By Pastor Sean Cole “…we are justified by his grace as a gift, through he redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith…” – Romans 3:24–25 What does it mean that God put forward Jesus as a propitiation by His blood? Propitiation is the Biblical term for Jesus exhausting…

By Jim Elliff How do we explain the sudden reversals of life found in the New Testament? As Jesus spoke, or Paul or Philip or any of the other presenters in the early days of Christianity, scores of people believed. It’s the suddenness of belief that shocks you. In a moment, before a day was over, or before a few days had…

Why we should not tell sinners God loves them unconditionally By Pastor Tedd Mathis Why This Came Up Recently, I preached a sermon about the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans that Christ confronts in the church at Pergamum (Rev. 2:12-17). This teaching that led professing Christians to eat meat offered to idols and to commit acts of immorality was not a…

Dear church family: Here are five reasons why we have no need to participate in Lent. I’ve published this before several times, but was recently reminded by another Baptist pastor when Lent starts assuming me and our church should be participating in order to  “remember the Lord Jesus Christ and His walk to the cross and His walk out of the tomb!! The Lord gave me a thought to help me understand Lent better,…

By Virgil L. Walker My first football season was in 8th grade at Skelly Middle School. I wasn’t very good. I was smaller than most of the players, but if we were winning in the fourth quarter, the coach would say, “Walker, you’re up!” and put me in the game for the final three plays. I played safety primarily, because it didn’t…

By Pastor Tedd Mathis Why I am addressing this The mark of the beast should not bring anxiety to the Christian. I am told there is at least one video circulating on social media making a connection between the impending COVID vaccine and the mark of the beast referred to in Revelation. I have yet to see the video so do not…

By Pastor Tom Ascol God wins. If I had to summarize the message of Revelation in just two words, those would be my choice. They not only convey the point of the book but also hint at its main storyline. Despite what some overly speculative interpreters would have us believe, the main character in the last book of the Bible is not…

I wrote this back in 2016. While it contains a dose of attempted humor and practical     observations, it is rooted in the expectation Christ’s people will be hospitable. And practicing hospitality invariably includes the use of our house. Our preaching series from I Peter brings up hospitality. “Be hospitable to one another without complaint” – I Peter 4:9. Throughout the book…

“One of these years I’ll get to vote in an election that won’t be the most important of my lifetime.” – Anonymous Adapted from an essay written in 2016 As we approach voting for a president this fall, consider the long and short of things. Look at what Paul tells people about marriage in I Cor. 7:29-31: But this I say, brethren, the…

Lessons from the life of Saul of First Samuel See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God – that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble and by it many be defiled. – Hebrews 12:15 A Brief Summary of King Saul and His Bitterness The people of Israel wanted a human king and God gave them…