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Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James 4:7,8,10) In these…

Continue Reading Searching and Correcting

Psalms 81:10-16          Recently I someone asked a question about Matthew 23:37 in which Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”…

Continue Reading Are You Willing?

During my long absence this past summer, it was natural for me to think about the faithfulness of our Berean members. As God’s chosen people, fellowship in the gospel church is our highest priority. It is in the church that we receive instruction in God’s word and learn what we should do to honor and…

Continue Reading Faithful Church Members

I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother. But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together… (Psalms 35:14-15a)           If I were to give a name to the 35th Psalm, I would call it the psalm of the…

Continue Reading Ingratitude

         The sermons and articles of the past few weeks may leave you feeling trounced and beaten to a pulp. When we preach scriptures dealing with the natural moral condition of mankind, we will not go away from them thinking too highly of ourselves. Neither should we because the scriptures force us to see ourselves…

Continue Reading Jehovah and Job

          Today’s message concludes Mark 7, a chapter in which Mark carefully crafts a synopsis of Jesus’ teachings and demonstrations of the moral condition of all people. The summation is the 21st through the 23rd verses: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit,…

Continue Reading Depravity Deliberated

         Have you wondered how and why I chose the subjects for bulletin articles? Often, they tie into the sermon for the day and may help explain details I do not have time for in the sermon. At other times, the subjects seem random and are nothing near to the sermon subject or any event…

Continue Reading First Place Goes to Jezebel

         This week, our study in the Gospel of Mark continues with Jesus’ answer to the scribes’ and Pharisees’ inquiry concerning His and His disciples’ habit of ignoring the opinions of the revered elders of Israel. Jesus never disobeyed any of God’s commands, but He was not averse to disobeying any and every command meant…

Continue Reading Wash Your Hands and Your Idol Too

         Today’s message begins the seventh chapter of Mark and another confrontation between Jesus and the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem. In our text, Jesus was still in Galilee but apparently, He proved too much for the local scribes, Pharisees, and rabbis to contend with. Since Jesus’ popularity extended across the entire land of Israel, everyone…

Continue Reading Jesus and Justification

         Today, our journey through Mark brings us to more of Jesus’ healing miracles. Our scripture does not concentrate on a specific individual who received healing but rather an entire area of the Galilean region that experienced Jesus’ powerful and unique ministry. These were people who had never seen Jesus, although news of His miracles…

Continue Reading A Ribband of Blue

         Each week it is a privilege to stand in the Berean pulpit to bring the message God has for His people. There are times the impression from the Holy Spirit on what the subject should be is not as emphatic as it is at other times. With expository preaching, I know the frequent argument…

Continue Reading Impossible for God?

Last week while contemplating the subject of today’s article, I came across the title of another’s article that seemed worthy of stopping to read. The title was, “Is Paedocommunion Biblical?” You may not recognize this word and it is certain you will not see it except in a theological context. You may be familiar with…

Continue Reading What? Paedocommunion?

On this Sunday morning, God’s people across the world gather to focus their attention on the most important event in world history. Only days ago, most Christians’ thoughts were on the crucifixion. Which of these, the cross or the resurrection, is the most significant? This is not necessarily a point of debate since each is…

Continue Reading The Resurrection Is The Sum Of Everything

Every Sunday morning, the Berean Baptist services begin in a familiar repetitive way. We start with the Call to Worship which is a scripture reading that usually corresponds to the theme of the first congregational song. Next is Bro. John Bunn’s greeting— “Good morning, Bereans!” John addresses two principles with this greeting. We are Bereans…

Continue Reading The Committed Core

In January of last year, we were early into our study of Mark’s gospel when we had opportunity to examine the ministry of John the Baptist. John appears early in all four gospel accounts because of his baptism ministry. Before Jesus began His public teaching, it was necessary for Him to inaugurate His ministry with…

Continue Reading The Baptist Beheaded

In my sermon today, I will use a word you have not heard from the pulpit for several years. It is not that the word is unimportant, it is simply that the teaching has taken us in a different direction in which I have not needed to explain the doctrine expressed. To give you an…

Continue Reading The Long Line

If I were to write a description of the Berean Baptist ministry over the past two decades, I would enthusiastically say we are a church concerned with truth, doctrinal exposition of truth, and refusal to compromise the truth. There are no perfect churches this side of Hebrews 12:22-24, so we do not claim to be.…

Continue Reading God-Centered Religion

This week, we begin a new chapter in the Gospel of Mark. The sixth chapter begins with skepticism over the inexplicable knowledge of Jesus and the impossibility of the volumes of miracles He did. One miracle should have been enough to convince people that He was more than a man, but a healthy volume of…

Continue Reading It Is Neither Here Nor There

When I wrote this article, it was the 26th of January near the end of a stressful week. These are my thoughts several weeks ago as I tried to express the topic on my mind. A few days before, I discussed with a friend my interest in historical arguments concerning the doctrines of the faith.…

Continue Reading ­Hopeful Anticipation

Twenty-five years ago, when I was new to Berean, I began my ministry teaching a new Sunday School class called The Sunday Morning Forum. I did not want this class to be the usual Sunday School meeting with a structured lesson format that kept us confined for weeks in a typical lesson plan. At times,…

Continue Reading Sitting With The Scornful