God’s Exclamation Mark – Revelation 3:13-14

It’s been a couple of weeks now, so I am hoping you are familiar with Emmanuel Cleaver’s prayer at the opening of the 117th session of Congress. It was all over social media, evoking comments from all kinds of people, including President Trump. Cleaver, the former...

The Christian Wrestler – Ephesians 6:10-18

I’m going to piggy-back this devotional onto Brother Fulton’s lessons about running the Christian race. This scripture refers to wrestling. It doesn’t happen very often these days in the highly technical world of Olympic Sports, but it used to be that really good...

Penniless Preachers – Nehemiah 13:10-13

The title of this lesson is “Penniless Preachers.” Twenty years ago I would have had a hard time preaching this message because of the connection it would have exposed between you and me. It might have appeared to be self-serving, worldly or even downright greedy on...

Thanksgiving at the Beautiful Gate – Acts 3:1-10

  If I asked you, “What is the CHIEF purpose of man?” how would you answer? Many of us raised in Episcopalianism would instantly know the answer from our catechism. The chief purpose of man is to glorify God. I Corinthians 10:31 – “Whether therefore ye eat or...

The Importance of Clean Feet – Nehemiah 12:27-47

Just before Jesus’ final earthly Passover, He gathered His disciples together for a catered meal. This was Jesus’ church, just as we believe Calvary Baptist Church is a church of Christ. So, the events of that night relate to us in several ways. Of course, those men...

The Dedication Service – Nehemiah 12:27-47

I am going to skip over what could potentially be an interesting lesson from chapter 11. I am skipping it because I have enough ignorance and skill to turn make it very un-interesting and tedious. But here is a quick synopsis. Scattered across Nehemiah 11 are hints of...

Living in the Holy City – Nehemiah 11:1-36

Obviously Nehemiah 11 follows chapter 10. And as such we could make this message is a continuation of our last lesson – which, as you know, followed logically its predecessor. Last Wednesday we looked at the promises which Israel made to God, comparing them to the...

The House of God – Nehemiah 10:39

Our theme for this evening comes from the last four words of this chapter. Remember, this is a part of the “sure covenant” Israel was making with God – Nehemiah 9:38. In its conclusion, these humble, sincere, repentant Jews vowed to NOT forsake the “house of our God.”...

The Abrahamic Covenant – Nehemiah 9:7-8

  I keep referring to this man, who is leading Israel in prayer, as “our worship leader.” This evening I’m going to alter that just a bit – for this message, he is “Israel’s worship leader.” He refers to the covenant which God made with Abraham. As we shall see...

Neither Were Mindful – Nehemiah 9:17

As the congregational prayer-leader was led by the Spirit of God that autumn day, he confessed many of Israel’s sins. Despite Jehovah’s blessings on that nation, her citizens had rebelled against the Lord. And now these people in Nehemiah’s day, their children, were...

Deep-seated Theology – Nehemiah 9:5b-38

One of the weaknesses of modern Christians is our lack of God-consciousness – God awareness. How often do we see something equally beautiful, like a flower, a sunset, or a mountain landscape and our minds go to the Creator before thinking of something else? When...

The Righteous God – Nehemiah 9:5b-10

I can tell you from experience that the more a person studies the Bible, the more he will see which he has never seen before. Sometimes we learn that our doctrinal perspective is askew. But often there is just new stuff that God has not brought to our attention...

They Confessed their Sins – Nehemiah 9:1-3

This evening we’re going to deal with a word which is commonly emphasized in some denominations, but probably not mentioned enough among fundamental Baptists. For some it is an essential part of their doctrine of salvation. But for those whose salvation is based on...

Separation – Nehemiah 9:1-5

The book I am currently reading is entitled, “An Anthology of the Early Baptists in Rhode Island.” It is 600 pages of historical documents from 17th and 18th century. To say the least, it is difficult, but sometimes interesting, reading. As you should know, Rhode...

The Congregation in Worship – Nehemiah 8:5-6

This evening, we are dealing with a couple things which have always confused me. We have all heard good Baptist people refer to the Sunday morning service as a “Worship Service,” but I’ve often wondered where the worship is. My preference is to think of the 11 o’clock...