John 21:1-19

Based on its latest survey, which essentially suggests that more people in the United States plan to attend Easter services tomorrow than attended them last year, though not as many people as might have attended Easter services in other years, the Pew Research Center last month said that the…

John 19:30

On the heels of a largely-unfunded $1.9 trillion COVID-relief bill, and preparing for a possibly $4 trillion infrastructure bill, President Biden and congressional Democrats are apparently planning the first major federal tax increase since the 1993 Clinton administration.

Daniel 2:1-45

Discussing the coronavirus — as discussing diet, exercise, and drinking and substance habits — prompts the question of one’s “hastening” or “delaying” one’s earthly death.

John 18:38

Last Friday, January 22, was the 48th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade that essentially legalized abortion, and that anniversary and the subsequent murders of more than 60 million conceived children have not passed without notice even this year: for example, there was a Rally for Life last Saturday in Austin, and there was a March for Life yesterday in Washington, D.C.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Churches offer a place of reverence for worship, for fellowship and for extended family connections through their love of Christ. Two churches in Kilgore have taken it a step further as they merge together as one to the benefit of both.

Last Friday, January 22, was the 48th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade that essentially legalized abortion, and that anniversary and the subsequent murders of more than 60 million conceived children have not passed without notice even this year: for example, there was a Rally for Life last Saturday in Austin, and there was a March for Life yesterday in Washington, D.C.

My 91-year-old uncle, whose soul our Almighty God recently summoned from this vale of tears to our eternal home, felt blessed to have O negative blood, which is “the universal blood type,” and so he was a consistent blood donor; for example, his obituary mentioned his being recognized for do…

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Changing from 2020 to 2021 this past week can prompt us to reflect on the matter of years.

“For unto us a child is born, Unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end, upon the throne of David a…

People talk about “cancelling” Christmas due to the coronavirus, though some talk more-precisely about cancelling the usual “celebrations” of Christmas, such as limiting holiday gatherings to one household, which would mean that people who live alone would spend Christmas alone.

What is wrong with our World? Look around, and you will see suffering, tragedies, sorrow, evil and death. Why is the world such a mess? Perhaps it is because man is polluting the world, or maybe it is big government overreaching and enslaving the citizens. On the other hand, it could be unco…

Forest Home Baptist Church in Kilgore opened its annual free drive-thru Christmas Nativity on Thursday that will continue 6 to 9 p.m. today and Saturday.

One television viewer may cheer for or yell at game-show contestants and another television viewer may cheer for or yell at athletes or the referees of their competition, but both viewers would probably admit that their responses at home do not really make a difference to the outcome of the …

Jesus Christ suffered the agony of a brutal beating and humiliating abuse as he carried his cross to Golgotha.

As you may have heard in the first Presidential Debate this past Tuesday evening, voting for the November 3, 2020, election is already underway. If there was any doubt that was true in our area, Wednesday morning someone told me that he had already both received and mailed-in his ballot.

Do you believe that Jesus is God? That He was created by God? Recent answers to those two questions from Americans in general may not be that surprising, but recent answers from people who say that they are more religious are somewhat surprising.

Do you believe that Jesus is God? That He was created by God? Recent answers to those two questions from Americans in general may not be that surprising, but recent answers from people who say that they are more religious are somewhat surprising.

When I started working with engineering students at The University of Texas at Austin, I was surprised at the number and range of acceptable answers to some engineering questions, depending on the students’ judgment, including the safety-margin that they considered.

I’ve known people who say that they are not religious—not Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, or Muslim. Sociologists of religion would classify such individuals as “nones.” The Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life came out with a study last year that found Protestantism and Catholicism in rapid decline in the United States while the religiously unaffiliated portion of the country is growing exponentially. My own denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA), has shrunk by more than half since 1980. Last year the Southern Baptist Convention saw the largest percentage drop in church membership in the last 100 years. Are we headed to a place in our country where religion is all but obsolete? Are we becoming a religion-less society?

In my previous column, I discussed both believing, teaching, and confessing, on the basis of Holy Scripture, that Holy Scripture is Divinely inspired and some implications of that inspiration. In response to that previous column, someone asked how we know for sure which Bible translation(s) is (are) right, and this column offers an answer.

The latest controversial removals of secular historical monuments and memorials have me thinking about reminders of history in the Bible, where physical tokens were intended to remind God’s people both of what were arguably bad events and of what were arguably good events.

Kilgore folks know Travis Martin as the co-founder and longtime chairman of the Kilgore Boys & Girls Club and Kilgore Lions Club member, as well as a major supporter of Kilgore ISD and Kilgore College athletics.

Every human life is equally created by God the Father through our biological parents, objectively redeemed by His Son Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, and subjectively sanctifiable by the Holy Spirit’s work through His Word and Sacraments. And so, every human life is equally valuable to God, as every human life should be equally valuable to us.

Recently our 7:00 p.m. Wednesday Midweek Bible Study, “Salvation History is Our Story”, has been studying Jesus’s extended teaching in the upper room on the night when He was betrayed. I had previously preached and led studies on portions of what is sometimes called Jesus’s “Farewell Discourse”, but I had not previously looked at it so carefully and holistically.

As many church-goers, streamers, and downloaders will hear tomorrow, the Fourth Sunday of Easter (also known as “Good Shepherd Sunday”), Jesus identifies Himself as the Door of the Sheep, Who came that the sheep may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:1-10). Do you feel as if you abundantly have life?

Its 2020, and we all want clear vision. I’ve noticed a plethora of signs and advertisements from businesses, non-profits, and even churches who are seeking a “2020 vision” for the future.

Much has changed regarding the coronavirus since both my column March 7 and my colleague Rev. Will Wilson’s column March 14. Cases and deaths have increased. Markets have gone even lower. Food and other supplies are scarcer. Restrictions are tighter. More churches have completely shut-down or gone completely online.

Much has changed regarding the coronavirus since both my column March 7 and my colleague Rev. Will Wilson’s column March 14. Cases and deaths have increased. Markets have gone even lower. Food and other supplies are scarcer. Restrictions are tighter. More churches have completely shut-down or gone completely online.

Its 2020, and we all want clear vision. I’ve noticed a plethora of signs and advertisements from businesses, non-profits, and even churches who are seeking a “2020 vision” for the future.

Much has changed regarding the coronavirus since both my column March 7 and my colleague Rev. Will Wilson’s column March 14. Cases and deaths have increased. Markets have gone even lower. Food and other supplies are scarcer. Restrictions are tighter. More churches have completely shut-down or gone completely online.

Its 2020, and we all want clear vision. I’ve noticed a plethora of signs and advertisements from businesses, non-profits, and even churches who are seeking a “2020 vision” for the future.

Each day seems to bring increased fear and panic over the coronavirus (COVID-19). There is contagion confusion and market mayhem. There are devastating disruptions and panicked prices. Texas Governor Greg Abbott says the State is responding to the cases here, no doubt with the best-available human wisdom.

A poll out this week suggests that less than 80 percent of U.S. Roman Catholics believe in the devil and that, of those, less than 80 percent (about 62 percent of the whole) believe the devil is not merely a personification or a symbol of evil but actually a fallen angel. Yet even those numbers are better than the quarter of American Christians surveyed more than a decade ago who said that they totally accepted the Bible’s teaching about the devil.

Its 2020, and we all want clear vision. I’ve noticed a plethora of signs and advertisements from businesses, non-profits, and even churches who are seeking a “2020 vision” for the future.

Yesterday being Valentine’s Day had something to do with it, but other reasons why I was thinking about love this past week included Pilgrim’s Board of Elders’ being set to study God’s Commandment against adultery and our reconstituted ladies group’s at its first meeting studying John 3:16.

Its 2020, and we all want clear vision. I’ve noticed a plethora of signs and advertisements from businesses, non-profits, and even churches who are seeking a “2020 vision” for the future.

The sudden death of retired NBA player Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash last Sunday again raised, by way of others’ public comments, a question about redemption, like that question raised in connection with Brett Kavanaugh’s 2018 U.S. Supreme Court confirmation.

Colossians 1:19 and 20 read like this: “For in him (Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” Paul, here, speaks of Christ’s incarnation (vs. 19) and Christ’s crucifixion (vs. 20) as the means through which God effects reconciliation. That is to say, reconciliation not just for us but for the whole of creation.

This Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, is the 47th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which gave women a constitutional right to abort the lives of children conceived in their wombs. That right may or may not withstand future Supreme Court scrutiny, such as that in a case related to a controversial Louisiana law, which will be heard in March of this year, by what is thought to be a more-conservative Supreme Court than that which heard its last case.

I recently listened to a convocation address given by the president of my undergraduate alma mater. One line of his speech jolted me: “The Bible is actually very clear that we come to know the will of God through our minds and not our emotions.” In other words, in all things spiritual the head has supplanted the heart. I believe that our culture, in many respects, feels the same in the privileging of the cognitive over the emotive in all aspects of life. Being “emotional” is considered a mark of immaturity while those who are more intellectually inclined are seen as more sophisticated and urbane.

Some time ago, people popularly wore and asked the question, “What would Jesus do?” Regarding the clothing, some said, “Jesus wouldn’t wear that!”, but a good answer to the question perhaps is more thoughtful.

Some time ago, people popularly wore and asked the question, “What would Jesus do?” Regarding the clothing, some said, “Jesus wouldn’t wear that!”, but a good answer to the question perhaps is more thoughtful.