Telling Future Generations

Of all the events in the history of the world, the Day of Pentecost in Acts Chapter 2, ranks third in the most important events, right behind the first coming of Christ and the creation of the world. Why is the Day of Pentecost such a watershed event in the history of the world? It is because Acts Chapter 2 not only marks out the birth of the church and the mission of the church, but the beginning...

Acts chapter 1 lays the foundation for the church, God's people, in spreading the Gospel message, which is the mission of the church. This foundation that is laid here in Acts 1 is vital to the birth of the church and the building of the church, which includes FOUR MAIN PILLARS of FAITH that are touched on in Acts 1, as follows: 1) The Reliability of the Scriptures 2) The Infallible Proofs of...

What a time to be a live!  We are right now living between the first and second coming of Christ, until Jesus comes again. Last week, we looked at a sampling of God's instruction manual of what we are to be doing while we wait for the Lord's return.  But have you ever wondered what the Lord Jesus is doing for us right now while we wait? Today in this week's radio program we will loo...

Have you ever wondered as God's people what our priorities should be while we wait for Christ's return? The Bible in Acts Chapter 1, during the ten-day period between Christ's Ascension and the giving of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, gives us a brief glimpse into the priorities of the early church while they waited for Christ's promise to be fulfilled. Let's tak...

Last week, we looked at the Four Pillars of the Foundation of the Mission of the Church, including the reliability of the Scriptures, and the many Infallible Proofs of the Resurrection of Christ. This week, we will look at two other Pillars for the Foundation of the Mission of the Church, which include the Giving of the Holy Spirit and the Coming Kingdom of God. We want to unpack these doctrinal t...

On Christmas Day in 1863, during the war-torn era of the Civil War, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the famous American poet, composed the poem, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” Within a decade, the poem was turned into a Christmas carol that is still sung to this day, including modern renditions. The story behind the song is powerful and rings true still today. Listen to this podcast to hear mor...

Where in the New Testament does the Christmas story begin? Interestingly, the Christmas story does not begin in the New Testament with the Gospels, but rather in the Old Testament, particularly in one of the major prophetic books in the Bible, the book of Isaiah. The book of Isaiah is like a Bible in a book with 66 chapters and two major divisions, including the first 39 chapters emphasizing the P...

Where do spiritual revivals come from that sweep across a nation and how do they occur? Actually, we do not have to guess, because not only are spiritual revivals given to us by the direct hand of the LORD.  God has given to us Biblical principles that spiritual revivals are grounded in and flow out from. The book of 2 Chronicles, from a birds-eye view, gives us four major principles for spiritual...

Overlooking the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts’ tucked away on top of a hill, is a large statute dedicated to our forefathers, the Pilgrims, that most Americans today know nothing about. The monument dedicated to the Pilgrims was built in 1891 over a 70-year period and has the center statue rising 81 feet high, with four other statues connected to it and flowing out from it. This ‘Liberty Matrix,...

Have you ever wondered why there can be two two different views of the world that is happening both at the same time? Psalm 2 tells us the answer by pointing us to the ultimate two views... an earthly view of the nations raging against God in utter rebellion and the heavenly view of God seated on His throne in heaven reigning and ruling over all as King. The Bible tells us from cover to cover who...

In this final four part series on, "Celebrating Generations," Dr. Bryan Chapell shares good news that 90% of those who grow up in the Christian faith will come back to walk faithfully with the LORD.  This is especially true, when we raise up our children to see and know our love and faithfulness to the LORD first of all, and also to our children, as we seek to raise them up in the nurtur...

Part 3 of Dr. Bryan Chapell's message on, "Celebrating Generations, " where he continues to lay out the changing demographic shifts in the Church across North America, particularly here in the USA, post Covid.  Even though lower numbers across generations have come back to church and are attending church less regularly, there is still great hope.  Statistically, the majority of salv...

Dr. Bryan Chapell continues with the second part of his message on 'Celebrating Generations.' After COVID, there was one group of people who came back to the church in even greater numbers than before. Who are they? They are the millennial generation who now have their own children. Dr. Bryan Chapell walks us through this culture shift post-COVID, but also highlights the open door for th...

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...