Ministry Vision:

To joyfully and passionately glorify God in every thought, affection, word and deed while constantly enjoying Him as our greatest pleasure and most precious treasure, and to draw others into this same delight through the faithful sharing and unfolding of His wonderful word.

Concerning the fear of the Lord:

The central theme of the book of Proverbs is "The Fear of the Lord."  This idea  is addressed specifically on 14 different occasions throughout the book and by way of inference everywhere.  It is the concluding thought of the book's prologue in 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."  Moreover, it is the key element in the book's instructions about:

1.  Coming to truly know God (1:29; 2:5);
2.  Overcoming sin (8:13; 16:6);
3.  Obtaining true wisdom (9:10);
4.  Having godly confidence (14:26);
5.  Living in contentment (15:16); and,
6.  Receiving life from God (14:27; 19:23).

You see, the book of Proverbs is all about true knowledge and true wisdom: knowledge (t[;D;) meaning factual understanding, perceiving and knowing what is real; wisdom (hm'k.x') meaning skill in living, the ability to take knowledge and actually apply it to your life.  Now according to Proverbs, the beginning of knowledge and wisdom, that is, the entrance into both of these and even into eternal life is "the fear of the Lord."

It is certainly not a small matter, then, to ask, "What is this fear?" 

Though this fear includes the idea of trembling, the primary meaning of the word (ha'r>yI) in this context is reverence.  It has to do with worship, being filled and even stricken with awe at the wonder and glory and raw magnificence of God.  This fear is certainly not an impassive or academic kind of thing.  It's not the thing that causes you to yawn and look at your watch for the third time in a church service.  No, it is a powerful emotional response to unparalleled majesty.

Now while it is true that the fear of the Lord for the believer is not a trembling dread that paralyzes action, it is also equally true that it is not simply some kind of a nice and polite affection.  Neither is it an innocuous, insipid or impotent reverence either.  Dear reader, the fear of the Lord is a mighty life changing force in the one who has gotten a hold of it.  It makes God central in one's thoughts, motives, actions and affections.  It delights in submission and obedience to Him above all things, not out of obligation, but out of love and worship.  The fear of the Lord shatters worldliness, inspires prayer, fills a heart with singing, and jealously rejects and guards against all things contrary.

Do not think that just because you regularly come to church, sing a couple of hymns, listen to Christian radio, go to Christian web sites, and manage to gut and fight your way through staying awake in a sermon or two each week, that somehow you've got the fear of the Lord in your soul.  No, but rather consider yourself as having the fear of the Lord when you long for prayer and personal worship every morning, when you pray throughout the day laying yourself bare before God, when you wake in the middle of the night with a song on your lips instead of lust in your heart, when you need His word to sustain your days and are hungry for it more than your food, when you ache and are moved with compassion at the thought and sight of those who do not know Him, when the sin in your life seems a gross insult to the one you love, when sin in your life covers you with shame and conviction and becomes something vile to be scraped out and brutally mortified and killed.  When these things begin to happen in your life Dear Reader and continue, then you may consider yourself as having entered into and touched the edges of this wonderful and glorious fear.

About the Author:

Pastor Chris Rice was born in Liberty, Missouri.  He was born again at the age of six and was raised in Liberty, where he
graduated from high school in 1988.  Afterwards he attended
the University of Missouri where he received a Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1993.  In 1994, Pastor Rice married the beautiful
Alecia Eve Brownfield of St. Charles, Missouri.  He was then attending the University of Missouri School of Law where he
graduated with a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1996.  Next, he
entered the U.S. Air Force and served as a Judge Advocate until
2000, when he felt the call of God into the ministry.  In 2000 he
enrolled in Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary of Wake
Forest, North Carolina, where he received a Master of Divinity Degree with languages in 2003.  Since that time he has served the Lord as a pastor and is currently serving Elvaton Baptist Church of Millersville, Maryland.  He and Eve are the proud parents of three beautiful children.

To provide in depth expository Bible studies for personal devotion, small group Bible study and Sunday school classes.  These studies are for those who are tired of the more superficial, fast paced, and shallow materials on the market and long to go deep with God and deep into the Scripture.  They are designed for those who are hungry for more personal reflection and have a genuine desire to learn and apply Scripture to their own lives. 

To provide other resources to aid fellow pastors and Sunday school teachers in sermon preparation, lesson development, personal worship and growth.

Methodology: