Rick and I want to thank our prayer warriors and supporters for your continued diligence as we move forward through the open doors God shows us as we “go” for His glory. The conference in the UK was truly blessed and many were encouraged by Rick’s lectures.
We joined the Calvary Chapel, St. Paul, MN group (50 of us) and traveled with them in Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. It was truly a blessing and you can view the pictures at calvarychapelsaintpaul.org. We all came away knowing that the time is short before our Lord comes for His church. It is difficult to pick a favorite memory, but for me one of them is our time in a recreated village in Nazareth, the place of Jesus’ conception. Yesterday on the news, we heard a Bible teacher say they have found archeological proof of a 1st century village on that site and once again the Bible is proven correct. We saw them working on the site when we were in Nazareth.
May you have a blessed Christmas and a new year filled with joy as you choose to trust the Lord with all your heart. Love Rick and Susan
CHRISTMAS 2009
ABUNDANT LIFE, HOPE, PEACE, JOY, LOVE: OFFERED TO ALL SINNERS
God’s plan of the ages…it is not a secret…it was done openly. It all started over 2000 years ago in a little town in Israel called Nazareth in. “…and the angel answered an said to her (the Jewish virgin named Mary) the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you: therefore, also, that Holy One Who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35).”
God, Jesus, was conceived in Nazareth; born in Bethlehem; taken to Egypt; returned to Nazareth and grew into a man, a carpenter by trade: God among us, Emmanuel, God with us. After three years of open ministry, miracles and teaching, He offered Himself as a sinless sacrifice to take the penalty for our sins in our place so we could now come to God, His way. He was crucified (without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin) out side the walls of Jerusalem. After He died He was buried in a tomb near Golgotha, and after three days He rose from the dead, and now is at our Father’s right hand praying for us. Because He was willing to do this, all who believe in Him and confess Him as their Lord-will live with Him forever-all others will reside in the Lake of fire; forever.
Soon and very soon the world, which has been under the curse since Adam and Eve rebelled against God, will change…for now, God’s hand is stretched out still, and He says, “come now let us reason together,” says the LORD, “though your sins are as scarlet they will be as white as snow though they be as crimson they will be white as wool,” if we will repent and turn from our own way to God’s way.
Jesus will come again with all His saints (all who believe in Him) and as He sets His foot on the Mount of Olives-the earth will split and He will return to Jerusalem as King of kings and Lord of lords. Finally, He will set up His righteous kingdom and His kingdom will come as His will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Believers will rule and reign with Him and remain with Him, forever.
Come quickly Lord Jesus!
The Scriptures are true from the beginning to the end. In the light of this, let us live for His glory.
Love,
Rick and Susan
We leave 11/25/09 for England (11/25-12/2) Egypt/Israel (12/2-18). Check out our calender. Please pray for travel, Rick’s lectures, especially on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 2pm and 8pm.
Reminder: Rick was invited to join the scientists at Logos Research Associates. Check out logosresearchassociates.org one of our links to top creation scientists.
For those of you that are receiving this information for the first time I would like to invite you to go to the Confound The Wise Ministry web site www.confoundthewise.org to get an idea what Susan and I have been doing since we left Mount Hermon. For those who have been involved in this ministry all along, through prayer and financial support, as well as, those who are new I will try to bring you up to date, currently.
I have recently been invited to join a new ministry sponsored by Pastor Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. The ministry is called Logos Research Associates. It is a ministry composed of Creation Scientists in an effort to bring together top Creation Scientists in one place to work together. The web site is: www.logosresearchassociates.org
This past year was an exciting and busy year for Susan and me, as well as. for Confound The Wise Ministries. I was invited to write an article in Answers Magazine at Answers In Genesis Ministries in Florence Kentucky. It was published in the July-September issue. You can get a copy or read the article at www.AnswersMagazine.com or www.answersingenesis.org. In the spring we were invited to speak at several churches and other venues in California and we were well received. As a result of that tour we have received and accepted several speaking engagements for this next year. We had an awesome time traveling and speaking through out the Mid-West from July through September. We traveled from Arizona to our first speaking stop in Durango Colorado then on to Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Kentucky and back to Iowa and then to Minnesota for three weeks then to Wisconsin and finished in North and South Dakota. It was a very emotional and rewarding time for us when we visited Wofford Kentucky, where I spent my childhood. It was fun introducing Susan to my relatives and show her where I grew up. I was invited to speak at Wofford Baptist Church where I attended as a child it had been 55 years since I had been back to this Church.
After returning to Arizona at the end of September we were invited to speak in Tucson where we spent 9 days. I spoke at the University of Arizona and several
public and Christian High Schools as well as the youth group and college group at Calvary Chapel Tucson. While in Tucson I was invited to speak for the Arizona Origins Society as well. The pastor at Calvary Chapel Tucson arranged to have a professional film crew shoot over 18 hours of video and it is being edited to produce several new DVDs to be available through Confound The Wise Ministry in January 2010
We were continually blessed all along the way by the number of young people and adults who made first time commitments to the Lord Jesus Christ. They were able, for the first time, to justify the book of Genesis and Science. We are still receiving
e-mails advising us of other commitments that we were unaware of.
We are currently in contact with many of the pastors that we met this spring and summer to schedule lectures next year. Also, as a result of the contacts we made
along the way we have been invited to speak at a Creation Conference in London England November 24th through the 30th. The Conference is sponsored by Morriell Ministry in England. Another blessing that we have received is a trip to Egypt and Israel December 2nd through the 18th. We will fly from England to Egypt and Israel as guests of Pastor Chik Chikallis, the Pastor at Calvary Chapel Saint Paul, Minnesota.
As you can see, God has BLESSED this Ministry greatly and it is because of Christians like you, who have bathed us in Prayer as well as financial support that we are able to continue serving God through this Ministry.
Susan and I thank you from our hearts, may God Bless you all.
Rick spoke to the fellowship of Believers in Fargo, ND last night. Many questions and words of encouragement followed our time with them. Lisa wrote us a note on Rick’s e-mail this morning and stated, “Rick and Susan, thank you both for following the Lord’s leading to “go for His glory; even to Fargo, ND…and Susan, thank you for the encouragement as you shared with me personally, the importance of overcoming our enemy (satan) by the word of our testimony and the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11).”
So much has happened on this journey it is hard to know where to begin, so I’ll begin with today. Yesterday and this morning Rick spoke at Concordia Academy (400+ high school students) and was very well received. At the close of today’s session one of the seniors came by to express his gratitude for our coming to his school. He stated, “In the past we have had many creation vs. evolution speakers that bored us to tears. But Dr. Oliver, your lecture was so engaging and timely for us as students preparing for college, thank you for coming.”
We arrived in Fargo, ND this afternoon and are staying with pastor Seth Wetter and his family. Rick will speak tomorrow at Calvary Chapel, Fargo and on Thursday at Calvary Chapel, Grand Forks, ND. We will then head for home in Tonto Basin, AZ for a little rest and relaxation before heading for Tuscon in October, and England in November and Israel in December.
Thank you all for your prayers and support without which we could not go to do God’s work.
8/14/2009
Rick received this comment after he spoke at Calvarychapelcedarrapids.com last Wednesday. He will finish this lecture on Sunday morning, 8/16 at the same location at 10:00 am.
“I have paid thousands of dollars for university and college classes but did not receive as much truth as I did last night. Thank you Rick for coming to our humble lil’ ole church out here in Iowa. May the Lord bless you both richly. His perfect work was certainly being done in you huh, all those masters and years of fighting Creation to be here today. You must be overwhelmed with gratitude that He pulled you out of the ”
‘muck of evolution!’”
August 3, 2009
Rick and I are having a wonderful visit with his cousins and friends in Wofford, Ky. Yesterday was an answered prayer of 18 years ago of his mom and ours. Rick preached at the Baptist Church were he began so many years ago.
Isaiah 7:9 “…If you will not believe (the LORD), surely you will not be established.”
Proverbs 30:5 “Every Word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add not thou unto His Words, lest thou be found a liar.”
Romans 10:14 “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?…”
We do thank God for all of you who are sending us through your prayers and financial support. God is adding fruit to your account as many who hear Rick speak are turning back to God’s Word and many are being saved (Phil 4).
“…Let God be true and every man a liar Romans 3:4″.
We received a letter from a teacher after Rick’s lecture at Calvary Chapel, San Jose that shows the lack of tolerance for any opinion that counters Darwinism has been around for a long time: “You gave a thrilling presentation and I will be sharing these DVDs with folks. I have my master’s in English and Comp. Lit. and (I) well remember the incredible ridicule and resistance (I received), not only in my science classes, but in history, literature, and the social sciences, regarding any ideas that challenge Darwinism in all its pervasiveness. God bless your ministry in the Spirit of truth!”
One of our desires is to present information that would hold the interest of scientists and non scientists. A professor from Cal Poly, San Louis Obispo, CA confirmed Rick is doing just that. After reviewing Rick’s DVD, “Faith without Excuse,” the professor called and told Rick that the DVD held his interest for the full four hours. He said he watched it in one sitting. He said Rick made the scientific information and principles easy to understand. He said Rick never lost his interest, but Non science people will be able to understand because you brought it into every day language.
A former co worker from Mount Hermon Christian Camps, CA wrote Rick an e-mail after several years since he spent time talking with Rick and attending Rick’s lectures at Mount Hermon’s family camp. He is now a teacher in another state. “I wanted to thank you for all the conversations we had over the years about science and religion. I had a chance to use them.” He explained a student expressed her frustration over having to learn (macro) evolution and not being able to talk about God…She also had concerns about having her Bible taken from her and getting detentions for speaking her mind. He finished with, “It was nice to have the background to have an intelligent conversation (with her). Thanks.”
After visiting with Pastor Jeremy Higgins, “Now to the blessing God has set before us. Dr. Rick Oliver was in my office today, in Tempe, AZ.” (After the visit was in progress Jeremy invited Rick to speak in the church Jeremy pastors in Cedar Rapids, IA) and he states, “Dr Oliver will be speaking at our church (Calvary Chapel Cedar Rapids) on Wednesday, August 12 at our 6:30 p.m. service as well as Sunday, August 16, 2009 at a special Sunday evening service at 6:30 p.m. What and excellent opportunity to grow in our understanding of God’s perfect Creation, Praise the LORD.”
These quotes and thoughts are a few examples of how the mission statement of Confound the Wise Ministries are being accomplished: “To proclaim the true and unerring Word of Jesus Christ revealed in the Holy Scriptures within the realm of science and technology.” And we also are within the boundaries set by the scientific community in their resolution documented in 1976. In this document it is stated that a scientist can go where ever his studies lead him without retribution. But the scientific community is not living by its own resolution as many scientists and professors have lost their jobs and their fellowships because they either talked about or refused to stop their scientific discoveries that went against the accepted scientific theories of our day. This fact is well documented in Rick’s “Faith without Excuse,” DVD and the 2008 film by Ben Stein, “Expelled.” And that is why we are compelled by our Lord to continue…to present alternatives to the …”Science so called (1 Timothy 6:20).” We encourage people to believe the unchanging truth of God’s Word.
DVD with Resource Booklet Donation $20.00
