A very specific, personal decision …

Posted on 2011/12/16 by Shawn Thomas

Friday is our son Michael’s last day at school. Yeah, I know, it is the last day for a lot of kids – it’s Christmas break! But unlike a lot of other kids, when break is over, Michael is not going back. He is going to be educated at home. Since Mike has attended our church’s First Baptist Academy, and I am the pastor of the church, I wanted to explain our reasons to anyone who might be interested in why we are taking this particular course of action.

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The Work of the Kingdom: Matthew 9:35-38

Posted on 2011/12/11 by Shawn Thomas

Yesterday afternoon I went out to the Moss Bluff Christmas Parade to see any of our people who might be out there – and also to see if the Lord might lay on my heart any ideas for us to minister out there next year.  It was interesting; there were hundreds of people there – but relatively few from our church.  I did have the opportunity to meet several new people – including Gregg Cavener’s neighbor, who said that Gregg was the best neighbor you could ask for!  (That thought ought to challenge each of us: what would YOUR neighbor say to someone about YOU?!)  But as I walked back and forth along the parade route, I thought about the scripture passage I had already planned to use for tonight, from Matthew 9:35-38.  It speaks of Jesus’ reaction to seeing the crowds – crowds like were at that parade yesterday.  And it challenges us, here at the end of one year, and soon to begin another, to recommit ourselves to “The Work of the Kingdom.” Continue reading →

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Heralds of the Advent: Micah 5

Posted on 2011/12/11 by Shawn Thomas

When Mark Twain visited the Holy Land in the 1860’s, he did not find Bethlehem to be impressive.  In fact, he wrote later of its “mouldy domes and turrets” and disparaged its “noisy mob” and “leprous beggars.”  He said he was never so glad to get away from a place in his life.  And yet, years later he wrote to a fellow traveler on that trip, that he was glad that he had been to Bethlehem, and that it was indeed a special place to him, because despite all of its shortcomings, he knew that our Savior had been born there. 

     This morning we are beginning a 3-part series on Old Testament prophets who spoke regarding the birth of Jesus.  We have entitled the series: “Heralds of the Advent.”  “Advent” is a word which describes the coming of a great person – in this most famous case, the coming of Jesus Christ to earth.  Each of the next weeks we will look a different Old Testament passage which predicted the birth of Jesus.  The next two weeks, we will look at one from Isaiah 7, and one from Isaiah 9, and this morning we will focus on Micah 5:2-5. Continue reading →

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“The Real Thing: Love Triumphant”

Posted on 2011/12/04 by Shawn Thomas

I Corinthians 13:7-8

Archeologists in Italy have unearthed what some are calling the ultimate picture of love: an ancient farmer and his wife who were buried together, holding hands.  The wife’s head is turned, as if looking upon her husband.  When they were unearthed, they had been holding hands there together for over 1500 years – a touching picture of unending love.  While we may never really know all of that couple’s circumstances, in our passage for today we find the ultimate description of genuine triumphant love, which comes from God Himself, in I Corinthians 13:7-8. Continue reading →

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“A Christmas Carol”

Posted on 2011/11/27 by Shawn Thomas

“The movie was not as good as the book” is a cliché for a reason: they rarely ever are!  I have enjoyed several versions of “A Christmas Carol” in movie form, but none of them can capture the vivid descriptions, the folksy attitude, and the full spirit of Dickens’ book – though several of the silver screen versions come reasonably close.  Yet no movie quite captures the spirit of Charles Dickens.  His homey narration style is part of it – as if he were very personally guiding you through the experience.  Then there are the classic Dickensian descriptions which place you right at the scene!  His portrayal of the Christmas food which adorned the local grocers, “that people’s mouths might water gratis as they passed” literally made MY mouth water!  Many would imitate his style, but few can paint word pictures like Dickens!”  Phrases like: “Awaking in the middle of a prodigiously tough snore …” had me chuckling and clucking out loud throughout. Continue reading →

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The Knowledge of the Holy, by A.W. Tozer

Posted on 2011/11/26 by Shawn Thomas

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”  So A.W. Tozer opens his classic book, The Knowledge of the Holy.  Tozer, who pastored in the middle of the 20th century, spoke prophetically about how the church was suffering because she had lost a proper view of God.  In his conclusion, he asserted: “To regain her lost power the Church must see heaven opened and have a transforming vision of God.”  Tozer seeks to inform the reader of a Biblical view of God in 19 chapters, each briefly detailing a different attribute of God as revealed in scripture.  Tozer supplements his references to scripture with quotes from church fathers and philosophers, and closes each chapter with a hymn or poem – more often than not citing Frederick Faber, obviously his personal favorite.  The Knowledge of the Holy was not intended for professional theologians, but for individuals who might be undertaking a search for a deeper and more majestic view of God.  The book succeeds in giving a brief (4-8 pages each) and yet thoughtful and compelling view of God which is informative, inspiring, and surprisingly applicable. 

Following are some samples of Tozer’s quotes regarding the attributes of God: Continue reading →

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The “Thanksgiving Gift”

Posted on 2011/11/17 by Shawn Thomas

It is not that unusual for a tale to become twisted in its transmission, oftenThanksgiving Dining Room to someone’s detriment – but the slightly misunderstood story of “the Thanksgiving Gift” may just end up being to the benefit of all! Continue reading →

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“The Real Thing: The Purity of Love”

Posted on 2011/11/13 by Shawn Thomas

I Corinthians 13:6 

      A few weeks ago as we talked about the definition of love, we referred to C.S. Lewis’ quote, that “Divine Gift-love … desires what is simply best for the beloved.”  But what IS best for the beloved?  Is it best to let them do whatever they want?  Is it best to give them everything they desire?  Every parent here will quickly answer “NO!”  Real love does not do whatever; it does not say whatever – as someone has written, love is not like a glob of jello – it has boundaries.  That what it means here in I Corinthians 13:6 when it says that love “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.”  As we continue our study on agape love in this chapter, we see again that love is not just a good feeling.  It is described in this chapter by 15 verbs, and the two we are looking at today tell us that love is pure: it flourishes within the God-given boundaries of love and truth. Continue reading →

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“The Real Thing: Love Does Not Hold A Grudge”

Posted on 2011/11/08 by Shawn Thomas

I Corinthians 13:5b 

     A generation ago in Communist Romania, a pastor was beaten almost to death, and was then thrown into prison.  A fellow prisoner, also a Christian, slowly made his way over to him and, knowing how bitterness can destroy a life, softly asked him: “Brother, can you pray the prayer: ‘Father forgive them …’?”  The beaten pastor shook his head.  “No”, he said, “I cannot pray, ‘Father forgive them’; I must pray ‘Father forgive them AND ME!’”  Here was a man who could forgive others the most egregious sins, because he knew that he needed that very same forgiveness himself. 

     As we have seen over the past weeks, I Corinthians 13 uses 15 verbs to describe what God’s agape love does.  We have seen that love “has a long fuse”; that it expresses itself in ACTS of kindness to others; that it is not proud, and last week we saw 3 things that it does NOT do.  This morning we find another thing that love does not do, in I Corinthians 13:5, where it says that love “does not take into account a wrong suffered.” As we will see, this means that “Love Does Not Hold a Grudge”.  To put it positively, love forgives.  It is the very essence of Biblical love.  It is what God has done for us.  This quality, as much as any of the others, demonstrates whether we really understand what God done for us, by the way that we practice it in regard to others. Continue reading →

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An Odyssey in Homer

Posted on 2011/11/04 by Shawn Thomas

I just finished reading Homer’s The Odyssey for the first time!  It was “fun” – for want of a better word – to read first-hand about the Cyclops; those twin pillars of doom named Scylla & Charybdis; and the exploits of Ulysses as he made his way homeward after the Trojan War.  I found myself “on the edge of my seat” as the hero had his fill of the greedy suitors who had invaded his home to seek his wife’s hand in marriage after his 20-year absence.  I was eager to see just how he would exact his revenge (I had to go to the kitchen and get some cookies and milk to help me more fully savour the final moments!)  It did not disappoint, although I had to wonder how his son was able to escape the room filled with dozens of antagonistic suitors, and bring back several sets of armor and spears for Ulysses and his helpers, while the hero held them all off with a bow and arrow.  But hey, that stretch of reality pales in comparison to most modern action movies … 

A few other thoughts: Continue reading →

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