By Mark D. Proctor Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27 “What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.” Nothing can stop a man in love. That’s the message from George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, in the Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  And

By Mark D. Proctor Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Matthew 25:34-40 In the seventh grade, I scribbled a profound thought in my Bible: “You only really believe what motivates you to action.” It was brilliant, and it was stolen from the very lips of my youth pastor, who stole it from Jesus. Matthew records in Matthew 25:34-40 that Jesus told the same thing to His disciples:  You

By Mark D. Proctor Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Colossians 3:22-4:1 When I graduated from college, my goal was to be a millionaire by the age of 30.  (Today, at 53, my goal is still to be a 30 year-old millionaire!)  My hard-driving, workaholism dishonored my family and God. As I tried to reconcile my ambitions with God’s Word, I listened to every sermon I could find

By Mark D. Proctor Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Ephesians 5:22-28; 6:1-3 My house has a design flaw. When a visitor is in the living room, he or she can see right into the master bedroom if the door is open (we can cover how I learned this in another article). A poorly designed home affects the behavior of the residents. In our passage, Paul writes to

By Mark D. Proctor Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: 1 Peter 4:7-11 A favorite Gary Larson cartoon of mine is one with two deer talking in the forest. One has a marking on the fur of his chest that closely resembles a target. His friend remarks, “Bummer of a birthmark, Hal.” Christians in the first century church must have felt the same way. Their Christianity made them

By Mark D. Proctor Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Luke 9:18-26 When I was 16 I learned to fly. During a solo cross-country flight one afternoon the radios in my little plane malfunctioned and I had to learn — quickly — how to reenter controlled airspace using light signals from the control tower. By watching the tower, a pilot can see air traffic controllers flashing red and

By Mark D. Proctor Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Luke 24:1-8, 36-40 It starts like the thin plot of a low budget thriller. Luke relates the resurrection story in characteristically uncomplicated, simple verb statements: they came, they found, they went in, they were perplexed, and they were terrified. “They” were the loyal, all-female band of Jesus’ followers. And they were out early — very early (Luke 24:1).

By Mark D. Proctor Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Luke 24:44-49 The summer after my kindergarten year my grandmother taught me to crochet. I practiced and practiced and finally made a little pillow that I proudly took to show and tell in the fall when I entered first grade (I didn’t know back then boys could get beat up for stuff like that)! I meekly stood up

By Mark D. Proctor Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Romans 8:31-39 When my children were small I took them to the animal shelter to pick out a puppy. They chose a small terrier named “Bambi.” Bambi needed shots and a bath so we promised to return later to take her home. By the time the children went back someone else had already adopted Bambi and they were

By Mark D. Proctor Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Hebrews 11:1-6 Curious, isn’t it, that the book of the Bible that encourages believers to have faith based on evidence of things not seen is itself evidence of an author not known? The writer of Hebrews uses tactile terms to give believers hope that true faith — concrete faith — pleases God and writes this passage to show