Perhaps you have recently had a knock at your door, and on the other side are Jehovah’s Witnesses. They are zealous and excited to share with you what they believe to be good news. Are they Christian? Should you listen to them or take their literature? Let’s take a look at this group and see. [...]
Written by Ben
Monday, 05 September 2011 06:55
3 Comments
Monday, 05 September 2011 06:55
3 Comments
In the middle of August, I was blessed to teach systematic theology to twenty-three Honduran pastors outside of Tegucigalpa, Honduras at a Bible institute ran by Baptist Medical & Dental Mission International (BMDMI). On the heels of returning from that week-long trip, God has reminded me afresh of five major truths, which I share with [...]
Written by Ben
Thursday, 11 August 2011 14:00
3 Comments
Thursday, 11 August 2011 14:00
3 Comments
Yesterday, I gave you the first 10 reasons from Scripture for taking risks for Jesus. Today, I’ll give you the final 10 that the Lord blessed me with on Saturday. These are not my words of wisdom. They are straight from the Word of God, which is wisdom indeed! So, if your flesh and the [...]
Written by Ben
Wednesday, 10 August 2011 15:08
1 Comment
Wednesday, 10 August 2011 15:08
1 Comment
Is Jesus calling you to take a step out in faith for Him? Are you hindered from taking that step because of fear? Is what Jesus is calling you to do a bit risky, and are your flesh and the devil pressuring you to say “No” to God? If you said “yes” to these questions, [...]
Written by Ben
Tuesday, 26 July 2011 01:00
1 Comment
Tuesday, 26 July 2011 01:00
1 Comment
God is our maker and not what we have made. That’s major! Yet, it’s astonishing that people even today will gather materials and fashion for themselves an idol made of wood or metal. The Bible in several places shows the foolishness of this sinful practice. One explicit passage is Jeremiah 10:1-6: Hear the word which [...]
Written by Ben
Thursday, 21 July 2011 17:08
3 Comments
Thursday, 21 July 2011 17:08
3 Comments
A few nights ago I was up late going through some mp3 songs to put on my phone. I’m sure you know how songs so easily take you down Memory Lane. I was well on my way when I ran across Phil Vassar’s song from back in 2000 called “Just Another Day in Paradise.” The [...]
Written by Ben
Monday, 06 June 2011 08:12
2 Comments
Monday, 06 June 2011 08:12
2 Comments
The most common religion in American might surprise you. It’s not Christianity. Neither is it Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Scientology, or Oprahism. Neither is it atheism or science. According to Christian Smith, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University [...]
Written by Ben
Tuesday, 31 May 2011 14:30
8 Comments
Tuesday, 31 May 2011 14:30
8 Comments
In honor of the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, I committed to put aside my preferred translation, the New American Standard Bible, and solely preach from the KJV for the month of May. That commitment is now over. So, I thought that I would share with you some of my [...]
Written by Ben
Thursday, 26 May 2011 10:33
No Comments
Thursday, 26 May 2011 10:33
No Comments
This poem is one of my favorites. It has two characters. One is a person fleeing from and resisting God–His love, His leadership, His salvation. The other is an incessantly persuing God who will not rest until “all the ransomed Church of God be saved to sin no more,” as the old hymn goes. The author [...]
Written by Ben
Wednesday, 25 May 2011 10:36
1 Comment
Wednesday, 25 May 2011 10:36
1 Comment
One of the most memorable quotes I remember from Dr. David Puckett at Southern Seminary is this: “We are like dwarves sitting upon the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they [...]
Written by Ben
Thursday, 19 May 2011 12:55
5 Comments
Thursday, 19 May 2011 12:55
5 Comments
“Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master,” (Matthew 25:21). That’s what we want to hear when we stand before God. That judgment comes out of Jesus’ “Parable of the Talents.” Literally, a “talent” in that parable is a measure of money, but I believe, parabolically-speaking, it represents anything that God has made us stewards over — time, money, aptitude, family, position, etc. We’re to be faithful with what He’s put us over, and the entire point of that parable is that God will hold us accountable for our stewardship…
Written by Ben
Tuesday, 17 May 2011 22:18
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Tuesday, 17 May 2011 22:18
No Comments
If you’re Southern Baptist, you really need to check this out! Dr. Jeremy Vanatta is beginning an important series he’s calling The Ephesians 4 Project. The purpose is: to seek unity among Southern Baptists around the fact that our doctrine is mostly uniform, though our practice may be less so. It seeks to highlight the unifying [...]
Written by Ben
Wednesday, 11 May 2011 11:03
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Wednesday, 11 May 2011 11:03
No Comments
Meditate on the following word and concept for a moment: con·tam·i·nant \kən-‘ta-mə-nənt\ noun : something that soils, stains, corrupts, or infects by contact or association. It sounds alarming, doesn’t it? It certainly is. In fact, it’s potentially fatal. Therefore, we must take contaminants seriously and vigilantly guard ourselves against them…
Written by Ben
Wednesday, 04 May 2011 11:55
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Wednesday, 04 May 2011 11:55
No Comments
Focal Passage: Esther 4:13-17; 8:3-8 One of the great joys I’ve had over the past three springs is being the head coach of my oldest son’s tee ball team. In fact, the season’s already a fourth of the way done. What a combination of challenge and real joy it is leading 3- to 5-year-olds to [...]
Written by Ben
Monday, 02 May 2011 14:09
1 Comment
Monday, 02 May 2011 14:09
1 Comment
Today, May 2, 2011 is the 400th anniversary of the Bible translation known as the King James Version (KJV) or the Authorized Version (AV), which was first published in 1611. Although I very rarely read or use it because of its outdated language, it has been a great gift to the church over the last [...]
Written by Ben
Wednesday, 27 April 2011 17:39
1 Comment
Wednesday, 27 April 2011 17:39
1 Comment
Focal Passage: Joshua 1:1-11,16-18 Over the next few weeks, we’ll look at how we can grow as leaders. Perhaps you don’t think of yourself as a leader, but undoubtedly everyone is a leader in some capacity. However, godly leadership isn’t something you’re just born with. Certainly, I was a leader in many ways before the [...]
Written by Ben
Monday, 25 April 2011 17:22
No Comments
Monday, 25 April 2011 17:22
No Comments
I pray you had an amazing Easter weekend! He’s alive! Glory to God in Christ Jesus! I don’t know about you, but I get utterly pumped up at Easter time. We strive at West Main Baptist to help Easter surpass Christmas in the hearts of our people. The Christmas season with its manger celebrating the [...]
Written by Ben
Thursday, 14 April 2011 18:44
No Comments
Thursday, 14 April 2011 18:44
No Comments
Over the past month or so, there has been has been quite a bit of discussion about the state and direction of the Southern Baptist Convention in Baptist newspapers and blogs. The discussion was set off by South Carolina pastor Brad Whitt, and a few weeks later I had the privilege of offering a published [...]
Written by Ben
Thursday, 14 April 2011 15:22
No Comments
Thursday, 14 April 2011 15:22
No Comments
One of the questions that inevitably forms in our mind when tragedy strikes is, “Why did God allow this to happen to me?” That’s a legitimate question with multiple layers of answers, some of which we probably will never know this side of glory, but this week’s text provides us with at least one of [...]
Written by Ben
Thursday, 07 April 2011 15:01
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Thursday, 07 April 2011 15:01
No Comments
My 5- and 2-year-old sons love to sing children’s Bible songs. One of their favorites is “The Wise Man Built His House upon the Rock.” Although they, along with the other kids at our church, like to make a fun lyrical change and sing “The rains came down, and the BUGS came up!”, that song [...]
Written by Ben
Sunday, 03 April 2011 14:39
No Comments
Sunday, 03 April 2011 14:39
No Comments
Jesus tells us in John 16:33 that in this lifetime we will have trouble, and in the wake of trouble comes grief. Grief is a common human experience. We all know what it is because we’ve all been through it or are in it now. So, the real question is not “Will I experience grief?” [...]
Written by Ben
Tuesday, 29 March 2011 12:23
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Tuesday, 29 March 2011 12:23
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1. Make sure your faith is only something you live out in public Go to church… at least most of the time. Make sure you agree with what you hear the preacher say, and affirm on the way home what was said especially when it has to do with your kids obeying, but let it stop [...]
Written by Ben
Wednesday, 23 March 2011 17:43
4 Comments
Wednesday, 23 March 2011 17:43
4 Comments
I wasn’t born and raised a Southern Baptist. I was a born and raised a sinner. In 1980, I was born to my family in Bowling Green, KY. You hear of people who are “E. C. Christians,” meaning they only go to church at Easter and Christmas, but my family wasn’t even that. I guess [...]
Written by Ben
Wednesday, 23 March 2011 16:29
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Wednesday, 23 March 2011 16:29
No Comments
Undoubtedly, learning is thrilling, but being tested isn’t. Throughout my years of formal education, tests were almost always stressful and very difficult. With all the studying and cramming and pressure, they were in no way fun. However, I have to wonder where I would be educationally if I had never been tested. Where would you [...]