Telling Future Generations

Dr. Bryan Chapell, the emeritus pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church and emeritus President of Covenant Theological Seminary, currently serves as the stated clerk of the PCS (Presbyterian Church of America) denomination. Dr. Bryan Chapell was the guest speaker at Child Evangelism Fellowship of Illinois recent fall fundraiser and shared a powerful message on, 'Celebrating Generations,' whi...

Jill Hostetler, Assistant State Director, shares an After-School Good News Club ministry report for this school year season in Central Illinois and also in pioneer areas that CEF is currently working with, including in Alton, Illinois and Jacksonville, Illinois. In addition, a special testimony is shared by Nancy Frantz, a Good News Club team leader for two Bible Clubs in schools in Dunlap, Illino...

"The Mission is NOT Over!" Dr. Katrina Forseth shares the CEF of IL annual ministry report that picks up from our CEF of Uganda mission trip report and continues through the remainder of our CEF of IL summer ministry and then focuses on our upcoming Fall ministry, specifically our After-School Good News Clubs held immedately after-school. The bottom-line desire of CEF is to reach as many...

Just recently at the CEF of IL Fall Event, we shared a ministry report that included not only about our CEF summer ministry, including our overnight camp ministry at Camp Good News and backyard 5-Day Clubs , but also our CEF mission trip to Uganda in East Central Africa, where in three weeks time, over 11,000 people were ministered to with the Gospel! Praise the LORD for the open doors for ministr...

Psalm 40 is a testimony, not only of David in the Bible, but also a testimony of God's people reminding us of not only what the Lord has done for us in the past, but how we can deepen our trust in the LORD, especiallly in times of trouble. Why? Because Psalm 40 is not only David's testimony or our testimony as God's people yet today, it is Christ's testimony. Psalm 40 points us...

Right way or wrong way, how do we know? The Bible, God's Word, "Tells me so!" Psalm 1 is a wisdom Psalm that marks out for us clearly that there is a right and there is a wrong, but there is only one way to the blessed life. In six short verses, Psalm 1, describes for us a beautiful picture of the blessed man's life that is depicted not as chaff that is dead, worthless and dire...

The closing chapter of Nehemiah ends on an odd note where Nehemiah, the governor of the land, engages in the ministry of confrontation all for God and the good of the people. Nehemiah encounters three difficult situations as a leader where he needed to respond by either cleaning house, establishing right practices, or engaging in the ministry of confrontation through increased, progressive discipl...

Nehemiah Chapter 12 is all about the ' Dedication Celebration ' of not only the completed Jerusalem wall, but of all that God had done for His people. The whole point of this special day was to celebrate what God had done and to dedicate themselves anew to the LORD to live not for themselves, but for the future generations. Not every day can be a special 'Dedication Celebration&apos...

Psalm 121 is an "Ascent Psalm" that reminds us that we all have hills and mountains that we need to climb or that come at us in life. Hills come in all different sizes and shapes. But no matter the hill we are facing right now, we can be comforted and encouraged to lift up our eyes from off of our hill and instead, focus on the LORD.  Psalm 121 reminds us our pathway up the hill can be m...

Listen to a brief mission report from the CEF of Illinois missions team serving with CEF of Uganda for a 3 week mission trip to Africa and back! Missions trips, ministry in general, and even ministry serving in a local church all have one thing in common: I T TAKES A TEAM! Nehemiah chapter 11 is a seemingly mundane chapter that is however, rich in biblical principles. The leadership lesson from Ne...

The people in Nehemiah chapter 10, made a beautiful 'Covenant of Commitment' before the LORD, not to be God's people, but because they were God's people and they simply wanted to declare to the LORD their desire to walk with Him as God's Covenant people. Their 'Covenant of Commitment,' involved three major areas: 1) Their Commitment Concerning their Sons and Daug...

The longest prayer in the Bible is recorded for us in Nehemiah chapter 9. What is this longest prayer all about? It is about a repentent people, who are dependent on the Lord's mercies, who call upon the Lord as God's people in united prayer. Woven throughout this longest prayer is a LOOK BACK, a LOOK DOWN, and a LOOK UP aspect as God's people call upon the Lord for not only help an...

Even though Mother's Day is one day a year, every day is a good day to be thankful and grateful for our mother that God has given to us. A mother gives to her children so many gifts, but the three primary gifts that a mother gives to her children is the GIFT of LIFE, the GIFT of LOVE, and the GIFT of UNDERSTANDING. Included in this special podcast is the true story of Dr. William MacKay and h...

The purpose of Pentecost is not just about a 'power-show' in a life of a believer. Rather, the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2 is all about the promise fulfilled, the proclamation of Christ, and the point of the church, both for internal growth and external growth of God's people until the Lord Jesus comes again! Go to our website to learn more information about Child Ev...

At our recent CEF Summer Ministry Fundraiser with the Kramers in concert, we shared the final CEF of Illinois ministry report that included an overview of our summer ministry outreach. From June through August, potentially 4,000 children will hear the Good News of Christ through 5-Day Clubs, Camp Ministry, Fair Ministry, and Gospel literature distribrition ministry. In addition to our summer minis...

We are continuing to air the second part of our CEF Summer Ministry Fundraiser at our recent concert with The Kramers. Jill Hostetler, the Assistant State Director of CEF of Illinois, shared about the summer ministry outreach through 5-Day Clubs , including not only the opportunity, but also testimonies from those last summer who hosteed a Backyard Bible Club as a neighborhood outreach. Dr. Katrin...

This year our CEF Summer Ministry fundraiser featured the Kramers in concert. It was a wonderful evening of praise and worship in lifting up the name of the LORD! Also, that night, CEF summer ministry reports were shared by our staff, as well as our financial needs for our upcoming summer ministry outreaches. This is part 1 of a 3-part radio program re-airing excerpts from our CEF Kramer concert f...

The Feast of Pentecost is not just an Old Testament Feast. It is a New Testament fulfilled Feast that defines the purpose and the mission of the church of Christ today! In Acts chapter 2, the prophetic fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost was about two main things: the promise and the harvest. The promise is the giving of the Holy Spirit for the three-fold purpose of spiritual conversion, spiritu...

The Seven Feasts of the LORD found in Leviticus 23 are not just Israelite, Old Testament Feasts; they are the LORD's Feasts which mark out God's calendar plan of redemption from beginning to end. The first three feasts of the LORD occur in the first month of the year at Nisan, which is our April. The Feast of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Firstfruits were not...

'The Heart of the Gospel,' is answered in this simple, yet overarching question: "How can sinful man be made right in relationship with Holy God?" The negative answer : It is not by our works by what we do or do not do because there is no righteousness within us to be accepted before Holy God. The positive answer:   All of our righteousness is found outside of us, by God's...

Many people down through the church age have asked the question, "Who Was Jesus?" As C.S. Lewis so distinctly stated, 'Christ is either a liar, a lunatic, or He is Lord."   Lewis goes on to say, "... let us not come up with any patronising nonsense about His (Jesus) being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." The Gospel points...

This Easter season we remember all that our Lord Jesus has done for us on our behalf. Yet, have you ever wondered in the Easter story WHO IS GUILTY for putting Jesus to death?  Was it Judas who betrayed Jesus that night in the garden?  Or was it the Chief Priests and High Priest who conconcted the whole plot and sought to deliver Jesus to death? Or perhaps, it was the King Herod from Gaililee or t...

In the book of Leviticus, there are seven Feasts of the LORD which are laid out as part of the Jewish calendar year. But what do these seven Feasts have to do with us today? The whole Old Testament, including these biblical Feasts, point to Christ, portray our relationship as believers in Christ, and ultimately, have a prophetic fulfillment in Christ. These seven Feasts function as God's plan...

In Nehemiah chapter 8, God's people come together to understand God's Word and to apply God's Word, which results in great joy in the LORD. One of their applications of God's Word discovered by the people in Nehemiah's day is the celebration of the Feasts of Tabernacles. But how does the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles help God's people back then and for us to...

Revivals are deeply needed among God's people today, yet revivals do not happen in a  vaccum. Rather, revivals include God's work in and through His people, by and with His Word. In Nehemiah chapter 8, the greatest recorded revival in Scripture took place over 2,500 years ago during the time of Nehemiah. The revival occurred as all of God's people together grew in their understandin...