By Mark Proctor Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Joshua 10:6-14 Remember the old western movies with their dramatic musical scores? You could watch with your eyes closed and tell when the plot was about to change. The music became louder and more intense, the action slowed, and everyone prepared for a shoot out. Justice was at hand. The Bible contains those same pivotal moments. One such moment

By Mark Proctor Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage:  Joshua 6:12-25 Teachers, look at your students. Pastors, look at your congregants, and parents, look at your children. Those are warriors, battle-weary with hearts hurting from skirmishes in a mean, merciless world. What will we tell them? Joshua faced the same dilemma. As God’s leader he had to tell God’s wearied children how they were to move ahead to

By Hoyt Wilson Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay Focal Passage: Joshua 1:1-9 Before Gordon Bethune became the CEO of Continental Airlines in 1994 he said it was the worst of the worst. Of the nation’s 10 biggest air carriers, Continental was worst in on-time arrivals, worst in baggage handling, and worst in customer satisfaction. With a stock price near $3 per share, a history of bankruptcies, a string of ten

By Hoyt Wilson Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay Focal Passage: II Peter 3:3-13; 17-18 “Arise!” Will that be the loud command of Jesus when the trumpet call of God announces His return in the clouds (I Thessalonians 4:16)? The response to that command will either be “Wow” or it will be “Woe.” For those who have rejected Him it will be “woe!” For those who have received Him it will

By Hoyt Wilson Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay Focal Passage: II Peter 2:1-3; Jude 16-25 An atheist is a person who denies the existence of deity. A practical atheist is a person who says God is, but lives as if God isn’t. A believer is a person who is committed to God in a personal relationship which determines the spiritual and moral direction of his life. In II Peter 1:19

By Hoyt Wilson Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay Focal Passage: II Peter 1:12-21 Had Simon Barjona not taken a chance on Jesus, he would have missed a purposeful life and a grand eternity. Simon did cast his life with Jesus and became Simon Peter who first became a follower, then a disciple, and finally an apostle of Jesus. During three short years of being with Him, he became firmly convinced

By Hoyt Wilson Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay Focal Passage: II Peter 1:3-11 Only God is indispensable, but every person has practical usefulness. I have never forgotten a sign at the second floor landing of a church. The sign said: “God don’t make no junk.” In the worst of us and the best of us there is potential for usefulness. I Peter was written to God’s elect who were exiles

By Hoyt Wilson Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay Focal Passage: I Peter 5:1-11 Christians are prone to say “God has promised that victory is ours,” without remembering that there are still battles to be fought.  The world, our flesh, and the devil daily present challenges to faith in God and one must be alert to perceive those challenges. The title of this lesson is “Alert Living.” Peter has already reminded

By Hoyt Wilson Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay Focal Passage: I Peter 4:12-19 How can one expect life to be fair in a fallen world? The best team does not always win. The one who works the hardest does not always get the promotion. Those who live morally, ethically, and spiritually often are ridiculed because of the quality of their lives. The best person who ever lived died young, condemned

By Hoyt Wilson Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay Focal Passage: I Peter 4:1-11 When confronted with danger, both people and animals must choose flight or fight. Peter recognized there was potential for significant persecution of believers scattered in the five provinces mentioned in I Peter 1:1.  He warned: “… since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves … ” (I Peter 4:1). No, He was not advocating that they prepare