The Abrahamic Covenant of Genesis 12:1–3 promises God’s blessing to nations who remember and support the nation of Israel: “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

Since the modern rebirth of Israel in 1948, the United States has stood as her ally and willingly assisted in her defense. I believe our support for Israel is one reason God has so generously blessed our nation.

In recent days, however, we’ve seen a change in spirit toward Israel. Our current administration evidenced dwindling support when dinner plans at the White House suddenly changed while hosting Israel as the following news article relates: (more…)

Prayer is the amazing line God has provided for direct access to His throne. D.L. Moody once said, “Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer.” Truly, it is a resource we should avail ourselves of continually.

Sometimes, however, we jam this line of communication and prohibit our prayers from being answered. Dr. John R. Rice often spoke of the hindrances to prayer. Below is a list of seven. (more…)

For twenty years, Lancaster has been a city of prayer with the city council opening its meetings in prayer. After a threat by the ACLU regarding this practice (especially as some prayers are given in the name of Christ), Mayor Rex Parris initiated ballot Measure I in the April 12 municipal elections. The measure read: “In response to a recent complaint, with respect to the invocations that contained reference to Jesus Christ, shall the City Council continue its invocation policy in randomly selecting local clergy of different faiths to deliver the invocation without restricting the content based on their beliefs, including references to Jesus Christ?” (more…)

Last week was another wonderful opportunity in ministry here at Lancaster Baptist Church and West Coast Baptist College as we hosted the annual  West Coast Baptist Youth Conference. Teenagers came from across America and from several foreign countries to be challenged spiritually with this year’s theme on “The Power of God.”

We are thankful for like-minded parents, pastors, and youth pastors who allow us annually the privilege of influencing their young people for the cause of Jesus Christ. There were many highlights of this conference, including a record attendance, a record number of young people accepting Christ as Saviour, and a record number of young people surrendering their lives to full time ministry.

But for many of us here at Lancaster Baptist Church, the highlight was hearing the message preached by our son and Sr. High youth pastor, Brother Larry Chappell. (more…)

What a joy it is to have our campus filled with teenagers for Youth Conference this week. And what a joy to encourage young people to see what God can do in and through their lives when they yield to Him.

Our theme this year is “The Power of God,” and we’ve already seen His power at work in hundreds of lives during this conference. (more…)