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: commitment
“The Gift That Is An Insult” (I Kings 9:10-14)
In “Henry V”, one of my very favorite plays or movies, Shakespeare tells of how when King Henry V of England was considering invading France, the French ambassador came to him with a “treasure,” saying that the Dauphin (or Prince … Continue reading
Posted in Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged alabaster vial, cabul, commitment, corporate worship, dedication, discipleship, Endor, Galilee, Genesis 4, gift, gifts, giving, hard work, Hebrews 11:16, Henry V, I Kings 9:10-14, II Samuel 23, James 1:17, Jerusalem, King Hiram, Magdala, Malachi 1, Mark Twain, marriage, mission trips, missions, palace, personal worship, President John F. Kennedy, sacrifice, Shakespeare, Solomon, Sunday School, Temple, The Innocents Abroad, Tiberias, tithe, we choose to go to the moon, widow's mite, work, worship
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“Worshiping God Anyway” (Habakkuk 3:16-19 sermon)
On November 5th of last year, a killer shot 46 people people who had gathered to worship at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, just southeast of San Antonio. The pastor, Frank Pomeroy, and his wife were out … Continue reading
Posted in Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged abortion, Acts 16, commitment, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Facebook, faith, gospel, Habakkuk 3, Habakkuk 3:16-19, heaven, hinds feet, hinds feet meaning, II Corinthians 4:16, Job, joy, joy in God, judgment, pain, pain holy angel, Paul and Silas, prosperity gospel, Psalm 147:10-11, Psalm 2:2, Romans 8, salvation, Sutherland Springs shooting, word faith, word faith teaching, worship
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“What The Centurion Can Teach Us” (Acts 10 sermon)
Well I learned something new this week: Cheryl & I had dinner with Chris & Gina Bailey, and she made the best homemade eggrolls. I asked her what was in them, and one of the ingredients she mentioned was “white … Continue reading
Posted in Sermon Illustrations, Sermons
Tagged Acts 10, Acts 10 sermon, American flag symbol, baptism, baptism point of no return, baptism symbol, Baptist, commitment, Cornelius, Ephesians 1:13, faith, heaven, Holy Spirit, hymn To God Be The Glory, Muslims and Christian baptism, Nik Ripken, racism, Romans 3, salvation, sexuality, sin, subway, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives, the vilest offender who truly believes, universalism
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The Search For Delight (Psalm 37:4 sermon)
“Hedonism” is the belief that pleasure is the most important thing in the world, and that you should live your life, for pleasure. Most Christians would say that hedonism is wrong — but a few years ago pastor John Piper … Continue reading
Posted in Sermon Illustrations, Sermons
Tagged Alexander Von Humboldt, Amazon jungle, Bible Reading, Brave Companions David McCullough, C.S. Lewis, Christian hedonism, commitment, daily quiet time, delight, delight yourself, Delight yourself in the Lord, desires, devotion time, devotions, Divine Country, Ecclesiastes, effort, family, football, fulfillment, garden of Eden, heaven, hedonism, Hop on Pop, Job, John Piper, joy, Made To Crave, marriage, occupation, personal worship, pleasure, prayer, Psalm 16:11, Psalm 17:17, Psalm 37:4, Psalm 42, Psalm 4:7, quiet time, reading, river of delights, scripture memory, sin, Song This Blood, soul mate, vocation, worship
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“Reckoned Righteous” (Genesis 15:6 sermon)
One of the great blessings of reading through the Bible together this year is that in the course of the year we will come across all of the greatest verses in the Bible at one point or another. Our verse … Continue reading
Posted in Doctrine/Theology, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons
Tagged Abraham, Abram, Acts 10 Peter and Cornelius, Al Mohler, Augustine Confessions, Augustine of Hippo, commitment, cross of Christ, deserve, faith, forgiveness, Genesis 12, Genesis 15:6, Genesis 15:6 sermon, Genesis 17, Genesis 20, heaven, holier than thou, Holy Spirit, II Corinthians 5:21, imputed righteousness, Isaiah 53:4, Job 19:15, justification, Martin Luther King, MasterLife, paralzyed man Matthew 9, R.C. Sproul Jr. content of His character, reckoned, righteous, righteousness, Romans 3:10-12, Romans 4 and Genesis 15:6, salvation, sin, Spurgeon, thief on the cross, tzedek
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Living In A Tent
“Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.” (Genesis 18:1) So Abraham literally lived in a “tent.” When angel asked him in :9, … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship, Doctrine/Theology
Tagged Abraham, commitment, discipleship, doctrine, faith, false teaching, Genesis 18, glory, hardship, heaven, Hebrews 11:, persecution, perseverance, prosperity gospel, reward, sacrifice, tents, theology, Your Best Life Now
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