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West Park Baptist Church

Biblical Counselor Testimonial: Matthew Hayes

May 23, 2023 by West Park Baptist Church Leave a Comment

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Galatians 5:13.

When I was presented with the opportunity to serve others by becoming a Certified Biblical Counselor, I was honestly unsure if it was God calling me, or if it was just my selfish way of finding a way to show off my biblical knowledge, or rather what I think I know. However, on the prompting of other godly people that I trust, and the Holy Spirit, with verses like the one above, I decided to at least complete the Fundamentals portion of the ACBC certification track. And then I would determine if it was God truly calling me to continue the pursuit of becoming certified. I was, at first, a bit hesitant (a huge understatement), as I had never considered this before, nor did I realize that this was an opportunity to be had until shortly before it came about. I had never given much thought to the existence of Biblical Counseling, much less that God would me into this role. 

I had never counseled in the past, nor been counseled, so I was unsure exactly what would be required of me. I had never had the opportunity to take part in any type of discipleship that would positively affect people’s lives in so great a manner(which I learned about through the process). So, I went into the process wondering if I was properly equipped to counsel others during some of their darkest days. Through verses such as Luke 12:12 and the teaching in the fundamentals portion, I soon realized that Biblical Counseling is simply one sinner listening to another sinner, then helping that person listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling them through God’s Word. When I realized this is what true Biblical Counseling is, God spoke to my heart and caused me to understand that it is not me doing the counseling, instead it is the Holy Spirit. All I must do is listen to Him and speak the words He gives me. The Biblical Counselor is simply the conduit who helps the one seeking counsel to hear what the Spirit has to say about their specific situation. After learning this, my feelings of inadequacy all but disappeared. 

As I progressed through the fundamentals, the observations, and the reading, I realized that becoming a Biblical Counselor was something for which I was developing a passion. Or, to put it more accurately, I found that God was working in my heart and giving me the passion to serve others by helping  guide them through some of their toughest times in life, as a Certified Biblical Counselor. One of the key verses ACBC uses as their guide for serving others is Romans 8:28-29: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 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.” I have found that in studying the Word to give proper counsel to others, I have been blessed with greater wisdom, knowledge, and confidence to share what the Spirit has given me with those who are sitting before me in the counseling room (Proverbs 1:2-6), conforming me more to the image of Christ as I am attempting to help others do the same. Many times, I have not experienced the situation for which the counselee is seeking help, but I am still able to offer the proper counsel as I rely on the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to guide me in helping them.  

In the end, the answer to the question of why I wanted to pursue this certification lies in the commandment of God to “go therefore and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19). Becoming a Certified Biblical Counselor is simply the manner to which God has called me to allow me to follow this great commandment that He gives to all believers. No, becoming a Certified Biblical Counselor could not be counted as going to the “end of the earth,” (Acts 1:8) to accomplish this mission. However, it is going into one’s own Jerusalem – into my Jerusalem – to disciple other sinners, one person at a time, using the power of God’s Word to change lives for an eternal purpose. This, to me, is the true essence of why Biblical Counseling exists and why I chose to seek certification. So, if you are looking for somewhere to serve where you can directly affect other believers’ lives, that offers positive and eternal results, I would urge you to at least research and consider the Biblical Counseling Ministry at WPBC. It may be a good fit for you! You may be surprised, as I was, at how God works in your life and in your heart to give you a passion for helping other people.

Filed Under: West Park Baptist Church Blog

Holy Week Prayer Guide 2023

March 31, 2023 by West Park Baptist Church Leave a Comment

Palm Sunday, April 2, 2023 – Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-38; John 12: 12-19

We thank you, Lord, as we approach this important Passion Week where you triumphantly rode on a colt into the Holy City not only as King of the Jews but as our coming King. Thank you that our King did not ride into the city on a stallion, but meek and lowly on a colt. Thank you for being compassionate towards hopeless people. The crowds in the Holy City were pleading for salvation from their earthly enemies. The real enemy is not flesh and blood, but it is the arch-enemy, the Devil. During this week, the Devil thought he would be the victor, but Jesus crushed his head. Glory and Honor to our King! We are so thankful that the King came not to be served, but to give His life as a ransom for many.

Monday, April 3, 2023 – Matthew 21:12-20; John 12:1-14; Mark 11:11-33

Hosanna in the highest! Just as the sweet perfume Mary used to anoint your feet filled the air of their home, may our prayer be a sweet aroma of praise to you as you sit at the right hand of the Father. In this solemn Resurrection season, unlike the barren fig tree that Jesus cursed, may our lives bear fruit that testifies to your indwelling Spirit in our lives. As we come together to worship you, may our church be a house of prayer that glorifies, honors, and pleases you.

Tuesday, April 4, 2023 – Matthew 21:20-27; Matthew 21:28-23:39; Mark 11:20-12:44

Thank you, Lord, that the Stone the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone. There is no other name by which man can be saved. As we navigate in this fallen world, help us to look to you as the Cornerstone of our faith. May our hearts be aligned with yours, Jesus, so that by your grace, we possess a faith that can move mountains. We are humbled when we consider that you have authority over heaven and earth, and yet you choose us and call us your beloved. We praise you as we sing Hosanna to the King of Kings. You knew what awaited in Jerusalem, and yet you rode the donkey into town in obedience to the Father.

Wednesday, April 5, 2023 – Luke 22:3-6; Matthew 26:14-16

Forgive us, Lord Jesus, as we are so easily distracted from following you. Judas, your disciple, was possessed by Satan to betray you for 30 pieces of silver. The lure of money and other selfish desires can tempt us too. This fallen world beckons us every day to go astray. Help us to keep our focus on you and to realize our great need for you. Our personal relationship with you is far more valuable than silver or gold or anything this world could offer.

Maundy Thursday, April 6, 2023 – John 13:12-17, 34; I John 3:16-19a

To the One who knew that he had come from God and was going to God; to Him who laid aside His garments and took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet; you alone are worthy to mandate, to command your followers to love in a self-sacrificing way. You gave us an example to live by during that Passover celebration. You want your followers to love not with lip-service but with action! Good Shepherd, help us to love one another in such a way that the world will know that we are members of Your flock.

Good Friday, April 7, 2023 – John 19; Psalm 22:1-24; Hebrews 10:19-25

Lord Jesus, God the Son, in whom the very essence of the Holy Trinity exists, you were born into this world as man so that in obedience to the Father, you could lay down your life for man. Your agony was far more than your physical suffering on the cross. You took upon yourself the wrath of God’s justice that our sins might be forgiven and our relationship with our Creator restored. We bless your name as you are the Way, the Truth and the Life for the world.

Saturday, April 8, 2023 – Matthew 27:57-65

Lord Jesus, we can’t begin to imagine what was taking place in the spiritual realm while the body you used in the physical realm lay cold and still behind the sealed stone. We believe that you were spreading the news of your final victory over sin and death among those who had been waiting centuries to hear that good word. While your earthly followers hid themselves out of fear and confusion, your heavenly followers had a joyful celebration because they knew what had taken place. May we, who also share that knowledge, celebrate it and declare it with like passion among those whose hearts are like that sealed stone.

Resurrection Sunday, April 9, 2023 – Mark 16:1-7; Matthew 28:1-20; John 20:1-21

Father, your gift to us has been opened, complete, and today we celebrate, in awe, the finished work of Jesus. By His resurrection, death was defeated. The grave lost its sting. We have hope and life because on this day, as the angels declared to stunned disciples and as He, himself, declared to Peter, Cleopas, Mary, Thomas, and all who gathered in a locked room, “Jesus is risen!” The debt has been paid. Thank you for the Spirit who inspired the writing of the Word and gives us understanding. Thank you that my shackles are gone. Thank you for an empty tomb. Thank you for the mission in the great Commission. May we shout it from the rooftops, declare it in the streets, and live it out in our lives! Christ is risen!! We praise you for this! And may our lives say, “He is risen, indeed!”

AMEN

Filed Under: West Park Baptist Church Blog

Day 28: Saturday, December 24th, 2022

December 24, 2022 by West Park Baptist Church Leave a Comment

Family devotions and personal worship are great spiritual disciplines to embrace in this Advent season and continue year-round.

  1. Gather with those in your home to set apart a daily time together (15 minutes or more is fine… right after a meal
    is ideal).
  2. Have someone read the passage for that day.
  3. Discuss what it means in light of Jesus. What does it say about Him or His coming?
  4. Pray in response to the passage. Thank God for fulfilled prophecies, answered prayers, renewed hopes, etc. Ask the Holy
    Spirit to keep your hearts focused on His Word.
  5. Sing a hymn or carol of the season.

Week 4 – The Shepherds (Joy)

Zechariah 9:9

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Suggested hymns: Joy to the World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

Filed Under: Advent 2022

Day 27: Friday, December 23rd, 2022

December 23, 2022 by West Park Baptist Church Leave a Comment

Family devotions and personal worship are great spiritual disciplines to embrace in this Advent season and continue year-round.

  1. Gather with those in your home to set apart a daily time together (15 minutes or more is fine… right after a meal
    is ideal).
  2. Have someone read the passage for that day.
  3. Discuss what it means in light of Jesus. What does it say about Him or His coming?
  4. Pray in response to the passage. Thank God for fulfilled prophecies, answered prayers, renewed hopes, etc. Ask the Holy
    Spirit to keep your hearts focused on His Word.
  5. Sing a hymn or carol of the season.

Week 4 – The Shepherds (Joy)

John 10:10-11

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Suggested hymns: Joy to the World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

Filed Under: Advent 2022

Day 26: Thursday, December 22nd, 2022

December 22, 2022 by West Park Baptist Church Leave a Comment

Family devotions and personal worship are great spiritual disciplines to embrace in this Advent season and continue year-round.

  1. Gather with those in your home to set apart a daily time together (15 minutes or more is fine… right after a meal
    is ideal).
  2. Have someone read the passage for that day.
  3. Discuss what it means in light of Jesus. What does it say about Him or His coming?
  4. Pray in response to the passage. Thank God for fulfilled prophecies, answered prayers, renewed hopes, etc. Ask the Holy
    Spirit to keep your hearts focused on His Word.
  5. Sing a hymn or carol of the season.

Week 4 – The Shepherds (Joy)

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our[a] joy may be complete.

Suggested hymns: Joy to the World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

Filed Under: Advent 2022

Day 25: Wednesday, December 21st, 2022

December 21, 2022 by West Park Baptist Church Leave a Comment

Family devotions and personal worship are great spiritual disciplines to embrace in this Advent season and continue year-round.

  1. Gather with those in your home to set apart a daily time together (15 minutes or more is fine… right after a meal
    is ideal).
  2. Have someone read the passage for that day.
  3. Discuss what it means in light of Jesus. What does it say about Him or His coming?
  4. Pray in response to the passage. Thank God for fulfilled prophecies, answered prayers, renewed hopes, etc. Ask the Holy
    Spirit to keep your hearts focused on His Word.
  5. Sing a hymn or carol of the season.

Week 4 – The Shepherds (Joy)

Luke 2:15-20

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Suggested hymns: Joy to the World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

Filed Under: Advent 2022

Day 24: Tuesday, December 20th, 2022

December 20, 2022 by West Park Baptist Church Leave a Comment

Family devotions and personal worship are great spiritual disciplines to embrace in this Advent season and continue year-round.

  1. Gather with those in your home to set apart a daily time together (15 minutes or more is fine… right after a meal
    is ideal).
  2. Have someone read the passage for that day.
  3. Discuss what it means in light of Jesus. What does it say about Him or His coming?
  4. Pray in response to the passage. Thank God for fulfilled prophecies, answered prayers, renewed hopes, etc. Ask the Holy
    Spirit to keep your hearts focused on His Word.
  5. Sing a hymn or carol of the season.

Week 4 – The Shepherds (Joy)

Isaiah 35:1-10

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
    the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
2 it shall blossom abundantly
    and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
    the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
    the majesty of our God.

3 Strengthen the weak hands,
    and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who have an anxious heart,
    “Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
    will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
    He will come and save you.”

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
    and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
    and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
    and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
    the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

8 And a highway shall be there,
    and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
    It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
    even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.[a]
9 No lion shall be there,
    nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
    but the redeemed shall walk there.
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
    and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
    they shall obtain gladness and joy,
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Suggested hymns: Joy to the World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

Filed Under: Advent 2022

Day 23: Monday, December 19th, 2022

December 19, 2022 by West Park Baptist Church Leave a Comment

Family devotions and personal worship are great spiritual disciplines to embrace in this Advent season and continue year-round.

  1. Gather with those in your home to set apart a daily time together (15 minutes or more is fine… right after a meal
    is ideal).
  2. Have someone read the passage for that day.
  3. Discuss what it means in light of Jesus. What does it say about Him or His coming?
  4. Pray in response to the passage. Thank God for fulfilled prophecies, answered prayers, renewed hopes, etc. Ask the Holy
    Spirit to keep your hearts focused on His Word.
  5. Sing a hymn or carol of the season.

Week 4 – The Shepherds (Joy)

Psalm 5:11-12

11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
    let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may exult in you.
12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
    you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Suggested hymns: Joy to the World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

Filed Under: Advent 2022

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