Attention WOLBI Alumni!!

Do you like free money? Do your friends like free money? Should anyone really have to ask this question? Isn't it obvious?
We all like to have a little extra money in our pockets, and Word of Life Bible Institute understands this! They've made it easy for students and our friends who are interested in the BI to get some extra money!

"But, how?" 

Well, with the Alumni Gift Award of course! Each year students are handed these little pink award slips to distribute to people we know. The "Hallelujah Chorus" resounds as we prepare to give them out to all our friends!

Fun Facts about the Alumni Gift Award:

Who it's for: anyone interested in applying to the BI in September 2011 or September 2012.

How to get one: any current or graduated student can give this award to a friend who is planning to apply to the BI for 2011 or 2012. A current student can get award slips from the admissions office at WOLBI. Alumni can print this one.

How much it's worth: this award is unique in that both the applicant AND the student giving the award receive money! The person applying will acquire $200 off their tuition (split between the two semesters) and the current or graduated student who gave the gift award will receive a check for $100 in the mail once the applicant enrolls in the September!

How it works:
*IMPORTANT* to receive this award, the award slip MUST be sent in WITH the new application.

Instructions for applicants:
Mail Application: send pink award slip in the same envelope with your application.
Online Application: if you are applying online, please email the admissions department (admissions@wol.ca, alliep@wol.ca) as soon as you have submitted your application and let them know that you have an Alumni Gift Award. Then, proceed to mail it in so we can process it!
Application Turned in at a Recharge weekend or Campus Days event: simple, just give us the award slip when you give us the application. For those of you who are wondering, YES you do get the $300 for applying at Recharge or Campus Days AND the $200 for Alumni Gift, totaling $500!!!

*The Perks*: This is a great way for  a new applicant to get an extra $200 off their tuition. Extra finances are sometimes hard to come by these days, so every little bit counts! ALSO, we students in turn get rewarded for rewarding our friends! Once the applicants enroll for the fall, Word of Life will send $100 in the mail for each gift award we handed out! Why WOULDN'T we take advantage of this opportunity! It's a win-win situation for everyone!

If you'd like to be a part of this offer, or have any questions, please contact our admissions department!
Email: AllieP@wol.ca, admissions@wol.ca, CassandraJ@wol.ca
Phone: 519-376-3516 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            519-376-3516      end_of_the_skype_highlighting ex. 213 or 216. Toll Free: 800-461-3503 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            800-461-3503      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

The Wards' Writing Summer 2011 Ministry Update

Thanks so much for reading this. We appreciate all of your prayers and support as we serve God here at WOLBI, Owen Sound Campus.

May God richly bless as you seek and serve Him!


Ward Prayer Letter Summer 2011

Bible College or Seminary Scholarship Opportunity

Going to Seminary is expensive. On top of that, finding a scholarship can be really difficult. That's why I was so excited to find this Seminary Scholarship website today. Not only are they giving away a $1,000.00 scholarship and a digital theological library, all I had to do to apply was watch a short video and answer a few questions! It took less than 15 minutes. What is best of all is that if you're in seminary and apply for the Seminary Scholarship, and put my name as the person who referred you, if you win the scholarship, so do I! We could both get a $1,000.00 scholarship and digital theological library. So, do us both a favor and go apply for the Seminary Scholarship today.

Topical vs. Expository Preaching discussion

Image by Brent Nelson via Flickr

This is for my WOLBI Homiletics guys and anyone else interested in the discussion between Topical vs. Expository preaching. This article is an interesting introduction to start the discussion and makes a few good points in the list given.
  
A Caution for Expository Preaching, Dr. Iain Murray



I really don't think it needs to be an either/or debate. Whether "Topical" or "Expository" every text handled must be "rightly divided" - properly interpreted. In a sense, good topical preaching must be expository as it must properly 'exposit' ever text used. I prefer to compare Topical vs. Textual sermons. Textual being the use of a primary text in the message and preaching the message of that text.

Some of the ideas we highlighted in class:

Topical:

Christmas, Easter and other seasons of the year are often best covered in a topical way.
Current issues - be careful with this one. One of the cardinal rules of preaching that I learned at NBBI was "Do not use the pulpit as a whipping post."
Doctrine -How else can Systematic Theology be covered (but heaven forbid we preach Systematic Theology!)? ie. preaching of the gospel - to clearly present the gospel, one must use multiple texts to cover the points of a Creator God's Holiness, Man's sin, Jesus perfect sacrifice/substitute, Man's needed response.

Textual:

Context - should be easier to explain passage as it relates to its context because that is where you are.
Context of the Big Idea - should be easier to relate a passage to the overall theme of the book/chapter it's in.
Preach the Whole Counsel - should be easier to cover difficult issues as they come up in the text without seeming to 'pick-on' a particular person or situation.

I say 'should' as I suggested each of the points for the Textual sermon because the power of the Textual sermon is in the preparer/presenter. Just as the dangers of Topical sermons are being shallow and disconnected so the Textual sermon may be boring or irrelevant in the hands of one who is ill-equipped to prepare and deliver a text with accuracy, relevance, and impact.

Happy Preaching Textually or Topically as the Lord leads to drive home the meaning and life-applications of His incredible Truth!

How to Ruin Your Accountability group

As a follow up to the theme of Accountability. I just came across this link today.

8 Ways to Ruin Your Accountability Group | The Resurgence

Speaking to students here at WOLBI last night from the book of Haggai I was reminded,

"It's not about what I do - it's the heart that does it."

I've heard Ravi Zacharias quote T.S. Elliott,

  "This is the greatest treason, to do the right thing for the wrong reason." 

We can ruin accountability the same way we can ruin everything else - make it a ritual with no heart.

When "What's Best" is Bad

WOLBI Students are going to be able to tell where I am in my OT reading by this (and you should be much farther!) but Isaiah 30 impacted my life today.

Isa. 30:1-2 paints a picture of God's people, Israel, as absolutely rebellious and in an out-of-control, downward moral spiral multiplying sin upon sin. Pretty ugly, huh?! What was so bad to call for such a scathing accusation? They took counsel (mentioned again in vv. 9-11) and sought help from others (Egypt in this case), not God.

Throughout Scripture we are giving many examples of this same accusation. Abraham despite God's powerful promise (Gen. 12, 17, 22) tried repeatedly to intervene and 'help' God (offering Eleazer and Ishmael as his heir and fulfillment of God's promise!). Moses struck a rock the second time and it cost him the promised land, Uzziah lost his life as the wrong man carrying God's Ark in the wrong way, and Elimelech pays with his life for trusting Moab rather than God's 'house of bread'-Bethlehem in time of famine.

Jeremiah 17:5 says, "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord."

How common is it for us to do the same? We say, "I know God's Word says...but I  really 'feel' that this is what God wants me to do." Or, "But everyone I talked to has told me that I should do this." How often do we run to others to bail us out of physical, emotional, financial, or social trouble instead of the God of the universe?

The alternative is given to us in verse 15 of Isaiah chapter 30 - returning to and resting in God. Doesn't John 15:5 say the same, "...without me (Jesus) ye can do nothing."

What are you trusting in today? On what are you basing life decisions? Only God and His Word provides the reliable, secure, and blessed resources for life on Earth.

Let's run to God to do things His way, in His time, by His counsel as we seek His counsel in His Word.
"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is." Jer. 17:7

Movember!

Even with limited TV exposure I was amazed at so many commercials proclaiming the approach of Movember. What in the world is that about? My curiosity finally got the best of me. It wasn't hard to find out that Moustaches + November = Movember. The growing starts after a clean shave November 1 and is a constant talking point throughout the month to raise support and awareness about issues in Men's health.

"Did you know?
- In 2010 tragically more than 4,400 men will die as a direct result of prostate cancer." 

Some of the guys at the Bible Institute have joined in as well forming the Wolbranos (not to be confused with the Wolbranos Blog) group. Would you consider donating to prostate cancer research?

Check out my MoSpace for more information or to donate.

So it begins...

From Jon in Real Life

Open Air Week Student Response

After a great but intense Open Air Week on the streets of Toronto and Hamilton sharing our faith, sleeping on the floor of a church, and showering at a local swimming facility it is good to take time to reflect on what God has done despite the discomforts.
In Director's Chapel a couple weeks ago, WOLBI students shared what the week meant to them.

"I really realized there is no 'Plan B.' If we don't tell people about the gospel, who will? On the first day I got to lead two people to Christ. I was just obeying what Christ wants me to do. Whether people get saved or not, I need to just be obedient."

From Drop Box

"I was talking to someone about the gospel and they had to take a call. I walked away discouraged. A few minutes later I got a tap on the shoulder. The guy I was talking to asked, "Hey, can you finish what you were saying?" I finished sharing that Jesus died and rose again to pay for our sins and he wanted to accept Jesus' payment for his sins!"

From Drop Box

"God showed me how everyone is lost [without His truth] and that I need to share God's message of love every chance I get."

"I realized we don't have the power to save people. Only God can save people and He is a God who saves!"

From Drop Box

Some students experienced real persecution for their faith being told to "shut up," "go away," being yelled at, intimidated, spit at, cursed at, and even verbally wished dead. Regarding a particularly discouraging day, one student remarked, "They're not rejecting you but what God is saying to them. We can't make people listen."

Another student summed it up for all of us when they said, "The whole week was an amazing experience."
We praise God for using us to share His Word and teaching us so many lessons in the process. Ministering to others impacts our lives far more than our lives impacts those we minister to!

Do you want to grow in your faith and relationship with Christ? Start sharing your faith and serving Him!

If you are interested in joining us for next year's incredible Open Air Ministry Week, talk to Admissions to reserve your space in the WOLBI class of 2011-2012!!

Cultural Contradiction Rant

Open Air Week with WOLBI is always a bit of a culture shock. Each year we pack up the entire student body and some of our staff and head to the streets of Toronto and Hamilton for a week to talk to people about faith and life. Often we have great opportunities to share our faith and once again our students did an incredible job initiating conversations and boldly sharing God's truth. I am always amazed as I leave the Christian "Bubble" where I work and live for this extended period of time. One of the things that struck me this year as I wandered the streets watching out for students was a very obvious contradiction in our North American culture.

As I was walking down past crowds of people waiting for buses, I saw two guys talking. Something caught my eye and as I focused on the distraction, I discovered a pair of gloves decorated in spiderweb with a very prominent spider on the top of each hand. "That's interesting," I thought to myself, "Never seen anything like that..." In the seconds it took to discover all this I realized that the guys were looking at me with a weirded-out-are-you-some-kind-of-creeper type of glare. Somewhat offended by their expression of offense I probably blushed slightly as I quickened my pace to get away.

A constant media barrage communicates messages of, "Be your own person," and, "Stand up and stand out." There is nothing wrong with being a unique individual but c'mon, if you are trying to stand out, don't be surprised if you stand out! I personally like wearing a hat that is unique or different but I understand that when I do, people will notice, look (sometimes stare), and even comment. If you are seeking to 'stand out' then please be prepared for the attention you receive.

Rhyme Thru the Old Testament

I recently posted a rhyme I created for the books of the Old Testament. I teach Bible Survey at the Word of Life Bible Institute and love creating/using various media that grab attention and help people remember the Bible.

You can check it out at http://wardlysbiblesurvey.blogspot.com/?zx=c90b080d45ed5241

WOLBI Graduation Address 2010

From blog

Image courtesy of Phalettia Photography

Here is the final post from WOLBI Graduation 2010 (I promise). 

Pastor Wayne Heikkinen of Rock Mills Fellowship Baptist Church gave a great challenge concerning the truth of the Gospel. It is a future hope and a present need. It is a long post but I'm sure grads and attendees will appreciate the reminder from our great day together. Enjoy!

Pastor Wayne:

To the parents, family, friends Wolbi Staff and  graduating class of 2010,. I greet you and commend all of you for your diligence which will be awarded today. It could be said… “Behind every WOLBI graduate there is a bunch of surprised people”!? It has been a remarkable journey for you, from the time you told us you were applying to come to this event today. God bless you!

A passage of scripture jumped off the page as I contemplated what I should share with you today. It actually was the concluding passage that the Apostle Paul gave to the church of Corinth at the end of his first letter to them.  We read this a few weeks ago in our QT

I Cor. 15: 1-11

You have experienced so much this past year in the classroom, the dormitory, the various ministry opportunities, the new friendships and all that goes with it but can I remind you as the Apostle Paul reminds these believers in Corinth of the Gospel, which has been preached to you!

What is the Gospel?

God’s Only Son Providing Everlasting Life

Good News

Salvation

The Truth

Jesus also said He was the way, the truth and the life no man cometh unto the Father but by me –John 14:6

Read vs: 3-8

·         Christ was born of the Virgin Mary

·         Lived a sinless life on this earth

·         Died on a cruel death on a wooden cross for our sin, the sin of the whole world

·         He buried in a tomb

·         three days later He rose from the dead

·         Seen by over 500 people

·         Ascended into heaven in plain view

·         Is seated at the right hand of God

·         One day will return as He said

The Gospel is more than just fire insurance from eternal separation from God in a place He calls hell. There are many songs that depict the home we have in heaven… In the sweet bye and bye, Belah Land, I’ve got a mansion just over the hill top, I’ll fly away, Beyond the sunset, Shall we gather at the river, When we all get to heaven, and how about I can only Imagine.

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

This tells us very clearly that Eternal Life is not a place but a personal relationship with God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ forever.

We know it begins the moment you Accept/Admit the fact you are a sinner and believe that God’s way of Salvation thru the death burial & resurrection of Jesus Christ is the only the way and by believing this you confess with your mouth you need Him, want Him, must have Him as your Saviour and Lord. This all takes place here while we are on this side of glory.

But don’t forget that Jesus also said I am come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly! Not Gary Stairs or Doug Rider you know God loves and WOL has a plan for your life!

This is the message that you have heard and seen here at WOLBI!

It has been preached to YOU

You have received it as the Gospel and have become more convinced of the truth of it.

It is what this diploma stands for and what has allowed you to get this far in your spiritual journey.

BUT just as WOLBI says this a great place to start. This Gospel that you have heard, received and now stand is the only Gospel that will sustain you the rest of your days.

It is not just a time and place you look back to as the turning point of your life. It is your life!

Paul told young Timothy to

Follow it, GUARD IT, Endure it, remember it, teach it, live it and share it

2 Tim. 3 tells us to understanding the times we live and the host of professing believers who will turn aside from this truth and follow a lie! Don’t be one of them!

Our prayer for each of you is that you hold fast to this Gospel so that your entire life and labour will not be in vain!

This comes as you remember what you have been taught, what you have received and what has sustained you so far.

As we rehearse the Gospel we are reminded of

Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

5     But he was wounded for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his stripes we are healed. Isa. 53:4-5

For our sake God made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Cor. 5:21

There is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Rom.8:1

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29     For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30     And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

31     What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32     He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33     Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34     Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35     Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36     As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37     No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38     For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39     nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Phil 1:6

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel that has been  preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2     and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

Let’s Pray…

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25     to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 24-25

Graduation Speaker Bio

From blog

We were pleased to welcome Pastor Wayne Heikkinen to give the Graduation Address to students and attendees at the Word of Life Bible Institute Graduation Ceremony Saturday, August 21 at the Meaford Arena. It was a wonderful day celebrating with friends, family, and our newest class of alumni!

The transcript of the Graduation Address will follow in the next post.

Rev. Wayne Heikkinen, Pastor

Rock Mills Baptist Church, Flesherton, Ontario

Wayne was born and raised in rural Maine. His 6-member family all came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ within a one-year period of time. Wayne was the youngest, receiving Christ at a DVBS at the age of 6. His family was involved in their local church and upon graduating from Wayside Christian Academy he enrolled in New Brunswick Bible Institute. It was while attending NBBI that God revealed His life partner (Sandy) and his call to ministry. After spending time as a Youth Pastor in Nova Scotia, God led Wayne to Word of  Life Canada. For 23 years Wayne traveled through the great Dominion of Canada, representing Word of Life Local Church Ministries, encouraging local churches in evangelism, discipleship and leadership training. In 2002, God led Wayne to Rock Mills Fellowship Baptist Church as pastor. For the past years Wayne has had the wonderful privilege of sharing in the revitalization process of a local church through an emphasis on spiritual leadership, biblical discipleship, and equipping the saints to produce a commitment to reach out to the community. God has blessed the ministry in ways no one would have anticipated. Wayne & Sandy celebrated 31 years of marriage (July 28). Home is across the road from Lake Eugenia. They love to spend time with their 3 grown children, (2 are married), 3 grandchildren and a 4^th on the way, their dog, gardening, landscaping, walking, travelling and entertaining. 

Image courtesy of Phalettia Photography