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: holiness
“Comforting or Convicting? 4 Tests of Genuine Salvation” (I John sermon)
One of the most common questions people in our churches have is, “How can I know for sure if I’m really saved?” That’s NOT a silly question. If there really is life after death — and the Bible tells us … Continue reading
Posted in Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged Aristides, assurance, baptism, cardboard testimonies, comfort, conviction, conviction of sin, David McCullough The Wright Brothers, doctrine, don't fight flip, examine yourself, fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23, Hadrian, holiness, Holy Spirit, I John 2:1-3, I John 5:13, I John sermon, Incarnation, Incarnation of Christ, John 13:34-35, John 16:8, love, marriage, marriage counseling, obedience, Oberkfell decision, Orthodoxy, Romans 8:15-16, Romans 8:9, salvation, sanctification, service, Spirit of God, test, they love one another
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“Little By Little” (Deuteronomy 7:22 sermon)
I have a friend whose dad recently passed away, and now he has to deal with all his dad’s “stuff”: here’s a photo he posted on Facebook of just ONE of the storage buildings of his dad’s stuff. Someone might … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged A.W. Tozer, Alive Again, baptism in the Holy Spirit, brick on brick, C.S. Lewis, Christian life, Christianity, cobweb on the soul, Deuteronomy 7:22, Emily Dickinson, Ephesians 1:13, Eugene Peterson, finances, G.K. Chesterton, George MacDonald, glorification, heaven, holiness, justification, justification sanctification glorification, Les Miserables, little by little, lottery, marriage, marriage counseling, patience, perseverance, Promised Land, Proverbs 24, reading, reading challenge, sanctification, sluggard, Tony Robbins, Victor Hugo, x + 1
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“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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NOT Like The World
“You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; shall not walk in their statutes.” (Leviticus … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged consecration, holiness, Leviticus 18:3, separation, standards, worldliness
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“Meeting With God” (Exodus 29:42-45 sermon)
Who is the most famous person you’ve ever met? I was talking to Barbara Riddle the other day, after Billy Graham had passed away, and she was telling me that some years ago Ruth Graham was at the same hospital … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged adultery, assurance of salvation, Bible Reading, Billy Graham, Christianity, consecration, Exodus 29:42-45, fellowship, forgiveness, God, good deeds, heaven, holiness, homosexualiity, I John 1:5-6, I John 2:3, I Samuel 3:9, Jesus, John MacArthur Laverne & Shirley, Joy Behar and Mike Pence mental illness, language, mercy, note-taking, pornography, prayer, religion, revelation, salvation, Universal Studios, worship
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Closer to Sodom or Heaven?
“Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty, walk before Me, and be blameless.’” (Genesis 17:1) Notice something important in God’s charge to Abram.
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship, Doctrine/Theology
Tagged Genesis 17:1, holiness, Matthew 5:48, Romans 12:1, sanctification, Sodom
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A Solemn Warning
“I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:21) This warning from God’s word is greatly needed today, as so many people have come to … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged consecration, fruit of salvation, Galatians 5:21, heaven, holiness, kingdom of God, libertinism, salvation, sanctification, sin
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