Month: May 2025

               Each morning as I enjoy breakfast and each evening before going to bed, I read news articles and various personal interest pieces. I often come across strange information which I suppose is the reason they pique my interest. Sometimes these articles prompt my thoughts for the subjects of bulletin articles. Here is the title of one I read at the end of November: “Thinking About Bruce Willis and Jesus.” I must confess I have never thought about Bruce Willis and Jesus in the same blue bubble. Who would not want to read this? I know…most of you. Occasionally, one of my tall friends sends information about his reading or viewing habits and not once has anything approached this bizarre.

               I hope I have at least raised a little curiosity about what this article said. I know you are familiar with Jesus, and I assume you recognize Bruce Willis. Their extreme opposite end of the spectrum is what draws our attention. I do not know how many movies Bruce Willis made but I know he was prolific. However, in 2023 his production shut down. Last year doctors diagnosed him with frontotemporal dementia. According to this article, “he has faced rapid cognitive decline, to the point he is no longer capable of speaking.”

               The point of the article was to make us aware of how suddenly our lives can change. We warn people that death can come unexpectedly and the opportunities of unbelievers trusting Christ are over. For Christians, we may have squandered the service we have long owed to Christ. Death takes us and leaves our responsibilities unfulfilled. Have we thought that living could produce the same results? I have met Christians who waxed weak in their service because they thought there was plenty of time for it. They put off their duties, even the most important ones, such as speaking to their lost family members about their personal salvation. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I would preach about the danger of our loved ones dying before we take our opportunity, but I would next to never mention that we might die or that equally as consequential, our health could fail, and we lose our ability to speak to them.

               A few years ago, I officiated at the funeral of a former member of our church. This lady had left us years before and neither she nor her immediate family continued to serve the Lord. A few years after leaving the church, she contracted ALS which ravaged her body until eventually all abilities were gone. The family hoped that her confession from years before was genuine. They did not base their belief on her church service but that she had spent her earlier life helping people. The subject on the day of her memorial service was the same as I referenced in a message a few weeks ago: “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.” (Mark 9:41). If it had been appropriate, I could have underlined reward and warned the congregation that this lady, if a believer, lost many rewards because she did not spend her Christian life in service of the Lord’s church and then lost the ability for all service.

               Yes, sometimes I come across strange information. People often say, “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” I think I can say my sermons and articles are no strangers to mysterious workings. The key is to keep our eyes open to the ways the Lord can teach us. Never in my imagination did I think Bruce Willis could be Jesus to me.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

               For the past several weeks, I have been climbing through old sermons with the curiosity of discovering how my sermons have evolved from the beginning and are there any new ways that characterize my approach to my subjects. My research has not yielded any radical shifts in doctrines or methods. It seems I am mostly the same fellow that started here more than twenty years ago, and the messages have varied remarkably little if at all. Not true is the course of this world which is whizzing by us barely braking to slow down. The pull is for us to give up what others believe is our stoicism and to join in with the party that threatens to bring all societal order to destruction or to earnestly destroy ourselves trying. Our choices have certainly become more complicated.

               Not all of us agree on the remedy for our crumbling societal woes. Our last election made it clear there is much unhappiness in our country, but I am also quite sure that many of our people do not know what to do with the mess both parties in this country created. Christians have their own dilemma to deal with as some of the most aggravating situations of our discontent cross the believer’s mandate to love their neighbor as themselves. This is difficult if you have decided to stop providing food and shelter for the poor and downtrodden. When the actual day comes for the government to load up immigrants and ship them out, the one who signs the lading slip might not feel too good about himself. Tough choices need making but it will be most difficult when we weigh the greater good for the masses against the individuals in front of us needing our help. We truly cannot deny that God ordained human government, and He sets the boundaries between the nations. A little Bible study will reveal the reason for jibber-jabbering at borders is due to man’s determination to build a tower to himself and make his own gods. The inequities caused by this are, as usual, dilemmas of our own making.

               I remember a few years ago a Hispanic family became members of our church. When we consider new members, the process is usually the church making judgments about the qualifications of those coming for membership. There is nothing wrong with, and in fact quite desirable, for Christians to reverse interview those who will be their teachers so they will clearly understand the church’s doctrinal positions. This family asked me a question I had not heard before: “How would you counsel an illegal immigrant who has just become a Christian? Would you allow membership, and would you or not report him to the authorities?” I do not know when I may have answered a muddier question. I would have liked to have left it for the citizens of Babel to decide who they would take with them and where. I will leave the Christian answer for you to discover perhaps by attending one of our Sunday Afternoon Forum classes.

               Come along with me now and help me discover exactly where the path of this article should end. I will complete my task by saying the simplicity I enjoyed a little more than twenty years ago is a fast-fading memory. The doctrinal issues were always difficult, and they will not change until we run out of mortal bodies. What our society will most likely look like is a reprobate world with substitute gods awaiting the last acts of toleration. Will that not be fun?

Pastor V. Mark Smith

I cannot count the number of times I have explained my anxiety when unable to write sermons far ahead of the time I need to preach them. There is a method to my madness which usually centers on the inability to do advance planning for the illnesses that too often hinder our regular schedules. Since I do not know when this will happen, God blessed me to have good men around me who keep a sermon or two (or more) in reserve against the day an urgent need arises. I am not sure you appreciate the difficulty these men have of preparing a sermon not knowing when I will call their name. For some, the nervousness, the effort, the inexperience, or perhaps even fear is too profound regardless of the level of preparation. I must also consider the people deserve as best a veil of sanctity I can provide by ensuring we stay true to the word.

You may not think such things are in play when I decide to stay in the pulpit when my health may make it better for me to step aside. Our men can supply the pulpit, I have no doubt. However, as gracious as they are and how often they cheerfully surrender their service, I still feel badly about impressing this responsibility on others. At the same time, I know there are men far more capable than I who keep a treasure trove of Solomon’s wisdom juggling about their heads.

These types of thoughts run through my mind on these occasions. There is almost nothing I would rather not do than short circuit a sermon or churn out an inferior product. At the same time, I do not want to sound as if all there is to preaching is a prepared sermon waiting for a suit to put it on. Our Lord calls the man, equips the man, conditions the man, and sends the man. He is to put himself in the position of service for Christ’s honor and glory. God ensures his success but not without the full surrender to this duty as the Master requires.

Where does this leave the brother who is there to help his pastor? I have tremendous respect for him. He does what I cannot do and as far as I know our Lord may gift him to stand where I am uncomfortable standing. They honor their opportunities by preparing a sermon that they too may have saved for weeks before receiving the call informing them of their time to serve.

I began our little dialogue by explaining my anxieties when unable to do the kind of preparation that makes me comfortable enough in my own skin to stand before this congregation. I remember hearing a pastor several years ago explaining the ability to stand and preach without even bothering to gather a thought. From that day forward, I never cared much for his preaching because I could never gather enough from it to think about.

I am certain of this—I need help. No, I am not good enough at this to think the Lord would be satisfied without my effort. I do not put the same ingredients into the preaching that He does, but what I am supposed to input I better put in. This is as well the means that God uses for His word to prosper wherever He sends it.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

               Most of the time when I write bulletin articles, I want them to reflect a positive beginning to our Sunday mornings. We are not strangers to the devil’s tricks as he often tempts us to stay away from church with faux illnesses, or short of keeping us home, will do everything he can to ruin our mood and the joy of worshipping Christ with other believers. If you experience the hardships of getting mentally and spiritually prepared for Sunday mornings, you hardly enjoy reading unpleasant subjects.

With this much said, the theme that draws my attention today is Hell. For the past several weeks, perched on a table next to my desk, has been W.G.T Shedd’s book, The Doctrine of Endless Punishment. Since I cannot say very much in a short article, I commend this book to your reading for your further education. This topic piqued my interest because of a visit a few nights ago by three Mormons who came knocking on my door. I opened the door and at once recognized who they were. Without hesitation, I laid into them, and I confess I am not nice or in any way appreciative of their zeal in helping to send people to this awful place called Hell. Although Mormons believe in Hell, they are not at all versed in their part in sending people there or the hopelessness of this awful place. Mormons believe that nearly everyone will have a second chance to believe and will eventually escape their sentence to its torments.

With this thought in mind, neither they nor I said anything except their “hello” and my opening comment: “I see you are Mormons. You are liars and you are going to hell.” I segued from hell to express my disgust at their foolish assertion that one day they will live on their own planet. The youngest of the three said, “What? That is crazy!” To which I replied, “It sure is!” Our conversation ended at this point because neither of us were in the mood for a brawl on the front porch. I passionately believe in the apostle John’s advice, “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house neither bid him God speed…” I gladly shooed them away from the door and warned them to be careful out there in the dark. You never know if there is another Baptist out there angrier with false prophets than me.

I mentioned that Mormons believe those who die and go to hell will have a second chance to escape what God says is an eternal lake of fire. I failed to mention I told them they did not believe in the Jesus of the Bible since much of what we know of the eternal nature of hell comes from the loving, compassionate, eternal Son of God. Since thoughts of Hell are so unpleasant, it is difficult for the cultists to accept that Jesus’ teachings on Hell amount to anything other than sullying His reputation. For this reason, they believe they must vindicate God’s cruelty by softening the blow of Hell’s consequences. Unfortunately, Mormons are not the only confused heretics in a nice building near you. Others whom some believe are orthodox Christians believe annihilation is the final sentence of Hell.

Shedd’s book helps set the record straight on the factual judgment of Hell. He does not deviate from the explicit biblical teachings of the curator’s manuscripts of punishment. The strongest support pillar for the doctrine of Hell is the Christ whose eyes penetrate the soul as a flame of fire. We must be careful how lenient we are with these charlatans. Their doctrine makes repentance and faith unnecessary. The only difference between the hardest working self-righteous law keepers and the worst immoral reprobates is not sorrow for rejecting Christ but a little less beach time on their personal planet.

Pastor V. Mark Smith