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An Analytical Exercise

               As I draft this article today, my heart beats a little faster because of a recent conversation with a local pastor. It is not unusual for me to struggle for hours deciding on a topic but then there are other times when my mind and fingers will not relax until I have banged my…

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Immutable Decrees

               At the beginning of this month, our afternoon class on the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith started the third chapter of the Confession. “God’s Decree” is the fascinating subject. Before my other comments in this article, you may wonder why I chose to study this confession instead of one of the other…

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Thank You For Sharing!

               I am authoring this article in the middle of February which follows my normal convention of staying ahead to make sure the bulletin is ready to print each week. I do not count on sudden miraculous inspiration with either these articles or my sermons. “Prepare” is my motto which often avoids embarrassment. This early…

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Hope In Sorrow

               Near the end of January, I received a text message from Lino asking if I had seen the new February issue of TableTalk. I often hear from Lino with encouraging messages or scanned images of pages from articles or books he reads. I had received my issue of the magazine, but I only glanced…

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A Little Latin Leakage

               At the end of January, our church went through its yearly ritual of the Annual Church Membership Meeting. The design is something like the State of the Union address with reports on the past year’s financials, membership, and new challenges we face in the new current year. A major component is the election of…

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An Ode To Subterfuge

               At the end of January, we began a series of sermons from Mark 13 about Jesus’ conversation with His disciples concerning eschatology. The etymological basis for this word is the Greek eschatos with the simple meaning of “last.” Jesus spoke with them about the last times or commonly called the end times. Since this…

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Canadians of Character

               As I write my bulletin article today, I reflect on my road trip to Canada in January. Upon my return, friends and family asked what I did while I was gone. The answer is nothing more than drive. I had a destination in mind, I drove there, spent the night, and returned. I traveled…

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Serious About the Series

(Originally published on Feb. 1, 2026)                Last week after I returned from traveling in Canada, I gave you an introduction to Mark 13 which centered on the importance of studying eschatology. I may have surprised some by saying that eschatology is not my favorite Bible topic while at the same time saying we need…

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Traveling With Isaiah

               Just before leaving on a brief vacation last week, I finished reading Isaiah, my favorite Old Testament book. I read the entire Bible systematically each year in addition to my other readings for sermons, and of course, the Sunday scriptures read with the congregation. Perhaps you have noticed I often choose passages from Isaiah…

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Enduring the Tasks

               Today as I sat at my desk, the task before me was all too familiar. A few years ago, a group of church members commissioned the printing of a volume containing approximately seven hundred bulletin articles written over a period of ten years. Kyle Wells was the editor who occasionally asked questions but successfully…

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God’s Mirror

               Most of you are familiar with surfing the internet and following random links not knowing the place where you will stop and finally say, “It is enough.” The links I follow almost always touch theology and are too irresistible to ignore. Occasionally, I discover a golden nugget that plants an idea in my head,…

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Securing Our Faith

            Our new afternoon class discussion of the 1689 London Confession of Faith is now blossoming into a soul thrilling examination of the wonderful, miraculous doctrines of God’s word. Most of you were taught that salvation and Christianity are uncomplicated and simple enough for small children to understand. The Confession confirms this in only one…

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Salacious Secret Sins

               Over the past 23 years, I have used bulletin articles to give you small snippets of my testimony. I would not call my experience moving if you are looking for unusual triumphs in the face of adversity. It is difficult to accumulate a sickening yet exciting list of atrocious acts while living with godly…

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Holy or Hypocrite?

               I am happy to return to the Berean pulpit this morning to continue our mixed study of the Church of Jesus Christ. I call it mixed because I have separated out only a few areas of the many we discussed in past sermon series. Our topic today is Church Purity which I hope provokes…

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Curiosities of the Confession

               In last week’s bulletin article, I announced a new Sunday afternoon class in which we will discuss the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith. I also made a plea for attendance because it is important for our people to expand their understanding of the reasons we are members of a Baptist church and…

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Relaxed and Ready

He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. (Deuteronomy 32:4)                Each day around 5:00 p.m., I sit in my family room and read the Bible. The hub of each day’s activities is church work whether administrative…

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