giving him a fuss.  Dr. Bolton was a very smart man.  I dug around in the drawer of toys until the doctor came in and said, “young man did you find something you like?”.  Yes sir, I replied.  He said, “Well pull your pants down and lets get this over with and you can have your toy, and if you are real good, I may let you have two”.  I jerked my pants down so fast it would’ve made your head spin.  My eyes pinned to that open drawer of toys by the door.  I wanted him to give me that shot.  I would have even been mad if he decided not to give me  a shot.  I was excited with joy about getting a shot!

What happened to me?  Why did my attitude about the shot change?  Was it because the needle wasn’t going to sting?  Was it because the medicine wasn’t going to burn like fire as it moved through my hip?  Was it because I wasn’t embarrassed to pull my pants down in front of that nurse and doctor?  No! No!! and NO!!!  It was going to sting, it was going to burn like fire, and I didn’t even want my mother to see me with my pants down.   I endured the stinging and burning.  I despised the embarrassment of pulling my pants down for the joy that set before me in that open drawer.  My attitude changed about the shot because my eyes were fixed on the prize in that drawer.

Paul wasn’t nuts.  He just had his eyes so fixed on the prize that he saw dying as gain.  Philippians 3:14- I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Do you see?  The prize that Paul’s eyes were so fixed on was Christ Jesus, and so beautiful was Christ to him that he counted all things but rubbish, or KJV (dung) so that he might be found in Christ.  Listen to what Paul says in Philippians 3:7-9-But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  ⁸Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith

Do you see?  This is not the rantings of a deranged mad man.  These are the words of a man who opened the drawer and saw the prize, and it was so beautiful that he was willing to loose everything that he might gain it.  He was like the man who found the pearl of great value in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13:45-46.  When he found the pearl he sold everything in order to buy it.  Paul’s eyes were so fixed upon Christ that when he looked at all of the hardship he went through like: being beaten, shipwrecked, and homeless.  He replied, the sufferings of this world are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us through Christ Jesus.

So Christian, I can tell you why you are afraid to die.  I can tell you why you sing in agreement with Kenny Chesney, “everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go right now.”  It is because you have not opened up the drawer to behold that most beautiful prize.  The drawer, of course, is the Word of God, and the prize is not some 50 cent plastic toy.  It is Christ!!  Open up His Word and look at Him, and I promise the longer you look, the more beautiful death becomes.  It won’t take long before you see death as gain, and you will look at Christians who are afraid of dying and think why won’t they just open the book and look at the prize.  If they would do that they would see Him, and they would know that death is only the sable coated butler that leads to Him.  To the One who has holes in His hands and feet.  Death is that beautiful limousine that drives us to the home of the One who loves us more than we love ourselves.  WOW!!!  I can’t wait.  I get excited just thinking about it.  Don’t you?

Now, if you don’t know Christ then you have great reason to be afraid, but it’s not dying that you need to be afraid of, it’s the wrath of God that will be poured out on the unrighteousness of men, Romans 1:18.  However, I have good news.  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, Acts 16:31.  Those of you who are Christians, join in with creation and groan for the day when Christ will come and make all things new.  Let us cry Revelation 22:20- even so now come Lord Jesus!

In Christ,

Toby

Maybe it’s because I’m from Mississippi, but I just love it when it snows.  I love everything about it.  I’m not really fond of any other form of precipitation, but I love snow.  It is so beautiful and so white.  I love the way the Lord uses it in Scripture. Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. WOW!  White like snow.  Here God is prophesying to His people about the new covenant that He is going to make with them.  A covenant that would be ratified with the blood of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  The great hymn writer, William Cowper, before he was saved used to cry in distress, “if only there were a fountain that could wash my sins away”.  One glorious day God in His grace drew him to that fountain and washed him white as snow.  This is the first stanza to the song Cowper wrote after he had been plunged beneath that flood.

“There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.”

May the snow that falls down from heaven be a reminder to us of the grace and mercy of God.  Let it remind us of the fountain that is filled with the blood drawn from our Lord’s veins.  Let it remind us that sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.  Let it remind us that though are sins are red like scarlet, He has washed us and made us white like snow.  What a Savior!  What a Savior!  What a Savior!!

Why would anyone not want to be plunged beneath that flood?  I tell you what, the longer I know Him, the more I love Him and want my life to be His.

I look forward to seeing all of you tonight at church.

Your pastor,

Toby