Pastor's Desk

1-6-26

Jeremiah 1:19  And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee. 

As God issued a call on Jeremiah's life, He assured him of success.  This did not mean that everyone would listen, heed and act on Jeremiah's words.  Indeed, they did not.  It did mean that those who opposed God would not prevail.  This is an excellent thing for us to remember as we begin another year. Evil and disobedience to God will not prevail.  The chosen of God will!

12-30-25

Leviticus 20:26  And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. 

What was true for the Jewish people of Moses' day is doubly true for us.  Indeed we have been bought with a precious price.  We belong to Him!

Happy New Year.  Remember, whatever the year may bring, we are the prize possession of the Lord.

12-23-25

Luke 1:32-33  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 

Jesus Christ is Lord and King!  All Hail the King.  Let all kingdoms, dominions, powers and all pretenders to His great throne be put down.  May He who came to Bethlehem, went to Calvary and is coming again be manifest to the world.  Merry Christmas from Marcia and I.  We love you.  Bro. Bill.

12-16-25

Genesis 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 

The story of man's relationship with God did not end at the Fall. God told the devil what would happen. Christ crushed the head of Satan!  He came into the world incognito in a manger, paid an awful price on the Cross and won victory at the Empty Tomb.  He is coming back again.  Everybody who knows Christ serves a Risen Savior in the battle with a crushed adversary.

12-9-25

Luke 2:3-5  

And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)  To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

We need not assume that, just because Mary was great with child, Jesus was born the same night they arrived in town.  That would have been cutting it really close on the travel time!  So, they likely had time to experience Bethlehem.  Perhaps, others were in town for the census.  This was a place pregnant with heritage even as Mary was pregnant with hope.  Christmas is hope and heritage.  Now, we have twenty centuries of heritage and hope.  This is notably reflected in the song Joy to the World.  It was originally written as a song looking forward to the return of Christ. As we all know, it is now a classic hymn of the Christmas season.

12-2-25

Matthew 2:13

  And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

Jesus was not not destroyed in Mary's womb by her being stoned to death.  Joseph was the protector.  Mary was not an unwed mother.  Joseph was the protector.  Here, Herod is out to kill.  Joseph is called on to be the protector.  Men are called to be protectors.  This may be politically incorrect in our day; but it is integral to the story of Christmas!

11-25-25

Colossians 3:15  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 

The rule of peace in our hearts is connected here with an attitude of thanksgiving.  One leads to the other both ways.  Also, both may require discipline of mind and heart.  Have a happy Thanksgiving!

11-18-25

John 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 

God is in control; but we are called to take action.  This is in obedience to His will and in His strength.  Nobody can do anything worthwhile for His kingdom except in faith.  Yet, Jesus says, once He who goes back to the Throne of Heaven, He will do powerful things through us!  Wow!

11-11-25

John 15:13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 

On this Veterans Day, let us say thank you to all who have served in our military services.  Let us remember those who paid the price with their lives.  Indeed more than self their country loved and liberty more than life.  Above all let us praise God for Jesus Christ who paid the price only He could pay for our salvation.

11-4-25

2Corinthians 1:8-9  For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:  But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:

God operates past our strength limits.  We  are puny.  He is mighty.  We are dead.  He resurrects.  We are pressed hard!  He has our pressure under His control.  Give it all to Jesus!

10-28-25

Mark 1:27  And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. 

Let us never forget that Jesus is Lord over evil spiritual entities.  There is no battle between the devil and Jesus on equal footing.  Christ can tell the devil to do anything He wants.  Indeed, Christ is fully God.  Even when He took on flesh, he was boss!

10-18-25

We will be at the State Convention on the 21st, when the next corner would be due.  However, look for a powerful report on that.

10-13-25

Isaiah 52:6  Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I. 

It is good to hear that the hostages held by Hamas have been freed.  Let us pray for the glorious day when multitudes of  the Jewish people will be free.  Someday the Jewish people will know who Jesus is!  That is freedom indeed.

10-7-25

Ephesians 6:5-9 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;  Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;  With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:  Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.  And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him. 

It may seem curious to some why the New Testament does not forbid Christians to be slave owners, but rather, gives guidelines as to how to do it.  This is an involved study and one one we will do on a Wednesday night soon.  Wait for it.  However, one important take away is this.  God is commited to freeing us from the slavery to sin.  Other kinds of slavery are less important.  He is the master in Heaven of all Christians.  The true slaves that are to be pitied are those still in the slavery to sin.  They will be in Hell someday.  This is the central focus of the New Testament.  This is the urgent mission of the church.