I could not have known that July 4, 1955, would be one of the most important dates in my life. It was a Monday. My Navy buddy, Leroy, and I had been invited to a Sunday school picnic. The Community Baptist Church of Deerfield, Illinois, was meeting at a community park for its annual picnic. [...]

“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24, ESV) ****** At the very beginning of my Christian experience, God [...]

James 4:13-17; 5:19-20 Introduction I have a very painful lesson in my past that comes to my mind from time to time. When we boys, my brother and I, were young, my dad would take us fishing. We didn’t have much of this world’s goods so the best we could do to get a boat [...]

Today is December 17th, another eight days and Christmas will be here for 2004. What will you be doing this Christmas? If you have a live wire and bubbly family, Christmas will probably be a time of friendship and laughter, of love and giving.

God Meant Marriage to Be Great My wife, Jane, and I have been married forty-nine years as of this coming Christmas. We were married on Christmas Eve in 1955. We have spent our ministry lives trying to help people. Especially, we have tried to help people have a better marriage. We think we can help [...]

The little boy was only five years old. His parents were trying to keep body and soul together during the Great Depression. They lived in a humble little cottage in a small Ohio industrial town. The little boy had a younger brother and a baby sister. His father worked nights at a nearby industrial plant. [...]

A homeless man found his way to the door of a large downtown church in a certain major city. It was Sunday morning, biting cold gripped his poorly clad body. He wrapped his aging threadbare jacket about him and waited on tile curbing for the end of the service when the parishioners would emerge and [...]

Tuesday November 2, 2004 was an historic day in our country. I would be remiss in my responsibility as a pastor to allow this moment to pass without calling attention to it and without thanking God in prayer.

A Chronological Reading Arrangement Of The Gospels Prelude Matthew 26:31-35 Mark 14:27-31 John 17:1-26 On the Mount of Olives Luke 22:39-46 Gethsemane Matthew 26:36-46 Mark 14:32-42 Arrest Matthew 26:47-56 Mark 14:43-52 Luke 22:47-53 John 18:1-11 Interrogation and Abuse Matthew 26:57-27:31 Mark 14:53-15:20 Luke 22:54 — 23:25 John 18:12-19:16a Crucifixion Matthew 27:32-56 Mark 15:21-41 Luke 23:26-49 [...]