Thinking about Life and the Lord!

First, open your Bible to Mark 4:35-43... Is it any secret that we are living in difficult times? While America is still the strongest country on the planet and while we are still the envy of the world, there are many in our nation who are struggling. Many arguments could be made as to who is to blame for the circumstances we are facing, especially economically, but arguing is not the issue. The real issue a Christian and for a church is how we respond and live in the midst of what many are calling “tough times.” For many, these tough times are not a theory, but a reality. In 2008, the DOW lost 38%. This is the largest stock market decline and loss since the Great Depression 70 years ago. I personally lost 18.75% of the total cash value of my annuity retirement account just from October to December 2008. Jobs are being terminated, people are being laid off, and companies are choosing four day work weeks. Car lots are filled with new vehicles and new homes sit empty all over our city. ...

One of my favorite movies is the Christmas classic, A Christmas Story, the saga of a little boy named Ralphie Parker growing up in Gary, Indiana of the 1950’s. Ralphie has been drinking Ovaltine for months, saving up box tops so that he could send in a get a Little Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Ring. Finally, the Secret Decoder Ring arrives. He listens to Little Orphan Annie on the radio, waiting for the secret code message. He carefully writes down the code and then rushes off to the bathroom to be begin the decoding process. The suspense builds as he decodes the first few letters "Be sure to.." Be sure to what. The fate of the world could rest in his hands. His pencil flies as he feverishly struggles to decode the rest of the message. "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine." A crummy commercial?! Sometimes you just don’t feel like you get what you asked for at Christmas do you? I think a lot of times we actually cheat ourselves out of a great Christmas because our expectat...

My father, Dr. Gerald Hallmark, pastor of First Baptist Church of Alexander City, Alabama wrote the following article in his weekly column in The Tallapoosa Outlook newspaper. I thought I would post it here so you could read it. THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR FAITH ARE STILL INTACT Okay, the elections are over and the sun is still coming up in the east and setting in the west. In spite of all the dire predictions the world did not come to an end and we are still on our feet and moving forward. Of course, there are a lot of things we still don’t know about this new administration and congress, but there are some things we are assured of and can take to heart. These are important to remember. Be assured that God was not surprised at the outcome of the vote. He has seen over the affairs of men too long to be awed by men’s perspective of what constitutes historical events. You can be assured that God is still on His throne and has not be deposed by petty men trying their best to remove him from t...

The following article was written by Pastor Rick Warren and was sent out in his Ministry Toolbox email (Issue # 362 on 10-1-08). I thought it was applicable to the sermon series I am presently preaching at FBC called First and 10: The Bible's playbook for the game of life. Last Sunday I preached on the Lord's commandment regarding a Sabbath. We can identify with what a USA Today article said about life for many people. “Today people are souped up, stressed out, and over scheduled. In this brave new world boundaries between work and family are disappearing. Everybody is mobile and every moment is scheduled.” The Bible tells us that hurry and worry and scurry have dramatic negative effects on our life and ministries. If you’re serious about slowing your life down to a more humane pace of life, you’re going to have to make five counter-cultural changes in your lifestyle. Learn contentment. It starts in the heart. Paul says this about contentment in Philippians 4:12 (NIV): “I have ...

Dr. Emil Turner, Executive Director of the Arkansas Baptist Convention, recently posted a fantastic article related to how our relationships with those we lead has a direct effect on our ability to lead them. Let me encourage you to go here and read this great article: http://www.absc.org/WeblogEmilTurner/p/7441/Default.aspx

One of the topics that rises to the surface during an election year is the role of faith or the role of a Christian in relationship to politics. Throughout the nation we hear the voices of the skeptics decrying the participation of people of faith in the political arena. Worn our phrases, such as “separation of church and state”, are used in an effort to silent God’s people. Amazingly every other influence in the world is debated and discussed in relationship to politics, but somehow religion and personal faith seems to be dismissed. Historically, we clearly recognize the fact that the whole concept of “the separation of church and state” has been grossly distorted from its original intent. The phrase was taken from a letter of Thomas Jefferson to a Baptist group meeting in Connecticut simply to assure them that the government could not infringe upon their religious freedoms, nor could they discriminate against a church or denomination. The intent of the phrase today is to keep peopl...

I have just posted a 5 part series of blogs called " The Christian's response to the present US economy" on the First Baptist Church of Marion, AR website. I hope you will take time to go there and let these blogs encourage you. Here is the link: http://www.fbcmarionark.org/?q=blog/3