Decades ago, while pastoring a previous church, some interesting things happened. A few weeks after starting at the church, I was there alone and decided to snoop around. There I was looking through closets and other storage areas. Everything was what you would expect stored inside a church. A lot of seasonal decorations, costumes, and … Continue reading What About The Children?
service
What You Don’t Know Will Hurt You
Years ago, I played in a church basketball league. For this particular game, I had the keys to the building in which we were going to play. I arrived about two hours early. It had snowed about an inch and a half that day, and the parking lot had not yet been plowed. I parked … Continue reading What You Don’t Know Will Hurt You
The Call
I’ve written a lot recently, encouraging Christians to follow the steps in Romans 12:1-2 to “prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Those steps are being a living sacrifice to God, not being conformed to this world, and being transformed by the renewing of your mind. I’ve been asked, “What … Continue reading The Call
Knowing God’s Will For Your Life
Christian, do you know what God wants you to do, what He created you to do? God does call people to preach. God calls people to leave family and possessions behind and move to a foreign land to spread the gospel. God calls people to work or volunteer at Church; things like cleaning, teaching, cooking, … Continue reading Knowing God’s Will For Your Life
The Fulfilling of Prophecy
I love having conversations with people. I love talking to people about what they believe; not just about God and religion, but what they believe about any subject, which team will win the World Series, who they are going to vote for, what their dream car is, their favorite meal, and so on. Regardless of … Continue reading The Fulfilling of Prophecy
Peter’s Conversion
The most significant thing Peter did during his three years being discipled by Jesus was not walking on water, it was a statement he made. One day, Jesus asked the Apostles about who other people thought He was. They responded that some people thought he was John the Baptist risen from the dead or one … Continue reading Peter’s Conversion
Church
Countryside Baptist celebrated its forty-first anniversary yesterday. The church started on the first Sunday of May 1985. Bill Howard was the original Pastor, and I came along ten years later. It was a wonderful day! We had a slideshow with pictures going all the way back to the beginning, presented gifts to the congregation, and … Continue reading Church
Seeking A Church Home
Loyalty is one of my attributes. I am loyal to my God, family, church, country, and employer. The list goes on, but those are the main things. You may have noticed that God and church are listed separately. That is because they are not one and the same - the church is not my God, … Continue reading Seeking A Church Home
Unprofitable Servants
When a boss comes to an employee and complains about their performance, often the employee defends themselves with the words, "I've done everything you told me to do!" When it comes to Christians serving God, often we look at what we do and think God will be satisfied because we check all the "to do" … Continue reading Unprofitable Servants
Our Love For God
"I love Jesus!" is a statement often uttered, but is it true? To answer that question, I reckon the first thing to do is to define love. What is love? The Bible gives us the definition of love in its most famous verse, John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave..." Love … Continue reading Our Love For God