Thinking about Life and the Lord!

During the 1800’s in Birmingham, England, a little boy went to one of the newly formed Sunday Schools for children. The teacher taught the children that day and said, “Jesus is the light of the Lord.” Not realizing the symbolic phraseology of the teacher, the little boy came up to her after class and said, “Teacher, if this Mr. Jesus really is the light of the world, I wish He’d come and visit the street by my house. It’s awful dark where I live.” Darkness is prevalent throughout our world. The darkness of sin is in your community and in the streets of your town. While darkness surrounds many of our churches in Arkansas and across America, the light of the gospel must not be allowed to grow dim. The light of the gospel of Jesus grows dim in our churches when we forget that in our churches there is but one celebrity and His name is Jesus! Have you noticed how too many of our churches are being built on the wrong foundations? Some of our churches are making celebrities out of the w...

I am often asked why I am always so insistent that people join and participate in a small group Sunday School class at FBC. The truth is that there are many reasons and benefits for being in a small group SS class each week. Jesus, knowing the value of a small group, led his own small group for 3 years teaching and investing his life into the group. Let me just mention a few to you so that maybe you might make it a priority to be in attendance this week at either 9:00 am or 10:30 am. REASON # 1- Partnership In a small group we learn how to be in relationship, fellowship, and partnership with others through real life issues and circumstances. In this class setting your learn how to practice and show love to others, as well as care, mercy, and grace. All of us need a place where we can go and be ourselves. We all need a place to go where others will walk alongside us and support us through the struggles of daily life in this world. Also, it is through the small group that we can wor...

On August 19, 1979, US swimmer Kim Lineham won the world record in the women’s 1500 meter freestyle. She held this record until 1987 until it was surpassed by US swimmer Janet Evans. At the time, Kim was the best female distance swimmer in the world. She had a training regiment that was rigorous and that kept her in the pool for 7-10 hours every day. After winning the world record she was asked by a reporter, “Kim what is the hardest part of your training regiment each day which has brought you victory?” Kim Lineham replied, “Just getting in the water.” All across America churches stand on the threshold of doing something amazing for the Lord. There is a new ministry to be started, a new strategy to be implemented, new small group classes to begin, or some new and creative ways to do ministry. The problem with many of our churches and leaders is not that they do not know what to do or what it takes to reach people for Christ. The real challenge we face when it comes to doing new ...

In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. Its main mission was to reach Jupiter and send back information about that planet. It was a bold plan because at that time no satellite had gone beyond Mars. Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and so much more. It swung past Jupiter in November, 1973, then passed Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. By 1997, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun. Despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to earth. The most remarkable thing was that those signals were powered by an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light. Not even the most optimistic scientist could have ever imagined what that little 8-watt transmitter could do. So it is when you and I offer ourselves to God in faithful obedience. It's just incredible what God can do through little 8-watt transmitters like me and you, when we're turned on for Him. As God’s people living...

Have you ever made a mistake? Have you really blown it big time? Welcome to the human race! If you have made mistakes, bad decisions, or experienced failure then it just means that you are alive. The Bible says in James 3:2, “We all stumble in many ways (NIV).” I do not know about you, but I can identify with that verse. We have all failed. We did not want to fail, but still we failed. We failed ourselves, our families, our friends, and we failed God. So what if you have failed? Should you just give up? Should you write off your life? Is there any hope for you? The Bible is filled with examples of people who failed. Some of these people really made some mistakes, misjudgments, and wrong decisions. Still, we see God’s forgiveness being shown toward these people. We see these people throughout the Bible take advantage of a second chance and lead lives of significance. Let me share with you some encouraging words about failure. First, you need to remember tha...

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...