(Preached at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, 6-07-15)
Cheryl & I are fond of assigning “chapter titles” to different episodes of our life together, like “The Dark Year”, “Just Then It Began to Snow” or “The Girl in the Purple Bikini” (I’ll have to tell you about that one some time!) About a year and a half ago, I gave the title to a several-months-long period, “How Trinity Baptist Saved Our Lives.” As I shared last week, I had served as pastor in Southern Baptist churches for almost 30 years before stepping down from our church in Louisiana with an illness. We sold our home, 2/3 of our possessions, and moved to Norman, Oklahoma, with little hope of a future. It was a difficult time for us. But in the middle of that, we had found a church home, Trinity Baptist in Norman, where pastor, staff, and people ministered to us, and really helped us through those dark hours. I remember one particularly bad day, when I was in bed with a migraine headache, a rag over my forehead, no job or income, and I was just calling out to God for help. Just then, the phone rang, and it was the pastor of Trinity, Ronnie Rogers, calling to offer us help and prayer. And that church did help us: financially, spiritually, with friends and fellowship and so much encouragement. I later sent the staff a note and said, “If I were to entitle this chapter of my life, ‘How Trinity Baptist Saved Our Lives” it would not be far from the truth.” I have come out of this experience of my life with a greater appreciation than ever before for the important place of the church in our lives as believers. Continue reading
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