Thinking about Life and the Lord!

You see it on the faces of people. You can hear it in their voices. It is clear by the way they walk through the crowds at the mall, stand in the long lines, or even try to smile at a passerby. Once again we find ourselves surrounded by the challenges of Christmas. There is real fear in people’s lives that challenges their finances, their families, and even their faith. Will this Christmas live up to its billing? Will everything get accomplished? Will there be hope in a new year? God…are you there? Mary understood these feelings. When the angel came and announced what God had chosen to do in her life she was probably filled with more questions than answers. She faced real challenges relating to that first Christmas event. However, in reading scripture she faced these challenges in several ways that might be good reminders to us this year. Mary heard the announcement of the angel and she trusted God with action . She said, “I am the Lord’s servant. . . May it be to me as you have said ...

During the Christmas season, people all around us are assaulted with the message of discontentment, commercialism, and materialism. Marketers spend most of the holiday season trying to convince us that we cannot live without their products, our children must have the latest and greatest toys, and we must give these “precious gifts” to our friends and family. The result is that we spend a holiday focused on materialistic things instead of the Master of all things. So what do we do about this in our own lives? How can we beat materialism this Christmas? 1. We must intentionally be grateful to God. The first thing we need to do to is to realize just how much we've already been blessed with individually, as believers, and as a nation. Everything that we are and everything that we have are gifts from God. Many people in our churches and communities struggle with this. They believe they worked hard for what they have. But we must help them see that God is the one who allowed them to do t...

In July I returned from another exciting mission trip to Brazil. On one particular Sunday night, I was preaching at the FBC of Heliopolis in Rio de Janeiro. Imagine the scene for a moment. I am preaching to a building full of people in my best Arkansas, southern English about choosing to walk on the narrow road from Matthew 7:13-14. I am being translated by Pastor Davidson Freitas into Portuguese. Additionally, an interpreter is translating what we are both saying into sign language for about 30 deaf and hearing impaired people of the church. When the invitation was given, a young man who is totally deaf came forward, and in sign language prayed and asked Jesus into His life to be His Savior and Lord. What an amazing God we serve! Did you know all around us Satan has deafened the ears of many people to the truth? However, God’s Word is still powerful and effective. In Romans 10:14, Paul asks how people will hear the gospel without someone sharing it with them. If the gospel is powerful...

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Starting Sunday, September 26th and going through Sunday, November 21st, I will be preaching a new sermon series called, "Does FAITH Work?...The James Experiment!" This will be a practical study in the book of James that will challenge us to live out the faith we profess in practical and relevant ways each day. We will learn how our faith works in the everyday situations of life! We got this idea from Northwood Church in Texas. We believe it is going to be life changing. Messages will be uploaded each week to the Your Life Matters podcast. You can subscribe by going to http://www.fbcmarionark.org/?q=node/14.

The Biblical command to tell others about Jesus is a command that has been replaced in many churches by slogans, marketing plans, programs, and websites. While all of these things are important and beneficial, these things will not win the lost to faith in Christ. From the very beginning of the church, the plan for reaching the lost was simple: People must reach people! The problem is that this plan requires sacrifice on our part. We will have to give some time, face rejection, move outside our comfort zones, and become obedient to the Lord's agenda rather than our own agendas. However, people will not be won to faith in Christ by slogans, but by soul-winners. They will not be won to faith in Christ by becoming more favorable like the world, but by faithful witnesses. It will never happen because of a program, but because of people who might choose to use a program. Verbal networking of your personal story of how Jesus changed your life will change the lives of others! Now...let...

When a man says “IT WOULD TAKE TOO LONG TO EXPLAIN” He means: "I have no idea how it works" When a man says "TAKE A BREAK, HONEY. YOU ARE WORKING TOO HARD’’ He means: "I can’t hear the game over the vacuum cleaner" When a man says ’THAT’S INTERESTING DEAR.’ He means: "Are you still talking?" When a man says: "IT’S A GUY THING" He means: "There is no rational thought pattern connected with this, and you have no chance at all of making it logical" When a man says "CAN I HELP WITH DINNER" He means: "Why isn’t it ready yet?" When a man says "UH HUH, SURE HONEY,” or “YES, DEAR" He means: Absolutely nothing – It’s a conditioned response. When a man says "YOU KNOW HOW BAD MY MEMORY IS." He means: " I can remember the theme song to ‘Hogan’s Heroes’, the phone # of the first girl I ever kissed & the vehicle identification numbers of every car I ever owned – but yes, I forgot your birthday...