Pastor’s Page | Sept 10th, 2026
Sermon Prep (Read Luke 7:18-30)
I have on my bookshelves a series of sermons from a man who is known as “The Prince of Preachers”. His name is Charles Spurgeon, and he is perhaps one of the greatest preachers to ever stand behind a pulpit. He had a larger-than-life personality. His sermons were powerful, Christ-centered, biblically sound, and challenging. He was jolly, he chomped on a cigar, and at a young age, he was the most popular preacher in Europe.
You would never guess that one of the greatest battles he fought on a daily basis was against depression. Lots of things played a role in causing it. He felt guilty for an incident that happened when he was only 22 when he was preaching to a large crowd and a prankster yelled fire and caused a stampede that killed 7 people. At the ripe old age of 33, his body began to fail him to the point where he lived with chronic pain for the rest of his life. Add to this the stress of being the pastor of the largest church, which meant not only his pastoral duties, but the loads of criticism that constantly were tossed his way, it simply overwhelmed him. There were times when he had to be coerced to go to the pulpit to preach. His depression could hit him so intensely that he once said, “I could say with Job, ‘My soul chooseth strangling rather than life’. I could readily enough have laid violent hands upon myself, to escape from my misery of spirit.”
If a great preacher like Charles Spurgeon would struggle with depression, why are we shocked when we experience the same? Throughout the bible, we see where people battled with feeling down and being depressed. There are three times where biblical characters got so down they wanted to die. Moses in Numbers 11, Jonah when this worm ate his little shade tree, and the one that probably resonates the most with us and the one that we will be focusing on this week is Elijah after his battle with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel in 1 Kings 19. James 5:17 tells us that “Elijah was a man just like us”. If he suffered from depression, we can expect we will have our own battles.
This week we will be looking at the story of Elijah and the time he got so down he wanted to die. We will look at what precipitated this event, what are some things that can lead us down that path of dark clouds, and more importantly what God did to help Elijah experience that joy once again.
As I have studied Spurgeon and his bouts of depression this week, I was amazed to learn that he believed that God had a good purpose in all his suffering, and because of it felt he had become a better prepared and more compassionate pastor. It enabled him to deliver a striking and most unusual lecture to his students titled “The Minister’s Fainting Fits,” in which he said: “Knowing by most painful experience what deep depression of spirit means, being visited therewith at seasons by no means few or far between, I thought it might be consolatory to some of my brethren if I gave my thoughts thereon, that younger men might not fancy that some strange thing had happened to them when they became for a season possessed by melancholy; and that sadder men might know that one upon whom the sun has shone right joyously did not always walk in the light.”
If you or someone you know has struggles with depression, this message will help you. This is not a “suck it up and have more faith” message, but the kind that looks at the reality of our emotions, feelings, and experiences and sees how God meets us at our point of need to shine His light into our darkness.
June Sermon Series
Help My Struggles With…
09/13 — My Struggle With Depression — 1 Kings 19:1-9
09/20 — My Struggle With Anxiety — Luke 8:22-25
09/27 — My Struggle With Fear — Psalm 46:1-11
Updates, Thoughts and More
Anderia’s party! On September 20th, we are going to have a lunch after our 2nd service to celebrate one of our staff members, Anderia Lopez, who is retiring after 20 plus years of service to Acton Methodist Church. Anderia has been a bedrock of stability in this church and has helped us through some difficult times. We will miss her dearly. Make plans to come and celebrate with Anderia and her family. We will have a wonderful meal prepared for us from Massey’s in Granbury. We are also taking up a love offering for her. If you would like to donate, you can bring your gift to the church office, donate via our website, or you can bring a card for her on September 20th.
We have a new Youth Director!!! I am so happy to announce that we have hired a new youth director. His name is Jansen Monk, and he is such a great young man. He is from Stephenville but has spent the previous year living in Norway. Jansen has great plans for our youth in the church, and I can’t wait to see all that God is going to do through him. If you see him, make sure to welcome him and let him know how happy you are to have him as part of our church staff.
Table Talk. This past Wednesday we had a great introduction to our new Table Talk series on the writings of C.S. Lewis. We talked about his life, legacy, and the impact he had on Christianity as a whole but also me personally. We will begin this Wednesday with our first book of his that we are studying and that is “The Great Divorce”. You do not have to read this book in order to be a part of this study. With each book, I will be giving a summary of what the book says and then we will be discussing the general themes of the book. We will also be trying to answer any and all questions you might have about the book and the topics they address. Come join us this Wednesday at 5 pm.
Football picks. The SEC went 16-0 last week. Not that I am a SEC homer (actually…I am) but that is pretty good. This week we start to cannibalize ourselves and that begins with my big upset of the week. Yes, write this down as a fact. Kentucky will upset #12 Alabama this week. Roll Tide will be rolling back to Tuscaloosa with their fans crying and their coach on the hotseat. Some other games that will be fun to watch will be Texas winning by 2 touchdowns against Ohio St. I think Archie will have the game of his life to make up for the egg he laid last year. Oklahoma will defeat Michigan so badly that no matter how much time the crooked Big 10 refs put on the clock, they will never be able to catch up. The one SEC school that I think has a chance of losing this week is Arkansas. They will have their hands full against Utah, but I still think Arkansas pulls it out in a close one.
Now onto the NFL!!!! That game last night was a great start to the season. Tonight’s game will be the start of the Ram’s Superbowl push. Yes, I hate to say it, but I think the Rams are the favorites to win the Superbowl this year. They will defeat the 49ers by a field goal. Other key games to watch include the Bills winning over the Texans by a touchdown, the Cowboys looking sharp against the Giants, and the Eagles losing to Washington. The Chiefs will lose to the Broncos by 2 touchdowns as Mahomes will return but look like a shell of his former self.
So let it be written, so let it be done.
What’s Going On This Week
Sunday (09/13)
Mexican Fiesta Tickets On Sale
Worship Services — 9:00am & 10:30am
Monday (09/14)
Alzheimer’s Support Group — 10:00am
Stitching Angels — 1:30pm
Tuesday (09/15)
Men’s Bible Study & Breakfast — 7:30am
Bassett Bible Study — 10:00am
Wednesday (09/16)
Prayer Warriors — 9:00am
Sip And Share — 10:00am
Table Talk (C.S. Lewis — The Great Divorce) — 5:00pm
JAM Youth — 5:00pm
Bell Choir Practice — 6:00pm
Choir Practice — 7:00pm
Thursday (09/17)
Davelyn Hays Study “The Wisdom Of Solomon” — 10am
Important Upcoming Dates
09/20 — Anderia Lopez’s Retirement Celebration
10/10 — Mexican Fiesta
10/24 — Fall Festival
11/01 — All Saint’s Day Service
11/14 — Lord’s Acre
Joke of the Week
A guy wins a free ticket to the Super Bowl and so he’s very excited. However, he’s not so excited when he gets there and realizes his seat is in the back of the stadium. So, he looks around him for a better seat, and to his surprise he finds an empty seat right next to the field. He approaches the older guy who’s sitting in the seat next to the empty one and asks if the seat is taken. The man replies, “No.”
The young guy is very surprised to hear this and asks, “How could someone pass up a seat like this?” The older guy replies, “It’s my wife’s seat. We’ve been to every Super Bowl together since the day we were married but she’s passed away.”
“Oh, how sad,” the young guy says, taken aback. “I’m sorry to hear that, but couldn’t you find a friend or relative to come with you?”
“No,” the man replies, “They’re all at the funeral.”
Memory Verse of the Week
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
~Psalm 42:11 (NIV84)
Quote of the Week
“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.”
~ C.S. Lewis | The Problem With Pain
