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: care
“Reaching, Teaching, Caring” (Matthew 4:23 sermon)
I came home from work last Monday night and Cheryl was sitting on the couch wrapped up in a blanket, and she said, “You remember that thing you said in the sermon yesterday about how ‘If you worshiped God first … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Ministry, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged "reaching, Abraham Lincoln, Acts 2:42-47, care, caring, Carl Sandburg Abraham Lincoln, church, church calendar, Church Council, church leaders, discipleship, evangelism, gospel, I Peter 2:21, in His steps, Jesus cares, love, Luke 9:56, Mark 1:15, Mark 6:34, Matthew 14:14, Matthew 4:23, Matthew 4:23 sermon, Matthew 8:14-16, Matthew 9:35, megachurches, mercy, ministry, ministry priorities, ministry team, mission, priorities, purpose, R.H. Dana, Reaching Teaching Caring, repentance, repentance and faith, salvation, see feel compassion do, service, spiritual growth, Sunday School, teaching, Two Years Before The Mast, What Would Jesus Do?, worship, WWJD
Leave a comment
“Working The Works Of God” (John 9 sermon)
You can definitely tell that it’s fall now — not only from the temperatures, but also from all the leaves that are falling. I spend a good deal of time Thursday afternoon gathering and burning over 11 wheelbarrows packed with … Continue reading
Posted in Discipleship, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged adoption, believe, BUCM, Burke United Christian Ministries, care, caring, church program, discipleship, evangelism, Evangelism: How The Church Speaks of Jesus, faith, Fall, felt need vs. spiritual need, John 6:29, John 9, John 9 sermon, leaves, Mack Stiles, man born blind, ministry, Orphan Sunday, salvation, sin, Sunday School, time, time change, time management, work, works
Leave a comment
“Second-hand Cares?”
Job evidences one of the signs of his righteousness in 30:25, “Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?” I wonder how many of us could really say this … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged care, compassion, concern, Job 30:25, love, needy, poor
Leave a comment
A Very Selfish Outlook
King Hezekiah’s response to Isaiah’s prophecy in II Kings 20 must surely go down as one of the most selfish attitudes in all of scripture. Hezekiah had shown the messengers from the Babylonian king all of his treasures, and Isaiah … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged apathy, attitude, care, Hezekiah, II Kings 20, love, Philippians 2:4, selfishness, unborn
Leave a comment
The Grieving Minister
I Samuel 15 relates the story of how Saul disobeyed God in the campaign against the Amalekites, and how Saul initially tried to justify his disobedience. Because he feared the people more than God, Samuel told Saul that the kingdom … Continue reading
