May 10, 2018 | This Sunday in Baptist History
It was the goal of the often revered Puritans to establish a society which governed its citizens from the cradle to the grave based upon what its leaders considered to be pure religious truth. They came to this country seeking freedom from the interference of others,...
May 10, 2018 | Wednesday
As I was re-reading this chapter yesterday, thinking about the verses we’ve skipped, I thought I could see a loose relationship between five of them. Verse 4 – “Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.” Verse 7 –...
May 7, 2018 | Sunday Evening
One of the problems in studying Ecclesiastes is we often don’t know which Solomon is speaking to us. Is this Solomon the undeniable intellectual genius – the super-smart child of Adam. Or is this the other son of Adam – the sinful, self-filled reprobate. At...
May 6, 2018 | Sunday Morning
In the Old Testament, there are three major characters who stand head and shoulders above all others. And they don’t include King Saul, through whom that phrase was coined. I Samuel 9:2 says, that Saul was “a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not...
May 3, 2018 | This Sunday in Baptist History
C.H. Spurgeon loved to read and owned a library of over 12,000 volumes. Reading was not a hobby to Spurgeon, and it wasn’t for his recreation. He believed that it was essential toward the growth of the mind – and more particularly of the spirit. Beginning early in his...
May 3, 2018 | Wednesday
There are a dozen great proverbs here in chapter 11. I plan, the Lord willing, to make a quick review of those which we have not yet considered. Many of them are so succinct and obvious, all we need to do is stop for a moment and let them sink in. One of the...
Apr 30, 2018 | Sunday Evening
In this chapter Solomon makes a change in his writing style. He drops the autobiographical form of the first two chapters and temporarily waxes philosophical. He could have put this to music and added another million dollars to his already fabulous fortune. Although...
Apr 29, 2018 | Sunday Morning
If you have never met someone calling himself an “atheist” then you have led a sheltered life. If you’ve never met someone who LIVED like an atheist then you had better check your pulse. They are just about as common as mosquitos, and they bear...
Apr 27, 2018 | This Sunday in Baptist History
William Baskett was born in 1741 in Goochland County, Virginia. His parents were poor Episcopalians. When William was twenty he married Miss Mary Pace. They immediately began morning and evening devotions together and with their children as they began to arrive. When...
Apr 26, 2018 | Wednesday
William Baskett was born in 1741 in Goochland County, Virginia. His parents were poor Episcopalians. When William was twenty he married Miss Mary Pace. They immediately began morning and evening devotions together and with their children as they began to arrive. When...
Apr 26, 2018 | Wednesday
I wont stress your exhausted minds with deep theology or detailed logic tonight. Here are a few simple devotional thoughts centered around four simple words. Isn’t it interesting how words can be arranged one way and they teach or bless, but then they can be...
Apr 23, 2018 | Sunday Evening
For several weeks recently, I was looking for insurance protection for the church. At first, I was looking for nothing more than accident or liability insurance against slip and fall accidents. I came close to buying a commercial package which any business might...
Apr 22, 2018 | Sunday Morning
Have you ever been on a vacation which was so perfect – so wonderful – that you hated to return? Maybe it was to a place of absolute luxury, or a place of apparent perfect peace. Back home you knew that you had serious problems to solve or you knew that stress would...
Apr 19, 2018 | This Sunday in Baptist History
Richard Fuller was born on this in 1804 in Beautfort, S.C. When he became of age, he entered Harvard College to study law and eventually became a lawyer. Back in Beaufort, Fuller heard the gospel preaching of Daniel Barker. A revival swept through the community and a...
Apr 19, 2018 | Wednesday
I suppose there could be a healthy debate about which book of the Bible is the most practical. For example, it might be said that Romans is the most practical because there is nothing more practical and important than salvation from sin. Another might choose Genesis...
Apr 16, 2018 | Sunday Morning
Everyone who has ever become a child of God, has been saved in the same way. There are aspects of salvation which are always the same – things like justification and propitiation. When a person is born again, his regeneration always displays itself in repentance and...
Apr 16, 2018 | Sunday Evening
Because I want to maintain some consistency in our study of Ecclesiastes, this afternoon, we shall look at a subject and text which I addressed about a year ago. I sincerely hope that some of you will remember a point or two that you’ll hear today. One of the fears...
Apr 14, 2018 | Timothy Parrow
Our Visitors! The Lord continues to bless us with visitors! This month we have had five first-time visitors of which one has continued to come back to our services. Bro. Phillip McGee came on a Thursday evening, our mid-week service hour, and has continued to come...
Apr 12, 2018 | This Sunday in Baptist History
John Young was arrested in 1771 for preaching the gospel without a government license. He had license from his church, but as yet he had not been ordained. For six months, he and others were incarcerated in Virginia’s Caroline County jail. It was a great burden on the...
Apr 12, 2018 | Wednesday
As often as we hear outsiders and unbelievers talk about hypocrites in the church, we might think it should be a huge subject in the Bible, but that is not the case. The word “hypocrisy” is found once in the Old Testament and five times in the New...
Apr 9, 2018 | Sunday Evening
I am getting in way over my head in our theme for this evening. But, as you know, that is not particularly unusual; I do that quite often. As God’s wise man often does, Solomon is going to talk to us about wisdom. Am I qualified to comment on the wisdom of Solomon?...
Apr 8, 2018 | Sunday Morning
If I was to offer a $1000 prize to the person who could name North America’s longest-running television news magazine, I think my money would remain quite safe in my own pocket. The show to which I am referring started in 1966 and is still running – that is over 50...
Apr 5, 2018 | This Sunday in Baptist History
On this day in 1801, Missionary Joshua Marshman recorded in this journal – “This morning Carey (Missionary William Carey) came to me in great haste, almost before I was awake. He had received a note from our good friend, Rev. David Brown concerning a matter of...
Apr 5, 2018 | Wednesday
As I began reading through this chapter once again, asking the Lord for direction, it occurred to me that we might have sequel to last week’s lesson. Last week we spent a few minutes considering some of the consequences of one particular sin. We began with,...
Apr 2, 2018 | Sunday Evening
Here in Ecclesiastes Solomon is describing a spiritual journey. It was HIS journey – which began under the tutelage of his godly father David. But Solomon was detoured and led away from the Lord by the lusts of his flesh. Generally speaking people are not free to...
Apr 1, 2018 | Sunday Morning
According to the Associated Press, Brian Kelly, of suburban Detroit, knew that he was dying. In July 1994 he had abdominal surgery, but there was no hope, and he knew it. So he went to his boss at the Independence Professional Fireworks and made special request....
Mar 29, 2018 | This Sunday in Baptist History
William Hickman was born in Virginia in 1747. While he was still a child both his parents died, and he went to live with his grandmother. The boy’s educational opportunities were limited, but his grandmother insisted that he learn to read his Bible – which he did....
Mar 29, 2018 | Wednesday
How much do you know about pride? I confess that I thought I knew the subject, and I expected that you knew it as well. But do you suppose that it was pride on my part which led me to believe that I understood pride? Looking over my records, I see that I have...
Mar 26, 2018 | Sunday Evening
How many Christians, do you suppose, have really studied this book? I wonder how many have even read this book more than a time or two. We are going to try to remedy that oversight beginning this evening. One reason why Ecclesiastes isn’t read more than once is due...
Mar 25, 2018 | Sunday Morning
Years ago some philosopher gave this estimation of a full and fruitful life. He said – “Raise a good son, plant a good tree, and write a good book.” He suggested that it was not one or two, but all three that resulted in a good life. If that is the true...
