Read the weekly message from Pastor Mulvaine.

May 13, 2o12: I want to thank all the mothers for their presence in today’s service. As we celebrate Mother’s Day, we must recognize how important women are to the home and society in general. Mothers are an invaluable asset of love, care, knowledge and instruction. Washington Irving stated, “The love of a mother is never exhausted. It never changes–it never tires–it endures through all; in good repute, in bad repute, in the face of the world’s condemnation, a mother’s love still lives on.” Today is that special day in which we honor mothers. Mother’s Day has been observed for over 100 years as an annual day honoring all mothers. On May 9, 1914, by an act of Congress, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. He established that day as a time for “public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” We at Troy Baptist Temple want to again honor our mothers and say thank you for your dedication and unique position. Have a very happy Mother’s Day!

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

May 6, 2012: There has been a plea from the bus ministry for help! Those who are working in the bus ministry have made a plea for your help. For over fifty years, Troy Baptist Temple has had a bus ministry. In its heyday, literally hundreds would ride the buses to TBT.  We all understand that we live in a different era, yet there are many that would still ride the bus, come to Sunday school and church, attend Frontline, and go to Jr. Camp and get saved, if we only had more dedicated workers to help do the calling and bring them in. Would you consider helping with this needy ministry? We need families and individuals that will give of themselves to reaching boys, girls, moms and dads through the bus ministry of TBT. What is needed? We need those who will visit on Saturdays, will drive the buses, supervise the bus riders, and those that will help our dedicated bus mechanics.  Please prayerfully consider helping fulfill the plea!

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

Read the weekly message from Pastor Mulvaine.

April 29, 2012: A philosophy that many Bible-believing churches and Christian families have blindly accepted is the pagan practice called recreational dating. With the abandonment of biblical courtship in favor of modern recreational dating, the fruit has been devastating to the family, the church and society. Therefore, we must examine dating from a biblical perspective and analyze the Scriptural alternative: faith-based, biblical-directed, parental-guided and Holy Spirit-led courtship. This may sound a little old fashioned, but it is biblical. On Sunday evening over the next two months we will be exploring this important matter. Everyone will find it very informative. Please don’t miss these messages.

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

April 22, 2012: What a joy it has been to read “Just What the Doctor Ordered” by Dr. Walter Wilson. Dr. Wilson shares the many stories of his encounters with people with spiritual needs. Dr. Wilson’s prayer was that each day God would lead him to either a lost soul that needed the gospel or to someone that had a spiritual need. Dr. Wilson’s desire was that God would use him to help others. The truth of the matter is, there are many spiritually needy people all around us. Do you make it your business to be used of God to help others? Why not pray and ask God to reveal to you those that you can help? Also, why not join us to reach the city of Troy with the gospel as we go out on Thursday nights? That is “Just What the Doctor Ordered!”

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

April 15, 2012: I want to again thank everyone for the work, giving and attendance during both our revival meetings and Easter celebrations. I trust that both events were a blessing to you. There is always much work that needs to be done for the Lord, so your faithful service is always greatly appreciated. Please pray and participate in our spring outreach. We are endeavoring to reach our community with the gospel and we need your help. We are presently going through a soul-winning training program on Thursday nights of which I would like to invite you to be a part. We will begin knocking on doors in the next two weeks. Let’s all reach our city with the gospel.

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

April 8, 2012: Welcome to our Services on this wonderful Resurrection Sunday.  I trust that you joined us for breakfast this morning and enjoyed both the breakfast and fellowship. The Easter message is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ which is the capstone of the Christian faith. Centuries before Jesus Christ walked in Galilee, Job posed life’s most penetrating question: “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14).  I Corinthians 15 answers Job’s question decisively and dramatically. “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept (I Corinthians 15:20).  The glory of the Christian faith is that it never views life as ending with death. In fact, death is not natural, but unnatural. God never created us to die. Sin brought death into the world. The Christian faith always looks out beyond the sunset to the sunrise.  It looks out yonder into eternity- and what a hope it offers.  This is what gives meaning and purpose to life.  Christians expect to live for eternity.  This life is preparation; what we do in this life determines what takes place in the next. The question that I have for you is: “What are you doing with your life?” Will you allow God to do a work in your heart this Resurrection Sunday?

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

April 1, 2012: Welcome to our Services on this wonderful Resurrection Sunday.  I trust that you joined us for breakfast this morning and enjoyed both the breakfast and fellowship. The Easter message is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ which is the capstone of the Christian faith. Centuries before Jesus Christ walked in Galilee, Job posed life’s most penetrating question: “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14).  I Corinthians 15 answers Job’s question decisively and dramatically. “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept (I Corinthians 15:20).  The glory of the Christian faith is that it never views life as ending with death. In fact, death is not natural, but unnatural. God never created us to die. Sin brought death into the world. The Christian faith always looks out beyond the sunset to the sunrise.  It looks out yonder into eternity- and what a hope it offers.  This is what gives meaning and purpose to life.  Christians expect to live for eternity.  This life is preparation; what we do in this life determines what takes place in the next. The question that I have for you is: “what are you doing with your life?” Will you allow God to do a work in your heart this Resurrection Sunday?

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

Read the weekly message from Pastor Mulvaine.

March 25, 2012: This past Wednesday night I mentioned that in the 1700’s there was a great revival in America known as the Great Awakening. The revival was started with Jonathan Edward’s famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” But the story behind this famous revival is interesting. Some believers in the vicinity of Enfield, Massachusetts had become alarmed that, while God was blessing other places, he seemed to be passing them by. So they met on the evening before the sermon and spent the whole night in prayer. And as they say, the rest is history. I trust that this week our hearts and minds will be fixed upon the Lord and requesting Him to do a mighty work in our personal lives as well as the life of our church. We need God’s hand of grace this week at TBT.

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

March 18, 2012: Our upcoming revival meetings are approaching us very soon. We must be willing and prepared for God to do a work in our hearts personally and in our church collectively. This next Wednesday we are dedicating for a church-wide day of prayer and fasting for our meetings. I ask that you participate in this important day in preparation for our meetings. Please take time throughout Wednesday to pray for God’s work in our church during these meetings. Then, as we meet Wednesday evening, we will have a special time of prayer as a church. Also, we need to invite our friends, family and co-workers to these important meetings. What a blessing it would be to see some folks saved during our revival meetings.

What can we do to make this week of meetings beneficial? First, pray! These meetings must be seasoned with prayers of God’s people. Pray that God will work in your heart; pray that God will work in our church and pray that God will work in the hearts of the visitors that you invite out. Secondly, be at the meetings. God cannot work in your heart nor do an effective work in our church, if you are not here. Thirdly, invite! God cannot work in the hearts of the lost unless we get the lost here. Please make up a target 10 list of those that you are going to invite and pray for them. Will you please pray, invite and faithfully attend our special week of meetings? Let us all pray that God will give us a wonderful week of spiritual renewal!

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

March 11, 2012: Several years ago, while attending a soul-winning workshop, the instructor asked the attendees to state why they were taking the course. My answer was two-fold; it was my desire to have the same compassion that Christ had for souls and to also have the same passion or zeal. This next week, I am starting a six week soul-winning training program on Thursday evenings. Why have a Soul-Winning Training Program? It is to help us to be able to fulfill the Great Commission– Matthew 28:18-20. The Command is to make disciples through leading people to Christ, baptizing them and teaching them.  Soul-winning is obeying the Great Commission. The task of fulfilling the Great Commission is given to the local church. Having an organized soul-winning program in the local church enables its members to be accountable to one another in fulfilling this enormous task. Many may feel very inadequate when it comes to leading a soul to the Lord. The goal is to teach and train you to be confident and effective in fulfilling the Great Commission. I urge you to attend the training time and pray that God will use our church to reach more souls.

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

March 4, 2012: We have heard this hundreds of times: “Don’t worry; everything will work out just fine.” Easier said than done! It’s an optimism that is not always a reality, only wishful thinking. All of us know it isn’t completely true; some things don’t seem to work together for good. We know of countless tragedies and needless suffering, yet we repeat the statement without blinking an eye: “Don’t worry; everything will work out just fine.” The apostle Paul also said something like this. The difference is that Paul did not just write an optimistic blank check; he conditioned his outlook with important qualifiers, and he defined the “good” as other than comfort and wealth. The overall context of Romans 8:28 is one in which Paul addresses living by the power of the Spirit in the midst of suffering and pain. Paul was no stranger to suffering; his several near-death experiences, beatings, imprisonments, and persecutions were enough to eradicate any wishful thinking that might have lurked in his heart. In the immediate context—within the verse itself—Paul expresses prerequisites for the good to take place: “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”- Rom 8:28. Paul is not giving this promise to all people, but only to those “who love God…who are called according to his purpose.”  Let me ask you how this statement affects you personally? Are you confident in God’s provision and promise?

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

Read the weekly message from Pastor Mulvaine.

February 26, 2012: A story is often told about a young salesman who was disappointed about losing a big sale. As he talked with his sales manager he complained, “I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” The manager replied, “Son, take my advice: your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty.” As we have read about the ministry of John the Baptist as the voice crying out in the wilderness and drawing multitudes to Christ, it is clear that his ministry caused thirst to come upon many. Then of course, Christ was the only one that could quench the thirsty soul.  I want you to consider these questions, does your life cause those around you to thirst for God and does it draw people to the well of Living Water? Please give great consideration to these questions because they are vitally important for your life and others.

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

February 19, 2012: On Wednesday nights, we have been studying the book of Revelation. We have observed the time period when the antichrist appears on the scene. It is a chaotic time of confusion, uncertainty, and unrest that will prevail during the Tribulation period.  The world will long for a leader. People will be desperately hoping for someone powerful and influential to unite the divided and contentious nations of the world; someone to bring hope in the midst of helplessness. People will be desperately seeking a strong, charismatic, authoritative leader to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Those longings will be fulfilled with the Antichrist and his promises and description. We now live in desperate days, we long for a leader that will pull us out of uncertainty and unrest. The truth of the matter, Jesus Christ is the only one that can do that.  Our political leaders can make all kinds of promises, but Jesus is the only one that can fulfill his promises. Where does this leave us? Jesus stated in Mark 5:36, “Be not afraid, only believe.”

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

February 12, 2012: Well, how is it going? That is, how are you doing with your Bible reading, spiritual journal, and book reading (Experiencing God’s Presence)? I trust that you are finding it a great blessing even though it is challenging to keep up with. As Matthew Henry has been articulating in his book, spending time with God and walking with him should be our experience throughout the day and even when we lay our head down at night. As we endeavor to dig deeper in the well by studying God’s Word, we must conclude it takes time and  a lot of work, but the benefits are immense. I pray that God’s enabling power and strengthen will be with you as you attempt to “Dig Deeper in the Well in 2012.”

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

February 5, 2012: As we continue our journey through this year with our theme “Drawing Deeper from the Well,” one of the continued accomplishments in our spiritual life is be to become more like Christ. You and I were created to become like Christ. In the mind of God you were originally created in the image and likeness of God. God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”- Genesis 1:26. Yet, as a result of the fall and its lingering effects upon mankind, our fallen nature leads us to rebel against confirmative to God’s image.  As a result, we have become confident about our own abilities. God’s desire is that we have a walk with Him that leads us far beyond the natural ways we normally function. Our good intentions and constant resolutions to do better and be better often fail. We underestimate the depravity of our hearts, minds, and motives. We tend to consider ourselves spiritual and end up resisting the hand of the Lord. Therefore, the Lord gently nudges us as He intervenes in our lives. As we dig deeper in God’s Word this year, the more He will reveal the changes that are needed in our life. The question we all need to ask ourselves is this: are we willing to dig deeper in the well and will we then submit to God’s divine molding our life? Have a great week walking with the LORD!

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

Our theme for this year is “Drawing Deeper from the Well in 2012. Our desire for Troy Baptist Temple is that its members would grow closer in their walk with God. Join us to see how you can draw deeper from the well this year.

 Pastor’s Report & Challenge

Pastor David Mulvaine

Another year has passed and only what is done for Christ will last. This statement may sound somewhat familiar to you because it is a paraphrase from part of a poem that was written by C.T. Studd- “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be, If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.” C.T. Studd was a famous late 1800s-early 1900s British cricketer turn missionary. When C.T. Studd was saved, he gave his life to Christ as well as his fame and fortunes to serve God on the mission field. His life was totally consumed with Christ. As another year has passed, it is always a good idea to reflect and consider how effective our life has been for Christ. Our theme and vision for 2011 was “Souls for Heaven in 2011.” What a challenge it was and a worthy goal to achieve for our church. By God’s grace we were able to hand out 12,956 tracts and had 144 professions of faith. We need to praise the Lord for allowing our church to achieve these worthy endeavors.

Just as we experience challenges and blessings in our personal life, so it is with our church life. God gave us many challenges, but He also gave us many blessings this past year. We experienced the departure of some beloved members. Some of these members have moved on to different ministries and locations, while others have moved up to glory. We have seen some sweet saints of the Lord depart to be with their Savior- Noca Sanders, Wally Babcock, Letha Smith, Brother Gene Stevens, Dan Ball, and Daniel Mc Kitrick. We also had the great blessing of ordaining our missionary Josh Morris and then sending him and his family to the mission field of Bolivia. What a blessing that was for our church. There were several events that were a blessing and encouragement to our church. In February we had a couple’s conference- “Couples for Christ in Crucial Times” with Dr. Chuck Phelps. In April we had our annual revival meeting with Evangelist Wil Rice and Team- they were a tremendous blessing. Also in April we had our Easter celebration in which we fed breakfast to upward of 300 people before the Easter service.  In June we had our second Vacation Bible School/ Cola Clash with 150 children in attendance. In August, we helped Pastor Workman celebrate his 50^th year of ministry by having a special day to honor him and also sent him to Kenya in September to minister with our missionaries.  In September we had a very stirring 9-11 service and our third Faith Promise Mission Conference with Dr. Don Sisk. To end the year we had a great response during Christmas with the special events like the Ladies Christmas Tea, the Sunday School Christmas Program and the Christmas Cantata.  God also allowed us to replace the carpet throughout the building and do some up-grading of sound equipment in our sound room. God has been very good to us, even through the challenges of this year.

The burden that God laid on my heart for our church’s theme and vision for 2012 is “Drawing Deeper from the Well in 2012.”  Every human being is on a lifelong quest for happiness. Most people spend their entire lives searching for contentment. Our souls are thirsty, but that thirst can only be quenched by Christ Himself. Jesus stated, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” John 7:37. The question and challenge that I have for TBT is this: “Are you Thirsty and will you drink?” Are the members of TBT willing to make it their goal this year to go deeper in the Spiritual Well than ever before? It is my desire that all of us here at TBT join together and grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus Christ and His Word as we go deeper into the spiritual well! Charles Spurgeon often spoke of this spiritual drink, the only drink that can ever quench our thirst. I am praying that we as a church will commit ourselves to “Digging Deeper in the Well in 2012.” I am making available several tools that will help our endeavor to go deeper in our relationship with God and his Word. I have published a yearly Bible reading schedule booklet that has been made available. I have also produced a “Spiritual Journal” to help you track your spiritual journey throughout 2012.  Lastly, I am making available five books that we can all read together throughout 2012 that will give us much food for thought and will be a great help to our spiritual growth. Ultimately, it is the Lord that will quench our thirst. In closing, I am asking you to commit yourself to reading through the Bible, utilizing the Spiritual Journey and the five selected Books- as we will be “Drawing Deeper from the Well in 2012”

Your Servant,

                                                                                                            Pastor David Mulvaine

Read the weekly message from Pastor Mulvaine.

January 29, 2012: God gave us a great Vision Sunday/Annual Business Meeting last Sunday. If you missed it, please make sure you pick up the reports that we handed out. I do want to thank everyone for their ministry over this past year and for your willingness to submit a report on your ministry. God has a great year planned out for us in 2012. I am asking everyone to take the challenge to “Draw Deeper from the Well in 2012.” As presented last Sunday, there are several tools that I am making available to you to help with this endeavor. I have offered a yearly Bible reading booklet, a Spiritual Journal booklet and I am offering several books that we are going to be reading as a church during the year. Please commit yourself to this worthy goal. The materials are ready and you may receive them today. Also, I am asking you to sign a spiritual commitment card and turn it in today. Let us all “Draw Deeper from the Well in 2012!” 

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

January 22, 2012: Today is our annual Business Meeting/Vision Sunday. We will take time to reflect upon God’s goodness and provision over this past year. It is amazing how God has cared for Troy Baptist Temple. We will also be considering our spiritual and service opportunities for 2012. God has burdened my heart to make 2012 a spiritual journey for our church. Of course, we are always endeavoring to grow spiritually, that is a no-brainer. Yet, I want to put out a special challenge to you this year to approach your walk with God as a spiritual journey of deeper growth in His Word and deeper growth in your relationship with God.  Jesus did say “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink”- John 7:37. Will you pray with me that God will give all of us a much greater thirst for Him than ever before? Jesus told us that if we thirst, he will give us drink. Please make it your goal this year to “Draw Deeper from the Well in 2012.”

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

January 15, 2012: I want to encourage everyone to pray and prepare to have a great “Vision Sunday/Annual Business Meeting” next Sunday. Each year we set aside a Sunday to share the vision and direction of our church for the next year. This helps all of us to move in the same spiritual direction as a church. We also take this Sunday to report what God has done in and through our church over the past year. TBT has had many challenges but we have also had many blessings. We need to rejoice in both the challenges and the blessings. We also need to discuss some business matters concerning our church. We will start the day with Sunday School, Morning Service, a potluck dinner follow the morning service and then our business meeting. We normally finish up about 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. There will be no evening service. Please plan to stay and catch the vision!

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

January 8, 2012: Welcome to the New Year! All the holiday festivities are now over and hopefully we are ready to journey into the New Year. Only the Lord knows what 2012 will have in store for our personal lives and the ministry of Troy Baptist Temple. This past Sunday, the challenge of the sermon was that we need to be “redeeming the time, because the days are evil”- Eph. 4:16. What this verse communicates is that we need to diligently use every opportunity to grow in the Lord and to have lives that glorify Him. The implication of this verse is that you can spend your time carelessly or in a wasteful manner. We must walk carefully, because the days are evil. Therefore, without deliberate carefulness, the evil that surrounds us will overwhelm us. I trust that all of us will use 2012 in such a way that we grow in our walk with the Lord and that our lives honor and glorify HIM. Let us all have a great 2012!!!

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

Read the weekly message from Pastor Mulvaine.

September 25, 2011: Here we are, after months of prayer and preparation, our Third Faith Promise Missions Conference has arrived.  Our missionaries will arrive on Wednesday and we begin our conference in the evening. I trust that you are as excited as I am, anticipating and expecting God to do great things over this next week. Please pray that God will speak to your heart, through His Word, and by His Spirit concerning your part in world-wide missions. Next Sunday morning we will be casting our vote for TBT’s missions outreach over this next year as we take up our “Faith Promise Missionary Offering.” Every believer has a responsibility and privilege in getting the gospel out and should be an active participant in missions by praying, going and giving. Let God use you to get the gospel out to the whole world!

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

September 18, 2011: I am so thrilled that our missions conference will be starting a week from Wednesday (Sept 28^th thru Oct. 2^nd ) Two years ago, TBT had its first “Faith Promise Missions Conference.” Our missions conferences have been a great blessing and challenge to all. The Lord has spoken to our hearts about missions and giving, and we have increased our faith promise missions offerings over the past two years. Most have been very faithful to their promised commitment this past year. Again, in this year’s conference, we will examine our hearts and seek God’s will concerning our faith promise commitment for the next year. The theme this year is “A Heart For Missions.” We all know that we are in difficult financial times, yet, souls still need to be saved across this world and missionaries must be sent to reach them. The Lord is really going to have to do some remarkable work in order to see our missions grow this year. But He can, because He is God. Please pray that God will give us “A Heart For Missions” so that we can move forward in our missions program. I know God will bless and encourage our hearts for missions. My challenge to everyone is to pray and talk to God about your faith promise missions offering for this next year. If we seek the heart and mind of God concerning our gift to Him for missions, He will speak to our hearts and reveal His will concerning our offering.

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

September 11, 2001: What we know as “9/11” was a very dark day in the history of America. Evil was perpetrated on the American people by men who displayed what President George Bush stated was “the very worst of human nature.”  God has demonstrated many times in his Word that He uses what man meant for evil for his good.  9/11 did draw our nation closer together, at least for a time and many were saved as they considered their destiny during the dark hours of 9/11. Still others were drawn to walk closer to the Lord as they considered their spiritual life. As we have this special 9/11 memorial service today, will you allow the sinister deeds of those men on that dark day 10 years ago, be used again to draw you closer to the Lord Jesus Christ?

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine

September 4, 2011: It’s been said that Christianity is supremely a religion of grace. And that is certainly true. But, even so, grace is not greatly understood and often not really believed. We use the word grace a lot, but rarely think about what it means. Grace is often hard to understand, hard to believe, and hard to receive. Grace is a gift that costs everything to the giver and nothing to the receiver. It is given to those who don’t deserve it, barely recognize it and hardly appreciate it. That is why God alone gets the glory in your salvation. Jesus did all the work when He died on the cross. In our message this morning we are going to look at the “Parable of the Laborers.”  In this parable, the landowner was acting graciously and yet there were some that misunderstood it and responded with complaining. How do you respond to God’s grace in your life and in the lives of others? God offers grace to all!

God Bless, Pastor Mulvaine