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: joy
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
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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“His Marvelous Love In A Besieged City”
“Blessed be the LORD, for He has made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city.” (Psalm 31:21) Here David praises God for ministering to him, even in an extremely difficult time in his life. He said he was … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged chesed, circumstances, grace, joy, love, lovingkindness, Psalm 31:21, Psalm 4:7, Samuel Rutherford, trials, worship
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“What We Have Seen … We Proclaim”
“What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also …”. (I John 1:3). We find in this verse something that is right at the heart of the nature of Christianity: what one experiences of God is to be … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged evangelism, genuine faith, I John 1:3, joy, sharing, witness
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The Blessing We All Seek
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’” (Matthew 26:21) There are many applicable … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged fellowship, joy, joy of your Master, Matthew 26:21, obedience, Psalm 16:11, Zephaniah 3:17
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“How To Build A Life Of Joy” (Philippians 1:3-5 sermon)
Samuel Rutherford was a pastor in Anwoth, Scotland in the 1600’s, when the English government changed, and demanded that all ministers use the government prescribed prayer book, and submit to the rites and ordinances of the Anglican church, instead of … Continue reading
Do You Have The Right Enemies?
“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:12) When one of the presidential candidates was harassed at a campaign stop this week, … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship, Uncategorized
Tagged Beatitudes, enemies, evangelism, joy, Matthew 5:12, ministry, persecution, witness
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