First Baptist Church St. Paris

Celebrations are important. This past weekend, and really for the week to come in some areas, we as a nation are celebrating 250 years of independence. A great accomplishment and something worth celebrating. For Israel, celebrations took the form of feasts. In Exodus & Leviticus we see God setting up…

What does good leadership look like? This a question I ask myself often. I look to those who I would describe as this way. I also notice how much I don’t measure up. Israel had a history of mixed results with leaders. Maybe this should be encouraging because the same is true today. Israel was longing…

Approximately 500,000 children are born blind each year. The overwhelming majority of those are from impoverished nations and places where sanitary conditions are not great. Yet for many many more cataracts, macular degeneration and other eye disease can rob us of sight. The more we know, the less we…

Our world desires security. National security. Economic security. Security in relationship and the list could go on. This is not necessarily a bad thing but if we are not careful we can place our hope for security in something/someone who cannot provide it. Freedom does not necessarily mean independence.…

What if Jesus visited American churches? Have you ever thought of this question? What his observations be? How would we be challenged? How would we respond? As we come to John 8.12-30 it is easy to take the side of Jesus. We very well may be on His side. However, listen clearly and carefully, we may…

Credentials can be necessary. Credentials come in a many shapes and sizes. Keys, badges, cards, etc. Where did you graduate from? Who is Jesus? This is the primary question of Scripture and our answer should make a difference. As we open up our text this morning the questions is being asked, who does…

Our world is trying to get more efficient. This is not necessarily a bad thing. We must be willing, or at least I believe I should take stock of where I am “waisting time”. I use AI to help be efficient in many tasks. But, when we “save” time in one area we normally “spend” it trying to be more productive.…

Sometimes we must be asked the “hard questions” in order to grow. This is not comfortable nor enjoyable but it is necessary. Many times these questions lead to uncovering the “why” behind the “what” or “how”. Other times they will solidify what we “know” so we can continue to move forward. We live in…

What do you need? A simple yet profound question. Sometimes I ask it like this, “how can I best serve/help you? We must get good at helping people discern what they really need. There are plenty of different models to describe our human needs. Here are some categories: power/achievement, freedom/independence,…

Life has mountaintop experiences. This is when everything is going our way and sometimes, to use a sports analogy, we are in the “zone”. Praise Jesus for mountaintop experiences. Having faith when life is good can be challenging. As we look at our chapter in John this morning we are reminded that Jesus…

Life goes by quickly. One minute we are young and the next not as young. One minute our kids are babies and then somehow they start to grow up and quickly go to college. If we are not careful we will miss many thigns due to the speed of life. We fear missing out on something special. There was a youth…

What is your favorite meal? Just think about this and how your favorite meal may depend on the season. I know we have some favorites in our house. Last week for FFTS I can tell you hamburgers is a favorite, around 340 meals served. All four Gospels tell this story! It was important to all the Gospel…

What is the ultimate goal of life? Notice I did not say the ultimate goal of the Christian life, that is very much different. Why do we exist? This is important to consider. Jewish belief: God is ONE, unique, and there is no other. This is a good belief, a correct belief. We rest on this promise even…

Our expectations of God matter. What do you expect of God? When has God disappointed you? Unmet expectations is a great source of pain, grief, and fighting within relationships. God is active in His world. This world is not “ours”; at least not in the truest sense. We are to be stewards of this world…

Who do you talk with? Jesus talked with many people at many different times. Jesus talked with religious people. John 3 reminds us that Jesus was willing to talk with people who knew the Scriptures but may not have had full understanding. Jesus was willing to challenge those who “sit in the pews”. Jesus…

When do you have your best conversations? What is the setting? For me, I love the evening setting with a cup of tea, yes I drink tea, in my hands. Scripture reveals to us who God is. Remember our passage, and all of Scripture is not meant to teach us about who we are. It is not a self-help book, it is…

Life has mountains. These are the good moments we long to have. Life is filled with valleys. Rarely is live a straight line. Do we believe Christ is interested in more than just saving our souls? Think about this for a moment. Is the church interested in more than just getting people “saved”. Signs point…

Relationships are important and crucial. Even in a digital and AI world relationships are key. Relationships are hard. This second truth is why we sometimes go to the easier ones of digital and AI, they are much easier and “cleaner”. The Gospel is shared primarily through relationships. This is my big…

We are in an identity crisis. Our nation. Maybe our community. Definitely our young people and some older individuals. If we want to share the Gospel we must learn to communicate effectively. This is no easy task. In a world filled with “talking heads” and “noise” we will not be able to compete if we…

We all want to soar to great heights. I know very few of us who do not want to do something valuable and meaningful. I am not talking about greatness as our world defines it, but we want to do more than just exist most of the time. The early Church saw the Gospel of John like an eagle. On the next slide…

The story of Christmas is pretty simple. Baby born to teenagers in a small town out of the way of life. People come bringing gifts and some people “had a religious experience” around this child. Yet, the Christmas is so much more. As simple as it is there is much more there for us to believe and consider.…

The KISS method: Keep It Simple Silly The other day I was watching a show on I think the History or National Geographic channel about hidden messages in the Bible. Scholars from ancietn of times to present look at scrolls and some have said the Pentateuch has predicted many other events based on spacing…

Accountability is a lost trait. This is my person opinion in many ways supported by others and the world. No wonder we have an issue with a lack of integrity. Accountability means I am not always a victim. I cannot blame others, the circumstances around me or that life is unfair. Accountability means…

Our God makes promises. To some extent this is pretty peculiar and unique to the God of Scripture. Some of these promises are known as “covenants”, a binding contract between two parties. I am not familiar with any other god making the promises our God makes, or any at all. Our God keeps His promises.…