November 1

Over the years I have asked many pastors from Virginia and the Carolinas if they have visited the site of the Sandy Creek Baptist Church: the North Carolina home of Shubal Sterns.  I have often heard they had.  But I don’t know of a single person, besides myself, who...

Let Us Love One Another – I John 4:7

The Holy Spirit won’t let me leave chapter 4 without one or two more lessons on the subject of “love.” If you are thinking, “Oh no, not this again,” I assured you, you are not the first to have that cross your mind. I had to remind myself that John has referred to...

Divine Love Manifested – I John 4:9-10

Obviously, the theme of these two verses, as well as the theme of the entire context, is “love.” And as I said the other day, poets may be the better than most people at describing love. A case in point is a well-known hymn written by Frederick Lehman. We sang this...

October 25

Allen Wyley was not an ordained minister, but late in his life he did preach and exhort the brethren.  After being baptized by David Thomas in 1765 he yearned to have a Baptist preacher to come to Culpepper, Virginia, to evangelize the people and possibly to start a...

Love: Nature, Source and Manifestation – I John 4:7-5:3

Many have left the subject of “love” to poets and song writers. There have been some good poems on the subject. “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways” – Elizabeth Barrett Browning. “I will always love you” – Dolly Parton. More spiritual people fight...

Reciprocal Residency – I John 3:23-24

It is open to some debate, but I think that the Spirit’s primary purpose in leading John to write this epistle, was to lay down guidelines whereby we can test whether or not we are children of God. Are you unsure if you are saved? Read and study I John. It is not the...

October 18

On this day in 1649 the Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony wrote the following letter to the leadership of the Plymouth Colony, chiding them for their leniency toward the Baptists in their realm. “Honored and beloved Brethren: We have heretofore heard diverse...

The Beloved Beseiged – I John 4:1-3

There is a Baptist church on the west side of Spokane, the pastor of which I tried to establish some fellowship. We were getting along fine for a year or so, having coffee once in a while, until several of us attended a meeting at his church in which there were...

September, 2026

Dear Pastor and Brethren: Mission Activities           During this month, we had a fellowship meal after the morning service to create a successful time of spiritual fellowship and social fellowship. Sis. Elaine Maginnis attended for the first time since she moved to...