Lab Report
Lab Report - Winter 2021
BibleLabs Ministries is still alive and well. The COVID-19 pandemic has completely halted all our public meetings including conference sessions and even our public services at The First Baptist Church of Troy, New Hampshire. However, BibleLabs Ministries has produced the weekly virtual messages for The First Baptist Church of Troy, NH. By God's grace, we have not missed uploading a weekly audio message and monologue each Sunday.
These messages are all available here on the BibleLabs Ministries website. They are located under a new section titled "Bible Book Study and Commentary" which is found under the "Institute" pull-down menu located at the top of our homepage, just under the logo. This will take you to each Bible book folder that has been produced. So far, we have completed "Time to Return - Time to Rebuild" (Ezra, Esther and Nehemiah) and "Sorrowing in the Ruins of What Might Have Been" (Lamentations). We are currently producing "Urgent Warning Concerning Apostasy in the Church" (Jude).
As time permits, we hope to include study notes and outlines as well as any visual charts and other materials that will supplement and enhance your study of the Scripture.
In the past, BibleLabs Ministries served as a home base for our conference ministry. We provided seminars, workshops and breakout sessions. The webpage provided access to the materials for these sessions. However, the conference door has closed due to COVID-19, the closing of Monadnock Christian Ministries and the halting of Challenge Ministries. But as the saying goes, "when a door closes, God opens up a window of opportunity" and indeed He has!
The COVID-19 virus forced us to get out of our "comfort zone" and start producing weekly messages. With all distractions removed, it was easier to focus, learn how to utilize the tools available, and deadlines pushed my perfectionism (that leads to procrastination) out of the way. God has refocused this ministry, tying it very close to our "main responsibility" which is serving as pastor of The First Baptist Church of Troy, New Hampshire. Our church has been very supportive of the ministry outside the immediate church body. Consequently, its outreach has gone far and wide. When we closed the public meetings and offered the virtual audio services, the listening audience more than doubled the typical service size.
So for all of this, we give God the glory and praise. He designed and set up something far greater than we could have ever envisioned. I prayed the prayer of Jabez when I left Canada and arrived in Troy, New Hampshire nearly 20 years ago. We have witnessed and experienced discouraging times, but perhaps God is answering in His time and His way!
Lab Report Archive
Lab Report - Winter 2020
When we posted our last Lab Report there were a lot of future plans on the horizon. We were wondering if we would be able to fit it all in and still do justice to our "real ministry" (the one that supports and sustains us) at The First Baptist Church of Troy, New Hampshire. The last two years have proven the fact that things can change quickly and radically.
There have been health issues for Donn. Many necessary "things" have arisen and demanded our attention. Every ministry that we are involved in has suffered a major trial or setback.
Here at The First Baptist Church of Troy, New Hampshire, we lost a young man in a fatal automobile crash. This man had struggled with substance abuse most of his life but had managed to completely break free of that bondage and was serving full-time with Teen Challenge here in New Hampshire. He went to Israel with us in the fall of 2017.
Challenge Ministries founder and director Dwight Knight suffered a major stroke that put everything on hold while he recovered. We are very happy to report he is doing well. I had the privilege to serve on the Challenge Ministries board and was a regular speaker for many of their events. This all came to a halt for the past two years, but we are anticipating starting up again with the Men's Leadership Conference called "Journey" the last weekend of May at Cedarville College.
Monadnock Bible Conference has undergone major changes, including its name which is now Monadnock Christian Ministries. I have taught many workshops and breakout sessions for a number of events there, but due to the many changes in program, I have not taught for the past two years. I was involved in a very serious incident on the water (I operated their boat for many summers) that left me traumatized for months. No one was killed or even hurt but the effects of "what might have been" will be with me for life. And in addition, one of the former program directors that I worked under is fighting a very serious form of brain cancer.
One of the main leaders of our prior church, the North Road Baptist Church at Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada, has just undergone very serious surgery for an aneurism and torn aorta. During that time, he suffered a couple of strokes as well. He is still in hospital in Saint John with a long road of recovery ahead of him yet. Keep praying for him.
Enough of the negative news! God is alive and well, and so is His church. We have seen growth at The First Baptist Church of Troy, New Hampshire. Though delayed several months, we are now continuing to post our podcasts on the series "Time to Return - Time to Rebuild" here on Bible Labs Ministries. More series are planned. A very good number of people downloaded the podcasts for which we give God the glory. We have not advertised and promotion has been minimal, and yet people continue to find us and listen! Challenge Ministries published a book on our Israel trip to which I was able to contribute a few articles or chapters. My health has stabilized. The past two years have been a time of challenge, testing, as well as growing and learning. God has been faithful through it all and has not forsaken us for a moment! Continue to pray for all the various ministries mentioned here, that God the Father's will be done and His Son Jesus Christ be glorified!
Lab Report - Winter 2018
The first of a series of new podcasts on the historic books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther is now available here. These will be recorded from our current Sunday messages at The First Baptist Church of Troy, New Hampshire.
A few months have passed since our trip to Israel. It has taken this amount of time to fully process all the impressions, education, and experience the trip afforded. Preparations continue for the upcoming Spring conferences with Challenge Ministries.
BibleLabs Ministries has obtained the necessary devices and programs to record, edit and upload the workshops and messages that we do. At this point, we choose to not live stream but to make a portion of our Bible teaching recorded "live" available to you on this website.
We begin with this new Bible study series being currently taught at our church. It is our prayer that the messages will be a benefit to all who download and listen to them.
Tenth and Final Day Touring Israel
This morning we left Jerusalem for the Gaza Strip one more time. Our destination this time was Jacob's well. Once more, I left with the optimistic dream we would find the well in an area set apart from the commercialism and religious domination (yes, I meant to say that - I will explain it further when we return - suffice it to say that I understand better why God wrote the first two commandments!) Such was not the case, but since it is hard to move a hole in the ground, the well is authentic - at least the 120 foot hole! A couple of our speakers shared a great devotional and yes, we drank the water!
Traveling to and from the well gave us a good view of Samaria and it is quite different from the days Jesus walked this area. We saw (from a distance) Shiloh which was the place the Ark of the Covenant had been residing before it was captured. We are back in Jerusalem early today. Some are resting, others swimming, shopping (my wife Sue is in that group!!) and I am writing this blog! Tomorrow we begin the long trip back home.
(Shepherds with their flocks in Samaria)
(Shiloh where the Ark resided before it was captured by the Philistines)
(Jacob's Well)
(NOT CHRIST'S TOMB but one from the same time period)
Ninth Day in Israel
This morning we began with a very solemn visit to the Holocaust Museum. I was very moved by the exhibits and found myself concerned as we can currently see some similar conditions brewing today that led to that nightmare. We next headed for the West Bank to visit Bethlehem. Bethlehem has greatly changed since the days of Jesus, David and Boaz. We visited the supposed site where Jesus was born. The church there was having serious maintenance which, along with the crowds of people, took away from the experience.
We saw the area where the fields of Boaz were located (I believe the same fields in which the shepherds were tending sheep the night Jesus was born). We also visited the area where John the Baptist was born. This was the same location that Mary visited Elizabeth. We finished the day having a Sabbath super at a Jewish home in Jerusalem. Sabbath begins Friday night at sunset. This was a learning event as well a very delicious meal. Tomorrow we visit Jacobs's well.
(Bethlehem)
(Is this the Manger?)
(Outside the Holocaust Museum)
Eighth Day in Israel
We began our day down under the Temple Mount in a place called King Solomon's Quarries or Zedekiah's Cave. Here is one of the places that apparently supplied the stones for the Temple that Solomon built. There is a different world down under the Temple Area. We then moved on to some archaeological "digs" in the city of Old Jerusalem that was very interesting to us with an interest in history. We walked from that location to the famous Via Dolorosa, the supposed trail to the cross.
We left the trail to visit the Pool of Bethesda where I had the privilege of speaking and clearly preaching the Gospel. The pool is completely dry now. From there we visited the Western Wall, thought to be the only remaining part of Solomon's Temple. After lunch in the American Quarter and some shopping in the markets, we continued on the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This is the traditional site of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Tomorrow we go to Bethlehem.
(Solomon's Quarry)
(The Empty Tomb)
(Via Dolorosa)
(The Church of the Holy Sepulcher)
(Excavation in the Old City)
(Bethesda Pool)
Seventh Day in Israel
If you have ever seen a picture of Jerusalem, it was likely taken from the Mount of Olives. I have just finished a series of messages on the Olivet Discourse at our church, and I was anxious to see the place where Jesus talked over prophetic details with His inner circle. I pictured some grassy shaded summit where they would be able to privately talk. If that is the way it was then, things sure have changed!! The traffic, pedestrians, sightseers, and even camels would compete with New York City's Manhattan Island during rush hour!! We got our pictures and boarded the bus for the Garden of Gethsemane. Here will be a peaceful place I thought. Wrong!! The place itself is very impressive, especially when you consider some of the trees could well have been alive the time Jesus struggled and prayed there. But I was disappointed in its size. You could place the entire garden within the parsonage property where I live. And the commercialization, churches and shrines have pressed the city up to the small boundaries of this site.
We proceeded to the other mountain of Old Jerusalem called Mount Zion. We walked by a tomb called David's Tomb (history sheds some doubt) and went to another debated place that was called the Upper Room. I spoke here, but so many groups were singing, chanting and making speeches in a room that is half our church auditorium size, that it was nearly impossible to be heard. Only the microphone and headsets gave our group the ability to hear amidst the chaos.
We next saw the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and the Menorah. From there, we visited the Israel Museum. Here things became genuine. We saw many very interesting exhibits, a very large model of Old Jerusalem (the size of a basket ball gymnasium) and some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The highlight was to go to the Garden Tomb. Whether or not it is the real spot, historic facts seem to be very supportive. The Place of the Scull, the Garden and the Empty Tomb make this a very special site to visit. It was very crowded and there is a bus station right at the bottom of The Place of the Scull. However, the many groups visiting seem to be very much on the same "page" - singing, praising, worshiping, and rejoicing in the resurrection.
Finally, we visited the home of the man that wrote the old famous hymn "It is Well With my Soul have" and the leader of Challenge Ministries, Dwight Knight played the original piano while we sang that great old hymn. I never heard it done better!!
(Jordan River where possibly John baptized Jesus)
(The Place Speaks For Itself!)
(The Garden)
(The Sealed Eastern Gate)
(It Is Empty!!)
(The Famous View)
(Model of Old Jerusalem)
(The Menorah)
Sixth Day in Israel
We left the Dead Sea and traveled on to Masada, the site I was originally invited to speak at. This was a very exciting task as I had heard so much about this place! I spoke at the top of this ancient site in 120 - 130 degree heat! It is an amazing fortress with a very rich history. Josephus reports of the final holdout of a group of rebels (or heroes) who held on as long as possible. The Romans took several months to build a ramp to the exceedingly high fortress and when they finally breeched the wall, they found their opponents had killed themselves rather than be taken as slaves.
From there we went up to Jerusalem where we will remain for the rest of our trip. We are now in Jerusalem! We saw the Temple Mount from a distance as we came in. Otherwise (so far) it looks like any other big foreign city. However, we will visit some of the unique places tomorrow.
(Ein Gedi - Where David hid from Saul)
(Masada)
(The Dead Sea)
Fifth Day in Israel
Our day began at the Jordan River where we conducted a baptism (baptism of rededication, not believer's baptism as one of the church's ordinances). This was definitely not the place where John baptized Jesus, but we continued on to the supposed actual site. We did not use this site for our baptism because sewage had entering the river at this point. However, some other brave groups were conducting baptisms in the very dirty water there!
Next we visited Jericho and took a cable car to the top of the Mount of Temptation where I spoke for one of our speakers that was not feeling well. Some of our group had a camel ride! From there, we moved on to Qumran to see the caves (from a distance - it would have been a long, steep climb in 110 degree temperatures) where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. This area is extremely dry and hot, but we drove on to an oasis called Ein Gedi where I spoke again. It was in this area that David fled from Saul and took refuge in a cave. Here he wrote several Psalms. After this, we arrived at our Hotel on the Dead Sea. We took a very unique swim (you cannot sink and the waters are reported to be very therapeutic) in the Dead Sea.
Fourth Day in Israel
Today began by going to the headwaters of the Jordan River up at Caesarea Philippi near the Golan Heights. Close by rises the Mt Hermon mountain range, where we visited what is called "The Gates of Hell" where the ruins of several pagan temples were erected. This also is the area where Jesus Christ stated He would build His church. We then went back to the Sea of Galilee and had lunch at a unique place called "St Peters Fish Lunch" and swam in the Sea of Galilee. We then viewed a recently discovered boat that dated exactly back to the time of Jesus's Ministry. We finished the day with our Sunday service held aboard a "modern" version of the wooden boat (it was much larger!) as we sailed around the Sea of Galilee. As we disembarked, I had the opportunity to speak to the boat Captain about the sudden violent storms that can occur without warning. (I was able to talk, having something in common with him since I am a legally commercial licensed boat operator in the State of New Hampshire). Tomorrow will be very interesting with visits at the Qumran Caves (Dead Sea Scrolls) Dead Sea and other sites of interest. I speak at Ein Gedi tomorrow as well.
Third Day in Israel
Another full day! We left our hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee to visit Nazareth, a city that has changed drastically since The days Jesus lived there. We saw places that have been excavated by archaeologists that reveal the time Jesus lived here. "Old Nazareth" has been recreated in part, so we could experience what it might have been like in His day. We saw some of the traditional sites such as the place Gabriel may have visited Mary and Cana where He did His first miracle. Then we went back to the Sea of Galilee and visited the supposed sites of the feeding of the 5000 and where the Sermon on the Mount was delivered. Though all these sites are very uncertain as to the authenticity, you still get an experience of the approximate place and what it would have looked and felt like. We saw very interesting archaeological digs in Capernaum that are very authentic. It was a very hot day and very tiring but absolutely worth the effort!! More tomorrow!!
(The Sea of Galilee)
(Valley of Megiddo)
(Shrine and Ruins of the home of Mary's birth according to the crusaders)
Second Day in Israel
What an eventful day! It began in Joffa (Joppa) where I started the teaching / devotional events by challenging our group, and any others passing by that stopped to listen, to be obedient to God's special call sooner rather than later. We considered Jonah's struggle with obeying God's call when he left Joffa on a boat heading in the opposite direction, and Peter arguing with God regarding a vision that would ultimately lead to the Gospel being preached to the Gentiles. Peter was used by God to raise Dorcas from the dead in this area as well.
We next headed North up the West coast of the Mediterranean to the city of Caesarea. This was where the first Gentile Cornelius was converted. Paul stood before Agrippa and Festus here on his way to Rome. We saw the archaeological ruins of the ancient city and port. From there we moved on to Mount Carmel where Elijah contended with the prophets of Baal. Standing on Mount Carmel we looked down at the Valley near Megiddo where many wars have been fought and Bible prophesy predicts the Battle of Armageddon will take place. We saw the excavations of Megiddo.
Finally we stopped at Tzippori and saw the ruins of a home the Crusaders claim to have belonged to Joachim and Anna (mother of Mary). It has been constructed into a shrine with out standing acoustics. Our guide not only has a PHD in archaeology and is an Israeli history professor / lecturer, but he is an accomplished musician as well. He played a classical piece on his flute and the music acoustics were phenomenal. We then sang "It is Well with my Soul" and our guide responded by promising to take us to a place connected to the author of that hymn. We proceeded on to Tiberius where we stay while we visit the Sea of Galilee region. Our hotel overlooks the Sea of Galilee. More to learn and experience tomorrow!!
First Day in Israel
"Welcome Home" was the very first words our tour guide spoke after he was introduced to us. Those words made an impact on me as I paused to consider the prophetic reality to what that means to the church. We had landed in Tel Aviv which is located in land belonging to the tribe of Judah and traveled to our hotel which is located on land that had been ascribed to the tribe of Dan. In fact, the name of our hotel bears that name of that Israeli tribe. It is located right on the Mediterranean Sea. Twenty years ago, I stood on the opposite shores of this body of water looking across it as a my friends Bill Hawk and Al Cabral told me the land of Israel was just beyond the horizon. Al had joined me on a mission project we did for Bill who was a church planter in Spain. Today I stood looking back at that horizon and I am really here in Israel. Tomorrow we go to the nearby place called Joppa where Jonah fled from God, Peter raised Dorcas from the dead, and later received the vision that would open great doors to the Gentiles receiving the Gospel in the house of Cornelius. I speak there tomorrow!
(First view of Israel)
(It is green in many places!)
(The Mediterranean Sea looking toward Spain)
Fall 2017 - Israel
Today (September 6) we leave for Israel! BibleLabs Ministries has been invited to join Challenge Ministries on their tour of Israel and the Jordan River. Donn Williams will be joining a team of Bible Teachers as they "Walk in the Footsteps of Jesus" and share Bible teaching along the way. Donn will teach at Masada, Ein Gedi, Mount Zion, The Dome of the Rock, Pool of Bethesda, Joppa, The Garden Tomb and the Jordan River. Dwight Knight, Nathan Bramsen, Abe Chacko and Viji Roberts will be teaching the Scriptures in the many other places that will be visited. We are excited as we get to experience the land, culture and history of the Bible that we all so enjoy teaching. Providing that time and internet connections permit, BibleLabs will report here periodically as we progress on this awesome teaching and learning experience.
Summer 2017
This winter we have been busy preparing our new office and recording studio for our podcasts here at the parsonage. We continue to study, research and prepare for our upcoming spring conferences as well as our weekly ministries here at the First Baptist Church of Troy, New Hampshire.
Currently, I am teaching a series on the Olivet Discourse found in Matthew 24. Before we plunge into the material in Matthew 24, we are looking at "Prophesy 101" to see how the Olivet Discourse fits into the "big picture". We are adding the notes on this website and hope to record a podcast on each session. Not only will this enable our church to access the material but we trust that it also is of a benefit to all of you as well.
We are excited about a brand-new opportunity before us. We have been invited to go to Israel this coming September, joining with a great team of Bible teachers from Challenge Ministries to conduct an on-tour class titled "In the Footsteps of Jesus". I personally will be teaching on location at Masada as well as at the Pool of Bethesda. If you are interested, check it out here. Please be aware that the prices and deadlines have changed.
We appreciate the prayer and support of those of you that follow us on this website. We want to continue to develop this into a very effective and useful tool for you in your Bible studies.
Fall 2016
We have had a very busy fall schedule, as we have conducted several workshop seminars for various retreats and conferences. We have just finished with the Monadnock Bible Conference True Beauty Women's Conference, teaching eight times. Yesterday at the First Baptist Church of Troy, New Hampshire, we had the privilege of baptizing six people. Others are asking to be baptized at the next baptismal service. This coming weekend we are in Myrtle Beach with Challenge Ministries to teach once again at the Stay & Study Women's Intensive Bible Study Conference. We are very encouraged, as we see God blessing His work through this ministry.
On this website, we have added a few more notes as well as provided a link to our podcasts. We mentioned this in our last report, but now you can link directly from this website. There are five already available and one more being prepared to be posted later. We have been encouraged by the recent response to these podcasts. Keep praying for BibleLabs Ministries, as there are many open doors and challenges.
Spring 2016
BibleLabs Ministries started in the Spring of 2012. BibleLabs Ministries primarily consisted of speaking at various conferences doing seminar workshops on Bible and prophecy subjects.
BibleLabs Ministries has continued to grow with more conference invitations, and of course serving through The First Baptist Church of Troy, New Hampshire where we have recently seen growth and encouragement.
During the past four years, we have become more focused as to what we want to accomplish with BibleLabs Ministries. In the Spring of 2015 we setup a podcast ministry. We already have podcasts uploaded that explain the vision and scope of BibleLabs Ministries. We are currently working on a series that simply proclaims the Gospel. Our long range goal is to build the podcast ministry where we take the things we teach in seminars and break it down into small, bitesize pieces for our busy audience. In four years of teaching Bible related seminar workshops, I have discovered that I need a place, which is easily accessible for those who want additional material to pursue the subjects at a deeper level. Thus, we are activating this site to provide a platform both to instruct and to provide a place to share research.
