Is mankind wicked? Is there any doubt? Jeremiah 17:9

The prophet Jeremiah, a man called of God to warn a people gone astray who did not listen to him, wrote this chilling thought, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)  While it would be easy to speak of the wicked/fallen nature of humanity based upon historical events like the many genocides exemplified by the Holocaust, reading my local paper this past week provided, unfortunately, ample evidence.  In just one week, our local paper (which is excellent by the way) reported on two ongoing cases involving the trials of local teachers accused of a sexual relationship with a student, of two men accused of raping children, one of whom was also his own child, and to top it off, a two year old child found naked in the middle of a busy road while his parent was passed out drunk on the couch with a second one year old child being neglected in the crib.  Are you kidding me?  This isn't the big city, our county only has 53,000 people living in it, and yet these five incidents represent evil that was both reported and prosecuted, in other words, there is more than this going on, these are just the people who were caught.
The old saying, "ignorance is bliss" isn't true.  Would I rather not know about child rape and endangerment going on in my community, of course, but only if it wasn't happening.  How can we combat evil if we don't recognize it?  Still trying to cling to the notion that people are essentially "good" and in no need of help from God?  Good luck with that, me, I'll continue to trust in the saving power of Jesus Christ to rescue us from our woeful state transforming those who trust in him through the power of the Holy Spirit, and I'll continue to share that message of hope to a world sorely in need of it.

Paul: A truly Christian evangelical preacher

While preparing for this week's sermon on Acts 20:13-24, I came across this quote from Matthew Henry's commentary regarding the preaching of the Apostle Paul, although it was written centuries ago, the wisdom of Henry's words remains.

"Ministers must preach the gospel with impartiality; for they are ministers of Christ for the universal church.  He was a truly Christian evangelical preacher.  He did not preach philosophical notions, or matters of doubtful disputation, nor did he preach politics, or intermeddle at all with affairs of state or the civil government; but he preached faith and repentance, the two great gospel graces, the nature and necessity of them; these he urged upon all occasions."

How much more effective would the Church in the world today be if 100% of its ministers followed this advice?  Focus on the Gospel, return to the themes of faith and repentance again and again, let others worry about the affairs of this world, you have been called by God to shepherd his flock, your priority is the sheep.

Sermon Video: Paul's extra-long sermon - Acts 20:1-12

Of what value is knowledge of God to you?  What are you willing to do to obtain it?  While Paul was teaching at Troas, a young man named Eutychus nearly paid for such knowledge with his life.  If not for the mercy and power of God, which enabled Paul to bring Eutychus back from the dead, that quest for knowledge would have ended in tragedy.  And yet, such knowledge for Christians today, at least in the West, is readily available, even free.  Do those who claim to be disciples of Christ thirst after knowledge of God, do they seek it diligently and guard themselves against error and falsehood?  As God's people, his holy Church, we need to make every effort to educate ourselves and to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Church and its ministers to learn more and more about our Savior and our God.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

"In Every Age, O Lord" - Reflections on 150 years from Psalm 90

When First Baptist of Franklin celebrates its 150th year of existence this July 30th, the choir will sing a version of Psalm 90 entitled, "In Every Age, O Lord" by William Monaghan.  Psalm 90 was written by Moses in acknowledgement of the providential care of the LORD for Israel throughout each generation.  After contemplating the briefness of man in comparison to the eternality of God, the psalm ends with this prayer, "May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us - yes, establish the work of our hands."

God is indeed the Alpha and Omega, the author and finisher, but in his wisdom, God has chosen to work in and through his chosen people, first Israel, and now the Church.  This willingness of God to work out his will through the efforts of mortal men and women makes the prayer of Moses entirely appropriate.  We plan, strive, and hope, seeking to fulfill God's will and be useful servants for his kingdom, but we need the power of God to establish the work we have undertaken.  Why?  To make it effective, to make it last.  The Church has been able to endure, as a whole, because of the empowerment it has received from the Holy Spirit at work among its individual members.  If we were but a human institution, we would have surely collapsed long ago, like Rome itself, under the weight of our own foibles and follies.  But the Church of Jesus Christ has endured, despite the faults of those who comprise it and their foolishness, for it is an expression of the power of God.

Here at First Baptist we have had ups and downs.  We had a generation where a 1,000 people came to be a part of this church's worship, and we have had a generation where a couple dozen were all we could muster.  And yet, the work of God has endured here among his people.  Those redeemed of the Lord continue to be trained and equipped, worship and prayer still rises up from our gatherings, and ministries of outreach both local and global continue to be undertaken.  God, in his wisdom, has been with us thus far, allowing us today to stand at the end of a line of God's people stretching back at this location to the 19th century.

God has been our refuge, in each generation, and God has established the work of our hands for his kingdom.  May God continue to bless his people, gathered here in Franklin, in his name and for his glory, for many generations to come.

Sermon Video: The Gospel vs. the Love of Money - Acts 19:21-41

Since the beginning, the desire to have more than we already have has led many to greed which often manifests itself as a love of money.  While in Ephesus, the success of Paul's ministry for the Gospel inspired a reaction against the new Christian religion on behalf of those who were making a considerable sum of money from the pilgrims who came to worship at the Temple of Artemis.  Because Paul preached that idols were mere objects made by the hands of men, and no god at all, the growth of Christianity in Ephesus and its surrounding areas threatened their economic prosperity, for only those who believed in the value of idols would spend their money at the Temple.

The hostility toward the new religion led to a near riot in Ephesus, one that was only prevented from leading to violence through the intervention of a local politician who suggested taking any grievance into the courts instead of seeking mob justice.  In the end, the people who came to the Temple, and spent their hard earned money, were being robbed as surely as by any thief, for the idol of Artemis was indeed but a hunk of rock, it could neither hear nor respond to the prayers sent its way, invalidating the commerce of all those who benefited from the pilgrims.  What the Gospel offered was of true value, for Christ offers to the Lost not only forgiveness and reconciliation, but transformation, a purpose, hope, and peace as well.

To watch the video, click on the link below: