Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”

We all know that these evil plastic bags the stores SELL us are bad.  I mean, honestly, how could any decent citizen use a plastic bag to carry their groceries?  So to help motivate us to not use these satanic bags, the store charges us for them, and that makes it all somehow better? 

Our world is infinitely provided with foolishness, ignorance, and assumptions. One such ignorant assumption crossed my path recently; someone said that I was an IFB. Saying so, as if it were a cuss word. They were talking as though the behavior of someone across the nation or across town was somehow tied to our church. IFB… INDEPENDENT – They missed the “I” of IFB. We are not tied by finance, by leadership, by organization, or by fellowship – we are independent.


The Bible tells us that if we love God’s Law, we will not be offended. I am aware of how little the Bible is read and loved, and by how easily offended people are. I am not talking about trials or broken hearts — we all have those or face them. To be offended means to stumble or have something happen that causes us to stumble, to fall, or to run away from the right things we once did. Turning from a relationship, or quitting on a friend or a job because we have been offended is the subject here.

From the very beginning in the garden, Satan has cast doubt on anyone or anything faithful or respectable.

Considering the upcoming and past elections, I am thinking about the word NICE.  (You ladies, hold on to your hats and do not burn me alive over this lesson.)  Nice is simply overrated!

On Wednesday nights, we are studying, "Why We Are Baptists." Here are a few thoughts that are key in biblical thinking and Baptist theology.

Jeremiah 17:11 “As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.” 

Good Morning,

Anyone who is even slightly honest knows that there is absolutely nothing in common between Old Testament Israel and the New Testament church.

When the disciples sat with the Saviour at the last supper, Jesus made several indications of who would betray Him, yet the apostles caught none of them. The apostles believed and trusted one another.  If it were today, the apostles would have been slandered and ridiculed for not paying more attention and not seeing the “signs.”

While out of town recently, I preached on the theme of “Little things.”  I have thought more about the truth, and I am reminded over and over of how much the Lord speaks about the “little things.”  

Trials come into our lives that simply cannot be avoided; even the folks who are the most careful and guarded suffer.  Rather than striving to focus on how to never face trouble, we should focus on learning how to face it.

Considering the importance of each one of our lives, I have been thinking of how vital men are to our society. Teach your boys how important they are. Train them to take responsibility for everything from the care of the dog to the future of our churches and nation.

Without taking too much time, allow me mention just a few reasons why we need to shut off our televisions.

With summer approaching, I would like to encourage everyone to read, especially to get our children reading. 


As I prayed over a world map, I was reminded of how needy our world is. Over seven billion people are in the world, and the fact that so few have heard the Gospel is a serious problem. I looked at the Middle East, dominated by Islam and the bondage of that deadly religion, then I looked down toward Australia and New Zealand and thought about the fact that those countries were just as hell-bound as the Muslims in Iran. Ruled by a socialist government, the “free" controlled and educated, brainwashed and condemned socialist is no less lost than the totem-worshipping, naked native in Vanuatu. In fact, those who are comfortable in the government’s care may be in a more serious situation. The government-dependent family member who has food and comfort may have less understanding of his need than a woman bound by Islam who has at least a small concept of her depraved state via the internet or media.

Off to the motorcycle track on Sunday morning… the riders have been thinking about riding for days; they even dressed up for the day and spent quite a bit of money for their religion (and do so on a weekly basis).

Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Psalm 12:1 “Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.”

Bonsai trees are miniature trees that look like life-size trees, only they are tiny. I have even heard that some bear fruit — tiny, useless fruit. I do not understand much science, but, as a child, I had a magnifying glass and burned paper as I saw the light of the sun focused in one small place. It seems that drawing all the attention and light and squeezing it into a smaller than normal spot makes it powerful.

We all understand that each successive generation has to make their own choices. Each new group of believers must choose whom they will follow; though, feeling that it is their own choice is not exactly correct. The choice is theirs to make but not their choice to determine the end result.