Pastor’s Page | July 24th, 2025
Sermon Prep (Read James 4:4-6)
Let’s suppose that in this era of transfers, a star player who played for Texas has now had a change of heart and has decided to sign to play for Baylor instead. Though he has been a Texas fan his entire life, he gets a scholarship to come play basketball at Baylor and says that he is not a new creation, the old Texas player in him is gone, the new Baylor player has come. The basketball staff asks him, “Are you able, said Coach Drew, to play basketball with me?” Yea, the sturdy dreamer answered, “Yes, I am able, my basketball skills are thine!” And then he breaks out singing, “I am a B. I am a B-A. I am a B-A-Y-L-O-R Bear. And I have B-A-Y-L-O-R in my H-E-A-R-T…” (you get the point). So, Coach Drew puts him on the team, gives him a full ride scholarship, surrounds him on a team of other Baylor players, they even sign his new NIL checks providing for his every need. The entire Baylor Bear family celebrates because this player that once was lost is now found.
Yet, when the man shows up, he is wearing burnt orange, has a new tattoo of Matthew McConaughey on his upper bicep and a tattoo of Bevo the cow on the other. He is holding a big Texas foam finger saying #1, and he is wearing a Texas Jersey belonging to Archie Manning. When they go to his dorm room, his bed sheets say Texas Longhorns, his toothbrush is orange, even the toilet seat has a Texas “hook ‘em horns” sticker on it. His favorite thing to do is to watch Texas games and he roots them on wholeheartedly while showing very little interest in anything regarding the Baylor Bears.
When confronted with the fact that he now plays for Baylor and that this is his team, he says, “I know. I am Baylor through and through. I have surrendered all. I have decided to follow the Baylor faithful. No turning back, no turning back.” Yet, even while saying that he holds up the Texas hand sign, hums the Texas fight song, and throws us the Texas “hook ‘em horns” gang sign.
Now, if you were his coach, how would you feel about his loyalty to you? In James 4:4-6, James is going to slap us all in the face with some hard realities. If we claim to love God and live for God, yet our lives are still lived with us doing what ever we want, with whoever we want, whenever we want, with no regard to what God has said or what God desires for us, then James calls us an adulterer (OUCH!). A struggle we have is letting go of our old flame (the world and its desires plus our own selfish desires) while still wanting to claim that we are sold out for Christ. I can’t say that I am faithful to my wife while giving myself heart, mind, and body to my mistress. Yet, that is how we treat God.
As you read this text, think about how what we say about our devotion and commitment to God and how we actually live out that devotion and commitment to God differ. Do we simply claim to be a Baylor fan or does our life match up with being a Baylor fan? Also, notice the jealousy of God. This is actually a good thing. Consider why this is so and what it says about God’s affection for us. Finally, this passage is very convicting, but notice the phrase, “He gives more grace”. What does this say about our relationship with God?
Here are some verses for you to study as you prepare for Sunday’s message: Isa. 1:21; 50:1; 57:3; Jer. 3:1-20; 13:27; Ezek. 16:35-39; 23:1-49, Hosea 1-3, John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 1:4; 1 John 5:19, 1 John 2:15-17, Romans 12:1-2, Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:14; Zech. 8:2, Hebrews 4:16, and Romans 5:20.
Updates, Thoughts and More
This Wednesday we are going to be putting together the Flood Buckets to help those impacted by the terrible floods across our state. You can preassemble your own flood buckets and bring them to the church also. On Wednesday at 6 pm in the CLC, we will not only put these buckets together, but we will be praying over them and praying for the victims and workers helping in the region. We plan on putting together 30 buckets, in addition to the buckets that people have put together. The additional funds we have received thanks to the generosity of this church will be donated to the relief efforts in that area. We will work directly with local churches and vetted Christian relief efforts in getting those funds to the people impacted by the floods. Please come and help us put these buckets together and help us to pray for those impacted by these terrible disasters.
This Wednesday will be our last lesson on the book of Revelation. We stated our journey in January and it has been quite a learning experience. I hope everyone who attended has thoroughly enjoyed these lessons. We will take the month of August off, and we will pick up our table talk series in September with a study on World religions and New American Religious Groups (basically cults and other groups that claim to be Christian but differ greatly in their theology and practice from orthodox Christian beliefs). My approach to all things is to practice the Golden Rule of doing unto others as I would have them do unto me. So, in our study on these other religions and group, we will be respectful but honest in the beliefs and differences. We will start this new study the first Wednesday of September.
I have been so blessed this past week to have my daughter Clarissa and her husband Kyle visiting us from Paducah, KY. I want to thank everyone for making them feel so loved and welcomed while they were here. They keep saying to me how much they love our church! I have to admit, I love this church also.
This past week we celebrated our Administrative Assistant’s, Tory Doherty, birthday. The Staff Pastor Parish committee takes turns baking a cake (which the staff member gets to pick!) and plan a celebration for every staff member’s birthday (To be honest, some staff members pick better cake flavors than others…why would anyone choose to have chocolate cake…yuck). If you didn’t get a chance to wish Tory a Happy Birthday, send her an email or a diet coke (preferably from Sonic).
If you didn’t get a chance to hear Beth Missfeldt’s song she sang this past Sunday during our traditional service, I highly encourage you to go back and listen. Not only was it beautiful, but it had such a powerful message in the lyrics that made it seem almost like a prayer. It was a wonderful song.
What’s Going On This Week
Sunday (07/27)
Sunday Service - 9am & 10:30am
Monday (07/28)
Stitching Angels - 1:30pm
Tuesday (07/29)
Men’s Meeting - 7:30am
Wednesday (07/30)
Prayer Warriors - 9am
Sip and Share - 10am
Table Talk (Last Lesson on Revelation Study) - 5pm
Youth and Kids - 6pm
Flood Bucket Assembly (CLC) - 6pm
Learning our Faith
Q. What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?
A. Three things:
first, how great my sin and misery are;
second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery;
third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.
Joke of the Week
Two little boys were sitting together in a church during a wedding ceremony.
As the couple said “I do”, one of the little boys leaned over to the other and asked, “I wonder how many wives can a man have?”
The second little boy looked at his friend like he was an idiot and said, “He can have 16 wives.”
“How do you know that?” The first little boy asked.
“Weren’t you listening? The pastor just said it. Four better, four worse, four richer, and four poorer.”
Memory Verse of the Week
“But He gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
~James 4:6 (NIV84)
Quote of the Week
“Worldliness is not a matter of engaging in those practices that some question. It is unthinkingly adopting the perspectives, values and attitudes of our culture, without bringing them under the judgment of God’s Word. It is carrying on in our lives as if we did not know Jesus.”
~Lawrence Richards
