Things Above – Colossians 3:1-2

  This afternoon, let’s think about the word “above” as we find it in verse 1. There are several Greek words translated “above.” “Huper” (hoop-ER) for example is found 11 times in the Bible – it is an adverb or a...

Hell, the Mirror of Heaven – Revelation 20

  Through the years, our church has had members who did not quite see eye-to-eye with their pastor. Usually that has not been a major problem. Probably only my wife agrees with me – 90% of the time. I don’t force everyone to believe exactly the way that I do...

April 2021

Dear Pastor and Brethren: On Resurrection Sunday the Lord sent us seventeen people to hear His Word. That number includes four visitors, two first time and two repeating visitors. One of those new visitors came the following Sunday and seemed happy to attend, but has...

May 16

George Williams in his religious history of the Netherlands wrote, “Persecution of the Anabaptists in the southern Netherlands (Belgium) had been especially severe from the outset. In the period of our narrative the number of Belgium martyrs was about three thousand,...

Whence Cometh Joy? – Luke 2:8-11

With this text, you might think I’ve lost either my mind, or my calendar, but my calendar is still on the wall behind my computer. What I’d like us to consider this evening is the joy of which the angel spoke the night of the Saviour’s birth. “The angel said unto...

Wisdom and the Fool – Proverbs 17:7-28

If I called you a “fool” would you be angry with me? Even if you were, I might be more angry with myself than you would be. I would have to have lost my temper to call you a “fool.” It is not something I would ever do lightly or when I was in control of my emotions....

May 9

Would you say that a person could be both a Christian and a Democrat? Should a Christian have fellowship with a believer who is a member of another political party? If you were an American patriot in 1776, could you have Christian fellowship with a Tory – a British...

May 9

Would you say that a person could be both a Christian and a Democrat? Should a Christian have fellowship with a believer who is a member of another political party? If you were an American patriot in 1776, could you have Christian fellowship with a Tory – a British...

Love Gone Bad – Romans 1:28-32; Colossians 3:1-5

There are two adjectives used in these scriptures used to describe love: “inordinate” and “unnatural.” As much as the world wants to tell us that love is the panacea for all our problems, it isn’t. In fact, love can be the cause of a great many of our problems....

Appropriate Questions – Isaiah 45:1-13

Wednesday I said that when we are trying to evangelize, we should do our best to avoid superfluous questions. There IS an answer to the question, “Where did Cain get his wife?” but it doesn’t need to distract from our friend’s spiritual condition and his need of...

Sharing Christ with the Unbeliever – Isaiah 43:1-11

Your neighbor – the one who has lived beside you for fifteen years has moved away, and now you have new neighbors. Of course you immediately introduce yourself and share with them some home-baked cookies. But when you invite them to church, you are surprised – shocked...

May 2

James Barnett Taylor was born in England in 1804. His family moved the next year to New York City. At the age of 13, James was born again – he placed his faith in the sacrifice which Christ Jesus made on the cross. After that he was baptized and joined the First...

Why Jehovah isn’t a Muslim – Mark 12:28-34

Your next door neighbor – the one who has lived there for fifteen years – tells you one day that he is selling his house and moving to a condominium. You are shocked. You didn’t see that coming. Then a week later the “For Sale” sign goes up. You see people coming and...

March 2021

Dear Pastor and Brethren: A Better Month March has proved to be a better month in the sense of being wanner in temperature and a better attendance in the services. Some, however, have been unable to attend due to sickness, leaving our attendance for the month as...

April 25

John Koontz died on this day in 1832. He was buried in a small family graveyard on a hill overlooking the Shenandoah river. Bro. Koontz was perhaps the first Baptist preacher to proclaim the gospel in what was then known as Shenandoah County, Virginia. His ministry...

What Paul Didn’t Say – Galatians 2:20

The well-known Greek expert A.W. Robertson says of this verse – “One of Paul’s greatest mystical sayings.” I’m not sure what he means by the word “mystical,” but I have to agree that this is a wonderful statement. I hope you have it memorized and can quote it to...

April 18

The father of James Fife was an elder in an Edinburgh Presbyterian Church. When a baby was presented to the church for sprinkling, the pastor, knowing that the mother was not a Christian, questioned who would “sponsor” the child. This lead to an extended church...

Men and Brethren, Say On – Acts 13:14-44

I trust everyone is aware that we are having a service on Friday night which includes a visiting speaker. We have extended a invitation to Bro. Scott Silvers to come and preach for us. And of course, he will be with us Friday and then again on Sunday. Bro. Austin will...

More than Conquerors – Romans 8:33-39

When I was a boy, living in Omaha, Nebraska, I played with two brothers who lived up the street. After Craig LeMaster – my best friends were Mark and David Wormington. My mother enjoyed visiting with Mrs. Wormington, but she did not like her husband. The man owned a...

April 11

We need to keep in mind that although we Baptists treasure the King James Bible, England’s King James was no lover of our doctrines or our forefathers. On this day in 1612, a year after the publication of the King’s Authorized Version of the Bible, Edward Wightman was...

Sojourners of the Dispersion – I Peter 1:1

Something to always remember is that the entire Bible is meant for all of us. Even though it speaks about people from a different time and culture, the lessons are still for us today. Even though many promises may be meant for specific people, we can still learn from...

Baptist Distinctives – Jude 1-4

What I have for you this evening will not be much more than an outline – or maybe two or three outlines. There won’t be too much meat on these bare bones, but I have reasons for this. First – the points I’d like to make this evening should we well-known to most of...

Convinced – Acts 9:1-22

  This is the day in which most of Christendom celebrates the resurrection of Christ. I have no problem with celebrating Jesus’ resurrection, but I do have problems with the superstitious and unbiblical fashion which this celebration so often takes. Tradition...

April 4

Pablo Beeson was born on this day (April 4) in 1848 in a small village in Switzerland. His parents professed to believe the Word of God, but his father was a Protestant pastor. As a university student, preparing for the Presbyterian ministry, Pablo became an assistant...

Characteristics of True Heroism – Daniel 3:8-18

This evening lets look at a theme which is complimentary to our lesson last week. Let’s consider the background to the so-called three “Hebrew children” visit to the “burning fiery furnace.” Christian adults need to do this sort of thing from time to time, because we...

The Source of this Violence – Jeremiah 7:1-11

My Sunday sermons are not usually motivated by news headlines, but I’m going to make an exception today. Many of you have heard that in Boulder Colorado, last Monday, a man gunned down and killed 10 people. Boulder is about 15 miles, as the crow flies, from the town...

February 2021

Dear Pastor and Brethren: February Freeze We thank the Lord that we are finally thawing out from the February freeze. Such snow and cold weather caused us to have to cancel two Wednesday evening services and a Sunday morning service. Temperatures reached eight degrees...

March 28

When Jan Wouters van Kuijck was in prison, suffering horrible physical persecution and preparing for his execution because of his belief that salvation was a matter of personal faith in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, he was able to write several letters and...

Faith while in the Lions’ Den – Daniel 6:1-28

Do you ever feel like you’re in a lion’s den? I mean, it’s dark, and you can’t see more than a step ahead, despite your flash light. But you hear the ominous of some kind of creature near you. And then as the beam flits around in front of you, the teeth of various...