May 2019
“And they (the sons of the prophets) said unto him (Elisha), Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men, let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master (Elijah) lest peradventure the spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.” II Kings 2:16
Dear Friends,
The sons of the prophets thought that the Lord had taken Elijah up in a fiery chariot just to cast him on some random mountain or in some random valley. The Lord would not go to all the trouble to take up Elijah in such a striking manner just to throw him down in the wilderness so that people had to go look for him. In the same way God inspired the Bible and he would not go to all that trouble to let it be lost so that we have to go looking for it in obscure manuscripts. God has preserved His Word. The Bible has been “inspired by God, and by His singular care and providence kept pure in all ages.” (Westminster Confession chapter I, section VIII)
Brazil
We finished sending out the 3,000 hard copies of the summer edition of The Fundamentalist and also the online fall edition. We are now in the process of sending out the fall edition by the post office. The newspaper has again been translated by our Colombian brother into Spanish. Articles in the fall edition include:
- An article detailing the thoughts and Scripture on the Divine preservation of the Bible (above cited). It is entitled, “Was the Bible Lost?”
- The conclusion of the sermon, “Biblical Fundamentalism versus Other Fundamentalisms.”
- “The Laws of Love” by CIEF member Moyses.
- “Calvin, Missions, and Brazil” detailing the first Protestant missionaries to Brazil in 1556 sent out by Calvin and Geneva.
- A picture of a church sign in Smyrna, DE, which is against gay marriage.
Cameroon
Praise the Lord, peace has been coming to the church in Cameroon. A concrete step has now been taken reopening the flagship church in the capital city that had been padlocked by the government due to the split in the church. The government is always very concerned with maintaining peace in the country.
Also, the director of the seminary in Cameroon requested some books on Greek, Hebrew, and FOREIGN missions. I was able to send them to him, along with 1,000 Chick Tracts, and another 1,000 to another Cameroon seminary student who is graduating next month. Here are pictures of these books and tracts in French, ready for shipping.
United States
Ken has been continuing to preach in Marcus Hook once a month, including nursing home services as well. He also has been serving communion on an extra Sunday once every three months. We are preparing to go out door-to-door in Marcus Hook, so there are now Sunday School classes on evangelism to prepare for this. The church (formerly in Chester, PA) opened the time-capsule that hand been laid in the building’s cornerstone some 60 years ago. Unfortunately the materials in the cornerstone had not stood the test of time very well.
Ken has also started teaching Bible study classes again in the local state prison in Smyrna. This prison was in the national news in 2017 due to a riot and the killing of one guard. Now every time the prisoners go to any event they are thoroughly searched, which probably deters some from coming to the studies. Ken is teaching through the book of Proverbs which is a book particularly suited for young men. One young man said he felt convicted by the teaching of Proverbs that we should avoid the company of evil men.
ICCC
An International Council for Christian Churches membership list has been prepared along with a financial statement, which has not been done for many years. Faith Presbytery of the Bible Presbyterian Church has unanimously voted to join the ICCC, and the ACCC (American Council for Christian Churches) will be sending an official observer to the ICCC Congress in Chile in January of next year.
Recently we attended IBPFM missionary Ruth Gross’s memorial service and a meeting of the Faith Presbytery. We participated in the Collingswood Bible Presbyterian Church missionary conference in April. We likewise have made a few visits to see Miriam Poland, longtime organist of the Collingswood church, in the nursing home.
Thanks for all your faithful prayers and support.
Ken and Ira Olson