Many people think of Labor Day as simply the last long weekend of summer. Why on earth would anyone want to celebrate labor? Isn’t it just a necessary evil which we must undertake to keep food on the table? The Bible points us toward a much higher motive for working. Read more…
I hope you had a really great St.Bartholomew’s Day! It was Monday of this week just in case you missed it. Most Baptists did miss it without missing it at all. That is because we are just not fond of calling people “Saints”. It even bothers some folks that the Read more…
I am w-e-a-r-y! When I say it that long it means I am half-past wiped out. Louise and I just hosted a week long, family get-together in which we celebrated four birthdays, and had a going away party for our oldest granddaughter, who is being sent overseas by the Army. Read more…
It Is So Hot… the cows are giving evaporated milk. the chickens are laying hard-boiled eggs. hot water now comes out of both taps. you burn your hand opening the car door. you realize that asphalt has a liquid state. you start buying stock in Gatorade. you start putting ice Read more…
This is a guest article written by Stephen W. Diehl, the former pastor of Garden Hills Baptist Church in Champaign, IL. “The Declaration of Independence, which touched off the American Revolution, closes with these words: ‘And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Read more…
I once read an article which asked how I enjoyed the longest day of the year. Of course, the writer was talking about the first day of summer. When I read that article I could not answer his question because I could not remember what I did on that day. Read more…
Much has been written about the importance a good father plays in his children’s ability to trust God. Most of these studies have been written from a Christian perspective and cited examples of Christian fathers who passed along their belief system to their children. One of the best academic studies Read more…
We have just finished another great week of Vacation Bible School. This is one of the weeks in which I am most proud to serve as the pastor of Bells First Baptist Church. Most years we have as many of our members come to work in VBS as we have Read more…
We are in the early stages of another Presidential election. Campaign speeches are often interrupted by hecklers, but this is nothing new. I read about students at a university in Scotland who always heckled those who were given honorary degrees. Those students had just sat through four years of classes Read more…
Jackie Warren, a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing, put together a list of answers her students gave when asked about their mothers. One question she asked was; “Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?” The answers she received included: “Because we are Read more…