Mt. Gilead Baptist Church

I love this time of year. The weather is still warm, sometimes even hot. But there is often a chill to the morning air, and many of the days are clear and sunny with that deep blue sky I always associate with Fall. The clear night skies are illuminated by the Corn Moon and, later, by the Harvest Moon. Harvest is just now beginning in some fields. Soon, I’ll mow the grass for the last time before Winter sets in. There is anticipation of the magnificent colors of the Fall leaves. In just three short months, we’ll gather with family to gratefully acknowledge God’s graciousness in His provision for our needs, and we will recognize how blessed we are to be living in this good land. We won’t have much time to catch our breaths because Christmas will be upon us, and we will celebrate the birth of God’s Son, Jesus, our Savior.

As the seasons change, it reminds us of the constancy of God. We don’t have to worry if there will be another Spring. Experience has shown us we can trust God and His creation. As surely as the harvest is followed by Winter when the land rests from producing its bounty, Spring will once again come along with the planting season.

How marvelous to serve our God Who is so great and loving and trustworthy!

I hope you have a great week. I plan to.

Blessings, Pastor Lawrence

When there is a problem, we usually want to find a solution. If the light goes out, we look for the burned out bulb and replace it. If our kids are being bullied at school, we try to get to the bottom of the issue. We generally like to fix things. The biggest problem that the human race faces is the problem of sin. According to the Bible, that has been true since just after the Creation of the universe.

How do we fix the problem of sin? How do we keep people from doing evil in the world? There are many different ways that have been proposed to deal with sin. Some would say there really is no problem. Others propose to change environment or economic conditions. Still others would take a course in anger management, or encourage us to just turn over a new leaf.

The Bible says there is only one way to deal with the sin problem - transformation. Paul tells us to not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This only happens through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Because He died in our place, we can have eternal life and heaven.

I hope you have a great week. I plan to.

Blessings, Pastor Lawrence

It appears that the blown out oil in the Gulf of Mexico is finally under control, and within a few weeks will no longer be pouring crude oil and gas into the Gulf. The damage done to the Gulf Coast and to the residents of the area from Florida to Louisiana has been terrible. Such disasters help to remind us that when God said we were to subdue the earth and rule over every living creature on the earth, He put mankind in the position of being stewards of His creation.

What is a steward? A steward is one who represents the interest of property that belongs to another. In Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”, the realm of Gondor was once ruled by honorable and mighty kings, but the line of kings had failed. In their stead there ruled a man who was called the Steward of Gondor whose responsibility was to preserve the kingdom and make wise decisions in anticipation of the return of the king. For hundreds of years the stewardship was passed down from father to son until the rightful heir to the throne took his place. God has provided us with so much in the way of resources. We have families, friends, and neighbors who enrich our lives, and whose lives we touch in return. God has also created this earth with provisions and resources mankind is discovering. But we need to be reminded from time to time “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” (Psalms 24:1) We are stewards of this good creation. Therefore, we should strive to use it wisely and faithfully carry out our mandate from the Lord to subdue and rule over the earth as God Himself would do.

I hope you have a great week. I plan to.

Blessings, Pastor Lawrence

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “For the wages of sin is death …” (Romans 6:23a). Every one of us human beings deserve death. That’s not a popular stance in these days. That doesn’t help anyone feel good about themselves. But it is the truth. We are separated from God by sin. We have gone our own way and we have done things our own way without regard for God’s claim upon our lives. That deserves death.

But God loves His human creation, and He made the way, even before He created the universe, that mankind could be reconciled to Him. He sent His Son to live on earth as a human being, and to die on the cross in payment for our sins. “God made Him Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Because He died, we may be forgiven. Because He rose, we, too, shall rise to die no more. To God be the glory!

I hope you have a great week. I plan to.
Blessings, Pastor Lawrence

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” So spoke Jesus to His disciples as He was promising them an eternal home in Heaven, and that he would return for His people. In our world today there is much talk of spirituality. If you listen carefully to those who use that term, you will discover that “spirituality” really doesn’t mean “Christian”. There is a strong belief that it doesn’t much matter what a person believes, as long as he believes something, as long as he is “spiritual”.

But the New Testament is very clear. Jesus Himself is very clear. There is only one way to peace with God, to a relationship with God, to eternal life and Heaven. Jesus is the only way.

That sounds exclusivist. Indeed, it is exclusivist. God’s Word teaches that those of other religious beliefs who do not hold Jesus as God’s Messiah, as the one Who is the door to Heaven, are still walking in darkness. But Jesus came to shine the light of God’s truth in the darkness, and to dispel the darkness. When we follow Him, we follow the path to eternal life. “He who believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”

I hope you have a great week. I plan to.

Blessing, Pastor Lawrence

The following quote was shared with me this week. I don’t know the origin, but is has a good thought.

“Welcome to the United States of America. Remember only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you - Jesus Christ and the American soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom. God bless the USA.”

On this day, we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. After years of living under the excesses of power of the British government, the colonies had had enough. After long and tempestuous meetings in Philadelphia, the document written largely by Thomas Jefferson was adopted, and the colonies declared their independence from their Mother Country. It was, as we know, a step from which there was no turning back. Over the course of the next several years, battles were fought, men died, property was destroyed. At times the cause seemed hopeless. Often George Washington’s army had no clothes, no food, no medicine. The winter at Valley Forge saw many soldiers die and many more become unavailable for service because of illness. Yet through all trials, Washington kept the army together and ultimately defeated the British. America was independent.

We have always faced difficulty. But we have always prevailed. The cause of freedom is worth the sacrifice. God bless America.

I hope you have a great week. I plan to.

Blessings, Pastor Lawrence

Forgiven. What a powerful word, what a powerful concept that is! The knowledge that you or I have done someone wrong can have devastating results. Even if no one else knows, that wrong can eat away our peace and contentment. When we ask forgiveness, there is an admission of guilt, of wrongdoing. And when we receive forgiveness, we receive something like a tidal wave of relief sweeping over us and washing away all the wrong and the infection that has built up because of it. The same thing happens when we give forgiveness. There is still that overpowering sense of peace because we no longer have to hold in the bitterness associated with unforgiveness.

Do you remember when you first cried out to God for forgiveness for your sins? Do you remember confessing your sin to Him, and feeling something like the weight of the world lifted off your shoulders? How long since you have confessed to your Lord? John promises us that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins. Have you experienced His forgiveness lately? If not, what are you waiting for? Cry out to God. He will hear you; He will forgive you; He will give you peace.

I hope you have a great week. I plan to.

Blessings, Pastor Lawrence

A few weeks ago, college basketball lost one of the giants of the game when John Wooden died at the age of 99. Wooden was the coach of the UCLA Bruins during the 1960’s and 70’s. During his tenure, his teams won a record ten NCAA national championships, including seven in a row at one point. He holds records as a coach that likely will never be broken. A few years ago, he did an interview with Charlie Rose of PBS. During that interview he made it clear that in his coaching philosophy, he was always a teacher first of all. Whether at the high school level, or coaching the likes of Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Walton, Wooden was a teacher. And he taught much more than the fundamentals of basketball and how to be a winner. As a matter of fact, his players almost all say that they remember less of his instruction in basketball, and were more profoundly influenced by Wooden’s instruction in how to live life. To a man, his players saw him as a father figure. Would it surprise you to learn that John Wooden was a dedicated Christian? It really shouldn’t. He understood life from the perspective of Jesus Christ, and he sought to pass that along to his players.

On this Father’s Day we would do well to remember that boys and girls, and young men and women, and, yes, even those of us reaching the early stages of maturity all need role models such as John Wooden. And we also need to realize that behind is coming a generation that will also need role models. What a wonderful opportunity to serve our Lord by serving the next generation.

I hope you have a great week. I plan to.

Blessings, Pastor Lawrence

Compromise. For some, that word is the greatest word in the English language. By it decisions are made. Men come to consensus or an understanding. Through the art of compromise, differences are ironed out and progress is made. Neither side gets everything they want, but both are generally satisfied with some of their desires. Parents who take their children out to eat on a Friday night know that the kids will want to eat at McDonald’s. Mom and Dad would rather not eat at a clown’s restaurant, but they give in, knowing that sometime in the future those same kids, grown older now, will demand Olive Garden.

For others, however, any kind of compromise is a betrayal of conscience and principle. They would rather have no decision than one in which they do not get all they want.

Most of us are willing to compromise on certain issues. For the Christian, there are certain compromises we are generally willing to make. For example, there are different modes of baptism. While as Baptists we believe that immersion is the biblical mandate, we realize that baptism doesn’t save a person, so the mode of baptism is a place we might be willing to compromise with denominations which practice a different mode.

But there are certain non-negotiables of our faith - beliefs or doctrines where we can make no compromise. During the next several weeks, I’ll be preaching a series of sermons on these issues where I believe we must take a stand. These are the truths for which there can be no compromise. It is my prayer we will learn more about the essentials of our faith during this time.

I hope you have a great week. I plan to.

Blessings, Pastor Lawrence

Over the course of the last two weeks, we have been reminded in very tragic ways of the fragility of life. The airliner crashes in Libya and India show us with stark clarity how quickly life can be over. The Bible tells us we are but a breath. We sometimes put it in much less poetic language when we say something like, “Here today, gone tomorrow.” Truly we need to make the most of every opportunity in our lives because life is so short.

On the other hand, these same two plane crashes show us the tenacity of human beings. Miraculously, a young child survived the crash in Libya, even though the plane literally broke into little pieces upon impact. God has created us with a desire to live. The framers of the Declaration of Independence affirmed that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We have ourselves seen the human spirit struggle to live against all odds. We see it in the longing and the struggle to be free. There is within us that image of God, given to the human race when Adam and Eve were created, that compels us to live and strive even in our weakness.

We are weak, no question about it. But in our weakness, we rely on the strength of God, so that, as Paul said, “When I am weak, then I am strong!”

I hope you have a great week. I plan to.

Blessings, Pastor Lawrence