What Matters Is Faith Working Through Love 29 June 2017 Year A Galatians 5:2-6 Many Christians today, like the believers in Galatia, think that if they do good things that God will let them go to Heaven. However, Paul makes it clear that a person does not become a Christian and enter Heaven because of outward appearances. Outward appearances don’t benefit a Christian (Galatians 5:2). 3 WAYS PEOPLE TRY TO KEEP OUTWARD APPEARANCES 1. Keeping traditions for tradition’s sake Just... Read more
Vacation Bible School Time! Vacation Bible School Time! It’s that time again. As a pastor, I have seen Vacation Bible School (VBS) used effectively. VBS primarily attracts children. As a result, very few adults are reached through this evangelistic outreach. Yet, I still think VBS is useful and can be helpful to reach families. I wanted to share links from other Patheos writers about Vacation Bible School. Josh Daffern at New Wineskins has a different take on Vacation Bible School.... Read more
National moral decline happens when God is neglected. Read more
Psalm 126:1-6 The Greatest Future Is Yet to Come “Bringing in the Sheaves,” a hymn in the Baptist Hymnal was written by Knowles Shaw, is based on the last verse of Psalm 126. Mr. Shaw was born October 13, 1834. When Knowles was about twelve, his dying father gave him his cherished violin and told him to live for the Lord. The boy grew up to become a “singing evangelist” who led eleven thousand souls to Christ. His singing brought in... Read more
5 Times God Shows His Faithfulness 19 June 2017 Year A Psalm 105:7-45 Psalm 105 is a hymn of praise for the faithfulness of God to His people. The psalmist begins by describing “5 Ways to Show Appreciation to God for His Faithfulness.” Yet, the Psalm doesn’t end there. The psalmist continues to explain through five different examples why God can be trusted to be faithful. The psalmist looks back at the Israel and recounts how God has been faithful.... Read more
Ecclesiastes 7:15-29 Great Advice About How to Live Believe it or not, the English Department at the University of Wyoming offers a class to teach its students how to communicate with aliens. “Interstellar Message Composition,” the course is called, and it is sponsored by a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). According to Wyoming’s Web site, it is “the first class to enlist creative writers in a potential cosmic conversation.” “We’ve thought a lot about how we... Read more
Matthew 9:35-38 The Greatest Mission Today is Father’s Day. Like Mother’s Day last month, we celebrate the role that fathers play in the lives of families. I would suggest that if men are called to be fathers and leaders of their families, then they should also take the charge in leading the church in the greatest mission that God has given them. Introduction Right now as Southern Baptists, we are not doing a great job with the greatest mission. The... Read more
4 Ways to Thank the Lord 15 June 2017 Year A Psalm 116:12-19 The psalmist spends the first half of this psalm praising God for how God has helped him. The psalmist loves the Lord (Psalm 116:1) and reminds himself of the ways in which God has shown both mercy and grace. Psalm 116:1-11 sounds like a plea from a dying man for help. Perhaps this is one reason why scholars believe the psalmist is attributed to King Hezekiah. So... Read more
The declining numbers are related to the problem with white supremacy resolution that had difficulty getting approved during this year's annual meeting. Read more
Psalm 8:1-9 The Greatest Glory Psalm 8:1-9 The Greatest Glory is the first sermon in a series on “The Greatest.” If you look in your Baptist hymnals, you will see a song that is based upon this psalm. Turn to page 29. Let me sing this song for you. Song: “Oh Lord Our Lord How Majestic Is Your Name In All The Earth” by Michael W. Smith. Now let’s sing this song together. One can look at Psalm 8 like... Read more
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