Sandhills Teen Challenge Christmas Banquet, December 2011

Sal DiBianca welcomes guests to the STC Christmas Banquet.

Sandhills Teen Challenge recently held its 25th annual Christmas banquet on its Carthage, N.C., campus, a 31-acre site serving as home for “a residential faith-based recovery program for men ages 18 and over with drug or alcohol problems.”

 

A reported 1,008 guests attended one of three banquets held at 6:30 p.m. on December 8, 9 and 10, 2011. Each gathering featured a meal, a concert by the Sandhills Teen Challenge Choir, testimonials by program graduates and students and an inspirational-and-fundraising presentation by Sal DiBianca, STC director. He and his wife, Debby, are graduates of the Teen Challenge International program.

Before the Dec. 10 banquet began, guests filled the STC Chapel/Dinning Hall. Tables placed end-to-end were covered in white and decorated with poinsettias.

 Sal DiBianca welcomed attendees to the festivities and introduced the Rev. Brent Thompson, a 2006 graduate and current Academic Dean, to open the evening with a prayer of blessing over the meal.

                        The Rev. Brent Thompson prays before the banquet.

              Attendees at the Dec. 10, 2011 banquet enjoy a fine meal.    

After the meal, served by STC staffers and students, attention was turned to the stage as Sal DiBianca started the program for the evening. 

“My wife and I came here 25 years ago and tonight we are celebrating 25 years of ministry at this location,” DiBianca said. “How many of you know that behind every good man there is a better woman? God gave me a great helpmate. I really ‘married up.’ She’s the queen of Teen Challenge.”

                             Debby DiBianca greets guests at the STC banquet.

Debby DiBianca welcomed guests and thanked those who sponsored tables at the dinner. She also thanked pastors for their support and thanked STC volunteers such as; Brad Roback, who teaches small engine repair; Bernie Markey, who teaches beginning carpentry; Merv and Maggie Mullet, who’ve prepared STC banquet foods for 22 years; Pastor Gregg Newton, who preaches chapel services at STC every Tuesday; and Sandhills Classic Car Club for staging STC benefit exhibitions.

Debby then told her story of addiction and the tragedy of having eight abortions before giving birth to the DiBianca’s two children.

“I had one small spot on my uterus that was still healthy, and that’s where Brandon and Jamie were placed,” she said. “I’ve always prayed for my kids to meet the most awesome spouses, like my ‘Italian Stallion.’”

Audience laughter.

The DiBiancas’ son and daughter-in-law joined them onstage.

Brandon and Nicole DiBianca, were married on Oct. 1, 2011. He works as a student youth pastor at Grace Church in Southern Pines. She works as a nurse. The DiBiancas’ older child, Jamie, is married to Matt Gilliam. She serves as music director at Albemarle High School. He works as the church worship and creative arts pastor at Albemarle First Assembly.

“On October 1, I was ‘mother of the groom,’” Debby said. “I’ve been praying for her [Brandon’s wife] for 25 years.”

       Pictured (from left) are Debby, Nicole, Brandon and Sal DiBianca.

Sal Dibianca said Teen Challenge began in February 1958 with the Rev. David Wilkerson’s work in Brooklyn, New York.

Wilkerson was a young country preacher pastoring a church in eastern Pennsylvania. He read an article in “LIFE” magazine about seven teenagers on trial for murder.

During a Manhattan gang fight, those teens beat a young man to death. Wilkerson made a trip from his hometown in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, to New York City. He eventually resigned from his church and moved to the New York City area to work fulltime with teenage gang members. His work, called “Teen Challenge,” began to offer help to drug and alcohol addicts of all ages. The story of Teen Challenge is told in “The Cross and the Switchblade,” a best-selling book.

DiBianca said there are over 200 Teen Challenge centers in the U.S. and 1000 centers in 80 countries around the world. Teen Challenge students “find freedom through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

“‘The Cross and the Switchblade’ used to be a public school ‘textbook’ in N.C.,” he said. “Teen Challenge has the answer. Catherine Hess studied Teen Challenge to disprove a cure rate of 70 percent. She found the ‘Jesus factor,’ and she came to Christ.”

[Catherine Hess works with the National Academy for State Health Policy. She joined NASHP in 2005 and in 2011 she was promoted to managing director for coverage and access. She works with a team of program directors, managers and staff to develop and implement programs and projects focused on state policies and practices related to insurance coverage, access to care and health care reform.]

[A 1975 Federal Study of Teen Challenge (Rehrersburg, PA) found a 70 percent success rate for those who graduated from the program seven years earlier. In 1999, a 3-year research study supervised by Northwestern University (Chicago) concluded that 86 percent of those completing the Teen Challenge program remained drug free.]

The STC mission statement is this: “To help people who have life-controlling problems, and initiate the discipleship process to the point where the student can function as a Christian in society, applying spiritually motivated Biblical principles to relationships in the family, local church, chosen vocation and the community. Teen Challenge endeavors to help people become mentally sound, emotionally balanced, socially adjusted, physically well and spiritually alive.”

 DiBianca said, “God has sent people our way over the years who have helped to develop the campus we have, today. Bed capacity has gone from 24 to 38. An academic wing housing a computer literacy program, which is an extension of Sandhills Community College, and a vocational training facility have been built and the programs launched.”

He described the student routine at STC: wakeup at 6:00 a.m., breakfast at 6:30, prayer at 7:00, work chores at 7:30, chapel at 8:00m group studies at 9:00, personal studies at 10:00 … other activities … lights out at 10:00 p.m.

“People come here not because their lives are straight but because they need them straightened out,” DiBianca said. “We believe in a disciplined life – teaching students a new way of life to replace old habits. One of the biggest problems of drug and alcohol abusers is they’re selfish.”

STC gives its students opportunities to learn unselfish behavior by volunteering weekly distributing food to 175 children (Back Pack Pals during the school year) and to nearly 200 elderly people (Snack Pack Pals).

DiBianca said the cost per day for each STC student is $47, which translates to $1,786 per year per student. The STC 2012 fund-raising goal is $651,890.

“I usually don’t have a problem asking for money, because I’m not asking for me – I’m asking for broken people,” he said. “We help people whose lives are damaged or destroyed.”

DiBianca told about his early life in the Los Angeles, California, area.

“March 1979 I was living in my car,” he said. “I made a choice at 12 years of age to smoke pot with a friend. When I was 17, my dad had lung cancer surgery. At 17, I was dealing drugs. My father died, and I was addicted to drugs and losing my education. Someone introduced me to cocaine, not long after my father died.”

At 21 years old, living in his car he stopped by his mother’s house. She was watching a TV evangelist’s program.

“I heard a preacher say, ‘God loves you and cares for you.’” DiBianca recalled. “I knelt and prayed a prayer in front of a TV. A year (to date) later, I entered Teen Challenge. It was Teen Challenge [Los Angeles] where my life was turned around.”

He talked about his early relationship with Debby.

“I got her pregnant when she was 15,” he said. “He [Jesus] has actually allowed us to show people our scars. … He [Jesus] said to Thomas, ‘Look at me,’ and he showed them his hands. He’ll allow you to use the pain in your life to heal the pain of another.

“We challenge students everywhere to say ‘Yes’ to life and ‘No’ to drugs,” so they don’t have to come to Teen Challenge. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

 DiBianca then led and sang with the STC Choir, made up of STC students and Debby and Brandon DiBianca (vocals and guitar), along with Jared Guden on bass guitar. The choir sang classics such as “Silent Night,” “O Holy Night,” “The Little Drummer Boy” and “Angels We Have Heard on High.”

        The STC Choir sang favorite Christmas carols and gospel songs.

        Jared Guden, left (bass guitar), and Brandon DiBianca (right, vocals and lead guitar) accompanied the STC choir, along with Sal DiBianca on drums.

  

After a rousing concert, DiBianca told a story about a man and numerous beached starfish. The man was working hard at throwing perishing starfish back into the ocean, when a passerby commented to the man, “You can’t save them all.” The man picked up one starfish, threw it into the ocean and said, “No, but I just saved that one.”

“Change a life, one at a time,” DiBianca said.

He next asked some STC graduates to give testimonials.

Jerod from Portland, Oregon/Charlotte, N.C., said he grew up in a Christian home but started manipulating people, drinking and smoking “weed.”

“By age 27, I was a heroin addict,” he said. “I ended up here; my family lived in Charlotte. God changed my life. I have twins who live on the West Coast. I’m renewing my relationship with my wife. I’m not hurting … not screwing people over.”

Jerod said he’s thinking about pursuing youth ministry.

Jeff spoke next, saying he came to STC in 2004 but left he program after four months. (The Teen Challenge program usually lasts 12 to 18 months for each student.) 

“I thought I had it together,” he said. “In a month or two, I was in the Wake County jail because of ‘crack.’”

Jeff went from the Wake County jail to a homeless shelter but eventually returned to Teen Challenge and graduated in 2008. He recently married.

A young man named Gordon said, “I tried to drink half a cup of bleach, just to get out of this world. I was tearing my family apart.”

He referred to Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (NIV).

“I’ve got something now, and I want to keep it,” Gordon said. “I love the Lord.”

DBianca asked the men in the choir to tell their names and what God had freed them from. The men gave information such as the following: 22 years of methadone and oxycodone; cocaine for 20 years; 11 years of drugs and heroin; 33 years on crack cocaine. A 40-year-old told of addiction to weed and alcohol; a 54-year-old said he spent 35 years with a crack addiction; a 32-year-old told of 21 years of alcohol and drug abuse and “a violent lifestyle”; a 25-year-old said he used drugs and alcohol for 12 years; a 26-year-old spent 10 years focused on drugs and alcohol; an 18-year-old became meth-addicted; a 48-year-old was on drugs … .

Sal and the choir then finished with a song titled “Our God.”

 

DiBianca showed a short video featuring the Linus character from the comic strip “Peanuts” reciting “the Christmas story,” found in Luke, chapter two. When the character Charlie Brown asked what Christmas was all about, Linus quoted the famous Christ’s-birth passage from Luke.

The clip ended and DiBianca said, “And that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” He then preached, “gave an altar call” and led responders and the audience in a corporate “sinner’s prayer.”

He gave banquet attendees opportunity to give funds and provide written information about periodic contributions. STC staff members collected the offering and envelopes in large Christmas stockings.

DiBianca led the audience in a chorus containing these words: “I believe in Jesus … I believe he came for us all … I believe he’s here, now … here with the power to heal, now … and the grace to forgive.”

"Merry Christmas, everyone," DiBianca said. "May the peace of God that passes all understanding rest on you this Christmas." 

The Faith of Leap

From a message preached on November 06, 2011, by Pastor Randy Thornton, pictured above

Pastor Randy Thornton said he saw Jordan, a small child, holding his father’s hand. As father and son came to a descending flight of stairs, Jordan boldly negotiated the first step but would have missed the second and stumbled had his father not air-lifted him by the hand and zoomed him to the bottom of the stairs.

That pictured “The Faith of Leap,” said Thornton, senior pastor of Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C. He delivered the following message, “The Faith of Leap,” on Sunday morning, Nov. 6, 2011. Someone said he should call his message “The Leap of Faith,” but he called it “The Faith of Leap.”

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8 NIV).

“Abraham was called from Ur of the Chaldees,” Thornton said. The ancient city of Ur was located in southern Mesopotamia, near the Euphrates River. “He was called from a plush land to go to a barren land. Being able to hear from God is very crucial for our livelihoods and families. Abraham was 75 when he left Ur of the Chaldees. ‘As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.’ If you don’t think you’re smart enough, you probably never will be. Everyone say, ‘I’m God’s favorite child.’ God has greater plans than what we can see.”

Thornton said there are going to be some young “Davids” among the youths of our time and that Paul told Timothy, a young Christian, to set an example for the believers.

“When did David begin to be a giant-killer?” Thornton asked. “David killed a wolf, a bear, a lion. David heard Goliath and believed God. He believed God gave him the victory – not he, himself. God wants to teach us to be giant-killers – young and old.”

Taking a leap of faith depends on the “faith factor.”

“James says show me your faith by your works,” Thornton noted, adding that the necessary step of risk is the faith of leap. “Satan wants to cripple us. Conviction is a gift from God. Condemnation is a gift from Satan. Satan does not want us to take that leap of faith. He wants to cripple us, immobilize us and tell us we’re junk.”

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). 

  

To exercise faith, one must take a risk, expecting God to do a miracle.

“God wants you to know he loves you and is going to take care of you when you step out in faith. He wants to bless you, so you can bless others,” Thornton said. “Many say they have faith in God – ‘We have entrusted our lives and hopes to a good and powerful God’ – but this faith is usually inward and passive, inwardly focused, comforting, with a sense of security.”

That’s good, Thornton said.

“The other kind of faith is active and is outwardly focused and usually very discomforting,” he said. “Knowing that we are sent and to whom we are sent, we take deliberate risks that put us in complete dependence on God for a miracle.”

Many Christians play the “safe mode.”

“It’s time to kick it up a step,” Thornton said. “The risk key is a purposeful action you take, in spite of discomfort or fear, to exercise your faith during an act of obedience.”

Matthew 17:19-20: Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it [a demon] out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

“How many of you parents know your kids have to learn some things the hard way?” Thornton asked. “How many of you know you are all in fulltime Christian ministry? The amount of our faith is directly related to our understanding that we have heard from God.”

“And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith,” (Matthew 13:58).

“Sometimes those who are going to be the last to believe you’ve heard from God is your own family,” Thornton said. “We must name our unbelief in an all-powerful God – where it lies – and reject it [unbelief]. If we want to pursue the life of the supernatural, we must take action. I’m really glad it doesn’t take a superstar. It just takes you and me.”

Thornton prayed this benediction:

"Father, I thank you, today, that we are your favorite children because of what you’ve done on the cross … God, I pray you’d begin to set your people free in Jesus’ name … Raise up a generation of young people wholly devoted and sold out to you!”

A Child Is Impressionable

A lady (on the left in this photo) worships with her arms half raised, while her granddaughter, standing in the center aisle, lifts her hands during a 2011 worship service at Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C. Most children attending this service had already gone to Grace's children's church meeting, but the grandmother in this photo wanted her granddaughter to experience the worship service before joining the other children. (Left-click on this photo and see it enlarged.)

Dealing with Despair

From a message given by the Rev. Randy Thornton (pictured above) on September 5, 2010

“Despair can come in a multitude of situations,” said Senior Pastor Randy Thornton, 52, during a recent sermon at Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C., “but for believers in Jesus Christ, God has given us hope.”

The word “despair” means “sunk down,” and the word “encourage” in Greek means “putting wind in your sails to move you forward,” Thornton said, adding that despair involves a sense of hopelessness and can connect to past wounds.

“Despair slices your sails and leaves you dead in the water,” he said.

King David wrote, “O my God, my soul (one’s “soul” involves one’s mind, will and emotions) is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan…” (Psalm 42:6).

Thornton referred to the Old Testament account of Nehemiah the Cupbearer:

According to writer John C. Westervelt, the Hebrews of Judah, the Southern Kingdom of divided Israel, were exiled to Babylon before Nehemiah’s time. The Persians under King Cyrus overthrew the Babylonians in 539 B.C. The new king let foreigners return home. Cyrus decreed that Hebrews could return to Judah and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Fifty thousand Jews accepted the offer to go home. Nehemiah had risen through the ranks to become cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. Besides certifying wine served to the king was safe, Nehemiah was a counselor to the king. When Nehemiah asked men who returned from Judah about the Jewish homeland, they said, “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

Nehemiah fasted and prayed. He had never shown sorrow in the king’s presence, but the king saw his sad countenance and inquired. Nehemiah said, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" (Nehemiah 2:3).

The king sponsored Nehemiah’s return and his project to rebuild Jerusalem. The prophesied 70 years of Jewish captivity were fulfilled when the new Temple was completed in 516 B.C., but Nehemiah faced danger and despair while rebuilding the Temple.

“Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, ‘The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall’” (Nehemiah 4:10).  

Fatigue may cause despair by draining energy and making a person feel as though he “can’t take another step,” Thornton said.

Despair often comes when we are in the middle of building. Jerusalem’s walls were erected halfway when discouragement came (Nehemiah 4:6).

“You may say, ‘I thought I was a good Christian until I got married,’” Thornton noted. “In life, God doesn’t put two perfect people together. We walk into relationships wounded and hurt. And what do wounded people do? They wound people.”

There is a good plan God has for you, but we often have to go through “dark timber,” he said.

Thornton, who grew up in Colorado, described his love of hunting and hiking in that state’s rugged mountains. He told of encountering forests with foliage that darkened the sun and of growing weary of “one more log to cross.”

“‘Dark timber’ is so thick you lose direction, lose perspective,” he said. “In life, we’re all going to have patches of ‘dark timber.’”

Failure can generate despair that dominates our feelings, but we must trust God. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

“Emotions don’t tell you the truth all the time,” Thornton said. “There is a ‘clearing’ on the other side.”
Fear may cause despair.

“There is a spirit of Sanballet and Tobiah that wants to kill you,” Thornton said, referring to Nehemiah 4, which tells of conspirators against the Jew rebuilding Jerusalem. “But we are more than conquerors. We cannot let fear dominate us. Despair is not the expression of faith.”

How to get rid of despair:

1. Get rest for your body.

“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat – for he grants sleep to those he loves” (Psalm 127:2).

Do something that energizes you, Thornton said, adding that God created a time for rest.

“There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD” (Leviticus 23:3).

“Our culture has robbed us,” Thornton said. “God created a Sabbath rest. God designed a day to bet built up with the love of God.”

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

“Put God in your life,” Thornton said.

2. Reorganize your life.

Get priorities straight.

“The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out” (Leviticus 6:13).

“God put us in families,” Thornton said.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work” (Ecclesiastes 4:9).

“Lone rangers always get shot down,” Thornton said.

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

“Reorganize your life,” Thornton said. “You may be here today, and you’re trying to do life alone.”

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (Ephesians 1:4-5).

3. Remember the Lord.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2).

Three things to remember when feeling despair:
God knows your situation.
God cares about your situation.
God can change you and your situation.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:18-21).

“Despair is a real thing,” Thornton said. “You don’t have to stay there. You have a choice! Believe there’s a clearing at the end, or stay in the dark timber!”                        

God's Guarantee

From a September 18, 2011, message by Pastor Randy Thornton, pictured above

As part of a “survivor’s guide” series, Randy Thornton, senior pastor of Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C., delivered the following message, “God’s Guarantee,” to his congregation.

“America’s rate of poverty increased to a greater rate than ever before,” Thornton said, noting that 46 million U.S. citizens lived below what is considered the poverty level in 2010. “The job loss rate may put more people below the poverty level. Did God fail? Did he lie? Did he exaggerate?”

Thornton’s questions referred to this verse: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

“With every promise, there is a condition with it,” Thornton said.

The most asked-about subject in the Bible is salvation, but the next most asked-about subject is finances, he said. He recommended courses offered by Crown Financial Ministries and Financial Peace University classes led by Dave Ramsey.

“God says, ‘I will show myself strong to those who are in Christ Jesus,’” Thornton said. “Over the last 50 years, the government has violated biblical principles. We’ve said, ‘God, don’t be a part of our nation.’ What a nation sows, it’s going to reap. Today’s message is about ‘how to put God first in your life.’ God has promised to take care of us, financially.”

Thornton listed five conditions for receiving God’s help: 1. Ask God for his help. 2. Learn to be content. 3. Practice giving by faith. 4. Maintain your integrity. 5. Trust God with your life.

1. Ask God for help: “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God” (James 4:2 NIV).

“We need the favor of God,” Thornton said.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Here’s an acronym for “ASK”: A – Ask; S – Seek; and K – Knock.

“God wants to do miracles, so you can share and be a witness for the Lord,” Thornton said.

2. Learn to be content:

“God is far more interested in your character than your comfort,” Thornton said. “In America, we have what I call ‘junkies’ – they go out and buy a new car or a new dress. God is interested in meeting your needs, not your wants. Typically, we Americans tend to spend just a little more than we make.”

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it” (1 Timothy 6:6-7).

“You get to take that which is done for God, with the right heart and motive, to heaven,” Thornton said.

The Apostle Paul said, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 4:12).

Thornton said people who used a credit card, during an experiment, spent 23 percent more than those who used cash.

3. Practice giving by faith:

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:6-8).

“A church service where one-third of the message is about the gospel and two-thirds of the service is about raising money – that’s manipulation,” Thornton said, noting that Malachi 3:10 tells us to “test God.”

 

“Sow into the places where you are fed,” Thornton said. “If you give outside your church, don’t do it with your tithes. Do it with your offerings. Honor God with all your increase. Invoke God’s blessing on your life. Your job isn’t safe, but God is the same, yesterday, today and forever.”

He said Grace Church has been blessed and has tons of stories about those blessings.

“I promise you,” Thornton said, “God is true to his Word.”

“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops” (Proverbs 3:9).

4. Maintain your integrity.

God wants you to be able to say, “I didn’t lie; I didn’t cheat; I didn’t steal.”

“Guys, you have to live with yourselves,” Thornton said. “Don’t compromise.”

“Better the poor whose walk is blameless, than a fool whose lips are perverse” (Proverbs 19:1). 

 

“But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble” (Proverbs 4:19).

“When you are walking with integrity, God blesses the things you have,” Thornton said. “God blesses you to bless others.”

5. Trust the Lord with your life.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

“Put God first in your life,” Thornton said. “Cultivate a relationship with him. My God shall supply all your needs, according to his riches in glory. Guys, let’s walk in God’s favor. All through the Bible, there are all kinds of stories of supernatural provision… If you’re here and would like to receive Christ as your Savior, would you raise your hand, right now?”

Thornton prayed, “Father, I pray for that hand that is raised…. God, as he surrenders his life, as he prays to receive Christ….”

Thornton spoke to the audience:

“I believe this is the time to do business with God…. Let’s stand and worship…. God is wanting to do more miracles in your life…. I sense there is someone here…God is wanting you to take off the lock to the door of your house and let God come into your family…. I pray for this family where the door has been sort of ‘God, stay out of our lives’…. God, take out the hurt and bitterness and pain…. God, put in an aroma of the presence of God… May Jesus Christ become the center ‘mantel piece’ of that home.”

How to Be a Casual Christian

From a message by Pastor Randy Thornton

Do you want to be a casual, chilling, complacent Christian?

“Casual” means “showing little interest or concern; nonchalant: lenient and permissive.”

“Chilling” is a slang word meaning “calm, relaxed, idle and easy going.” Young people often describe relaxing as “chilling out.”

“Complacent” means “self-satisfied and unconcerned.”

In a recent sermon, Pastor Randy Thornton of Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C., used comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s format of “You might be a redneck, if…” and changed that phrase to
“You might be a casual Christian, if….” Here are some of Thornton’s thought-provokers:

You might be a casual Christian, if you value comfort and personal pleasure over the pursuit of the Kingdom of God.

“The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22 NIV).

You might be a casual Christian, if your desire for independence is more important than God’s will.

“A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD” (Proverbs 19:3).

You might be a casual Christian, if your friends have more influence on you than God does.

“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character’” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

You might be a casual Christian, if your eyes are dry and you have no passion for the lost.

“Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35).

“God has called us to be fishers of souls, not keepers of the aquarium,” Thornton said.

Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last…” (John 15:16).

Paul said, “Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16).

You might be a casual Christian, if you listen to the Gospel without being moved to respond, again.

You might be a casual Christian, if your plans for your future end in retirement and stop short of “well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

You might be a casual Christian, if you have no pleasure in giving to God and hold your tithe for yourself.

“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers…” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).

You might be a casual Christian, if…

…your care for what other people think deters you from obedience to the Lord.

…your passion for Jesus was hotter when you were first saved than it is now.

...having fun is more important than serving God.

…what you have and the pursuit of having it is more important than the pursuit of God.

…you avoid the uncomfortable and opt instead to live inside the sacred comfort of your routine.

…you avoid burdens instead of seeking them and carrying them.

…broken relationship stop you from forgiving others.

…if worship is elevated based on the quality of the music rather than on a personal connection with the presence of God.

And you might be a casual Christian, if serving God is regarded as work for those whose rank is a lower on the totem pole than yours, or you say that such work is not your “gifting.”

To find motivation to “totally commit to God,” we should compare the costs of serving God to the benefits; then we should trust God to help us keep our commitments, Thornton said.

“…I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).

Vision: Dreaming a Dream

Fom a message of hope by Pastor Randy Thornton

“God created man with the power to be creative,” said Randy Thornton, senior pastor of Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C., as he spoke at the church on a recent Sunday morning. 

Thornton, 52, said animals are born, they live and they die, but God put eternity in the heart of man; a person’s relationship with God and other people reflects the idea that God created us in his likeness.  

“God’s image is in us,” Thornton said. “You have divine design and destiny. God’s plan for you is irrevocable.”

He read this verse: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20, NIV). 

“Have you lost your vision of God’s dream for you? Has your vision bogged down?” Thornton asked. “The history of this church is a testimony to the power of a God-given dream.”

Thornton told of launching Grace Church over 20 years ago. When he brought his family from Manna Church in Fayetteville, N.C., to Southern Pines, he had few regular church attendees. He had spent two years at Grace when snow fell one Sunday morning. After the lady who led music hurried home after the worship part of that Sunday a.m. service, the only man attending said, “I’ll stay so you’ll have someone to preach to.” Thornton said he thought about giving up but knew he should stay. The church “yo-yoed” with 75-20-75-50 etc. people for 10 years. Thornton worked at UPS and pastored his fluctuating flock for 13 years before quitting UPS. Grace Church now has four fulltime assistant pastors and holds two Sunday morning services. Total Sunday morning attendance averages over 1,000. 

Thornton said some people have “no dream.” The results of having no dream are frustrations, boredom and regrets. “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law” (Proverbs 29:18).

Some have a “low dream,” he added.

We often have small dreams because dreams make us accountable. We may also fear failure or criticism – people may laugh at us.

“If you don’t try things in life, you’re never going to experience life,” Thornton said.

Some people have the “wrong dream,” he noted, and some have a “vague dream.” “A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth” (Proverbs 17:24).

“God has a dream for your life,” Thornton said. He gave these eight steps for realizing “God’s dream for you”:

1. Open your mind to God’s dream. Seek first the kingdom of God. Say, “Not my life, but Your Life.” “He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe” (Proverbs 28:26).

2. Do some research. “He who answers before listening – that is his folly and his shame” (Proverbs 18:13).

3. Ask for advice (consultation).  “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out” (Proverbs 18:15).

4. Establish some priorities. “God didn’t create you just to have fun,” Thornton said. “If you live just for yourself, you’ll come up empty, somewhere.”

5. Evaluate the cost (calculate risk). What’s the price tag? Everything valuable in life has a price tag. Proverbs 20:25 warns that an impulsive vow traps you; you'll later want to get out of it.

6. Plan for problems. “Make plans by seeking advice…” (Proverbs 20:18). “A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it” (Proverbs 22:3).

7. Be willing to risk it all. “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe” (Proverbs 29:25). This involves the “principle of confrontation.”

8. Do it now. This involves the “principle of initiation.” “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3).

“Some of you have neglected your relationship with God,” Thornton said. “Some of you need to make a decision that things are going to change…I believe God is saying, ‘Don’t waste your life. Live it for me!”

Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

Elements of a Healthy Family

From a message by Pastor Randy Thornton

“God has called us to be in families,” said Pastor Randy Thornton, 53, during a recent sermon at Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C.  “Family is all about relationships.”

Thornton, 53, Grace’s senior pastor, listed the following six points as he spoke on “How to Have a Healthy Family”:

1. Families make (create) fun.

“Jesus knew how to connect with people – emotional intelligence,” Thornton said.

Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

“Find creative ways to have fun by doing fun things together,” Thornton said, adding that by having family activities, you teach children how to get along with people.”

Slow down. Schedule some playtime. Ask yourself, “Is there a fun way to do this (chore)?” Do unexpected, new stuff. Plan surprises. Make it happen. Fun often doesn’t just happen.

2. Give attention.

St. Paul said, “…Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:1-4).

“Giving your life away is one of the greatest things we believers should do,” Thornton said.

Find time to unwind. Unplug from things of the day. Learn to listen; let people give opinions without cutting them off to give your opinion.

3. Capture memories.

“…Take heed to yourself…lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren…” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

“Healthy families capture memories,” Thornton said. “Write it down; get a picture.”

Create several anniversaries. Hang up wedding photos. Family vacations often provide the greatest memories. Return to memorable locations. Photograph and video your children; write letters to loved ones as they grow up.

4. Verbally inspire.

“Therefore comfort each other and edify one another…” (1Thessalonians 5:11). “A good man out of the good treasure…brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matthew 12:35).

Catch people doing the right thing, and let them know. Weigh your words (the tongue can be a fire, says James). Use words to edify. Write it out; send letters – they are little treasures. Encourage children in front of others (praise them in public; discipline them in private).

5. Love without condition.

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands…rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself…and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel…” (John 13:3-5).

After Jesus washed feet and ate “The Last Supper” with his disciples, he said, “Little children…A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:33-35).

Thornton said he was a teenager and a fairly new Christian when he told his stepfather that he loved him. His stepfather, for the first time Thornton remembers, responded with “I love you.”

“Tell them you love them,” Thornton said. “Love them with actions. Love them with respect – 70 percent of communication is non-verbal.”

6. Yield to God.

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7).

“…Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).

Fear or Faith

From a message by Pastor Randy Thornton 

“Whenever a person is ruled by fear, he takes matters into his own hands,” said the Rev. Randy Thornton, during a recent sermon at the church he leads, Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C.   

Israel wanted a king, and Saul was tall, attractive and humble, said Thornton, 52. Saul, who reigned from 1025-1004 B.C., seemed to love God and even prophesied, but during Israel’s war with the Amalekites, he failed to follow God’s instructions.

The Amalekites were descendants of Amalek, Esau’s grandson. They refused to allow the Israelites to cross their land when the Israelites migrated to the Promised Land (Exodus 17). God directed Saul to destroy the Amalekites, including their possessions, livestock and king.

Saul spared their King Agag and took the best of their livestock for himself. The Prophet Samuel rebuked Saul, beheaded Agag and told Saul that God had rejected him as Israel’s king (I Samuel 15).

“God demanded judgment, but Saul showed mercy,” Thornton said. “Did your child need judgment (discipline), and you showed mercy? And now he’s on drugs…When judgment is due, do we show mercy? (Someone called that error “the problem of ‘misplaced mercy’.”) How many can say that at some time in your life you’ve made decisions out of fear?”

Thornton contrasted Saul with David, Saul’s successor. When fear crippled Israel, David viewed Goliath, the Philistine’s giant strongman, through God’s perspective and killed Goliath with a sling and a small stone.

“…When David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine…the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets (tambourines), with joy, and with instruments of music (lutes). And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him…” (1 Samuel 18:6-8).

Saul feared loosing his kingdom; he probably feared his son would never sit on Israel’s throne. 

“When you find yourself taking matters into your own hands rather than trusting God, you are headed for disaster,” Thornton said. “Fear destroys faith and causes us to manipulate. Where does the spirit of fear come from? From Satan himself.”

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

“Our children are growing up in a world where it’s almost embarrassing to be called a Christian,” Thornton said. “There are many undercover Christians, today.”

Five stumbling blocks to standing for Christ and overcoming fears:

1. The Approval of Others: “…Among the chief rulers…many believed on him (Jesus); but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42-43).

“We can let fear control us, or we can pay the price to do the right thing,” Thornton said. “The ‘soft choices’ destroy us.”

2. Traditions: Jesus said, “For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men…” (Mark 7:8).

3. The Voice of Reason: “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 16:25).

4. Letting Feelings Determine Your Decisions: “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes…” (Judges 21:25).

“Mick Jagger has been singing ‘I can’t get no satisfaction’ for 40 years,” Thornton said. “Let truth guide you, not feelings.”

5. Letting Doubts Cause You to Question Absolute Truth: Instead of doubting these verses, believe them: “I am the LORD; I change not” (Malachi 3:6). “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrew 13:8). “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

“Biblical absolutes guide and protect you,” Thornton said. “How many realize fear has had some influence on your lives? Fear is overcome by faith. ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil’…He has not given us a spirit of fear. You can make right decisions when fear doesn’t dominate your life.”

You Were Born for This - Review

From a message by Pastor Randy Thornton

“You can know about God but not be a conduit of his power,” said the Rev. Randy Thornton, senior pastor of Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C., as he preached recently at the church. “If you don’t see the demonstration of the Holy Spirit in your life, how is all the knowledge helping?”

Thornton, 52, recently began a sermon series based on “You Were Born for This: Seven Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles,” a book published in 2009 by Bruce Wilkinson, author of “The Prayer of Jabez.” (Six million copies of “The Prayer of Jabez” have been sold.)

Multnomah Press, publishers of “You Were Born for This,” says about the book: “Anyone can do a good deed, but some good works can only happen by an act of God. Around the world these acts are called miracles – not that even religious people expect to see one any time soon. But what would happen if millions of ordinary people walked out each morning expecting God to deliver a miracle through them to a person in need? “You Were Born for This” starts with the dramatic premise that everyone at all times is in need of a miracle, and that God is ready to meet those needs supernaturally through ordinary people who are willing to learn the “protocol of heaven”…Wilkinson describes how anyone can be a ‘Delivery Guy’ from heaven in such universally significant arenas of life as finances, practical help, relationships, purpose and spiritual growth.”

“Publisher's Weekly” says, “Peppered with stories of miracles in which he (Wilkinson) has participated or that he has observed, the book focuses on ways that people can intuit the leading of God to respond to the needs of others. The place to begin, Wilkinson recommends, is by believing that ‘everyone you encounter has an unmet need that God strongly desires to meet supernaturally through you.’ Critics of The Prayer of Jabez” will find similar problems with this book – the suggestion that God responds to prayer with instant results and more than a whiff of a packaged program. In this volume, however, Wilkinson responds to previous criticisms of a self-serving theology by concentrating on helping readers make miracles happen for other people rather than for themselves.”

Pastor Thornton endorses “You Were Born for This.” Here are some of his comments from a sermon, “Doing God’s Work by God’s Power,” he based on the book:

“You can be a believer and not operate in God’s power,” Thornton said. “Will you partner with God to deliver miracles?”

Most of us want God to deliver miracles for us, but as we “know God,” we’ll want Him to bring miracles to others, too, he said.

He referred to this passage: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:17-20).

“Every day, start out your life not living for ‘you,’” Thornton said. “The miracles that Jesus did were because of the relationship between him and God.”

“…God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him” (Acts 10:38).

Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18).

“Do you believe God can use the words you say to change someone’s life?” Thornton asked. “Does God want to use you? The answer is ‘Yes!’”

Peter spoke confidently “in the flesh” about his dedication to Jesus, but he then denied Jesus three times. After he was filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter preached with confidence.

“Are you willing to be a conduit for the Holy Spirit?” Thornton asked. “Really, it’s quite the simple heart that says, ‘Here am I, Lord. Send me.’”

Worship as Extravagance

From a message by the Rev. Bill Fuller (pictured above) 

The Rev. Bill Fuller preached recently about “Worship as Extravagance” at Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C.

Fuller, Grace Church’s executive pastor, earned a bachelors degree in religion at UNC Chapel Hill in 1974. After graduation, he lived six months among the Gurage people in Ethiopia. That experience inspired him to serve God cross-culturally and led him to Columbia Graduate School of Bible and Missions, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree in Missions. He and his wife, Georgia, live in Sanford, N.C. They have two children.

Fuller spoke about extravagant giving, speaking and living.

He read 2 Corinthians 9:6-7: “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

The word “cheerful” is rooted in the Greek word “hilaros,” which translates to the English word “hilarious,” Fuller noted. “Hilarious” means “exuberant, enthusiastic, exhilarated.”

He told of the woman who “let her hair down in public” – something Jewish women never did, he said – and anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume.

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

“But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages’…

“‘Leave her alone,’ Jesus replied. ‘It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me’” (John 12:1-8).

Nard is processed from leaves of a flowering plant that grows in the Himalayas of China and in the northern region of India and Nepal. Pure nard, in 2011, would be worth $2,800 an ounce, Fuller said. Mary poured about a pint (16 ounces) on Jesus’ feet.

“Extravagance is not measured by the size of the gift you made but by the sacrifice you made,” Fuller said. “God loves extravagant givers, because he is an extravagant giver.”

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Fuller said we should serve God with our speaking.

“Why is it so hard to say extravagant things about God?” he asked. “Because it’s a sacrifice. Some of you will have to give up the energy to speak up. Sacrifice your self-image, and speak up. Jesus suffered so we could be welcomed into God’s family. Are we too ashamed to speak extravagantly of God in public? Praise just flows from the lips of people who know what God did for us.”

Worship also involves extravagant living, Fuller said. “Spending your life for God is the only reasonable response for what he’s done,” he said. “He became poor and destitute and sacrificed his body, so you might not suffer the wrath of God.”

Fuller asked the audience to sing “Take My Life, and Let It Be Consecrated.” Here are some of that hymn’s words penned in 1874 by Frances R. Havergal:

“Take my life and let it be / Consecrated, Lord, to Thee. / Take my moments and my days / Let them flow in ceaseless praise; / Let them flow in ceaseless praise. / Take my hands and let them move / At the impulse of Thy love. / Take my feet and let them be / Swift and beautiful for Thee… / Take my voice and let me sing / Always, only, for my King. / Take my lips and let them be / Filled with messages from Thee… / Take my silver and my gold / Not a mite would I withhold / Take my intellect and use / Ev-’ry pow’r as Thou shalt choose… / Take my will and make it Thine / It shall be no longer mine. / Take myself and I will be / Ever, only, all for Thee… / Take my love, my Lord, I pour / At Thy feet its treasure store, / Take myself and I will be / Ever, only, all for Thee, / Ever, only, all for Thee.”

Can I Forgive?

From a message by Pastor Randy Thornton

“If you are going to live the Christian life, you are going to have to learn to forgive,” the Rev. Randy Thornton said.

Thornton, 53, a husband, father of four and senior pastor of Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C., recently delivered this message, “Can I Really Forgive,” at the church.

Thornton told of a man who seemed to generate conflicts in his relationships. That man adored his late mother and said he had resolved problems with his still-living father, who years ago abused him.

A friend of the fellow in this story counseled him and felt impressed that his conflicts with people had to do with his adored mother. The man said he didn’t think he had unresolved issues with his deceased mother, who, more than the father, was the leader in the home during his growing-up years. While thinking about his friend’s impression, however, the man saw a mental scene of his mother and father in the home where he grew up; he saw his father abusing him and his mother not intervening. He realized he had un-forgiveness toward his mother. Though he had idealized her, he harbored subconscious bitterness toward her. He repented (and hopefully experienced fewer conflicts with people).

Bitterness can eat away at relationships, Thornton said. The people who are closest to you can hurt you the most. Bitterness holds you captive; you become a slave to the person you hold bitterness toward. A person needs to understand the “root” of his bitterness.

Thornton told of counseling a lady “who had mental illness.” She had problems with her father; finally, she forgave him and witnessed to him.

“Three months after she shared Christ with him, her dad accepted the Lord,” Thornton said. “The key to seeing God move is for you to choose to forgive others, no matter what they’ve done.”

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV).

“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hebrews 12:15).

Don’t cause yourself to fall “short of grace”: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).

Don’t cause a root of bitterness to spring up, cause trouble and defile many. Thornton defined “grace” as “God’s desire and power to release.” He said a “root” is “a plant’s ability to survive.” If you add to the root system, new branches appear. Dump anger onto your wife and children, and that anger can transfer to generations and defile many, Thornton said.

Sin and shame in a person’s heart can cause bitterness to grow there, too. Thornton read about the woman at the well (John 4 NIV):

Jesus and his disciples visited Sychar, a Samaritan town, and the disciples went to buy food. Jesus, worn out, sat alone at Jacob’s well; during the heat of the day, a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Most women probably obtained water from that well during morning hours, Thornton said, adding, “Was it that she wanted no one to see her?” The Jews looked down on Samaritans, but Jesus showed kindness. She experienced God’s love.

Jesus asked the woman, “Will you give me a drink?” She said, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water…whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Jesus asked her to go and get her husband; she said she had no husband; Jesus said he knew she’d had five husbands and that the man she lived with was not her husband. He told her he was the Messiah. The woman left her water pot, went to the city and told the men, “Come and see a man who told me all the things I have done! Could this be the Messiah?”

“When God sets you free of shame, you can access confidence in front of those who’ve shamed you,” Thornton said. “The woman at the well left her water pot and her shame at the well. Jesus set the woman free. He can do the same, today. Are you not ‘walking’ with others because you feel shame and come at noon to the well? Jesus can set you free to walk with others. It wasn’t by accident that Jesus ended up in Samaria. He was there to set people free. He’s here today to set you free.”

How to Face the Future

From a message by Pastor Randy Thornton

The Rev. Harold Camping, 89, predicted that a huge earthquake, beginning around 6:00 p.m. on May 21, 2011, would precede the Rapture.

Pastor Randy Thornton said he fell asleep as he rested on a couch in his home around 5:30 p.m., Saturday, May 21, 2011. He woke up after 6:00 p.m. and realized the Rapture hadn’t happened.

During a sermon titled “How to Face Your Future,” Thornton, 53, senior pastor of Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C., referred to Jesus’ words about the “Rapture” in Matthew 24:26: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:26 NIV).

In Christian eschatology (the study of “last things”), the “Rapture” is a reference to the “being caught up” referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

Camping predicted that on May 21, 2011, Christians would exit the earth. His nonprofit Christian organization, Family Radio, took in $80 million in contributions between 2005 and 2009 and advertised “Judgment Day.” According to “Wikipedia,” Camping applied numerology to his interpretations of Bible passages to predict dates for the “End Times.” He calculated the Rapture would occur on May 21 and God would destroy the Earth and the universe on October 21. “When May 21 passed without incident, Camping stated he now believes a ‘spiritual’ judgment occurred on that date and that the physical Rapture would occur on October 21, 2011, simultaneously with the destruction of the universe by God,” “Wikipedia” reports. Camping previously predicted “judgment days” on May 21, 1988, and September 7, 1994.

Thornton, who says he believes the Rapture will occur someday (at an unknown time), asked his church, “How do believers in Jesus Christ prepare for what’s ahead?”

He listed two things NOT to do:

1. Do not make the mistake of planning without God.

“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city…carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16).

“I challenge the men of this church, heads of households, to prepare for the future,” Thornton said. “Pray that we would hear what’s on the heart of God. I believe the Holy Spirit is beginning to call people back into prayer in a new way.”

2. Do not presume about tomorrow (James 4:14, 16). “You need to be able to hear a storm coming,” Thornton said. “Are you going to walk with God, if you lose your job? If you put God first, he will provide. In this nation, we are going to have some great opportunities to follow God.”

He gave four points to consider in preparing to face the future:

1. Have a God-relationship. “God desires a relationship with his people,” Thornton said. “This is no time for namby-pamby, double-marshmallow Christians.”

2. Have faith. “If you’ve given your life to Jesus Christ, it won’t matter what happens in the future,” he said.

3. Obey God’s Word. “Shallow Christianity won’t last very long…where you come to church and then live like hell all week long.”

“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:21-22).

4. Put God first in your finances (Malachi 3:6-12). Don’t break covenant with God by withholding tithes. “Tithing teaches us to put God first,” Thornton said. “When you choose to take from God…what a man sows, he will reap.”

In conclusion, Thornton asked, “How do you prepare for the future?” and referred to this verse: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you” (Jeremiah 29:11).