Thoughts From The Pastor (Page 4)
January 2022 Reading Challenge
January Reading Challenge Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas 309 pages Biography Amazon Link Book Summary From Amazon: Amazing Grace tells the story of the remarkable life of the British abolitionist William Wilberforce (1759-1833). This accessible biography chronicles Wilberforce’s extraordinary role as a human rights activist, cultural reformer, and member of Parliament. At the center of this heroic life was a passionate twenty-year fight to abolish the British slave trade, a battle Wilberforce…
Evening Service Obituary
OBITUARY: 6pm Service, also known as Evening Service, age 1.5, of Hampstead, NH, quietly passed away this weekend at Island Pond Baptist Church. The evening service had an up and down life over the past year and a half. Its highlight last year was when eight people were baptized over the winter and spring. However, after a strong start, attendance began to wain and could never regain any momentum. Therefore, the leaders decided to remove the service from life support…
Psalm 30:1 – Are You Praising God? /// Morning Fuel
David writes in Psalm 30:1. “I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me.” Extol is a fancy word that simply means “exalt, lift up, praise.” When we want to praise God it is not JUST words, it’s not JUST singing, those are the ways we convey our praise. We use words to convey what is going on deep down inside of us. Let’s pretend your little league…
Psalm 19:11 – God’s Word Guides /// Morning Fuel
In Psalm 19, David talks about wow God speaks to us. And the main way he does this is through his Word. In verses 7-10, David gives some amazing ways that God’s word benefits us. Then when we get to verse 11, he says this: “Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” What he’s saying is that Scripture says things that we need to listen to in order for our life to go…
Psalm 23:6 – God’s Hesed For Us /// Morning Fuel
David writes in Psalm 23:6… 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The word for “mercy” is “hesed.” That is a BIG word. It can be translated as a combination of “lovingkindness, loyal love, kindness, mercy, grace, compassion.” Hesed is one-way love. It’s a stubborn love. What you do does not affect someone’s hesed for you. “Hesed” is what was shown to…
Psalm 23:4 – The Shepherd Is The Safest Place /// Morning Fuel
David writes in Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” I read that the “Valley of the Shadow” is an actual place. It’s between Jerusalem and Jericho at the bottom of a canyon. The only sunlight is at noon, when the sun is directly above. Otherwise, it is filled with shadows. It is also very narrow, with walls on both sides. There are…
Psalm 19:8 – God’s Word Enlivens /// Morning Fuel
In Psalm 19 David talks about how God is speaking to us. And in verse 8, he says, “the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;” He starts by saying that God’s Word (precepts) are RIGHT. I heard another pastor explain it this way: “They are morally right, practically right, universally right, they are right because it is the revelation of the god who is always right.” So…
What Is Plagiarism In A Sermon?
Our newly elected Southern Baptist Convention president Ed Litton was in the news recently because it was revealed that he had “plagiarized” sermons from the well-known mega church pastor JD Greear. Greear responded by saying that he gave him permission to use the sermons. However, Litton still got in trouble from the media because they said he was plagiarizing. As I read and listened to some of the responses from other pastors there was quite a vibrant discussion about what…
Psalm 1:1 – Don’t Get Sucked Into Sin /// Morning Fuel – A Three Minute Devotional
Psalm 1:1 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers” Notice the progression. First, there is WALKING with the wicked. Wicked is a generic word for evil. Walking shows you are moving with it. But then the person, “stands in the way of sinners.” The word “sinners” is a step further. It is no longer just doing evil, it is…
2 Timothy 4:3-4 – Don’t Get Distracted /// Morning Fuel – A Three Minute Devotional
Listen to what Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:3-4… “3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” Paul points out that there are a LOT of different messages out there. Many people will say things that others WANT to hear even if it is not…
2 Timothy 4:7 – Finish The Race /// Morning Fuel
In 2 Timothy 4:7, Paul says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Second Timothy is thought to be Paul’s last letter he wrote. Chapter 4 is the last chapter of the last letter. He would be martyred just a little bit later. So he is, in essence, giving a farewell message. And as he reflects on his life, he says, “I fought a good fight. I finished the race.” What…
Psalm 104:14 – We are Caretakers, Not Owners /// Morning Fuel
The psalmist writes in Psalm 104:14 – You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth When I was younger, if we found something on the ground that had clearly been lost, we would say, “Finders, keepers, losers, weepers.” Meaning, someone lost it, but I found it, so now it’s mine. Now I am willing to bet that none of you say that any more…