The Wednesday evening Bible Study group will begin the Gospel of Luke on 3/22 at 7 PM.
Those able to join us in-person are welcome to attend, this study is for non-Christians interested in learning about the Gospel and God's love for them, new Christians looking to learn more about Jesus' life and ministry and how it impacts their lives, and Christians who have known faith for many years but still have a desire to grow in wisdom. In other words, anyone can join us.
We will look at look verse-by-verse, reading and discussing as we go. Questions are welcomed.
For those not able to attend in-person, the study will air each week on Facebook Live at this page: First Baptist Church where it can be viewed at anytime from 7 PM onward.
Also, for those interested in the audio only, it will be available at Pastor Powell's blog: Bible Study podcasts within a day or two. This site currently has audio recordings of studies for most of the Bible organized in one hour segments from previous weekly groups.
To the Christian community in Venango County, February
2023
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, as men and women
called by God and entrusted with the responsibility to shepherd the sheep and
protect the flock, it is our responsibility to shout out a warning when
dangerous individuals, groups, or ideas affect our communities and churches.
This is sadly the case with regards to the spread here
locally of Torah Clubs sponsored by the First Fruits of Zion.
While we enthusiastically support deep study of the Bible,
including its Jewish cultural and linguistic roots, all such study should occur
within the framework of a Church history-based orthodoxy, and an apostolic
understanding of the Gospel.
Why do groups associated with the Hebrew Roots Movement, in
general, like the First Fruits of Zion, in particular, fail this test? Our accompanying documentation will
demonstrate from primary sources, in their own words, that the First
Fruits of Zion organization, and the Torah Clubs materials they publish, are
replete with the following theological errors and/or heresies:
1.A non-Trinitarian view of God in the forms of
two ancient heresies rejected by the Early Church: Modalism and
Subordinationism.
2.A substandard hermeneutic {including the use of
paraphrases and word substitutions resulting in more palatable texts} for
interpreting scripture that contends that all relevant passages have been
wrongly understood throughout Church History, and in fact mean nearly the
opposite of what the Church has always taught.
3.A hostility toward the Church which is seen as
the ‘mission field’ in need of correction to bring it back to its supposed
roots as a Torah observant movement within Judaism.
4.That the books of Moses, the Torah, are more
fully the words of God than other portions of holy scripture, making them the
lens through which all scripture must be interpreted. Even Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God, has
no authority to establish anything beyond the Mosaic Law.
5.That Jesus did not fulfill the Mosaic Law,
rather it is still operative and normative for all of God’s people, Jews and
Gentiles alike.
6.That there is no covenant with the Gentiles,
thus all followers of Jesus Christ accepting the Gospel must be grafted into
Israel by ‘becoming a Jew’ in spirit, and in Torah observance.
7.That on this basis true Christian discipleship
requires the keeping of the Mosaic Law, including the dietary (kosher),
Sabbath, and festival provisions, which is how Christians demonstrate their
love of God.
If the tree is diseased, so will its fruit be. We would warn against the use of bible study materials
produced by the Watchtower Tract Society (JW) or LDS (Mormon) organizations,
even if locally 100% of the parent organization’s theology was not being
adopted. The risk that heretical
teachings would gain a foothold is simply too great. If the desire is to learn from Judaism or
Messianic Judaism, a host of materials from an orthodox point-of-view are
available for Christians to use in our churches, to use that which comes from
the FFOZ is an unnecessary risk, plus a union with an organization whose stated
goals would harm the Church and warp the Gospel.
In the end, while protesting that they do not offer a
works-based salvation, and claiming that faith in Jesus is sufficient, this movement
is built upon and structured around the claim that all faithful Christians will
begin observing the Law of Moses once they become followers of Jesus, that faithful
Christians will, in essence, live like Jews.
They may not outright claim the Law of Moses as the gatekeeper to salvation
and Christian discipleship, but when you make it the gauge of genuine faithfulness
you are adding it to the Gospel message, casting dispersion upon the faith of
99% of the world’s Christians, both past and present, and spreading doubt and
division within the Church. This movement
is no benign appreciation of the scriptures, but rather an aggressively proselytizing
misappropriation of them contrary to the established teachings of Orthodox,
Catholic, and Protestant Churches alike.
Given this, our duty requires that we warn our congregations
against participation in these groups, and call upon those who do so now, and
especially those who are promoting them, to repent and return to the faith our
ancestors rejoiced in as, “you are not under the law, but under grace.”
(Romans 6:12)
By unanimous affirmation of the Franklin Christian Ministerium,
Rev. Shawn Clerkin, Vicar/Pastor, St. John’s Episcopal Church/Grace Lutheran Church, Franklin
Deacon David Betz, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Franklin
Rev. Dr. Darrell L. Greenawalt, Christ United Methodist
Church, Franklin
Rev. Larry A. Myers, Polk Presbyterian Church
Rev. Eric Phillips, Redeemer Anglican Church, Franklin
Pastor Randy Powell, First Baptist Church of Franklin
An update on our Victorian Christmas Concert donation: The total raised for Mustad Seed Missions is $3,178.50.
This total more than triples the previous high that we've been able to achieve through one of our Christmas or Mother's Day concerts. The local generosity is a tremendous blessing to our community.
We are happy to announce that after a two year hiatus, our Christmas Concert series, organized by our own Dennis Geib is returning, complete with many of the favorite performers whose talents we've enjoyed in years past.
Once again, this is a free concert, no tickets or reservations necessary. We will be taking up a collection to support Mustard Seed Missions of Venango County, a local para-church charity that has assisted more than 5,000 families since its inception in 2012.
A three-part
educational discourse created by Pastor Randy Powell
First Baptist Church of Franklin
1041 Liberty St.Franklin, PA
16323
6:00-8:00 PM
Thursday, October 13th, 20th, and 27th
Will
include segments on: The Early Church, Early Heresies regarding the person of
Christ, The Ecumenical Councils, The Great Schism, Monasticism, St. Augustine,
The Crusades, the battle for supremacy between Popes and Emperors, The
Reformation, The 30 Years War, The Modern Missions Movement, and the status of
the Church in the world today.
This event
is free and open to the public, no reservations necessary, and will include
time for Q&A
Recently I was asked by Pastor Charlie Cotherman if there was something about rural ministry that I might write for the Project on Rural Ministry (of Grove City College). After a short period of thinking the obvious choice was to write about the lessons learned from the success of the non-denominational parachurch ministry, Mustard Seed Missions, that I was blessed to be part of the founding and have continued since it began in 2012 as its President.
This event
is free, open to the public, no reservations needed, and will be helpful to
anyone who wants to learn more about the Bible.
It will
also be livestreamed on 1st Baptist Church of Franklin Facebook page
This
seminar will cover the history of the copying, preservation, and translation of
the Bible from the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, to the modern English
translations we use today.
Please join us for an evening of singing, worship, and joy culminating in our lighting of the candles while we listen to a recording of Lois Ann Schaefer's rendition of O Holy Night.
{The video above was recorded during our service in 2018}
A four-part educational discourse created by Pastor Randy Powell of First Baptist of Franklin, PA
At St. Patrick Parish
949 Liberty St. Franklin, PA 16323
6:30-8:00 PM
January 31st, February 7th, 14th, and 21st
Will include: Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, Mormonism, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, 7th Day Adventists, and Scientology
How do they differ from traditional Christianity?
What are the barriers to the Gospel in each?
This event is free and open to the public, no reservations necessary, and will include time for Q&A
A week or so ago, through Constant Contact, we told you all the WHO. Now we will tell you all the WHAT …
To assist ONLY during the transition period between Frank’s stellar leadership and what the Lord has in mind and in store for our more permanent future, a GPS strategy has been envisioned, approved, and will be begin starting January 1, 2022.
You ask yourself, so what is The GPS Strategy? Great question! Here’s the answer.
GPS stands for “Geographic Pastoral Servants. These are SIX pastoral leaders, whose names you now know, some leading local churches and some not, in six different geographies of our two-state region. These individuals will serve the equivalency of one full day a week doing regional ministry in addition to their present responsibilities. This ministry will focus on making contacts, having conversations, and building on existing pastoral and congregational relationships. They will provide support, encouragement, and coaching as needed in the contacts and connections they are making. They will also serve about eight weekends during the coming year being in one of their geographic churches, representing the region family at a church event, associational function, or service of celebration or commemoration. This will allow Mark and Jeff to continue in their own responsibilities as well as dividing up Frank’s duties as they serve starting January 1 as our co-executive pastors. The GPSers will keep Mark and Jeff and really the whole region family informed of their regional ministry by posting to social media as you have already become familiar with and excited about. Starting in January, you will now see on our Facebook page besides Mark writes, Jeff writes, people like Cristy writes…, Bob writes…, Randy writes…, and so on. They will also be able to point pastors and church leaders to the many, many resources available in our region as well as encourage overall mission support, more critical now than ever before, not the least of which is giving to the Partners in Ministry offering, where 100% stays right here in ABCOPAD and makes this transitional strategy and so many other things possible, allowing the region’s leadership to focus on a vision process to discern and determine what we believe the Lord would have us look like and do in structure and function in the future. This is an exciting time for everyone involved, including you!
To stay connected as staff, Mark and Jeff along with our two other fulltime staff, Denise and Caryl will convene bi-weekly meetings with these six GPSers as well as also oversee our existing Regional Ministry Associates. Besides the duties already mentioned, the GPSers will assist the ABCOPAD Leadership Team as time permits and they are able. It should be noted that the GPSers presently serving in the local church context will ALWAYS make their local church their number one priority with their regional ministry complementary. Please keep in mind, we will be learning as we are living this strategy, so making adjustments as deemed necessary throughout this coming transitional year.
STAY TUNED, more information is to come. If you have ANY questions at all, please don’t hesitate to direct them to Mark (msmsmail@abcopad.com) or Jeff (jjohnson@abcopad.com) and they will be happy to answer them.
Your prayers will not only be appreciated but are needed as we move forward. We thank you now for them! We thank God now for you!
- Co-Executive Ministers (Acting) Mark Mahserjian-Smith and Jeff Johnson
My church has known this was coming for a few weeks, but now it is official: Starting in January, I will be serving as the Geographic Pastoral Servant (GPS) for the NW region of ABCOPAD, encompassing the 45 churches from the associations of French Creek, Beaver, Oil Creek, Clarion, and Allegheny River.
This is not instead of any of my responsibilities for First Baptist Church of Franklin, Mustard Seed Missions, or the Venango County Christian Ministerium, but an additional commitment for 2022. As such, I'd appreciate your prayers for my time management and organizational skills (don't take my desk as an indicator, I'm not hopeless on that front), as well as my travel to visit these churches throughout the year.
In addition, I thank Jeff Johnson and Mark Mahserjian-Smith as well as the executive committee of the ABCOPAD regional board for their faith in myself and the other five entrusted with this role, plus the willingness of the members of 1st Baptist to share me with our denominational brethren.
Itching to get started making connections to the churches in the area that I don't already know, and building upon the existing relationships that I have.
In this three-part series, Pastor Powell delves into important questions about the Bible: What is it? How did it come to be? What does it contain? How we can understand it? How can we utilize it in our lives?
The series focuses upon the following topics: Revelation, Inspiration, and Inerrancy (part 1), Composition, Organization, and Literary Style/Genres (part 2), Interpretation, and Application (part 3).
At First Baptist Church of Meadville
353 Chestnut St.Meadville, PA
16335
6:00-8:00 PM
Thursday, July 22nd, 29th, and August 5th
This event
is free and open to the public, no reservations necessary, and will include
time for Q&A
In response to the new recommendations from the CDC regarding social distancing and mask wearing for those who are fully immunized, 1st Baptist will no longer require that those who are immunized wear masks in the common areas of the church (we had previously lifted that requirement in the sanctuary when the local infection numbers declined).
Given the available space in our sanctuary, open pews will still be socially distanced for the time being for the benefit of our young people and any others who are not immunized as they retain a higher level of risk.
Let us give thanks to the Lord, and honor to those in the healthcare field and other essential workers whose faithful service has helped us reach this point or near normalcy.
