When I Was a Stranger
Leviticus 19 It was Monday and I was headed for Alexandria, three hours away, for our annual Louisiana Baptist Convention due to get underway at 5:30 that evening. I’ve made the drive from our New Orleans home so many times–Interstate 10 through Baton Rouge to LaFayette, north on Interstate 49 to Alexandria–that I needed a change […]
What is Your Church Worth to You?
Ephesians 5:25-33 There is an old story told by ministers concerning a wedding ceremony that describes a rather tense and nervous moment. The tension was not so much during the ceremony but afterward. The groom rather sheepishly comes to the pastor half way apologizing for not giving him an honorarium. He says “I just don’t know […]
What Have We Learned? Purpose Driven Life
Deuteronomy 11:1-2 Joke: 87 year old woman goes out on a date with a 97 year old man. “I had to slap him three times.” Did he get fresh with you? No, I slapped him to see if he were still alive. We don’t want the world slapping us to see if we are alive. […]
What Does it Mean to be a Missionary?
Romans 15:14-33 Introduction: When people here in the USA are asked to support missions, they often wonder what do missionaries do? It reminds me of a cartoon I once read: Illustration: In a “Peanuts” cartoon, Lucy asks Charlie Brown, “Why are we here on Earth?” Charlie replied, “To make other people happy.” Lucy replied, “Then why are they […]
What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?
I Peter 1:13-2:3 What do you want to be when you grow up? Well, I must admit, for a while I wanted to be Superman! One Christmas I received a Superman cape, and I tried out my supernatural powers by jumping off the front porch–only to discover that my cape malfunctioned, because I landed face down on […]
What Can You Learn From a “Ham”?
Genesis 18-25 You have seen hams before . . . those people who are always playing practical jokes. What can you learn from a “ham”? Not much. But we can learn something from an Abraham. 1) A Ham recognizes the presence of the Lord . . . Lot, conversely, did not 2) A Ham isn’t a […]
What a Gift
Luke 1:26-38 Begin with the pastor who went to the church in the snow and dropped into the plate $5.00. That is the amount the deacon paid him. Just think, said the boy, if we had given more we would have gotten more.When we think of Christmas, we rightfully think of the ultimate gift God […]
We Need Revival
Zechariah The Need for Revival. Zechariah reminded them of two reasons they needed revival. They needed revival because of the consequences of disobeying God as their fathers had done. (Zechariah 7:4-14) They needed revival because God blesses those who are faithful too him.(Zechariah 8:6-8) We need revival because we have seen what spiritual apathy has done to […]
Two Ways of Life
Jeremiah 17:5-10 “What on earth are you here for?” That is one the primary questions posed by the blockbuster best selling book, The Purpose Driven Life, written by the well known pastor of the Saddleback Church in Southern California. This important question is one that people of all ages should consider. Why are we here? […]
This Hope Which Does Not Disappoint
Romans 5:1-5 Bernie Madoff has made off with 50 billion dollars of investor funds. He played what is called the Ponzi game. Charles Ponzi was a 1920’s style Bernie Madoff, who defrauded thousands of New Englanders with a postage stamp speculation scam. Now, the term Ponzi scheme is used to describe those efforts to swindle […]
