September 5, 2025, 4:00 PM
Greetings in Christ!
I pray that everyone had a great Labor Day weekend.
Earlier this week, I received a call from a preacher friend named Bill. He lives and preaches in Eastern KY, but, once a month, comes to Lexington to preach at the Church of Deliverance on 170 American Avenue (not too far from our church building). While we do have a few theological differences, I do consider him to be a brother in Christ.
When Bill's son-in-law wanted to be baptized, he contacted me because he knew how important I felt baptism to be. In addition, he knew the church I served had a baptistry.
I was honored to assist in having Brent Ferrell be baptized into Christ on Tuesday afternoon (September 2nd)! It was really beautiful.
Bill, Brent, and their family could not stop thanking me and the church for taking the time and making the baptistry available.
I told them how important we felt baptism to be in the salvation process and that it was an honor to be a part of this event.
What really shocked me was what Bill said to me after the baptism. Apparently, before reaching me, Bill had contacted a few different churches about seeing if they could help only to be turned down. The common response was, "it's not worth it for us to fill the baptistry for just ONE baptism!"
I have difficulty comprehending that attitude.
Not only do these churches apparently feel baptism is not that important, but it appears that they are more concerned over NUMBERS than PEOPLE and doing real KINGDOM WORK!
How very sad.
In Luke 15:10, Jesus said, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Are we focused on what REALLY matters or are we just playing church?
As this present world winds down, we'll start to see a very real difference between those who truly love the Lord and those who are just acting.
Jesus is coming back, folks.
And Jesus gave us some clues about His return. While we don't know the exact details, we do know that He IS coming back for those who love Him and to judge mankind.
Pretty soon, we will start seeing the leaves on trees turn beautiful colors. That will tell us that autumn is here and the year is winding down.
As we look at our world today, we can see many of the signs that Jesus could be returning soon. As Jesus said, we can’t pinpoint when He will return, but we do need to be ready.
Are we living life as we should? Have we resolved outstanding issues with others? Have we told our friends and loved ones about Jesus?
Let's not wait too long to do what needs to be done. Time flies. For instance, we are now in the month of September. The year is already two thirds over! That's hard to believe! Time can get away from us if we are not intentional about how we live. I pray we would all live with a little more urgency with the thought that Jesus could return any day now.
I also hope and pray to see you this coming Sunday at FCC. I will be starting a new sermon series on the little New Testament book of Jude.
God Bless,
Greg H.
