Faith

PASTOR’S CORNER, David Harris, Fellowship Baptist Church, Liberal

“Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!’ And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.” (Mark 11:1-11, ESV)

PASTOR’S CORNER, David Harris, Fellowship Baptist Church, Liberal

The First Book of Samuel tells the story of two kings: the ungodly leader that Israel desired in their quest to be like the other nations (Saul) and the kind of leader upon whom God put his heart (David). The story of 1 Samuel is a series of contrasts between these two leaders. Of course, to read this Christianly, we should be quick to acknowledge that the ultimate purpose of this book is to point to the Greater David to come, the Son of David, Jesus the Christ. If David is a picture of godly authority that looks ahead to the ultimate Personification of godly authority, Saul is something very different – a narcissistic, obsessive, undevoted picture of decidedly ungodly authority.

PASTOR’S CORNER, David Harris, Fellowship Baptist Church, Liberal

If you are a member of a Christian church, how do you talk about going to a Sunday meeting? For many of us, the language is something like, “I will be attending church.” Or perhaps, “I won’t be attending church!” There is nothing wrong or misleading about this – but is it enough? I think there is a better way to talk (and think) about being with the church.

Members of a local church should not simply attend a church service like we would attend a movie, a concert, or a sporting event. There is nothing wrong with those things, and to go to one simply as an attendee is just fine.

PASTOR’S CORNER, Mark Cress, First Southern Baptist Church, Liberal

When we hear his name, we associate it with great strength – and Samson was definitely physically strong. But we also associate Samson with great weakness – his self-reliance, casual relationship with God’s law and his Nazarite vow (no haircuts, no alcohol, no physical contact with dead carcasses – Numbers 6:1-21), and his insatiable desire for women.

It’s ironic how physical strength and spiritual weakness often go hand in hand.    

One of the mistakes we make when reading his story in Judges 13-16 is the assumption that Samson didn’t really go off the rails until his encounter with Delilah. It’s easy to look at the last step that directly leads to someone’s demise and think that it was the last step that did them in.

People rarely, if ever, ruin their life in a single moment. So how does it happen? It happens one small step at a time.