About This Ministry, Pastor Doug Riggs, and Morning Star Testimony Church
Update
On January 5, 2022, our pastor Doug passed peacefully into the presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
As we believe in and are confident in the sovereignty of God, it is not Covid that numbered Doug's days, nor was it Satan. GOD is the one who determines our life span, and it was God who took him home. We will soon be reunited! Maranatha!!! - Come Lord Jesus!!!
From Lori
Oh, for more men and women like my husband, Doug Riggs, who went to be with the Lord Jesus on January 5th. Though he never paid the price of imprisonment, he paid an enormous price to minister to a specific group of the Lord's people who were in prison themselves, born into families that ritually abused them and sold them to others who continued the abuse. Doug, like one of David's mighty men, dared to "go into the pit with a lion on a snowy day", vowing that only ONE of them would come out! He continued to pour out his life for 35 + years, and I believe it eventually cost him his life. He "labored to the point of exhaustion." He would do it all over again if he had the chance, because he obeyed his Lord and Savior and was willing to share in His sufferings.
Bless the Lord!
So often we hear about the persecuted church in other countries, but little do we hear about our persecuted brothers and sisters right here in America and other 'civilized nations' - all unknown, unseen, and unsupported except by the Healer of broken hearts, our Lord Jesus Christ (Isaiah 61:1Open in Logos Bible Software (if available); Luke 4:18Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)), who never left them nor forsook them. I honor all those survivors this day, as well as my dear husband of 47 years. And I honor those who are still suffering for their faith all over the world. The Lord knows each of them by name and they are the true heroes of the faith.
All for His glory,Lori Riggs
Bless the Lord!
So often we hear about the persecuted church in other countries, but little do we hear about our persecuted brothers and sisters right here in America and other 'civilized nations' - all unknown, unseen, and unsupported except by the Healer of broken hearts, our Lord Jesus Christ (Isaiah 61:1Open in Logos Bible Software (if available); Luke 4:18Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)), who never left them nor forsook them. I honor all those survivors this day, as well as my dear husband of 47 years. And I honor those who are still suffering for their faith all over the world. The Lord knows each of them by name and they are the true heroes of the faith.
All for His glory,Lori Riggs
Our Mission
The central purpose of this website is to equip the Body of Christ in these last days through the presentation of God's Word. Our central focus is the Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ and God's eternal purpose which is the Mystery of Christ which is His Body (Rom. 16:25-27; 1 Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 1:9-11; 3:1-11; Col. 1:25-27).
This great Mystery (or sacred secret) is vast and comprehends the unveiling and implementation of God's eternal purpose in this dispensation. This involves God bringing into being through the new-birth the One New Man (Eph. 2:15) which collectively or corporately is God's new creation (2 Cor. 5:17); Gal. 3:26-28; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:10-11; etc.).
This Ministry
To understand the context and spiritual background for the ministry to which God has called Morning Star Testimony Church, I recommend that those who may be interested read Explanation of the Nature and History of "This Ministry" by T. Austin-Sparks. Although our history has a distinct nuance because of our ministry with SRA/DID survivors, the spiritual framework presented by Mr. Sparks closely parallels our spiritual history as well.
Our Calling
Called According to His Purpose
(Romans 8:28
The chosen vessel becomes the instrument of a Divine wisdom which surprises the vessel itself. Sooner or later that chosen vessel is full of one question: "Why did God choose me? Why did He call me to this work? He ought to have chosen anyone but me! I am the most unsuited for this kind of life and this kind of work."
That was true of Moses. When God would send him to Egypt, he said: "Oh, if you can send by anybody, do so, but not by me." When God chose Jeremiah, the latter said: "I cannot speak: for I am a child" (Jeremiah 1:6).
A prophet, whose one business it was to speak, felt that it was the one thing he could not do. Divine choice is a very extraordinary thing, and it is not always the thing that we would like or would choose that God calls us to. When we are young we have perhaps a great idea of being in the Lord's work, and we leap to it very eagerly as though we can do it, but when we get older we feel more acutely our dependence. It is then that we discover that naturally we are not fit for it, and many of God's chosen vessels have had to be kept in the work by the very power of God itself.
You see, it is God's own sovereignty in His choice, and the point is this: it is not the vessel, but the purpose for which the vessel has been chosen. What is it that unites us as Christians? Now listen to this: it is not salvation, nor redemption, but it is God's power in salvation and redemption that unites us. It is the common consciousness of all believers that they exist for a purpose and that God has saved them with a great purpose in view. This is a very important thing to remember. We may all be saved, and yet we may all be divided. We may all be redeemed by the precious Blood of Jesus and yet remain just individual units. But see what a uniting power there is in everybody feeling that they are called to a purpose! They are united by one common vision. Into The Mind of God - Chapter 2 by T. Austin-Sparks
You see, it is God's own sovereignty in His choice, and the point is this: it is not the vessel, but the purpose for which the vessel has been chosen. What is it that unites us as Christians? Now listen to this: it is not salvation, nor redemption, but it is God's power in salvation and redemption that unites us. It is the common consciousness of all believers that they exist for a purpose and that God has saved them with a great purpose in view. This is a very important thing to remember. We may all be saved, and yet we may all be divided. We may all be redeemed by the precious Blood of Jesus and yet remain just individual units. But see what a uniting power there is in everybody feeling that they are called to a purpose! They are united by one common vision. Into The Mind of God - Chapter 2 by T. Austin-Sparks