FBC CTX Growing in Grace Podcast

In our text today Jesus chooses metaphors of salt and light to convey the impact citizens of His kingdom should have upon society because we are different from the kingdoms of the world. So, if we attempt to accommodate ourselves to the world and permit our lives to be conformed to the molds of its kingdoms, then we shall lose our distinctiveness and our potential to impact the decay and the darkn...

Despite the poor examples left to him by his grandfather and his father, King Asa was a model king in the southern kingdom of Judah. If one only were to read 2 Chronicles chapters 14-15, then there would be great admiration for this godly king. But unfortunately, King Asa didn’t end well. His great-grandfather, Solomon, also had veered off according to 1 Kings chapter 11. The 16th chapter of...

Have you ever been caught in a rip current? On average, rip currents cause over 100 deaths per year. In 2023 ninety-one lost their life by tiring out fighting a rip current. Rip tides can move at a speed of 8 feet per second, washing a swimmer anywhere from 65-165 feet out to sea quickly. First Corinthians 5 addresses a rip tide of sin that can pull brothers and sisters in Christ out into a cultur...

Have you ever heard of the 16th-century, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon’s search for the fountain of youth? Unfortunately, most historians say that in reality he really didn’t even look for it. However, I believe that most people really are searching for a fountain of joy more than a fountain of youth. The question is are they looking for joy in the right place? In John 7:37-39 Jesus spoke of...

Have you ever been trying to get some things done and yet had to keep stopping due to some unexpected interruptions? Life itself can be like this, right? Trials and tragedies can sometimes impact the plans that we are working on so feverishly. This week, for example, a hurricane blew through Houston and has greatly impacted the lives of residents. Some still have no electricity. Others are waiting...

Our national anthem was officially adopted in 1931. Long before the nation ever sang the  Star-Spangled Banner  (which I love), we sang another song written by Samuel Francis Smith. Smith was a seminary student and claimed that he penned the words to  My Country, ‘Tis of Thee  in 30 minutes back in 1831. He stated that he wanted to humbly express his gratitude for the blessings...

This week our Youth Pastor, his team of adult volunteers and the students left for Centrifuge camp in Jackson, Tennessee. All was going so well with their 5:45pm departure until their plane was delayed three hours causing an inconvenient  interruption to their schedule, forcing their arrival at camp to be 1:15am. I can just imagine some of the comments that could have been made while they wer...

I remember being so inspired when I first watched the Christian movie a few years ago entitled, Facing the Giants . It was produced by two brothers, Alex and Stephen Kendrick. In the film a head football coach was faced with a six-year losing record with his team. He discovers a group within the local school board secretly planning to fire him. He faced his failures as a coach with surrender to th...

Isaiah uncovered the root cause of spiritual lostness with these words, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6. As we try and chart our own way through life without the Lord, we lose our sense of how to get back home to the Lord as well as our direction of where we are heading with our futu...

Legendary radio broadcaster, Paul Harvey, used to give the facts on a variety of subject and then end with these words, “And now you know…the rest of the story.” The back story of American life these days is 50-70 million US adults struggle with sleep disorders. By the way, according to the American Sleep Association there are actually 80 different sleep disorders. Jeremiah told us many in 6:16, “...

Ben Carson had a tough beginning, describing his early years growing up in what he called the “ghetto” of Detroit in the 1950’s and 1960’s. For example, his father abandoned Ben, his mom and his brother when Ben was only 8 years of age. His book, Gifted Hands, mentions the challenges of financial hardship, the mental health of his mother and prejudice in the local school as real-life difficulties...

When some in our country identify and list our National Treasures, they include historical documents, geographical locations of national significance, cultural icons such as entertainers, professional athletes, Presidents, media moguls, etc. Personally, I would say that our greatest national treasures are our mothers. George Washington claimed, “All I am, I owe to my mother. I attribute all my suc...

Money CAN buy lots of things, and yet, there are there some things that money CANNOT buy. Would you agree with this assessment? Even the Beatles acknowledged this in their old song,  Can’t Buy Me Love  which includes the line, “… tell me that you want the kind of things that money just can't buy .” What kind of things are not sold in stores? I would mention some priceless treasures that...

Do you ever wrestle with worry? According to a 2023 Forbes article that I read recently, 19.1% of US adults suffer from an anxiety disorder. The National Institute of Mental Health discovered that the percentage significantly rises to 31.1% if one opens up the window to “at some point in their lives”. In other words, many of us will experience an anxiety attack at some point in life. Scripture equ...

The Confirmation of Multiple Written Accounts of the Resurrection of Christ, 1:1 The Designation of a Specific Historical Date for the Resurrection of Christ, 1:2 The Affirmation of Various Reliable Eyewitnesses to the Resurrection of Christ, 1:2-3 The Compilation of Undeniable, Verifiable Evidence for the Resurrection of Christ, 1:3 The Continuation of Encounters with the Resurrected Lord ov...

Some have said there are three postures in the book of Numbers - walking, wandering and waiting. Perhaps, you are in one of those three postures in your life right now. We are going to look at a lot of walking (and some waiting) described in Number 9:15-23. I like how the HCS study bible sets up an introduction to this text saying, “The poetic structure of verse 17 hints that this section was orig...

One of my mentors in Fairview, Alberta, Canada was Keith Hale. He had followed the Lord’s guidance to move his family from Texas to northern Alberta back in the 1950’s. He planted two churches, one of which I had the joy and honor of serving as pastor in Fairview, Alberta. I called Mr. Hale, “Grandad”. Grandad told me once, “Vic, if God is your partner then make your plans big.” I recently thought...

How has God blessed you? Most people only think of physical blessings like health, or financial blessings like a job, or material blessings like a new house, or social blessings like one’s family, etc. In Ephesians 1:3, we are assured that God “…has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”. We may not be counting most of our blessings in Christ that are deposited...

One of my mentors in Fairview, Alberta, Canada was Keith Hale. He had followed the Lord’s guidance to move his family from Texas to northern Alberta back in the 1950’s. He planted two churches, one of which I had the joy and honor of serving as pastor in Fairview, Alberta. I called Mr. Hale, “Grandad”. Grandad told me once, “Vic, if God is your partner then make your plans big.” I recently thought...

We will pull up a chair in the home of the sisters, Martha and Mary and learn from their day in the life of feeding Jesus and the boys recorded in Luke 10:38-42. The Bible warns us that we must be vigilant in life lest we “fail to obtain the grace of God” and open ourselves up to “a root of bitterness” that can sprout up within our relationships (Hebrews 12:15). Since Luke was a physician, he knew...

Mercy is an attribute of God. A.W. Tozer writes about it in volume 1 of his magnificent work, “The Attributes of God”. Regarding mercy, Tozer writes,  “…mercy is not something God has, but something God is.”   If you have never read this book, I encourage you to pick up a copy. I led our church through a study of volumes 1 and 2 on Sunday nights, and we were so blessed to focus not...

C.S. Lewis once said of Psalm 19,  “I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalms and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.”  Cool. So, what’s your favorite song? I agree with Lewis that this psalm is a “keeper”! Psalm 19 is indeed beautiful as it describes how God speaks daily through His works of creation (vs. 1-6). It is so inspiring as it then moves to describe how He communic...

It is difficult sometimes to distinguish authentic love from artificial love. It reminds me of an old game show that used to air on tv called,  To Tell the Truth . After questioning three guests, a panel of four celebrities try to determine who is genuine and who is just faking it between the three guests. After the celebrities cast their votes, the host says,  “Will the real ______ plea...

The Bible calls a follower of Jesus Christ to forgive. Colossians 3:13 says, “…forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” Today on the Growing in Grace, we will watch how a man named Joseph forgave his brothers after they had mistreated him and sold him into slavery. If anyone had a “right” to fume about how they were treated, it was this guy! But, strangely, he...

Paul made a powerful and unforgettable statement in Philippians 1:21 when he said, “For me to live is Christ…” I am not sure that we always live for Christ. What would you say that you are living for? Someone may even be wondering to themselves, “What does it even mean, ‘ to live for Christ’ ?” In Colossians 2:6-7 the same author, Paul, defines what he means by living for the Lord Jesus Christ. In...