Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”

Our Bible verse for today: “Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do what is good or to do what is evil, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. After looking around at them with anger and sorrow at the hardness of their hearts, He told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.” Mark 3:4-5 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “People matter more than ritual.”

The Pharisees were rule keepers and fanatical observers of ritual and tradition. In their minds observing the rules and abiding by the traditions was the ultimate in religious piety – even if it meant neglecting the needs of people.

Such was the case in Mark chapter three. Jesus entered a synagogue on the Sabbath day. There was a paralyzed man who needed healing. But healing was a form of work, and work was forbidden on the Sabbath. So according to the logic of the Pharisees, it would be better for the man to remain paralyzed, perhaps for the rest of his life, than for Jesus to heal him (thereby performing a kind of work and breaking a religious rule).

But to Jesus this was absurd. The Pharisees had twisted and distorted the meaning of God’s command to observe the Sabbath. They had turned it into something very different from what God intended. The Sabbath, and the prohibition against working on the Sabbath, was intended to be a benefit to people not a hindrance to their healing. In another similar instance Jesus would address this same issue with the statement, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

The Pharisees had it backwards. They were allowing lesser important things (observing rules) to get in the way of more important things (caring for people).

I love the true story of Pastor Chuck Smith, the founder of the Calvary Chapel system of churches. In the late 1960s, as a young pastor, Chuck started reaching out to the Hippies hanging out at the beach in their southern California town. As he won them to faith in Jesus they started coming to his church on Sunday mornings. But the deacons didn’t like it. The Hippies were dirty and they smelled bad. Worse, their dirty bare feet were soiling the nice carpets.

The deacons complained to Pastor Chuck and insisted something needed to be done about this. Chuck agreed. And so the next Sunday, when the deacons arrived for church, they discovered that their precious carpets had been removed and there was now nothing but a cement floor. Needless to say, Chuck didn’t last much longer as the pastor of that church. But he did go on to have a powerful ministry that started literally hundreds of other churches, a Bible college, a television station, a Christian record label, and much more. Well, so much for petty religious rules.

When it comes to keeping first things first we need to remember that people matter more than ritual.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”

Our Bible verse for today: “But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.” Revelation 2:4-5 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Return to your first love.”

I love spending time with new Christians; their enthusiasm and sense of wonder is so encouraging and infectious. The Holy Spirit is at work in their lives, the Bible has come alive to them, there seem to be new spiritual revelations coming to them faster than they can take them in, and they have all the wonder and joy of a kid on Christmas morning.

I remember what that was like. You probably do too. Those early days when we were new in the faith were times of eager discovery. I felt like I had wasted most of my life up to that point and I was eager to make up for it – I couldn’t stop reading the Bible and I wanted to be in church every time the doors were opened.

But like many Christians, in time the sense of enthusiasm, wonder, and discovery started to fade. I found the practice of my faith starting to become a matter of routine and consequently, a bit dull. I probably would not have described it as having lost my first love, but evidently that is how Jesus would describe it.

Jesus spoke the words of Revelation 2:4-5 to the church in Ephesus. They were Christians. But they had allowed the cares of life and the busyness of daily living to blunt their sensitivity to the things of the Spirit. Their awareness of and their appreciation for the awe and wonder and discovery that should be the norm for Christian living had grown dim and dull.

We need to guard against this. We must keep first things first. Jesus must remain the most important person in our lives. Caring for our relationship with Him must be the most important thing we do every day. Prayer and Bible reading first thing in the morning are more important than that extra 30 minutes of sleep. Meeting with your church family and fully participating in the life of your church is more important than recreation or hobbies or whatever else you might be tempted to do with that time instead.

Like any relationship, our relationship with the Lord will grow stale and weak through neglect. I encourage you to keep Him first in all things. And if He has slipped from that position in your life, the I urge you to return to your first love – your most important love.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”

Our Bible verse for today: “Now I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction. For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by members of Chloe’s household, that there is rivalry among you.” 1 Corinthians 1:10-11 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “We must not allow small things to become big things.”

We have been commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ to be salt and light in the world, to be “fishers of men”. But there’s an old adage about this which is very true. It says, “When fishermen don’t fish, they fight.” It’s true of fishermen and it’s true of Christians.

Our primary purpose in the world, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, is to be on-mission in the world helping to build His kingdom. We are to minister to people in need and share the Good News of the Gospel. That’s the main reason Jesus left us here after He saved us. At the moment of salvation He could have immediately whisked us off to heaven, but He didn’t. He left us here on earth to carry on His work for Him. We are to minister to others, tell them about Jesus, and draw them into the kingdom too. Jesus called it being fishers of men.

But if we don’t stay focused on our primary task, we end up focused instead on frivolous things which don’t really matter and which don’t deserve our attention. Sadly, just like those fishermen, when Christians lose sight of what they’re really supposed to be doing, they inevitably find things to fight about.

It’s disturbing how many churches fight and ultimately split. There was another one in our town just a couple of months ago. I think that makes five in the last five years (and we’re a very small town). The fights are seldom over things like “Why aren’t we baptizing more people?” More often it’s about the color of the carpet, or who ate the last piece of chicken at the potluck, or some equally inane nonsense.

A church fellowship is a fragile thing and can be easily broken if it isn’t properly cared for and handled gently. Some of you reading this right now are members of churches that have split, or are in danger of splitting, or are currently fighting about something. It’s all too common.

All this month we’re going to talk about the importance of keeping first things first, and how we can avoid allowing small things to become big things.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first.”

Our Bible verse for today: “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a blanket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “We must stay focused on the things that really matter.”

We live in a world that is quite literally “going to hell in a hand basket.” All around us every day there are broken families; we see lives destroyed by substance abuse; there is crime and corruption; people suffer from sickness, disease, hunger, and social injustice; and we see moral decline beyond anything previous generations could have imagined. And, everyday innumerable souls are lost to an eternity in hell.

God’s answer to the horror of the human condition is His Church. The followers of His Son Jesus Christ have been commissioned to go into all the world, bless people with acts of mercy and compassion in the Name of Jesus, and tell them the Good News of the Gospel. God’s answer to the problems of the world is you and me – the Church.

Unfortunately many churches, and many individual Christians, are focused on other things, often silly things. Much of their time and attention is focused inward on their own lives and on their own church life. In their personal lives they’ve allowed themselves to become overwhelmed with the busyness of daily living. When it comes to church life they’re often preoccupied with personal preferences, styles of ministry, social events, and many other minor issues, while the world around them is dying.

Today more than ever it is crucial for individual Christians to stay focused first and foremost on the things that have eternal value, rather than on the temporary and less important issues of daily life. In our church life we have to ensure that we don’t allow ourselves to become little more than a social club with religious overtones; and we have to guard against allowing silly issues, personal preferences, and petty squabbles to disrupt the fellowship and distract us from our first and most important priority of shining the light of Jesus in a dark and dying world.

We will spend our time together this month thinking about what it means for Christians to keep first things first.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Faith”

Our Bible verse for today: “If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.” James 2:15-17 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Can people have faith in you?”

All this month we’ve been exploring the subject of faith. Mostly I’ve made the case for having faith in God. But as we end our thinking about this theme I want to turn it around and ask you to consider whether or not people can have faith in you. God is faithful and people can certainly depend on Him; but are you faithful and can people depend on you?

Do your family members, co-workers, friends, and church family, all know that in a pinch you will be there for them? When it comes to Christians taking care of Christians (which is exactly what James was writing about in the passage cited above), my personal experience has been that we do a pretty good job of it. When a brother or sister is hurting or in need, Christians typically rally around that person and come through for them – at least in the short-term.

But how about in the long-term? What if a need or a sickness or a difficult problem persists for an extended period of time? Do we hang in there with the person and continue to walk through the difficulty with them? Again, my personal experience has been mostly positive, just a little less so. The longer a person’s situation goes on the more difficult it becomes for others to continue being as compassionate, caring, understanding, and helpful as they were at first.

This is where we encounter the Biblical concept of “longsuffering”. “Longsuffering” is an outdated term which we don’t hear so much anymore. It’s a shame we don’t because it is important. In one sense when a person is longsuffering it means that they can patiently endure suffering and difficulties without giving into despondency. It also means that they are not easily provoked. But in another sense longsuffering means that the person has the ability to empathically walk through suffering and difficulty with someone else, without giving up on them and without growing weary of their situation.

Both the Old and New Testaments identify the attribute of longsuffering as part of God’s character. God is not easily provoked and He does not give up on us as He helps us through our times of trials and difficulties. But in Galatians 5:22-23 Paul identifies it as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit which should also become increasingly evident in our lives. And in Ephesians 4:2 he urges us to be intentional about being longsuffering in our dealings with one another.

There can be no question that God is faithful and that we can always depend on Him. The greater question is “Are we faithful, and can people depend on us?”

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Faith”

Our Bible verse for today: “Jesus said, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Those who believe without seeing are blessed.” John 20:29 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “The less proof you need, the stronger your faith is.”

I remember when I was a young Christian I frequently prayed a sincere and intense prayer for God to show Himself to me. No kidding, there were times when I really did ask Him to peel back the clouds and poke His face through. Just for a moment, only for me to see. I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone. But … He never did it. (I was confused and even a little annoyed when He didn’t. I mean, if He really wanted me to believe in Him then why wouldn’t He give me some real proof to hang that belief on?)

I also asked Him for less dramatic proof of His existence. An Isaiah-like vision of the throne room of heaven would have been fine. Or a talking burning bush like Moses got would have been ok too. I just wanted Him to give me something to work with; some physical proof of this spiritual reality I was supposed to believe in.

It was an immature faith I had at that time. The truth is, the more proof you need, the weaker your faith is. That was Jesus’ point to Thomas in John 20:29. You probably remember the story of “Doubting Thomas”. He was absent from the gathering of the disciples on that first evening after the resurrection when Jesus appeared to them in a locked room. When Thomas got back, all the other disciples excitedly told him about how the risen Jesus had appeared to them. But Thomas refused to believe it. He hadn’t seen it for himself and therefore he wouldn’t believe it to be true.

Eight days later Jesus appeared again, and this time Thomas was there. Jesus called him out. “Thomas, you don’t believe in Me because you didn’t see Me for yourself? Ok. Come over here and touch Me. Put your hand on my wounds. Stop being an unbeliever.” And Thomas, in awe and wonder, then confessed Jesus as Lord.

I’m jealous. Thomas got the physical proof he demanded. All I got was empty sky, empty dreams, and no burning bush. But, I also didn’t get tagged with the nickname “Doubting Jim” to carry with me for the rest of recorded history till the end of time. Poor Thomas.

The lesson we learn at Thomas’ expense is an important one. The weaker our faith, the more proof we expect. The stronger our faith, the less proof we need. After all, the very essence of faith is a strong belief in things we cannot see. It is the understanding and the certainty that even if we can’t see God, that doesn’t make Him any less real (Hebrews 11:1).

In retrospect I’m grateful that God didn’t answer those early, immature prayers of mine. Although my faith today still isn’t what it needs to be, it is stronger than it probably would have been if God had had to spoon-feed me just to get me to believe in Him.

I encourage you also to rely less on physical proof, and more on simple faith in your relationship with Him.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Faith”

Our Bible verse for today: “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding irreverent, empty speech and contradictions from the “knowledge” that falsely bears that name. By professing it, some people have deviated from the faith.” 1 Timothy 6:20-21 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “We have to guard our faith.”

Young Timothy was a protégé of the Apostle Paul. He had traveled with Paul, studied under him, and he had been mentored not only in the faith, but also in the role of Pastor. Through it all Timothy had been well-instructed in sound doctrine.

At the time Paul wrote the letter 1 Timothy the young man was a Pastor, evidently in a Christian community which included some false teachers. These were men who were preaching and teaching false doctrine, often for their own gain. Throughout the letter Paul urged Timothy to stay focused on the sound doctrine he had been taught, and to guard himself against being drawn in by the subtle lies of the false teachers.

Today we also live in a Christian culture contaminated by many false teachers spouting unsound doctrine. Television preachers with big hair, fake smiles, opulent mansions and private jets, preach a perverted gospel that Jesus Himself wouldn’t recognize. And they destroy the faith of many.

Jesus warned us that this would happen. In Matthew 24:23-28 He told us that the closer we get to the end times the more false preachers and teachers there will be. I love the way Eugene Peterson relates this passage in his paraphrase of the Bible “The Message”:

“Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. But I’ve given you fair warning.”

The people of God have to be prayerful and wise regarding the teaching and preaching they listen to. Just because a person has a title and a degree, or a show on television, doesn’t mean he is a faithful and trustworthy teacher of God’s Word. The faith of many has been destroyed by false teachers with impure motives. As Paul instructed Timothy, we have to guard our faith.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Faith”

Our Bible verse for today: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can his faith save him? Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith from my works.” James 2:16; 18 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Real faith expresses itself in works.
In his book “Reaching for the Invisible God” Philip Yancey tells the story of a French Friar by the name of Pierre. Shortly after World War II, and before becoming a Friar, Pierre was a wealthy man who served in the French Parliament. France in those days, right after the War, was overwhelmed with homeless and destitute people living on the streets of Paris.

Pierre was appalled and frustrated by the lack of sensitivity and the inaction of the wealthy members of Parliament to the plight of the suffering masses of people. Finally Pierre left Parliament, left his life of wealth and ease, became a Catholic friar, and dedicated his life to helping the beggars. Pierre instituted self-help programs on a huge scale, all designed to assist the homeless in getting back on their feet. An important aspect of the programs required every homeless person to find at least one other person who was worse off than them and to find ways to assist that less fortunate person. The premise was that, no matter how great your own need, there was always someone worse off than you and an important part of your own recovery, involved being a blessing to someone else.

The programs were so successful that eventually the standard of living for everyone was rising, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for the down-and-out to find others they could help who were worse off than they were. While Pierre was happy and grateful that so many people were now doing so much better, he also recognized that they had reached a point of crisis as well. Pierre wrote, “I realized that I had to find someone new for my beggars to help. If I didn’t find people worse off than my beggars, this movement could turn inward. They would become a powerful, rich organization, and the whole spiritual impact would be lost. They would have no one to serve.”

Finally Friar Pierre became aware of a colony of lepers in India, five thousand miles away, who were in desperate need of help. Pierre discovered that those lepers were in far worse condition than the former beggars in Paris had ever been. Returning to Paris he mobilized the former beggars to raise the funds to build a hospital for the lepers, to send supplies to then, and to go on short mission trips to serve them. To the grateful recipients of this gift in India Pierre said, “No, no, it is you who have saved us. We must serve or we die.”

Yes. We must serve or we die. We die in that our faith becomes a weak, tepid, inwardly focused thing that causes us to become preoccupied with ourselves and our own small needs. Are you having trouble making ends meet financially and wishing your paycheck was more? There are plenty of people who have no income at all and who are living in a cardboard box under a bridge. Are you sick? There are many others who are sicker. Are you feeling a little lonely? Many seniors living in nursing homes haven’t had a visit from anyone in years.

The point is that there is always someone worse off than you are and therefore there is always an opportunity to take your eyes off of yourself and your own problems, and to be a blessing to someone else instead.

This is what James was teaching in his short letter. The world is filled with lonely, hurting, hungry, sick, and dying people. And if the practice of your faith doesn’t include acts of mercy and blessing to those in need, then that faith is a weak and tepid thing that is making no real difference to you or to anyone else.

I encourage you to find someone today who is worse off than you are and find a way to bless them in the Name of Jesus.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Faith”

Our Bible verse for today: “Everything is possible to the one who believes.” Mark 9:23 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Strong faith is a powerful thing.”

I love the children’s story of “The Little Engine That Could”. It’s the story of a small sized railroad train engine whose regular job was to simply reposition individual railroad cars and move them around the railroad yard. It was the job of the larger more powerful engines to pull the long heavily loaded freight trains long distances.

But one day there was a string of cars that needed to be pulled up a steep mountain grade.  One after another the larger and stronger engines made excuses for why they weren’t available to do the job. Finally the little engine was approached and asked to try. Without hesitation he agreed. As he huffed and puffed and struggled up the mountain, towing this impossibly long line of heavily loaded freight cars, he repeats to himself over and over again, “I think I can … I think I can … I think I can …” And then, once he crests the top of the steep mountain and begins to cruise down the other side, “The Little Engine That Could” changes his chant from “I think I can … I think I can.” to “I thought I could … I thought I could ..” And then of course, he did.

It’s an old story with an even older theme. Strong faith is a powerful thing. That was Jesus’ point in Mark 9:23. In this case a desperate father asked Jesus to free his son from the clutches of a demonic spirit. Jesus’ reply to the man was that if his faith was strong enough not only could the demon be banished from the boy, but such a faith would enable many more miracles in the man’s life as well.

Christian author Joyce Myers once wrote, “Positive minds full of faith and hope produce positive lives.” I’m convinced that is true.

Unfortunately, too many people live life far below their potential. They’re like the big engines in the children’s story which made excuses for not even trying, rather than tackling the tough task with faith and then just doing their best. But with faith in Christ and with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can all be much more like the Little Engine That Could. With strong faith in Christ the story of your life can be, “I thought I could, and then I did.”

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Faith”

Our Bible verse for today: “What then shall we say brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.” 1 Corinthians 14:26 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Regular participation in the life of a good church helps to strengthen your faith.”

Recently one of our newer members at Oak Hill Baptist made a comment to me that was guaranteed to warm a Pastor’s heart. The person said, “Probably the thing I love about this church the most is that it is such a close loving family. Everybody obviously cares about each other, everybody goes out of their way to help each other, and everybody seems to be so happy here. There’s a lot of love in this place.”

And they were right. Oak Hill Baptist is a special place and I’m grateful to be a part of it. When you’re involved in a church family like that, it helps to strengthen your faith. Everyone lifts up and encourages one another and it’s the kind of environment where the Holy Spirit can really go to work in individual lives. That then makes church attendance an enriching and refreshing experience that you don’t want to miss.

King David felt like that about his church. In Psalm 122:1 he wrote, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go up to the house of the Lord.”

If you’re not actively involved in the life of a good church family, I urge you to find one to join this Sunday. If you’re anywhere near Cumberland County, Tennessee, I invite you to visit with us. One of the best practices you can have to help strengthen your faith is to be part of a good church.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim