First Baptist Church of La Plata

Are You A Man of Courage

Many of you that are reading this have already seen the movie, Courageous.  I have gone back and reviewed parts of it many times as I’ve prepared our Bible study.  One of the most moving scenes I have looked at, thought about (many times), and truly reflected on my own personal shortcomings is within Adam’s speech.  What I have learned over time is that it is never too late to “put on the brakes” and change course.  As a Christian, we call that repentance.  In order to truly repent though we have to reach a point of fatigue, disgust (with our own sin, deed, or transgression), essentially – as we used to say in another walk of my life, “We have to get sick and tired of being sick and tired!”  The Bible of course says it much more profoundly, when David - looking at his own sin and reflecting on the conviction of the Holy Spirit confessed the Truth in his heart to God:

             “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

                you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

             The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

             a broken and contrite heart, O God, you

                  will not despise.”  (Psalms 51:16-17)

For some it takes a very tragic event, such as happened in the movie with the character Adam Mitchell – after he lost his little daughter.  Others are more fortunate and not as rebellious to the surrender.  In every case though, it takes the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person.  What happened with Adam Mitchell and his realization that he was on the wrong path can happen to any twelve year old and older man and is the premise for the Bible Study that we will be starting.  Here is just a couple of quotations out of Adams closing speech, taken from one of the books that we will be using, that I would like for you to consider:

             “Our prisons are full of men and women who have lived

             recklessly after being abandoned by their fathers, wounded

             by the men who should have loved them the most.  Many

             of these children now follow this same pattern of irrespon-

             sibility that their fathers did.  While so many mothers have

             sacrificed to help their children survive, they were never

             intended to carry the weight alone.  We thank God for them,

             but research is proving that a child also desperately needs a

             daddy.  There no way around this fact.”

Adam’s speech continues to say later on:

                  “A father should love his children and seek to win their

             hearts.  He should protect them, discipline them, and teach

             them about God.  He should model how to walk with integ-

             rity and treat others with respect, and should call out his

             children to become responsible men and women who live

             their lives for what matters in eternity.

                  Some men will hear this and mock it or ignore it.  But I

             tell you that as a father, you are accountable to God for the

             position of influence He has given you.  You can’t fall asleep

             at the wheel, only to wake up one day and realize that your

             job or your hobbies have no eternal value, but the souls of

             your children do.  Some men will hear this and agree with

                 it but have no resolve to live it out.  Instead they will live

             for themselves and waste the opportunity to leave a godly

             legacy for the next generation.

                  But there are some men who, regardless of the mistakes

                 we've made in the past, regardless of what our fathers did

                not do for us, will give the strength of our arms and the rest

                of our days to loving God with all that we are and to teach

                our children to do the same – and whenever possible, to

                love and mentor others who have no father in their lives but

               who desperately need help and direction.  And we are invit-

             ing any man whose heart is willing and courage to join

             us in this resolution.”

     Here at First Baptist of La Plata, we are extending the same invitation.  We ask you to consider which one of the three men Adam identified in his speech might more closely resemble the man you are today.  If you think that there might be a better way than what you are seeing and experiencing today, we encourage you to consider the Bible Study, Honor Begins at Home and The Resolution for Men.  It's not too late for you to join as we still need to get some more books.  We will be starting this Bible Study next month; the details are below and there is more information if you follow this link.  Perhaps you will find as much fulfillment as my son and I are already experiencing.

Here’s all the information:

What?  Honor Begins at Home Bible Study

Where?  FBC La Plata; 9070 Hawthorne Dr; La Plata, MD 20646

When?  June 13^th at 5:45pm (bring your own dinner!).

Why?  Because it’s time to draw a line in the sand, step to the plate, and be the men that God created us to be! 

If you have any questions, please contact Jay at 301.643.1604 or email Jay.