I served as pastor of Southern Baptist churches in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana for almost 30 years before taking a medical leave from the pastorate in February 2013 due to dysautonomia (POTS) and moving to Norman, Oklahoma. Blessed with renewed health, I was called as Senior Pastor of Pleasant Ridge Baptist in Morganton, NC in February 2015.
In this blog I share daily devotions from my own personal Bible readings, as well as sermons, book reviews, illustrations -- and occasional humorous "peeks" at life inside this pastor's home!
Tag Archives: Bible
“The King & The Disciples” (Matthew 5:1-2 sermon)
I have never in my lifetime seen the kind of vindictiveness expressed towards a president as we have seen evidenced towards President Trump: the hatred, lack of submission, people saying “He’s not my President”, etc. I was not a big … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged 30 minute church service, Beatitudes, Bible, Bible Reading, Bible study, Chuck Quarles, Cliff Jenkins, commitment, consumer church, consumer mentality, convenience, crowds, daily bread, daily walk, Deuteronomy 8:3, devotional time, disciples, discipleship, entertainment, family, follow Me, following Jesus, God's will, God's word as food, Golden Calf, honey, Isaiah 53:6, Jesus, king, King Saul, Matthew 10:37, Matthew 4:4, Matthew 5:1-2, meat, milk, ministry, mission partnership, missions, Moses, Mount of the Beatitudes, Mt. Sinai, Pandering, persecution, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh mission churches, popularity, prayer, priorities, Psalm 119:103, quiet time, salvation, scripture, SEBTS, Sermon on the Mount, service, solid food, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, success, truth, walk with God
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The Test of the Word
“He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.” (John 8:47) Here Jesus gives us one of the BEST tests of whether a person is … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged Bible, genuine conversion, God's word, John 8:47, salvation, scripture, test of salvation
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Jesus’ Word & Salvation
“As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.” (John 8:30) The Bible tells us that when Jesus spoke the words He did in John 8, that “many came to believe in Him.” Sure, there was controversy, as … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Ministry, Uncategorized
Tagged Bible, Ephesians 6:17, evangelism, God's word, Holy Spirit, Jesus, John 8:30, ministry, preaching, Romans 10:17, salvation, scripture, teaching, word, word of God
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“The Scriptures: Life & Light” (Matthew 4:12-17 sermon)
My wife Cheryl & I will have been married for 35 years on May 28th. (She has already informed me that we are not going to be here that Sunday — so I am informing you! 🙂 As you can … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged Bible, Bible literacy, Bible Reading, conversion, daily Bible reading, Dikkon Eberhart, discipleship, eternal life, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Matthew 4:12-17 sermon, Netflix, obedience, salvation, scripture, scripture application, scripture memory, The Time Mom Met Hitler book, word of God
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What Are You Teaching?
“So Jesus answered them and said, ‘My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.’” (John 7:16) Jesus did not “take credit”, in a sense, for His teaching; He said it wasn’t “His” but rather that of His Father … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged Bible, Biblical preaching, creativity, exegesis, exposition, innovation, John 7:16, preaching, teaching, teaching styles
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“Winning vs. Temptation: Jesus’ Example in Spiritual Warfare” (Matthew 4:1-11 sermon)
This last Saturday (March 18, 2017) an intruder kicked open the door of a house in Redding, California — but he picked the wrong home to invade. A California Highway Patrol Officer lived at that house, and he shot the … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged baby dedication, baseball, battle of the mind, Bible, Ephesians 6:10, Ephesians 6:17, family, God's word, goodness of God, home invasion, I Timothy 4:8, II Corinthians 10:5, Jesus example, Matthew 4:1-11, Matthew 4:1-11 sermon, protection, Proverbs 24:10, Psalm 119:68, scripture, scripture memory, self-defense, spiritual warfare, sports, sword of the Spirit, taking every thought captive, temptation, trials
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“That He Gave” (John 3:16 sermon)
One movie that Cheryl, Michael & I enjoy watching together is the 1960’s musical, “My Fair Lady”, in which Professor Henry Higgins takes Eliza Doolittle, a young flower girl from the streets of London and transforms her into a well-spoken … Continue reading
Posted in John 3:16 sermon series, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged appease, atonement, Bible, Bible one story, bronze serpent, child sacrifice, demonstrate love, evangelism, faith, forgiveness, Genesis 22, gift, He gave, heaven, human sacrifice, I Corinthians 13, I John 4:10, I Peter 2:24, Jacob & Esau, Jehovah Jireh, John 3:14-15, John 3:16, John 3:16 sermon, love, Michael O'Neill, My Fair Lady, Numbers 21, Old Testament, President Reagan assassination John Hinckley, propitiation, religion, Romans 3:20, Romans 5:8, sacrifice, sacrificial death, salvation, Secret Service, soteriology, substitutionary atonement, take the bullet, The West Wing, theology, works
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