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
“Testing The Fruit Of Your Salvation” (James 1:21-27 sermon)
For Mothers Day we got some things for Cheryl for the garden. She loves to garden outside — and I love to go out and walk through the garden with her for 5 minutes before I go inside to read! … Continue reading
Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged age, Bible, Book of James, born again, church, church attendance, conviction, darkness, doer of the word, faith, Faith works, fruit, fruit of salvation, holiness, I John 1:5, II Corinthians 5, James, James 1, James 1:21-27, James 1:21-27 sermon, John 13:17, John 3, light, Matthew 13 parable of the sower, minister, ministry, mirror, mirror of the word, new creation, obedience, orphans, Paraliament, purification, repent, repentance, salvation, sanctification, scripture, service, sin, slavery, widows, William Wilberforce, word of God, works, worship
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Do You Appreciate God’s Word?
Psalm 119 is an acrositc. It is composed of 22 sections of 8 verses each, the verses of each section beginning with one letter of the Hebrew alphabet. So :1-8 all began with the Hebrew letter Aleph; verses 9-16 in … Continue reading
“No Strange Fire: Honoring God in Worship” (Leviticus 10:1-3 sermon)
When I was pastoring in Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal came to our church one Sunday to share his testimony. It was a big day; we had one combined service, and every seat was filled, with standing room only. There were … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons, Uncategorized, worship
Tagged Abba Father, Acts 5, Ananias & Sapphira, Apostle John, awesome God, balance, Bible, caesar banquet shamed, cat in church, celebrities in the church, clothing, creativity, dress, dress and worship, entertainment, entertainment and worship, familiarity, fear of God, focus in worship, giving, glory of God, God's word, Governor Bobby Jindal, Hebrews 13:28–29, house of prayer, hypocrisy, Leviticus 10:1-3 sermon, Lord's Supper, Malachi 3:10, Nadab & Abihu, obedience, prayer, preaching, regulative principle, relationship with God, respect, Revelation 1:13, Revelation 1:17, reverence, salvation, scripture, singing, songs, strange fire, testimonies, testimony, Unseen presence, worship, worship planning
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“Just As The Lord Had Commanded”
“Just as the LORD had commanded Moses” is the theme of Exodus 39 & 40. Nothing “new” was commanded here; rather the focus was on how Moses actually DID everything that God had commanded him. Notice how these same words, … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged Bible, commandments, Exodus 39, Exodus 40, God's word, obedience
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When “Worship” Misses The Mark
“He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’” (Exodus 32:4) … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged Bible, church, church standards, creativity, Exodus 32:4, idolatry, regulative principle, worship
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Not Up For Negotiation
“Pharaoh callled for Moses and Aaron and said, ‘Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.’” (Exodus 8:25) That sounded like a logical compromise. Moses and Aaron had told Pharaoh that God had commanded them to go and worship Him … Continue reading
“What Is Man?”
“Men go to gape at mountain peaks, at the boundless tides of the sea, the broad sweep of rivers, the encircling ocean and the motions of the stars: and yet they leave themselves unnoticed; they do not marvel at themselves.” … Continue reading
Posted in Doctrine/Theology, Sermons
Tagged accountability, anthropology, Bible, brevity of life, C.S. Lewis, Calvinism, choice, choices, commitment, creation, decision, depravity of man, doctrine of man, free will, freedom to choose, Genesis 1:26, Genesis 3, Hebrews 9:27, Herman Melville Moby Dick, humankind, II Corinthians 5:10, II Corinthians 6:2, image of God, Imago Dei, Isaiah 40:6-7, Job 14, Job 14:4, judgment, judgment seat of Christ, life, man, mankind, Moby Dick blacksmith anvil, original sin, Proverbs 20:9, Psalm 103:15, Psalm 90:5, salvation, seed of woman, sin, sin nature, temptation, theology of man, time
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