This is the view from my windshield as I was leaving the home of a church member.
Honestly, I miss the internet speeds of Gig City (Chattanooga), but you can have the traffic and the hustle.
This is where I belong, now.
Category Archives: Bethlehem Baptist Church
Observations from a Middle-Georgia Pastorate: “Visitation”
Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?
It’s Time for Boldness
Dear friends, now, maybe more now than ever, it is time for those who know the Truth to be bold as lions.
I will not argue over perspectives, for each has his own. I will not sit here and pontificate over another’s life experiences and what fears they have, for each has their own.
However, it is my RESPONSIBILITY to speak out when doctrine, theology, especially the doctrines of Jesus Christ are being attacked and polluted without rebuttal. Folks, the words of Paul to Timothy are just as true today as they were 2,000 years ago.
“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” – 1 Timothy 4:16
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” – 2 Timothy 4:2
So, when the head of the BLM of Greater New York says on national television that Jesus was “…the most famous black radical revolutionary in history…” and uses that false teaching to justify violence, it’s time we say condemn the torpedoes and go full speed ahead.
Bad Theology/Bad Praxeology
Praxeology is the “study of human action and conduct.” What we see being carried out in the streets of America is conduct based on bad theology and fueled by bad Christology (theological interpretation of the person and work of Christ).
I am firmly convinced that our actions as humans, especially how we treat others or respond to their actions towards us, can be traced back to our theological, especially our Christological beliefs – whether we think we have any or not.
As pastors, there can be no greater responsibility than to boldly and unapologetically proclaim the biblical and historical Jesus Christ of Nazareth, His true mission, and our dependency on His atoning work on the Cross.
“Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?”
That’s the question asked by Jesus of his disciples. The answer Peter gave was, “Thou are the the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
That is what the following sermon I delivered this past Sunday morning was about. I would encourage you to watch and share.
“Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?”
I do apologize for the less-than-HD quality. The internet where we are is so slow that we have to upload at 520p in order to get anything done the same day. We pray for fiber optics!
Filed under America, Bethlehem Baptist Church, General Observations, Jesus, Preaching, Southern Baptist
Father’s Day, Wednesday (and maybe a bonus)
I Just Don’t Feel Like Wri
Honestly, I just don’t feel like writing. I couldn’t even finish the header! I don’t know what’s come over me.
One possibility is that COVID-19 has thrown schedules to the wind. Because of that I’m not in the office for longer periods as often.
So, with only a laptop or my phone (which I’m on right now), it’s a lot of work to clean off my reading and drawing/painting table to set up my computer. Maybe I’m just spoiled. Or lazy.
Anyway, to compensate a little, I wanted to share some more videos from this past week.
More Videos
Sunday was Father’s Day. The first video is of me preaching live on Facebook. The sermon is “How to be a God-like Dad.” I edited it for YouTube.
The Sunday evening video shows me in my office talking about Acts 11 and primarily Barnabas. This was a personally convicting lesson. I need to be more of a Barnabas.
On Wednesday I continued with our study of Nehemiah. I had a great time! Call it preaching 😉
Oh, today is George’s birthday! He’s 1 year old (7 in dog years)!
Getting ready to ride! Yes, I’m exercising 🙂
Let me know your thoughts 🙂
God bless you guys!
Filed under animals, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Bible Study, Parenting, Preaching
Very Glad to Be Back!
I just wanted to share the edited YouTube version of our first Sunday morning back at Bethlehem.
I was honestly thrilled to get back together, and maybe it shows 😉
Filed under Bethlehem Baptist Church, Christian Unity, Christianity, Church, Preaching, worship
The Unspoken Variable In the Death of Rayshard Brooks
The following video was recorded this afternoon as part of our “afternoon devotionals.” It was recorded while I was waiting with my wife and mother for seating at Cracker Barrel in Augusta, GA.
I had just watched the news conference on Fox News (on my phone) while waiting for my mother to receive her chemotherapy treatment. It literally made me both sick and angry, for out of all the praise for their deceased relative, none of the family laid any blame on the fact that Mr. Brooks had been overly intoxicated.
Just like the disgraceful Mayor of Atlanta, Ms. Bottoms, they blamed the police for the “murder” of their loved one. Not once did they consider the role alcohol played in the actions of Mr. Brooks, nor how if he’d been sober this probably wouldn’t have happened.
Folks, let me be clear, I cannot show you definitively from Scripture that drinking alcohol is a sin; it’s not. However, I most certainly can make a strong case for avoiding it! I love the way the New Living Translation interprets these particular words of wisdom from King Solomon:
“Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those led astray by drink cannot be wise.” – Proverbs 20:1 NLT
Like I alluded to at the beginning of this post, having a drink, a beer, or whatever every now and then will not send you to hell: it’s not inherently a sin (Romans 14:17-23; 1 Corinthians 10:23-33; Colossians 2:16; 1 Timothy 5:23).
However, the unwise will disregard the warnings and end up meeting their Maker a lot quicker than those who can think and act with a clear head.
Don’t let yourself be controlled by something that makes you do stupid stuff. The consequences can be deadly.
Filed under Alcohol, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Bible Study, current events, Life/Death, wisdom
Racial Reconciliation: It Starts Like This – With Jesus
Today I had a beautiful and powerful conversation with a fellow pastor and fellow TBS (Temple Baptist Seminary) grad, Rev. Kenneth E. Ware of New Sholar Avenue Baptist Church, Chattanooga.
Below is a link to the conversation we had.
Your comments are welcome.
Filed under America, baptist, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Christian Unity, Christianity, community, current events, Jesus
Statements, Services, and Studies: A Whole Day’s Worth
It is Sunday evening in Georgia,
and all I can say is that I’m glad I’m not in Atlanta. However, I’ve got a daughter, a son-in-law, and a granddaughter in Charleston, SC, and it’s bad there, too.
Honestly, I’m furious and sickened by the senseless thuggery and domestic terrorism that’s spreading havoc across the country. There’s no excuse for it. None.
Well, I’ve written about the subject of the protests and riots, already. So, what I’m going to do tonight is share the video that was my day.
The first video is from Facebook. I hope you can view it. I went live this morning before the scheduled morning service that had been recorded earlier.
The second video is of the service prerecorded for airing at 11 a.m. Unfortunately, I got the date wrong! 😩
The last video is from tonight where I was live from Augusta, GA. Even though it was originally on Facebook Live, I uploaded it to YouTube. In this study I taught from Acts 9 while sitting in a hotel lobby.
Meet the Wise Wife
This evening my wife joined me as we discussed Proverbs 30. She was nervous at the beginning. She didn’t trust me.
However, it’s not my job to embarrass people online while talking Bible stuff. Also, I prefer a happy life, ergo, “happy wife.”
But Valerie underestimates herself. She is pretty sharp. Actually, she is a wise woman. She had no reason to be nervous.
If you can get it to play, below is a link to tonight’s Bible study. It’s also a glimpse into our marriage 😉
Filed under Bethlehem Baptist Church, Bible Study, Marriage, wisdom
Preaching With Art (paintings, not the guy)
Art . . .
As many of you already know, I’ve really gotten into the whole painting thing. Well, watercolor, not oil paint or anything.
And since I’ve taken up the hobby of watercolor painting, I’ve learned a few lessons that can be applied to the Christian walk. Is it any shock, then, that I preached a sermon on the subject?
But now that I look back, it wasn’t just art that I preached about, the preaching and the video presentation used to share the message were also forms of art. Each one a gift or ability that improves the more you do it, especially with instruction.
The Finished Product
So, below is the video. It is an artistic presentation of art and the art of preaching within the context of a pandemic. If the video won’t play, try going to Bethlehem’s Facebook page @Bethlehembaptistwarthen.
BTW, the singers were thrilled to be able to get together after being away from church so long. And, if you live in our area, we sure could use some more musicians and singers. Just let me know 🙂
And for those of you who can’t seem to watch the Facebook version, here it is uploaded to YouTube.
Filed under baptist, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Christianity, Church, Preaching
The Recovering Legalist 
Are You a Cracked Vase?
Have you ever had one of those times when you felt the Holy Spirit was at work, using you in a special, sorta like He’s-in-control-not-me kind of way?
Today was one of those days.
Every day at around 2pm I do a live, short devotional for our church members. That’s what the following video is, only uploaded to the church YouTube channel.
Have you ever felt that God can no longer use you? Have you ever felt like your best days of ministry are behind you? Are you a cracked vase?
This message is for you!
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Filed under Bethlehem Baptist Church, Christianity, Church, ministry, self-worth
Tagged as Bethlehem Baptist Church, devotional commentary, pottery, self-worth, vases