NLCF

The Call series graphic

Geoffrey Hensley — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:27:54 +0000

Welcome to New Life

Geoffrey Hensley — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 02:06:46 +0000

Questions About The Bible

Resources — Sat, 29 May 2010 13:59:49 +0000

How do you know the gospels are reliable?
Scholars of history apply various tests to ancient documents to establish their historical reliability. When these tests are applied to the Bible it stands head and shoulders above any comparable early writings as a document to be taken seriously as reliable history. The New Testament writings were written close in time to the events of Jesus’ life, and that of the early church. The large number of copies of the original manuscripts means we can be confident that what we read today is what was originally written. Other historical writings confirm what is recorded in the Bible at many points. Many of the Biblical authors themselves stress that they are recording historical events based on eye-witness accounts. The best way to check this out would be to read one of the accounts of Jesus’ life (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) with an open mind and weigh up what it says about him for yourself.

Visit Christianity.net.au for more questions and answers.

Questions About Other People

Resources — Sat, 29 May 2010 13:57:12 +0000

What about people who have never heard of Jesus?
The Bible does not specifically address this question. However, the Bible does reveal to us a God who will be absolutely fair in his judgements. Justice is good if you have done the right things. But if you have not, mercy is the best option. Many people behave as if they have heard nothing about God when in fact they have. You need to respond to what you have heard, and not use this question as an excuse for your inaction. With respect to those who have never heard, we need to trust God’s fairness and justice.

What about other religions?
There are many people who sincerely believe in a different ‘religion’ or ‘creed’. However, sincerity is not the issue – people can be sincerely wrong. Truth is the issue. It is not possible for every religion to be true or right because they contradict each other. Christianity has some distinctive features which are not compatible with other religions. Other religions say you must do certain things in order to be right with God. Christianity says Jesus has done it all, by dying to take the punishment that we deserved so that we could be right with God. Jesus himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Visit Christianity.net.au for more questions and answers.

Questions About Christianity

Resources — Sat, 29 May 2010 13:44:09 +0000

Isn’t a Christian just a good person or someone who believes in God?
God wants us to be friends with him, not just good enemies. It is not good enough to just to believe God exists (even some people who hate God believe that.. in fact, Satan believes in God). We actually need to apologize to God for rebelling against him, and thank him for the death of Jesus which pays for our rebellion. We should then ask God to help us live with Jesus as our Lord. We are to live in a way that pleases God because we have been forgiven, not in order to be forgiven.

Do I have to go to church to be a Christian?
The short answer is No! Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than walking into a garage makes you a car. A Christian is not defined by what they do for God, but by their trust in what God has done for them in Jesus. God is not after church attenders; he is building a family. Of course, once you are a member of his family it will be natural to want to meet with other members of the family, learn together and encourage each other and church is a great way to do that.

Aren’t Christians just a bunch of hypocrites?
Christians don’t claim to be perfect and we are aware that we often don’t live in a way pleases God. Ultimately, though, you should decide about the value of the Christian faith not on the bad performance of some of its followers but on the basis of its founder – Jesus. The accounts of his life in the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) show he was no hypocrite, he perfectly practiced what he preached. Read one of them for yourself and check out his life and claims.

Hasn’t science disproved Christianity?
Science assumes order and uniformity in the world, and provides ways of understanding what normally happens. It doesn’t ‘disprove’ the miracles recorded in the Bible, since these are examples of God at work in the world in ‘unusual’ ways which we would not be able to predict. Science doesn’t set out to answer the bigger questions such as ‘Why are we here ?’ and ‘How should we relate to God?’ and cannot do so. To find the answers to these questions we need to look at what God himself has said in the Bible.

Visit Christianity.net.au for more questions and answers.

How Can I Make The Most of The Weekly Message?

Resources — Sat, 29 May 2010 13:16:44 +0000

Throughout the week, meditate on the passage that will be preached on Sunday. Pray for your pastor as he prepares his sermon. Take notes on the text. Ask questions of the text. Pray through the text.
Prepare for Sunday morning. On Saturday night or Sunday morning, pray for your upcoming opportunity to hear God’s Word preached. Pray that your heart would be soft and humble before it.
Talk and pray about the sermon with friends after church. Start conversations at lunch by asking, “How did the Scripture challenge or speak to you today?” Encourage others by sharing what you learned about God and his Word during the sermon. Talk to others about how you can specifically apply what you learned in the week ahead.
Meditate and act on the sermon you heard throughout the week. Don’t let the Sunday sermon become a one-time event that fades from memory as soon as it is over (James 1:22-25). Review your sermon notes with friends or family. Choose one or two applications from the Scripture and prayerfully put them into practice over the coming week.

(Some of this material has been adapted from Thabiti Anyabwile’s book What is a Healthy Church Member?, 22-25)

Edit this entry.

Tina Kerfoot

Geoffrey Hensley — Thu, 27 May 2010 02:41:06 +0000

Associate Pastor at NLCF.

Visit Tina’s Blog

Tina Kerfoot (formerly Howell) has been on staff full time at
New Life since August 2004, working as children’s minister
and Faithful Beginnings Dayschool director as well as
teacher in the 4 year olds classroom. Prior to that she was
on staff part-time for 3 years as our children’s minister.
Her passion is to partner with parents to teach children to
know, love, and obey Jesus more and more daily.

Tina grew up in Fortville, but attended church elsewhere
until college when she did an internship with New Life
through Anderson University’s Christian Ministries
department. She knew right away that the family
atmosphere here was exactly what she was looking
for in a church, and she has been here ever since.

In August of 2007, Tina married Brad Kerfoot,
and has the pleasure of partnering with him to make
videos as needed and to teach children’s worship
together each week during second service.
In October of 2008, Tina finished the ordination
process through the Church of God and became an
ordained minister.

She is currently working to achieve certification as a
NANC counselor, hoping to work specifically in biblical
counseling with youth and children.

Mark Adcock

Geoffrey Hensley — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:39:42 +0000

Pastor at NLCF.

Visit Mark’s Blog

Mark Adcock is in his 17th year as the pastor of New Life. He is the first and only full-time pastor that New Life has ever known. In those early days, when New Life was just a few people, Mark spent a lot of his time serving in the community. Most of that time was devoted to ministry to “the least of these”. Since the night Mark felt a call to ministry, that passage from Matthew 25 has had a tremendous impact on his ministry. In the past five years, Mark has led teams to Juarez, Mexico; Toronto, Canada; and twice to Pascagoula, Mississippi to bring the love of Christ to those in dire need.

Mark grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and married his wife Angela. He owned his own commercial subcontracting company until he felt a call to ministry in 1984. After liquidating that business, he came to Anderson University and began to prepare to answer the call God has placed upon his life. He has served as a pastor since 1986 in Anderson, IN; Clearwater, FL; and Fortville, IN.

Mark and Angela Adcock have two children- Morgan, their son, is married to his wife, Joanna. They live in Greenwood, IN and Morgan serves at Stone’s Crossing church as their minister of Discipleship and Media. Their daughter, Amye, has just graduated from Purdue University for nursing.

Recent happenings in Mark’s ministry include his finishing his Certification in Biblical Counseling by the National Association of Neuthetic Counselors. Mark is also finishing a Master’s of Divinity degree from Newburgh Theological Seminary. He should be done by the end of 2009.