Tag: Sermons

One Is the Loneliest Number

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This past Sunday we covered one more load we carry when we try to do life apart from Jesus as we draw near the end of our series, A Heavy Load. This week we talked about the load of loneliness. Life was not meant to be lived alone. We were made for relationships. When we do life without Jesus, though, maintaining those relationships because entirely more difficult than it should be. Read on to find out why and how we can fix this.

One Is the Loneliest Number

Have you ever spent a significant amount of time alone? I don’t mean simply hanging out at home when nobody else is around for a couple of hours. I’m talking about a time when you didn’t have anybody around for an extended period of time. Honestly, Covid subjected a lot of folks to that in ways and times they were neither expecting nor for which they were prepared. And maybe you’re sitting there thinking how much you would like to have an extended amount of time by yourself because you can’t think of the last time you weren’t being constantly bombarded by people, but it’s a different animal wanting something like that because you can’t have it and being stuck alone because you can’t be around people like you want to be. Being alone…isn’t good for us. 

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The Green-Eyed Monster

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We’ve been talking for the last couple of weeks about the loads of life we bear when we try and do it apart from Jesus. We’ve talked about anger and, last week, fear. This week we are talking about yet another load. This time the challenge comes from our not trusting God will provide for us as abundantly as He has promised. If God isn’t doing it, then we have to pick up the slack. When it all depends on us, though, and we see someone who has more than we do, our natural tendency is to envy them for it. Let’s talk more about envy and how Jesus offers us a better way.

The Green-Eyed Monster

Think back with me to your childhood for a few minutes this morning. What were some of your favorite toys? Personally, I was an action figures guy. (And just so we’re clear, those are not dolls for boys. They are totally different.) I had all kinds of action figures and I’d make elaborate set ups all over our basement. To the casual observer it probably looked totally random, but everything was right in its place. All of the various toy catalogues are starting to hit mailboxes around the country. Of course, you won’t be able to find any of the things in them, but it’s still fun to look through them and dream. I know we’ve received at least the Amazon Kids’ Wish Book. The last time I looked through it, I’m pretty sure there was something circled on every single page of the book. I remember doing that. I remember once when my dad was serving as a local judge, sitting in his chambers while court was in session and going through and circling everything I wanted in the Toys R Us catalogue we had just received. 

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Shaking in Your Boots

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As we continue in our new series, A Heavy Load, this week we are talking about another load we bear when trying to do life apart from Jesus. Appropriately, given the day, this week we are talking about fear. When we try and do life without Jesus, we can quickly and easily find ourselves in a place where fear is controlling our lives. How do we handle this and what can we do instead? Keep reading to find out.

Shaking in Your Boots

If you’ve got young kids at home, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve at least heard of the movie The Croods. In my house we’ve made a point of watching both the original and the sequel, The Croods: The New Age. It falls pretty well into the pattern of a lot of animated movies of late. The plot is insane, the characters are over the top, there’s tons of slapstick to keep the kids laughing and engaged, and a few Easter eggs just for grown-ups who have committed to enduring it. I guess the writers feel like if parents are going to let their kids drag them to go see it, they might as well include a few fun moments for them too. 

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More Together

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Here we are at the end of our journey to better understand who God made us to be as a church. We are a people with whom anyone can connect to grow in Christ and reach out for His kingdom. That is who God designed us to be for such a time and place as this. But simply being that church is not enough. If we are truly going to grow into who He made us to be, that growth has to go somewhere. Well, God has plans to take us somewhere. In this final part of our journey we’ll talk about what it takes to be the church He created us to be and where He is taking us in the days ahead of us. Thanks for reading and sharing. I would invite you to join with us on this journey.

More Together

The Ironman Triathlon is widely recognized to be one of the most grueling endurance races in the world. To complete the course, participants must swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run a full marathon. Doing this once in a lifetime would be a major accomplishment. Doing it more than once in a year is almost beyond imagining. Then there’s William Pruett. This endurance superstar completed the Ironman course not merely once, not even merely twice. He once did it five times. In a week. That’s right: William managed to complete 5 Ironman events in 5 days. How was your week? If you didn’t swim 12 miles, bike 560 miles, and run 131 miles, you’re falling a little short. You may need to pick up the pace some this next week. 

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The Necessity of Growth

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This week we are taking the next step forward in our conversation about who God has designed First Baptist Oakboro to be. We are a people with whom anyone can connect, but connecting can’t be the end of the journey. Once someone has connected, it is time for some growth to happen. Let’s talk about what that means, why that matters, and how it can happen here.

The Necessity of Growth

Lisa and I both grew up in the suburbs. Now, I remember doing a pretty good-sized garden when I was growing up. It was a suburban backyard garden. We grew green beans, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and probably some other veggies, but those are the ones I remember. After we got through seminary and settled in a little town in the middle of rural, Virginian farmland, though, neither of us had grown anything for quite some time. Naturally, we thought planting a garden would be a great idea. Noah was still at the age where we could put him down and he really couldn’t go anywhere, so we had our friend Larry till us up a 30×60 plot of ground with his tractor. We had a ball. We would spend hours each week pulling weeds (just so we’re clear: when you’re a bit OCD, keeping a 30×60 garden completely free of weeds is no small task) and watering and then picking and canning. It was great. That worked out for a couple of years and then we found ourselves with another baby and a toddler…and the garden got smaller. Then came baby number three and it got even smaller. 

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