THE POPULATION OF THE WORLD

In 2014 the MIT physicist Max Tegmark argues in “Our Mathematical Universe” that mathematics is the fundamental world reality that drives the universe. As I would say, mathematics is operating in a god-like fashion.

The population of the world, based upon the Berlin census reports of 1922, was found to be 1,804,187,000.

The human race must double itself 30.75 times to make this number, and remember this, we have tripled that number from 1922 for we are at app 7 – 8  billion people right now.

The following computations confirms this result merely from common sense:

At the beginning of the first period of doubling there would just be two human beings;

The second, 4;

The third, 8;

The fourth, 16;

The tenth, 1024;

The twentieth 1,048,576,

The thirtieth, 1,073,741,824; and

The thirty-first, 2,147,483,648.

In other words, if we raise two to the thirtieth power, we have 1,073,741,824; or to the thirty-first power, 2,147,483,648 Therefore, it is evident even to the school boy, that, to have the present population of the globe, the net population must be doubled more than thirty times and less than thirty-one times. We find it to be 30.75 times. After all allowances are made for natural deaths, wars, catastrophes, and losses of all kinds, if the human race would double its numbers 30.75 times, we would have the population of the globe in 1922.

Now, according to the chronology of Hales, based on the Septuagint text, 5077 years have elapsed since the flood, and 5177 years (Apparently one of these numbers is incorrect) since the ancestors of mankind numbered only two, Noah and his wife. By dividing 5177 by 30.75, we find it requires an average of 168.3 years for the human race to double its numbers, in order to make the present population. This is a reasonable average length of time.

Moreover, it is singularly confirmed by the number of Jews, or descendants of Jacob. According to Hales, 3850 years have passed since the marriage of Jacob. By the same method of calculation as above, the Jews, who, according to the Jewish yearbook for 1922, numbered 15,393, 815, must have doubled their numbers 23.8758 times, or once every 161.251 years.

The whole human race, therefore, on an average has doubled its numbers every 168.3 years; and the Jews, every 161.251 years. What a fantastic agreement!

We would not expect the figure to be exactly the same nor be greatly surprised if one period were twice the other. But their correspondence singularly validates the age of the human race and of the Jewish people, as gathered from the word of God by the most proficient chronologists.

In other words, we can take certain groups of people, check their population growth for the same time period and find the numbers correspond very closely.

If the human race is 2,000,000 years old, the period of doubling would be 65,040 years, or 402 times that of the Jews, which, of course, is unthinkable.

What this means, if we consider there are 7.5 billion people on Earth right now, which there is, and the earth is human race is 2 million years old, the population would only have doubled once every 65,040 years.

This means if the first couple had two children, doubling the population, that it would be another 65,000 years before their children would have children, or they would have more children… just doesn’t seem plausible.

While the period of doubling may vary slightly in different ages, yet there are few things as stable and certain as general average, where large numbers and many years are considered, as in the present case. No life insurance company, acting on general average statistics, ever failed on that account. The Jews and the whole human race have lived together the same thirty-eight centuries with very little intermarriage, and are affected by similar advantages and disadvantages, making the comparison remarkably fair.

Also, the 25,000,000 descendants of Abraham must have doubled their numbers every 162.275 years, during the 3,988 years since the birth of his son Ishmael. These periods of doubling which tally so closely, 168.3 years for the whole race, 161.251 for the Jews, and 162.275 years for the descendants of Abraham, cannot be a mere coincidence, but are a demonstration against the great age of man required by evolution, and in favor of the 5,177 years since Noah. None of the other various chronologies would make any material difference in these calculations. The correspondence of these figures, 168.3, 161.251 and 162.275 is so remarkable that it must bring the conviction to every serious student that the flood destroyed mankind and Noah became the head of the race.

Now the evolutionists claim that the human race is 2,000,000 years old. There is no good reason for believing that, during all these years the developing dominant species would not increase as rapidly as the Jews, or the human race in historic times, especially since the restraints of civilization and marriage did not exist. But let us generously suppose that these remote ancestors, beginning with one pair, doubled their numbers in 1612.51 years one-tenth as rapidly as the Jews, or 1240 times in 2,000,000 years. If we raise 2 to the 1240th power, the result is 18,932,139,737,991 with 360 figures following. The population of the world, therefore, would have been 18,932,139,737,991 decillion, decillion, decillion. decillion, decillion, decillion, decillion, decillion, decillion, decillion; or 18,932,139,737,991 vigintillion, vigintillion, vigintillion, vigintillion, vigintillion, vigintillion.

Or, let us suppose that man, the dominant species, originated from a single pair, only 100,000 years ago, the shortest period suggested by any evolutionist (and much too short for evolution) and that the population doubled in 1612.51 years, one-tenth the Jewish rate of net increase, a most generous estimate. The present population of the globe should be 4,660,210,253,138,204,300 or 2,527,570,733 additional people for every man, woman and child on the earth today! In these calculations, we have made greater allowances than any self-respecting evolutionist could ask without blushing. And yet withal, it is as clear as the light of day that the ancestors of man could not possibly have lived 2,000,000 or 1,000,000 or 100,000 years ago, or even 10,000 years ago; for if the population had increased at the Jewish rate for 10,000 years, it would be more than two billion times as great as it is. No guess that ever was made, or ever can be made, much in excess of 5177 years, can possibly stand as the age of man. The evolutionist cannot sidestep this argument by a new guess.

All these computations have been made upon the supposition that the human race sprang from one pair. If from many in the distant past, as the evolutionists assert, these bewildering figures must be enormously increased.

Yet we are gravely told that evolution is “science”. It is the wildest guess ever made to support an impossible theory.

That their guesses cannot possibly be correct, is proven also by approaching the subject from another angle. If the human race is 2,000,000 years old, and must double its numbers 30.75 times to make the present population, it is plain that each period for doubling would be 65,040 years, since 2,000,000 divided by 30.75 is equals 65,040. At that rate, there would be fewer than four Jews! If we suppose the race to have sprung from one pair 100,000 years ago, it would take 3252 years to double the population. At this rate, there would be five Jews!

Do we need any other demonstration that the evolution of man is an absurdity and impossibility? If the evolutionists endeavor to show that man may have descended from the brute, the population of the world conclusively shows that MAN CERTAINLY DID NOT DESCEND FROM THE BRUTE. If they ever succeed in showing that all Species of animals may have been derived from one primordial germ, it is impossible that man so came. He was created as the Bible declares, by the Almighty Power of God.

The testimony of all the experts in the famous Scopes trial in Tennessee (who escaped cross-examination) was to the effect that evolution was in harmony with some facts and therefore possibly true. The above mathematical calculations prove that the evolution of man was certainly not true. They fail to make their case even if we grant their claims. These figures prove the Bible story, and scrap every guess of the great age and the brute origin of man. It will be observed that the above calculations point to the unity of the race in the days of Noah, 5177 years ago, rather than in the days of Adam 7333 years ago, according to Hale’s chronology. If the race increased at the Jewish rate, not over 16,384 perished by the Flood, fewer than by many a modern catastrophe. This most merciful providence of God started the race anew with a righteous head.

Now, if there had been no flood to destroy the human race, then the descendants of Adam, in the 7333 years would have been 16,384 times the 1,804,187,000, or 29,559,799,808,000; or computed at the Jewish rate of net increase for 7333 years since Adam, the population would have been still greater, or 35,184,372,088,832. These calculations are in perfect accord with the Scripture story of the special creation of man, and the destruction of the race by a flood. Had it not been for the flood, the earth could not have sustained the descendants of Adam.

Is not this a demonstration a decisive and final witness against an old age earth using logic?

Men, we have covered a lot of numbers here which prove God created the world, and no other option is remotely possible.

We have proven that according to population growth, using actual numbers, that the only acceptable age of man started with a flood, and Noah, is the father of all people on the earth.

You now have even more irrefutable evidence there is a God, He created You and I and all things. But the point remains, when you have all the proof you need to absolutely believe without a shadow of doubt, and the bible, all scripture is God breathed, and absolutely true…

What will you do with it?

We must totally submit ourselves to God, in every sense of the word, giving up every facet, every desire, every sin, every doubt, every worry and leave it at the foot of the cross, pick up your cross and carry it, take the word to all the men who reside here, giving them the irrefutable proof, and the absolute truth that they can at least make an educated choice, not trusting in misguided teachers of the past.

Final observation, since 1922 the time used for this lesson, the population as risen to 7.6 billion people, more than tripling itself in app 90 years.

This is indication that the population is now growing exponentially. According to Harvard social biologist Edward O. Wilson, the earth has a maximum carrying capacity of 9 to 10 billion people before we run short of fresh water, and resources to feed the people. WE already see people starving in Africa known as the cradle of humanity.  As earlier stated, we are pushing 8 billion people on the earth, and we tripled population in less than 90 years, if we continue at that rate we should hit maximum levels in 20 – 30 years. And, honestly… less than that… and what will happen? Total Chaos?  We don’t have the answers do we?

first we offer proof from a mathematical  and logical point of view,  a biological point of view, scientific facts stated in the Bible that could not have been known by mankind at the time it was written, therefore requiring a higher intelligence, add to that the predictions of future events before they happened, which are now historical events, and we can compare the two providing again the evidence that the information given had to come from a higher intelligence… when we have done all that, we will still be able to continue showing evidence of the historically reliability of the bible that it has not changed and when you reach the end of your argument only a very foolish person would still reject God. The fact is, most people will be convinced by one or two of the facts you present, we just never know which facts will hit home with the person you are trying to lead to the narrow path.

After this mountain of proof… we then can also prove the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ… any person gaining this information is ready to accept the gospel, and embrace it, and live by it fully as humanly possible.

ZERO POPULATION GROWTH

This is the truth goal of the liberals, the leftist. But why?

First you must ask; do the liberals really care about homosexuals (if you answer honestly, you know they don’t) when they don’t care about the unborn child, willing to kill it fully realizing the pain the child suffers being literally ripped apart. The reason they support the homosexual lifestyle is they cannot reproduce which adds to their overall plan of zero population growth, and possibly a reduction in population. So, they not only support it, they encourage it by teaching children (and certain adults willing to accept it, even though it flies in the face of God’s laws) to accept it as “normal”.

They are in favor of mercy killings for the ill, and for allowing anyone over 80 to be allowed to die earlier than they should by withholding a medication that would keep them alive.

They are in favor of open boarders for the world? Why?  Because this gives an open door to all terrorists who will murder themselves to murder two or more additional people who they believe are infidels.

Why do the leaders in California resist the wall, and why do they release these foreign criminals back into the general population? To help in their small way to reduce the population.

So why do they hate Christians? Because we stand in the way of all the above methods of bringing the world to zero population growth, in fact a major section of Christians doesn’t believe in any form of birth control whatsoever.

Again, the question comes up… why is their goal population control?

Answer, because we will very soon reach the population level the earth cannot support with clean water and food. People in many parts of the world are already starving.

Since the 1920’s the world population has almost quadrupled, from just under 2 billion people to close to 8 billion people today.

How many people will the earth support?

Many scientists think Earth has a maximum carrying capacity of 9 billion to 10 billion people. [How Do You Count 7 Billion People?]

One such scientist, the eminent Harvard University sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson, bases his estimate on calculations of the Earth’s available resources. As Wilson pointed out in his book “The Future of Life” (Knopf, 2002), “The constraints of the biosphere are fixed.”

So, 10 billion people is the uppermost population limit where food is concerned. Because it’s extremely unlikely that everyone will agree to stop eating meat, Wilson thinks the maximum carrying capacity of the Earth based on food resources will most likely fall short of 10 billion.

https://www.livescience.com/16493-people-planet-earth-support.html

So, what this means is we are close to the end, maybe another 15 or 20 years, however things will start getting really bad long before that.

What about the Christians? Why are we willing to see this and not join in the move to “Save the Planet”?

Because we know who is in control, God! And, we are fairly certain that Christ will return soon due to all the signs predicting His return sometime in the near future.

In addition, we also know that none of us will leave this earth before God intends for us to leave, and none of us will stay one second longer than He intends… He is in full control.

Take a Tip from Lieutenant Columbo
Article ID: JAE296 | By: Greg Koukl
This article first appeared in the Effective Evangelism column of the Christian Research Journal, volume 29, number 06 (2006). For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org

Being an ambassador for Christ in the twenty‐first century requires more than having the right answers. It is too easy for postmoderns to ignore our facts, deny our claims, or simply yawn and walk away from the line we have drawn in the sand.

Sometimes, however, they do not walk away; instead, they stay and fight. We wade into battle only to face a return barrage that we cannot handle. Caught off balance, we retreat in humiliation, maybe for good.

I would like to suggest another approach. Jesus said when you find yourself a sheep amidst wolves, be innocent, but be shrewd. This calls for a tactical approach.

“Do You Mind If I Ask You a Question?” My favorite approach is what I call the “Columbo” tactic. It is the simplest device imaginable to stop a challenger in his tracks, turn the tables, put you in the driver’s seat, and, more important, get him thinking. This tactic is typified by Lieutenant Columbo, the bumbling and seemingly inept television detective whose remarkable success was based on an innocent query: “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

Jesus used this method. When facing a hostile crowd He often asked challenging or leading questions meant to challenge His detractors: “Was the baptism of John from Heaven or from men?…Show Me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” (Luke 20:4, 24 NIV).

The key to this tactic is going on the offense with carefully planned and selected questions that move the discussion along in an interactive way. It is best played out Columbo style—halting, head‐scratching, and apparently harmless.

Simply put, instead of making assertions, ask questions. The Columbo tactic is a lot of fun and it offers tremendous advantages. For one, questions are interactive by nature and invite others to participate. They are neutral, so no “preaching” is involved; you are not arguing, but asking, gathering information. Carefully placed questions also shift the burden of proof (i.e., the responsibility to defend or give evidence for a view) to the other person where it often belongs. The most effective questions either gain information or reverse the burden of proof.

“What Do You Mean by That?” Sometimes you need more information to know how to proceed, so your initial probe will be open‐ended. The most efficient type of question you can ask in most circumstances is a clarification question —some variation of “What do you mean?”—that encourages the person to explain more about what she thinks. It is a natural opening with absolutely no pressure when delivered in a mild and genuinely inquisitive fashion.

For example, when someone declares, “There is no God,” you can ask, “What do you mean by God?” (in other words, “What particular idea of God are you rejecting?”). When someone asserts, “All religions are basically the same,” you can ask, “Really? What do you mean by the same?” (i.e., “In what way?”). When someone objects, “You shouldn’t force your views on me,” you can ask, “Specifically, what am I doing to force my views on you right now?” (then perhaps, “How is that forcing my views?”). When someone states, “The Bible has been changed over the years,” you can ask, “What in the Bible has been changed?” (specifically, “How exactly do you think it has been altered?”).

Questions like these accomplish several important things. First, they immediately engage the other person in friendly conversation. Second, they flatter the other person, because questions show that you are genuinely interested in the person’s view. Third, they compel that person to think more carefully— maybe for the first time—about what exactly she means. Finally, questions uncover valuable information, revealing precisely what the person thinks so that you do not misunderstand or misrepresent her view.

It is important to pay attention to the person’s response. If it is unclear, follow up with more questions. Say, “Let me see if I understand you on this,” then restate the view back to her to make sure you have it right.

Some time ago, while on vacation in Wisconsin, my wife and I were at a one‐hour photo store being helped by a woman who had a large pentagram (a five‐pointed star generally associated with the occult) dangling from her neck.

“Does that have religious significance,” I asked, “or is it just jewelry?”

“It has religious significance,” she answered. “The five points stand for earth, wind, fire, water, and spirit. I’m a pagan.”

My wife, unaware that pagan referred to Wicca (witchcraft) and earth worship, laughed in amazement at what seemed like a remarkably candid confession. “I’ve never heard anyone actually admit outright that they were pagan,” she explained. She knew the term only as a pejorative that her friends use when yelling at their children: “Get in here, you little pagans!”

“It’s an earth religion,” the woman explained, “like the Native Americans’.”

“So you’re Wiccan?” I asked. She nodded. Noticing a piece of jewelry and asking a simple question about it, a variation of “What do you mean by that?” led to a productive conversation.

“How Did You Come to That Conclusion?” The first Columbo question helps you know what another person thinks. To know why he thinks that way takes a second question: “How did you come to that conclusion?” An alternate might be, “Why do you say that?” or “What are your reasons for believing that?”

These questions charitably assume that the person actually has thought through the issue carefully and not just made assertions or expressed his feelings. They accomplish something else vitally important: they force the other person to give an account for his beliefs. The basic rule that governs exchanges like these is: the person making the claim bears the burden of proof.

Here is why this is so important. Christians should not be the only ones who have to defend what they believe. Reject the impulse to counter every assertion someone manufactures. Do not try to refute every tale spun out of thin air. It is not your job to answer his claim; rather, it is his job to defend it.

For example, I once was a guest on a secular talk‐radio show in Los Angeles where I made a case for intelligent design over evolution. When a caller used the Big Bang theory to argue against a Creator, I said that if there was a Big Bang, it worked in my favor. A Big Bang needs a Big “Banger,” it seemed to me.

The caller disagreed. The Big Bang does not need God, he claimed. Then leading off with the phrase, “One could say…,” he spun a lengthy science‐fiction tale for the audience about how everything came from nothing.

“You’re right,” I responded. “‘One could say’ anything he wants, but giving good reasons why we should believe the story you just told is another thing altogether.”

It was not my job to disprove his fairy tale. He bore the burden of proof for his own claim. It was his job to show why anyone should take his something‐from‐nothing fantasy seriously.

The Professor’s Ploy. The Columbo tactic is especially effective in the classroom. Some professors are fond of taking pot‐shots at Christianity with remarks like, “The Bible is just a bunch of fables.” Wellmeaning believers sometimes accept the challenge and attempt a head‐to‐head duel with the professor. This rarely works.

The rule of engagement that governs exchanges like these is: the person with the microphone wins. The professor always has the strategic advantage. It is foolish to get into a power struggle when you are outgunned. There is a better way: use your tactic.

Simply ask your Columbo questions: “Professor, what do you mean by that?” and “How did you come to that conclusion?” Make him shoulder the burden of proof. After all, he is the teacher, and he is the one making the claim. With this approach you are able to stay engaged while deftly sidestepping the power struggle.

The professor may sense your tactical maneuver and respond, “Oh, you must be one of those fundamentalists who thinks the Bible is inspired by God. Okay, I’m a fair man. Why don’t you take a few minutes and prove that to the rest of the class?”

In one quick move he has cleverly shifted the burden of proof back on you, the student. If you find yourself facing the challenge to “prove me wrong,” don’t take the bait! Falling into this trap is fatal; instead, shift the burden back on the professor where it belongs. After all, he made the claim.

Respond this way: “Professor, you don’t know what my own view is because I haven’t mentioned it. More to the point, it’s irrelevant. It doesn’t matter what I believe. I’m just a student. I’m here to learn. You’ve made a controversial claim. I simply want clarification and reasons, that’s all.” If he gives you an answer, thank him for explaining himself and either ask another question or let it go for the time being.

Do not miss this point: the Christian does not have to be the expert on everything. If we keep the burden of proof on the person who is making a claim, we do not have to have all the answers. In fact, we can be effective even when we know very little—if we ask the right questions.

Staying in the Driver’s Seat. Asking simple, leading questions is an effortless way to make capital of a conversation for spiritual ends without seeming abrupt, rude, or pushy. Questions are engaging and interactive, probing yet amicable. Most important, they keep you in the driver’s seat while someone else does all the work.

When someone says to you, “The Bible has been changed so many times” or “No one can know the truth about religion” or “All religions are basically the same,” do not retreat in silence; instead, simply raise your eyebrows and ask, “Oh? What do you mean by that?” and “How did you come to that conclusion?”

Most critics are not well equipped to defend their own claims. They rarely have thought through what they believe and have relied more on generalizations and slogans than on careful reflection. To expose this weakness, take your cue from Lieutenant Columbo: scratch your head, rub your chin, pause for a moment, then say, ”Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

— Gregory Koukl

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Faith

Prison Sermon by Jim Carmichael

May 2017

What is faith

What does Faith consist of?

I would like to start by giving a description of faith as I have observed it in Scripture, and we will start in Genesis 2:7 for you see, I see patterns in everything and I see a pattern set before us in the very beginning.

Genesis 2:7  And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

God, formed the Body, and then breathed life (himself, for God is life) into the body, and from these two elements, came a living soul.

Let me illustrate this, if we have nails and boards, and assemble them in a certain way we will have a box, remove the nails, and we no longer have a box. It takes the combination of the two elements for the third element, namely the box to exist.

It takes the two elements; the body, and the spirit for the living soul to exist.

By now you’re wondering what this has to do with faith, so lets look at James 2:28 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also

James just compared works to the spirit, and again in Revelation 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.

God gave the spirit…

And where do the works come from?

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The pattern? The body when it receives the spirit becomes a living soul, the belief when it receives the works, becomes a living faith.

So, let’s make this statement when the element of Belief and the Element of Works come together comes the third element:  a living Faith.

Faith is the most crucial foundational pillar of our Christian life. All rests upon this one attribute, having faith.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (NKJV)

It is a fundamental duty

John 6:28-29 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”(NKJV)

And, Christ says;

In 1 John 2:3  Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.(NKJV)

So is it just hearing? Or might there be more, or maybe the word hearing has a little more depth to it than just hearing someone talking about it.

Just as belief has a little more substance to it than just believing, for even the demons believe, but are not saved, no they tremble…

James 2:14-17 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead..(NKJV)

James 1: 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.…

So we learn from these two verses we shouldn’t expect to receive anything from God if we doubt, and any faith without works is dead, and we can’t expect to be saved with a dead faith, so without works we should not expect to receive anything from the Lord… And yet, there is so much we do want to receive from Him isn’t there, we want Him to hear our prayers, and we want them answered, generally for a desired result, but we must expect and accept a no occasionally.

There is one thing we want from faith we do not talk about much, and that is the moment to moment peace of mind that all is well, God is in His place and overseeing our activity, and that no matter what happens it will be to his perfection and our eventual benefit, and that when that fateful day arrives, that last day on this earth, we know we do not have to fear it, for we have that total conviction; that absolute knowledge where our next place in eternity is… heaven.

Many here seek freedom, but are you seeking the true freedom, the true freedom is in God, and eventually eternal life in heave.

Psalm 56:3 Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You(NKJV)

We want that faith, just as the apostles did;

Luke 17:5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”(NKJV)

2 Corinthians 5 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Galatians 5: 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

Hebrews 11 as most of us knows gives example after example of those who walked in faith, and what their act of faith was, and we must follow their examples.

So, we want God to hear us, but how do we gain that faith, that faith that is stronger than ajax as the old saying goes.

We want God to do it for us, just to give it to us, and to some extent He will, but as in everything else, action is required on both parts. And we also know there is a growing, we grow in our faith.

Well, we already know we must do works for our faith to be a living faith, and when it is living we need to know how to strengthen it, what our part is, that is.

I had a person tell me once to never pray for added faith, that is when trouble comes, because that is often how God strengthens us, is by testing us, pulling us, pushing us, and so on. I read a story about faith once that included a story about a hatching egg, if you help the chick out of the egg by breaking the shell for it, the chick will not survive, it is the struggle to get out of the egg, breaking through the shell that gives it the strength it needs to survive, and that is how faith is strengthened, through struggle.

So go ahead and pray for faith, and when difficulty arrives at your door, just thank God He has heard your prayer.

Most of you know my focus here is teaching classes on apologetics, which is the Greek word for apologia which means to give a legal or logical defense. This also increases faith, strengthens it because it gives us that intellectual knowledge and power to defend what we believe, not only to the non-believer, but to ourselves during moments of doubt. At those times, instead of falling back we can fall forward, knowing beyond any doubt the bible is provable to be the inspired word of God. Our faith, our belief, is not a blind faith, no it is based upon solid historical, scientific, and prophetic facts, unshakable facts, undeniable facts… it is the truth.

With all that said, I want to take a look at another path to faith, knowing the word. It makes sense doesn’t it, we should know what it is we are defending? God gives us wisdom…. How? Maybe by the inspiration to study His word. To know it so well that it is literally a part of us, that it becomes part of our DNA.

I recently had my DNA checked for genealogical purposes, and wouldn’t it have been cool if it said I was not only 25% Scottish, and Irish, 50% French/ German, 10% Spanish and Portuguese’s, and less than 1% African, Jewish,  but also 100 % Christian, well that’s a physical DNA, and I bet if we could have our Spiritual DNA checked we would find out we are 100% Christian… Sons and Daughters of God….

In the beginning I quoted Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.(NKJV)

How do we seek Him? What is the most basic way to learn about God, or for that matter anything at all?

Study the words written about the subject, and in this case God is the inspiration of every word written in this book we refer to as the scripture.

So let’s take a look at what the scripture tells us about studying the word.

Principles Governing Kings

Deuteronomy 17:14 “When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

18 “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

Growing in the Faith:

How strongly does God feel about us knowing His word?

Deuteronomy 6: 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 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. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 27:8 And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.”

2 Corinthians 3:3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

Has anyone here ever stated they knew a song by heart? It means by memory doesn’t it, and it the same here, know it by memory.

We are told to have the words on our hearts… First Question… Why?

1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. 5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.

We are told to have the words on our hearts… 2^nd Question… how do we get them on our hearts? And, I am talking about the scripture, we all know we can’t just hold the bible up to our head and all of a sudden we know them…. And there are very few who can just read the word and retain it, in fact the average is around 8 times that you must read the bible to even start grasping it… so let me share something with you from outside scripture about physically writing something, so that it becomes engraved upon your heart, in other words, committed to memory…

Writing and Remembering: Why We Remember What We Write

Dustin Wax

The following are excerpts from the actual blog:

In a nutshell he writes in his blog after a study he performed on memory, he found that those who take notes and those who don’t

1. both remember about 40% of what they hear, however those taking notes remember the key points, those who don’t take notes remember random pieces of information.
2. Writing something down helps us to remember (I was once told by a school principal that I should use blue or green ink, it helps in the memory department, and to write in caps or small caps).
3. When we take notes, though, something happens. As we’re writing, we create three-dimensional relations between the various bits of information we are recording.
4. 3-D tasks are handled by another part of the brain, and the act of linking the verbal information with the 3-D relationship seems to filter out the less relevant or important information
5. What this and other tests suggest is that when we write — before we write, although indistinguishably so — we are putting some degree of thought into evaluating and ordering the information that we are receiving.
6. That process, and not the notes themselves, is what helps fix ideas more firmly in our minds, leading to greater recall down the line.
7. But there’s something else going on, too.
8. When we write something down, research suggests that as far as our brain is concerned, it’s as if we were doing that thing.
9. Writing seems to act as a kind of mini-rehearsal for doing.
10. visualizing doing something can “trick” the brain into thinking it’s actually doing it, and writing something down seems to use enough of the brain to trigger this effect.
11. Again, this leads to greater memorization, the same way that visualizing the performance of a new skill can actually improve our skill level.

How does this help our faith

It was when I spent hours every morning just writing scripture that I found the most joy, and beyond that, I can honestly say it was exciting like a great adventure, and it was this activity that led me from being a pew warmer, to being active in the church, to do what I could to obey the sacred duty to take the word to the world as commanded in Matthew 28: 18 – 20 and to do it without fear, on the contrary with great courage, and excitement.

It is this one activity that helped my faith grow more than all other activities, and by the way, it is one of the works, and commands of Christ.

Let’s recap and call it a night:

Belief and Works are the two components of Faith

Pray for additional faith and expect the trouble that follows that will strengthen your faith

Know how to defend the faith, and by the way we are teaching apologetics right here in this room on Monday mornings starting around 9:15

Physically write the words on paper so they have a better chance of being “written” on your hearts/

The result will be a well-rounded three-dimensional unshakeable faith, the faith needed to be heard by God, the knowledge needed to be heard by other inmates, the Faith needed to get you through the moment to moment trials you face, the Faith needed to please God, the Faith needed to keep you on the narrow path to lead to eternal life in heaven where there will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more death.

And, I’ll see you there.

Transcript of the September 2016 Prison Sermon by Jim Carmichael

Grace be to God that I am able to stand before you this evening and share His word with you.  

if you possess a certain level of common sense, once something is proven to you to be true beyond a shadow of a doubt,

especially when it concerns your eternal well-being, seeking that truth should become a passion in your life.

The bible gives us an example of just how strong that passion should be:

Psalm 42:1 (For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.) As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?…

Genesis 2: 7 Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. God is life, and He imparted life to us, now think how much you would desire that breath of life if you were drowning.

This should be our goal, to seek God with this kind of overwhelming passion.

But we can’t just choose to, at least I couldn’t, we have to have a conviction, a true ironclad conviction that God does exist, and did create the world.

 Let me define Science;            Science means knowledge.

There are two forms of science

There is true science we call observable science. WE call it true because we can see evidence of it.

We can see the result of a thing happening, such as arriving upon an accident about 5 minutes after it occurred. We didn’t see the accident, but we see two cars smashed together and can safely assume there was indeed a car accident because it is based upon observable evidence.

On the other hand, we have false science, or pseudo-science, more commonly known as scientific theory.

Now pseudo-science would be like saying, I believe an accident has occurred here, even though there are no witnesses, no wreckage, and no real reason to think so.

There is no way to prove scientific theory, because there are no witnesses, and no evidence, and in fact may even contradict real science.

We can go back to the accident, and instead of thinking an accident had occurred we would try to convince people that what appeared to be an accident was actually just an act of nature, both wrecked cars just developed through time. That would be contrary to observable evidence, wouldn’t it?

That is precisely what the theory of evolution attempts to do with observable evidence of creation, even though all the evidence points towards creation, the evolutionist wants to tell us even though it appears to be creation, it really just occurred through small mutations over millions of years.

 How can we know the bible is truly inspired by God? And, can it possibly be proven?

The answer is; God gave us two witnesses to this fact, many years before they could stand as witnesses.

The prophesies, which is man making predictions of future events of which they could not have had any knowledge of in advance, no way of knowing what or why they were predicting it, all they knew was God was telling them to write it down, and they did.

The second was having them write what would become observable science/ knowledge thousands of years in advance. They were writing things they could have had no idea of what it meant, and no man could have until recent years with the development of technology, and true science.

These are our two witnesses that offer us testimony to the fact that God must have told them what to write, and they did, it had to be the inspired word of God, there is simply no other option.

I normally do not study prophesies concerning end-time events, however I do want to look at a couple of those prophesies.

1 Timothy 6:20 warns us of a false doctrine, and false teachers stating that those would come who would profess profanity and idle babblings that actually contradict true, or observable science/ knowledge.

 That time has come, and a great delusion has swept the earth which was also predicted

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Today a great lie has covered the earth, the theory of evolution which contradicts observable evidence, yet is taught worldwide as fact, and many just accept this without investigation.

There are only two options on how we came to exist: Either through evolution, or creation.

There can only be one absolute truth regarding the beginning, not two. One is supported by observable evidence the other is not.

Did it ever occur to you that if we can prove just one fact that had to come from God, that is all that required to “prove” His existence, but I will tell you now, He has given us a thousand ways, and the theory of evolution has given us none, yet people flock to it.

Why, for evolution eliminates the need for Christ, there is nothing to be forgiven for, we just developed this way, there is nothing after this life, no hell that burns forever.

The problem with that idea is that you might not believe a bus is barreling down on you when in reality it is, but if you don’t move, believe it or not, you are going to be squashed.

Whether you believe in hell or not, if you do not accept the truth, with a passion and live by it, and teach it to others, you will be hit by it, and there will be no recourse, and it will continue forever.

I would like to explain something to you, we have all kinds of proof that creation is the only answer, from the study of the cosmos, the earth, and the human body. We use these facts very often in an attempt to “prove” creation, but at each and every turn, at every example those who believe in the lie will have a counter, and generally it will be “given enough time” and all things could have occurred by chance.

So what is the answer? Using these facts as the observable science, the true knowledge, that even the atheist will not refute… for it is science… observable science and compare it to the bible in order to verify the bible is in line with that same observable science.

So where does the proof lie?

When we can demonstrate the bible stated the observable facts long before they were observable, information given to man before he would have had any idea of why he was writing it, then we are establishing a higher power must have been in play, and we are going to look at a few examples of this evidence this evening.

The earth was designed for biological life. (Isaiah 45:18) Isaiah 45:18 For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.

Scientist have discovered that the most fundamental characteristics of our earth and cosmos are so finely tuned that if just one of them were even slightly different, life as we know it couldn’t exist. This is called the Anthropic Principle and it agrees with the Bible which states that God formed the earth to be inhabited.

I hope you see the connection, God created the earth to be inhabited, and it is so finely tuned that life couldn’t have existed as we know it without the fine tuning.

Let’s go to Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth.

Satan just adds two words, In the beginning God did not create the heavens and Earth.

Just as he only changed one word in the Garden, he caused the fall of man, he now changes two words, and hopes to seal our fate… eternity in the lake of fire with him and his demons.

In the beginning God revealed Himself to early man. It was obvious enough that He told them to write, and they wrote without question, writing things they had no idea of their meaning.

So let’s take a look at them and see if they agree with observable science.

God told them in Genesis 1: 14-16 That He had created the lights in the heavens for signs, seasons, days and years. We know now that it takes one full year of time for the earth to make one trip around the Sun, and during that year the seasons changed due to their position in relationship to the Sun. The phases of the moon follow one another with clock like precision constituting the lunar calendar, and in Job 38:12,14 The picture here is of a clay vessel being turned or rotated upon the potter’s wheel – an accurate analogy of the earth’s rotation. Luke 17:34-36 says the second coming of Jesus Christ will occur while some are asleep at night, and others are working at daytime activities in the field. This is another clear indication of a revolving earth, with day and night occurring at the same time. And, here is your first example of the bible agreeing with observable science.

Now, we have covered the seasons, the day’s, the year, and even the calendar with the earth tuning on its axis, but what about that first reason given for those lights? For signs. Now many think this has to do with astrology, but God commands us not to use the stars for predicting the future Isaiah 47:13 “You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you.”,

yet He gave them as signs, so what could those signs be for?

Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Increased when? In the end. Do we have a great increase in knowledge now?

This verse is a great witness to the fact that God has concealed the meaning of this book until the “time of the end”.  To “shut up” means to hide, keep secret or conceal.  This is a common methodology of God found throughout the Bible.  God has hidden information for us to find.   This information is revealed by the Spirit of God at the proper time.  For some scriptures it was during the time of the Apostles and Paul when God revealed vast amounts of new revelation.  But, it is also for our time based upon this verse in Daniel, that we live in right now.

So I want to go over this really quickly, in the beginning God revealed Himself to early man, a burning bush, To Noah on how to build the Ark (by the way, the dimensions of the ark turned out to be the perfect dimensions for large sea going cargo vessels, one of those revealed scientific facts) To Moses, with his ten plagues, parting of the red sea.

Later with Christ revealing Himself as God in the flesh performing miracles of healing and raising the dead, and rising from the dead Himself.

And now us, He is revealing Himself with this great increase of knowledge, so we can know and recognize Him. So we can accept Him, so we can have our witness, in order to gain eternal life.

the new technology has revealed many things in scripture that proves it to be in accordance with observable science.

Let’s go a little further. These lights in the heaven are stars; In Genesis 17:22 and Hebrews 11:12 God states that the stars are comparable to the sands of the sea. Modern day scientist estimates the number of stars as very comparable to the number of pebbles of sand on the sea shore.

In Jeremiah 33:22 God says they are incalculable. At a time when less than 5,000 stars were visible to the human eye, God stated they were incalculable. It was not until the 17^th century that Galileo invented the telescope and got a glimpse into the immensity of our universe, today astronomers estimate that there are 10,000 billion trillion stars (that’s a 1 with 25 “0”’s following it), and as the bible states, they also say this estimate might be “woefully” inadequate.

The bible agrees with observable science. Although the number of stars are immense, and incalculable the scientists state that the number is finite, which also agrees with the bible which states that in Isaiah 40:26, and in Psalms 147:4 God counts them and calls them by name… we serve an awesome God.

In Job 38: 31 The Pleiades and Orion star clusters are described. The Pleiades star cluster is bound gravitationally while the Orion star cluster is loose and disintegrating, the clusters gravity isn’t strong enough to hold the group together, yet God asked Job 4,000 years ago” Can you bind the cluster of Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion?” Yet, it is only recently that we realized that the Pleiades is gravitationally bound, but Orion’s stars are flying apart.

Let’s look at a star very familiar to us… The Sun… goes in a circuit. We found this in Palms 19:6. Some scientist scoffed at this verse thinking it taught geocentricity, that the Sun traveled around the Earth, and insisted the Sun was stationary, yet we now know that the Sun travels through space at 600,000 miles per hour. It is literally moving through a huge circuit in space, just as the bible stated 3,000 years ago.

 Of course what do stars do? Provide light, so….

Let’s go a little further, 4000 years ago God declared that light had its way in Job 38:19. In the original language the word used here was Derrick, which means road or path, and more accurately a road or path traveled. Job wrote this at a time when it was thought that light traveled instantaneously, we now know that light is a form of energy that travels at 186,000 miles a second in a straight line, and as the bible says, in complete agreement with observable science, light has its way.

And moving to Job 38:24 the bible states that light can be divided, and it wasn’t until about 400 years ago that Sir Isaac Newton decided to study light and discovered that white light was made of 7 colors that could be divided, and then reunited. Science confirmed this 400 years ago, but God declared it 4 millennia ago.

Let’s wrap this up with one more example, staying in Job 38, going to verse 35 God says light can be sent, and then manifest itself in speech. We now know that light waves and radio waves are merely two forms of the same thing, electromagnetic waves. Therefore, radio waves are merely a form of light, and by using a radio transmitter, we can send lightening’s, and they will indeed manifest themselves in speech.

As should be obvious, these are things that could have only been known by God when they were written, and they have been revealed to us in these days of increased knowledge, and written at an earlier time so we could confirm the truth of God.

We lived in a blessed time.  There are app 2,500 predictions of the future in the bible almost all fulfilled except for a few end-time prophesies, and hundreds of these scientific facts proving the bible lines up perfectly with observable science.

We didn’t even touch the tip of the preverbal iceberg… it’s an exciting journey for anyone who decides to take it… it gives you an iron clad faith, which will instill in you a passion for seeking God and his truth.

So, you can have your witnesses, your two witnesses of the end times, and you can know you live in the final days. God’s word is provable, and by that fact we know trustworthy to be true, every word…. And the increase in knowledge, the description that covers the earth, all tell us we are in the end days… the very end days.

Now I am going to wrap this up with two more verses: To me the two scariest verses in the Bible.

Revelation 3:15 -17 15I   know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other. 16 So because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of My mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.…

James 1: 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Studying apologetics, becoming a student of it, along with solid biblical knowledge will give you an ironclad faith, that faith will cause a passion in you to share the word with everyone who will listen.

And, you will have an unstoppable power to defend the word against the most aggressive atheist that might attack you.

So why are we studying this? Because many people have no idea of the truth of the scripture. They have had no background training, and all they have heard that bible is just a bunch of nonsense, full of lies, because they have been taught evolution is the true answer for the reason we are here.

They have been deceived. If not taught the true knowledge, they face an eternity in damnation, and if only for a teacher they could have eternal life.

Let’s be that teacher. We have to defend the bible, and from what? From the ignorance of the world that now believes in the theory, the pseudo-science of evolution, and to do that we must have solid, honest, provable information.  Thank you for your time.

by Michael Geiger

(Michael is a prisoner at the Dick Conner's Correctional Center in Hominy OK. This is a message he posted to the G-1 newsletter, an inside newsletter dedicated to the Christian movement, by the prisoners)

I don’t know how, but music can really open the heart of emotions. We see the devil at work every time we turn on the TV, in movies, and in games, yet, I see more movies about faith and JESUS than I ever have before. Then I see a new age of passion.

My hope is that those who have doubt and do not believe, now believe. JESUS told Thomas “Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

We all have a call from GOD. As Scripture says, we all have talents that GOD has blessed us with, but we need to take hold and accept those gifts and talents.

GOD can and will move in our lives if we will allow HIM to. JESUS said for us to take heart because HE has overcome the world (the devil).

Take heart in all we do and give glory to GOD in all things, whether good or bad. GOD is with us and has our best interest, at heart.

I pray the message of GOD will be spread by you as well. GOD bless.

Park Plaza Prison Ministry Report 06/15/16

Tulsa County Jail. On Pace to deliver 5,000 Classroom lessons this year into David L. Moss or Tulsa Co. Jail.  Jim Pinkston & Francisco Davila teach the men. Ron Babbet teaches with us men when his schedule allowes.  Four ladies go to the women’s pods every Friday for the last two and one half years, to teach.  Elaine Russell, Carol Siling, Teresa Hawkins and Alison Valentine. Jody Gilkey’s job has caused her to take a break from this ministry for a while.  We have just received permission to teach in the third POD #18 on Thursday afternoons. This will have us teaching in all the lady pods. Carl Moore and Zeth Parkhurst have finished the training and have received their badges. Zeph is teaching with Jim and the hearing impaired. On June 11, 2016 over 100 inmates were baptized at DLM. 79 were the students of the Park Plaza Prison Ministry. Bill Hamrick, Ron Hass and Ralph Hunter Church of Christ preachers also go into DLM between us all the men’s pods are visited each week. So far this year Park teachers have baptized 233 precious souls into Christ at the jail

Creek Co. Jail is a new work started by Terry. He takes Celebrate Recovery into the jail every Monday and on Friday afternoon New Life Behavior.  Due to this ministry going into Creek County, The inmates there studied salvation and 107 were baptized into Christ. Over 20 of these are Terry’s students.  The last time Creek held baptisms was 5 years prior to these. David Stikes now has his badge and is teaching there.

John H. Lilly Correctional Center.  Terry teaches New Life Behavior, Thinking for a change, and sponsors Celebrate Recovery. He is also the Assistant Chaplin. Roger Bentley has received his training and got his badge and has started helping Terry at John Lilly. Bryan Campbell is helping on Saturdays with CR. On Wednesday April 13, 2016 Terry baptized two men into Christ.

Dick Connors Correctional Center.  Jim has worked there since 1990. Elaine started a couple of years later. Jim teaches NLB Lessons and CASA.  He also teaches in the faith based unit and preaches there four evenings each month. Tuesday night Oct.20, 2015 one inmate was baptized during the service the Park Plaza Prison Ministry did. On November 4 another young man was baptized into Christ. Jim and Jody Carmichael, Elaine Russell help and Booker leads singing when he can. Jim’s wife Jean now has her badge and is going with the group to the services there. So far this year we have had four baptisms there.

Prison Apologetics:

Jim Carmichael is about to complete the first course in Christian Apologetic training at Dick Conners Correctional Center. This class will be continued, and we will be starting a new session very soon.

Correspondence. 35 packages of 6 to 7 lessons mailed to many prisons in Oklahoma.  Every two weeks = 228 lessons x 2 = 456 per month or 5,472 per year.  We have several helpers that show up every other Tuesday night to grade all of these and get them ready to mail. John Ulrich is helping with this work each week. Many of these are people we studied with at Tulsa and Creek County Jail and have gone on to prison. This is one way we keep up with them.

Re-entry program. (Hope City) It houses four men at this time.  Randy Milam is the onsite manager.  We have the space for five.  Two units are being remodeled to where it can handle seven.  We also have a RV that is being plumed at this time to where it can house one making the total eight.  One of these men (Bryan Campbell) is being trained to go into the prisons and be a full time minister like Jim Pinkston and Terry Finch.  He has a degree in bible and masters in drug & alcohol counseling.  Through the ministry he was funded for these while incarcerated.  He will receive his badge in January. In the last year and one half over twenty men have been helped and are closer to Jesus because of this great ministry. Two of these men have their own business today and employ several ex-offenders.

Advisory Board.  The board is made up of eight men.  James Ivy, Ken Williams, Steve Stade, Scott Blackwell, Gary Medley, Mark Clayton, Randy Milam and Kevin Neiman.  Jim & Terry are the recruiters for the applicants.  The board decides who is approved to enter the reentry program.  They go by a set of guidelines approved by the Elders. The board also oversees the operation of the program.

Future Plans. To continue with the programs that are now being successful and just see where God leads us in 2016.

Baptisms from this work

2010                            94

2011                            109

2012                            139

2013                            259

2014                            406

2015                            382

2016 Jan Tulsa County 56 March Tulsa County 85 As of April 1 2016 Dick Connors 6 John Lilley At Boley 7. = 154 plus 79 at DLM 6-11-16 = 233 So Far in 2016

Total                          1622 Since 2010 That we know of.

To put this in perspective, 1622 would more than fill first & second service at Park Central. 

Impossible without your support.

“Jesus did it!!!”

THOSE WHO GO FOR SERVICES

 AT THE DIFFERENT PLACES

Jim Pinkston

Terry Finch  

Elaine Russell

Booker Murphy

Jerona Robey

Jim & Jody Carmichael

Francisco Davila

Carol Siling

Teresa Hawkins

Alison Valentine

Jody Gilkey

 NEW WORKS FOR 2016

Tulsa County Jail

Carl Moore & Zeth Parkhurst  have finished their training and will soon receive their badges. They will be teaching the hearing impaired at Tulsa County Jail.

Lori Varnell & Jan Upton have finished their training and will soon receive their badges. They will be teaching the ladies with the other Park Plaza ladies at Tulsa County Jail.

Creek County Jail

David Stikes & Jody Gilkey will soon receive their training and receive their badges and start teaching at the Jail.

JOHN H. LILLY CORRECTIONAL CENTER

Roger Bentley, Brian Campbell and John Ulrich will receive their badges and start teaching at this prison with Terry.

Dick Connors Correctional Center

Jim Pinkston has started teaching in the Faith Based Unit. This is a program where every inmate in the unit is a believer in God. The men stay in this unit for eighteen months and spend there time studying Gods word.

Jim’s wife Jean is getting her badge and will start going to Dick Connors with the group soon.

Jim Carmichael will start teaching Apologetics the first Monday of April. That is how to defend the Christian Faith.

New Classes will begin the first of July on Tuesdays.

Tulsa County Jail.

On Pace to deliver 5,000 Classroom lessons this year into David L. Moss or Tulsa Co. Jail.

Jim Pinkston & Francisco Davila teach the men.

Ron Babbet teaches with us men when his schedule allows.

Four ladies go to the women’s pods every Friday for the last two and one half years, to teach.  Elaine Russell, Carol Siling, Teresa Hawkins and Alison Valentine. Two more ladies, Lori Varnell & Jan Upton, have taken the training and are waiting to get their badges.

Jody Gilkey has moved back to Tulsa and has started back at the jail with the ladies. We have just received permission to teach in the third POD #18 on Thursday afternoons. This will have us teaching in all the lady pods.

Carl Moore and Zeth Parkhurst have finished the training and have received their badges. They will be able to teach the hearing impaired.

On October 10, 2015 over 200 inmates were baptized at DLM. 105 were the students of the Park Plaza Prison Ministry.

Bill Hamrick, Ron Hass and Ralph Hunter Church of Christ preachers also go into DLM between us all the men’s pods are visited each week. In

December Park teachers baptized 64, and March 2016;  85 more.

Creek Co. Jail

is a new work started by Terry. He takes Celebrate Recovery into the jail every Monday and on Friday afternoon New Life Behavior.  Due to this ministry going into Creek County, The inmates there studied salvation and 107 were baptized into Christ. Over 20 of these are Terry’s students.  The last time Creek held baptisms was 5 years prior to these. David Stikes now has his badge and is teaching there.

John H. Lilly Correctional Center.

Terry teaches New Life Behavior, Thinking for a change, and sponsors Celebrate Recovery. He is also the Assistant Chaplin. Roger Bentley has received his training and got his badge and has started helping Terry at John Lilly. John Ulrich is helping on Saturdays with CR. On Wednesday April 13, 2016 Terry baptized two men into Christ.

Dick Connors Correctional Center.

Jim has worked there since 1990. Elaine started a couple of years later.

Jim teaches NLB Lessons and CASA.  He also teaches in the faith based unit and preaches there four evenings each month. Tuesday night Oct.20, 2015 one inmate was baptized during the service the Park Plaza Prison Ministry did.

On November 4 another young man was baptized into Christ.

Jim and Jody Carmichael, Elaine Russell help and Booker leads singing when he can.

Jim’s (Pinkston) wife Jean now has her badge and is going with the group to the services there. So far this year we have had four baptisms there.

Correspondence.

35 packages of 6 to 7 lessons mailed to many prisons in Oklahoma.  Every two weeks = 228 lessons x 2 = 456 per month or 5,472 per year.  We have several helpers that show up every other Tuesday night to grade all of these and get them ready to mail. Many of these are people we studied with at Tulsa and Creek County Jail and have gone on to prison. This is one way we keep up with them.

Re-entry program.

(Hope City) It houses four men at this time.  Randy Milam is the onsite manager.  We have the space for five.  Two units are being remodeled to where it can handle seven.  We also have a RV that is being plumed at this time to where it can house one making the total eight.

One of these men (Bryan Campbell) is being trained to go into the prisons and be a full time minister like Jim Pinkston and Terry Finch.  He has a degree in bible and masters in drug & alcohol counseling.

Through the ministry he was funded for these while incarcerated.  He will receive his badge in January. In the last year and one half over twenty men have been helped and are closer to Jesus because of this great ministry. Two of these men have their own business today and employ several ex-offenders.

Advisory Board. 

The board is made up of eight men.  James Ivy, Ken Williams, Steve Stade, Scott Blackwell, Gary Medley, Mark Clayton, Randy Milam and Kevin Neiman.  Jim & Terry are the recruiters for the applicants.  The board decides who is approved to enter the reentry program.  They go by a set of guidelines approved by the Elders. The board also oversees the operation of the program.

Future Plans.

To continue with the programs that are now being successful and just see where God leads us in 2016.

Baptisms from this work

2010                            94

2011                            109

2012                            139

2013                            259

2014                            406

2015                            382

2016 Jan Tulsa County 56 March Tulsa County 85 As of April 1 2016 Dick Connors 6 John Lilley At Boley 7. = 154 So Far in 2016

Total                          1543 Since 2010 That we know of.

To put this in perspective, 1543 would more than fill first & second service at Park Central. 

Impossible without your support.

“Jesus did it!!!”

THOSE WHO GO FOR SERVICES

 AT THE DIFFERENT PLACES

Jim Pinkston

Terry Finch  

Elaine Russell

Booker Murphy

Jerona Robey

Jim & Jody Carmichael

Francisco Davila

Carol Siling

Teresa Hawkins

Alison Valentine

Jody Gilkey

NEW WORKS FOR 2016

Tulsa County Jail

Carl Moore & Zeth Parkhurst  have finished their training and will soon receive their badges. They will be teaching the hearing impaired at Tulsa County Jail.

Lori Varnell & Jan Upton have finished their training and will soon receive their badges. They will be teaching the ladies with the other Park Plaza ladies at Tulsa County Jail.

Creek County Jail

David Stikes & Jody Gilkey will soon receive their training and receive their badges and start teaching at the Jail.

JOHN H. LILLY CORRECTIONAL CENTER

Roger Bentley, Brian Campbell and John Ulrich will receive their badges and start teaching at this prison with Terry.

Dick Connors Correctional Center

Jim Pinkston has started teaching in the Faith Based Unit. This is a program where every inmate in the unit is a believer in God. The men stay in this unit for eighteen months and spend there time studying Gods word.

Jim’s wife Jean is getting her badge and will start going to Dick Connors with the group soon.

Jim Carmichael will start teaching Apologetics the first Monday of April. That is how to defend the Christian Faith.

HOMINY PRISON MISSION

NEWLIFE BEHAVIOR MINISTRIES

PO BOX 326  HOMINY, OK 74035

 MARCH 22, 2016

We also serve at the county jail, and yesterday between the men’s jail, and the ladies jail there were 85 new souls added to the kingdom through baptism.

The following members of our jail ministry team include Jody Gilkey,  Theresa Hawkins, Carol Siling, Elaine Russel, Alison Valentin, Francisco A. Davila, and Jim Pinkston

We hope you will join us at Park Plaza Church of Christ Jenks at 8:30 this morning, and be sure to stop by our booth.