Yet another school year is drawing to a close and with it comes graduation season. Over the next few weeks family, friends, teachers, and honored graduates will file into hot, stuffy gyms or out into the elements in athletic stadiums to celebrate the completion of various stages of academic journeys. Invariably, the graduates will be decked out in caps and gowns. In many instances, the...
Take the Cup
If you join us for worship at First Baptist Church on any given Sunday morning, whether online or in-person, you will notice a coffee mug on the podium next to my Bible. It is usually filled with coffee, which I pour into said mug right before the service begins. I wait until the last possible moment in hopes that when we are done singing and I begin preaching the contents of the mug will be at a...
The Weight of Our Faith
Long before I became a student at Appalachian Bible College in Beckley, West Virginia, my family would frequently head out to campus for long weekends to visit some close friends. (Consequently, those close friends are now family, but that is a different story for a different time.) My friends lived on the campus of ABC in townhouses for married students and their families. There was a small army...
FEAR NOT: A Message of Christmas
The Christmas season inspires a great many feelings in each of our hearts. For the vast majority of us, fear is not one of them. It is of particular interest, then, that in several portions of the Christmas narrative angels are issuing the encouragement, “Do not be afraid.” As a matter of fact, almost every time an angel appears in the Christmas story, this is part of their message. This comes as...
The Comfort in the Little Things
I am a coffee lover. I enjoy everything about it. I love the way it smells, the way it tastes, the way it keeps me from doing harm to other humans throughout the day. You know, the little things. I also very much enjoy the brewing process itself. I don’t brew my coffee in the same way most people do. I don’t even own a properly functioning coffee maker. I have a vast collection of brewing devices...
After the Election: The Sun Will Rise Again
Election season is always at least moderately uncomfortable and contentious in the very best of times. The first presidential election I can recall was between then Vice President George H. W. Bush and Michael Dukakis. I was in second grade at the time. We held a mock election in our class. Leading up to the election my classmates and I were asked to read some information about each candidate and...
Finding Faith
John Wesley is considered by most to be one of the titans of the Christian faith in recent centuries. We see the evidence of his impact in communities all around the world. One Christian denomination bears his name, the Wesleyan Church. Another denomination is a product of his life’s work, the Methodist Church. The faith of countless millions has been and continues to be informed and strengthened...
Take a Nap; Eat a Snack; Carry On.
Many people, myself included, have taken to calling our shutdown in the spring “The Great Pause.” As we have moved through the summer, efforts have been made to reintroduce greater levels of activity into society at a variety of levels. There is no denying, however, that the world isn’t quite as busy as it was before the muddy mess of 2020. The constant state of wait-and-see has greatly limited...
Been There Done That: Lessons from the Influenza Epidemic of 1918
The First Baptist Church of Seymour, Indiana was established in 1839. We are just under two decades from celebrating 200 years as a church. During that time, we have gone through one name change (originally it was Liberty Baptist Church) and we have been housed in five different buildings at five different locations. We have a rich and robust history of community involvement and engagement...
Fear and Faith
My first ever mission trip was to the Bahamas. I know what many of you are thinking right now; “Mission trip to the Bahamas, huh? Really suffered for the cause, there, didn’t you?!” It wasn’t what you would be led to assume, though, for several reasons. First of all, we didn’t go to the standard islands and areas most people frequent when they head to the Bahamas. We didn’t see Grand Bahama or...
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