Just around the corner is our annual T3 Youth Conference, here at Eastland Baptist Church.  This will be the third year we are hosting this conference and we’re looking forward to seeing what the Lord will do as a result.  The dates for this year’s conference are December 28-30th.  One unique thing about this conference is that it’s tucked between Christmas and New Year’s, at a time when teenagers are out of school and left with nothing to do.  T3 serves as a challenge for teens to start their New Year off in the right way—serving God and studying His truth!

In John 17, Jesus is giving His formal farewell to the disciples.  He begins chapter seventeen with a prayer, both for Himself and then for Christians.  Jesus also prays here for future generations of believers, those who will hear the Gospel long after His death on the cross.  John 17:17 records these words of Jesus, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

Right before Jesus lays down His life, He lays down a pattern for future believers to know Him— Read more…

Bad day. Tired. Worn out. In order to have a day that one of those words describes, all you have to do is be human. It’s the curse of sin, the presence of evil, bad days happen to us all. But have you ever been discouraged?

Being discouraged is more than a having a bad day or a tired body and mind. The word “discourage” finds its origin in the old French word “descouragier” – it literally means the reversal of courage. Webster’s dictionary defines discourage as the “loss of confidence or enthusiasm.”

Have you been there? Let me ask the question this way – have you lost confidence in God? Have you lost enthusiasm for the Christian life?

In the book of Numbers we find the Israelites on a forty-year journey through the wilderness. Numbers 21:4 says, “And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.”

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For the past 23 years, it has been the joy of my life to be married to my wife, Teri. Together, the Lord has blessed us with seven children and years of wonderful memories and experiences. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate our marriage somewhere around an 11 or 12. However, this good relationship was not born out of simple compatibility or good fortune, but rather out of commitment and hard work. Since the earliest days or our marriage, we made a commitment to each other that we would always work out our difficulties, love and respect one another, and spend lots of time together. That simple formula has helped us weather every storm and grow our marriage into something special. Any thinking person has to realize that two individuals living in the same house are going to disagree and fight occasionally. That is just a fact of life and something that has to be understood. But our disagreements and fights don’t have to be destructive and can actually be opportunities for us to grow. The truth is, most of the fights in a marriage are not the result of big issues as much as they are a result of some sort of sin or pride in our hearts. When we find ourselves in a hot debate and escalating tensions, the first place we need to look for a solution is not at the outside circumstances but on the inside of our own hearts. The greatest problems of life are never around us, but they are within us.

The Bible tells us that pride is the source of contention and fighting, and that when pride goes away so, too, does the fighting. When we accept the possibility that we could be wrong and the other person has a valid point, great progress can be made in resolving marital conflict. When we humble ourselves enough to really listen, talk things through, and defer to one another, we have just planted the seeds of a great marriage.  Loving and respecting one another are other key components to a happy marriage. All too often Read more…

Hace un par de años leí un artículo interesante que fue publicado por la Revista Times acerca de “La Desaparición de la Familia”. Una de las cosas que ellos atribuyen a este fenómeno cultural es que se está sufriendo la pérdida del tiempo de la mesa familiar. El artículo menciona que en las últimas décadas “las familias no han estado comiendo juntas”.

Con la llegada de la comida rápida, horarios ocupados, agendas saturadas, obligaciones distintas, y la televisión, la familia tradicional simplemente no tiene tiempo para comer juntos, el artículo afirmaba. El resultado, según el autor, era una estructura familiar atenuada o debilitada que no es buena para cualquier persona involucrada.

Estoy firmemente de acuerdo con esa conclusión porque encontramos un eco o una verdad Bíblica en el libro de Marcos que dice: “Y si un reino está dividido contra sí mismo, tal reino no puede permanecer. Y si una casa está dividida contra sí misma, tal casa no puede permanecer”. Read more…

One warm summer evening my wife and I went to grab an ice cream float after some time shopping together. We walked in the door eager for the refreshing treat, barely noticing that no other customers were there. Then one of the employees informed us that they were closed for the day and were not serving anymore ice cream floats. The high temperatures of that day, coupled with the shopping, created a very strong desire for that ice cream float; but that did not matter to them—they were closed. Needless to say we were disappointed. It was a simple little treat that we desired, and as far as I was concerned the few dollars needed were already spent. All the ingredients were right there with people who knew how to put them together and serve them to us. Yet, because they chose to set an end time to their service we left empty handed and unsatisfied.

Many places of business have signs that say “Open 24/7,” simply meaning that any time you have the money they have the time to sell or serve what you want. The little establishment we went too did not display that sign; they set specific times when they would serve.

Our church sign, web site, and bulletin say that our Worship service is from 10:30-11:30am on Sundays. In addition, we have an evening service from 6-7pm, and one more on Wednesday for another hour. God certainly and undeniably blesses us during these times as we worship Him with music and the preaching of His Word. We offer the sacrifice of praise and minister to one another in fellowship. However, after those prescribed times, does the worship stop? Read more…