I’ve discovered that during difficult days It helps to defeat discouragement by thinking about the things for which I’m thankful. I was recently thinking about God’s blessing on our church when something came to mind that you might not have ever thought about. The word balance comes to my mind.

 I’m familiar with a lot of churches, and as you might expect, they are all different some are made up almost entirely of old folks and few of any other age group. Others are just the opposite. They consist mostly of young families with few seniors, and no ministries for that age group. This list could go on and on but I’ll stop and tell you what is on my mind.

When I consider our church I think about the blessing of balance. We have a lot of older folks who are pillars in the church. Having faithfully provided a firm foundation for it, others in the church have the benefit of their godly example to follow.

We also have a core group of faithful members between 30 and 60 who have taken up the banner and doing the work that others can’t do. They are the kind of people you can count on, giving assurance that the church is in good hands.

In addition to them we have many young adults who not only have remarkable potential but are presently involved in ministries right now.

Then we have a good group of teens and younger children who love the Lord and are helping out in various ministries already. Watching them grow is a great blessing.

Lastly we have a good number of children and ministries designed for them led by dedicated teachers and leaders working with them.

Along with all this God has moved us from a back street that was hard to find to a prime location with beautiful facilities, all paid for.

Here is one more thing I want to mention. I have always hoped that when I have to step down that the new pastor would be someone from within our church, sparing the church of going through the process of trying to find a new pastor. God has answered my prayer. Although it is the church’s decision, I believe Bro. Preston has proven himself to be that man. Please read Phil.2:20-22 if you want to know how I feel about him.

When I think of all of this, it makes me thankful for what God has done,  is doing and will do. This is a dream come true for an old pastor, who knows when he is gone the church will carry on better than ever. Although we are far from perfect, the same God who brought us thus far will be with us during the most trying of times. He who has never failed will not fail.

In this day, when so few churches are standing true to God’s word, and so many are dwindling and dying we are should be exceedingly thankful  for God‘s blessings on us. I don’t expect everyone to appreciate what I’m talking about as much as some others. That’s  because this church is the only reference point they have. Not being familiar with other churches they assume it’s like this everywhere, but they’re wrong. Some churches are barely holding on , trying to keep the doors open and others are departing from the faith, and some are divided by contention. So when we think about the faith of those who have brought us thus far, the faithfulness of those who are involved in our ministries, the financial security we enjoy, and the focus of our vision minded members, our future looks bright.

It is my firm belief that one reason that God has blessed this church so much is the fact that I don’t know of any church that has taken better care of its pastors than this one. Hebrews 13:17 says,” “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” That is exactly what this church has done. For 37 years I have joyfully pastored this precious church.

But let us never forget that all these blessings are due to the grace of God. He alone deserves the praise! Let us then never cease to worship him in spirit, and in truth. “ As Paul said, “unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬. THINK ABOUT IT!

Your grateful servant in Christ,
Bro. Stone

I just finished writing the Pastor’s Pen for Sunday. In it I make a reference to the importance of time and not wasting it. As I was writing I couldn’t help but think about last Sunday (7-21-24) when I couldn’t preach. So the following is what I wrote to myself. Perhaps it will speak to you as well:

It’s Sunday morning, a time when I would soon be leaving for church and looking forward to preaching. But here I sit in my recliner with my pajamas on. It’s another one of those days when I’m not able to preach – days that I dread. All I feel like doing is sleeping, but I can’t even do that. So I sit here listening to the sound of the neighbor mowing his yard – a sound I hate. Although that’s a minor matter I feel like screaming “SHUT IT OFF!.

To sum it up, I’m discouraged because I couldn’t preach. But I am disappointed with myself for not practicing what I preach. Let me explain. It’s easy to prepare a sermon on how we should behave when we are disappointed, it’s another thing to do it. At the moment I’m making a failing grade.

I tell myself, it’s not like I’m asking for fortune, fame, or something foolish. I just want to preach – what God called me to do.And, yes I know if God wanted me to preach this morning He would enable me to do so. But, for the moment, the disappointment is still here.

However, even as I struggle with this, I know there is a good side to the story. I am reminded that God is in control and I’m not. God forbid that the opposite were true. Another positive is that I’ve been through this before and I know from experience that God can turn it around and give me victory. He can help me to be disappointed without getting discouraged. I’ve lost track of the times He has done so.

But, there’s something else that I am forced to face in times like these. I’m talking about the fact that the best is yet to come. And, as the old song says, “There’s no disappointments in heaven”. Thank God for that! Another old song says, I’m home sick for heaven I’ve got a longing to go”. If you think it’s out of place to feel that way you need to read Rom. 8:18-23. Please do!

Yes I am home sick for heaven, but as it was with Paul, I glad to stay on this earth as long as I am needed. However long that might be is God’s business.As long as we are on earth we will face disappointments, but we must not allow them to discourage us to the extent that it deters us from our duty. God is bigger than all your problems, so trust Him to give you victory, even when it seems impossible. Think about it!  – HDS

David Stone  
Lakeway Baptist Church  
Humble, TX.

THINK ABOUT IT            7-12-24

THINK ABOUT IT             7-7-24
A story is told about an old American Indian who attended a church service on Sunday morning. The preacher’s message lacked real spiritual food, so he did a lot of shouting and pulpit pounding to cover up his lack of preparation. In fact, as it is sometimes said, he “preached up quite a storm.” After the service, someone asked the Indian, who was a Christian, what he thought of the minister’s message. Thinking for a moment, he summed up his opinion is six words, “High wind. Big Thunder. No Rain.”

I’ve been preaching ever since the “Church Growth Movement” started. I remember when pastors started using clowns, magicians, weightlifters, motorcycle trick riders, comedians, animals, and just about anything to attract a crowd. Then churches started having contest with other churches to see who could have the largest attendance, or the most professions, and baptisms. It’s easy to see how all this led to the “easy believeism” problem. 

Although some pastors warned them that “Whatever you have to do to attract a crowd is what you will have to keep doing to keep them”, few listened. That movement was followed by the “Seeker friendly churches”, which based their type of service on what surveys showed the people in the community preferred.

It’s no secret that people love entertainment, and far too many pastors cash in on it – giving people what they want instead of what they need. Consequently we have churches today that are filled with members who are addicted to religious entertainment. And as soon as they get dissatisfied where they are they start searching for a bigger show. And they can usually find a pastor who is willing give it to them.

If you knew how many sermons are designed and delivered in such a way so as to impress people it would, or should, make you sick to your stomach. Sadly, the average person doesn’t know what a good sermon is. Most are more concerned about the style than they are about the substance. Some like it loud, fast, romping, stomping preaching. Others prefer preaching that is a quiet, calm, lecture style.The truth is that good preaching can come in either style. Some of the best preachers I have ever heard can be found in both groups. Their preaching was good because it was from the heart, not an imitation of someone else. 

Years ago I was asked to bring evening devotional messages to the men students at Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo. Later I taught classes at Central Baptist College in Cincinnati, Ohio. In both instances one of the first things I did was to remind the young preachers of this – “Be yourself. Don’t try to copy, imitate, some other preacher”. Admiration of a preacher has caused many young preachers to make a fool out of themselves by trying to imitate them. They often do it for the sake of trying to impress people.

I say all that with the prayer that none of us falls into the habit of judging every preachers motives and mannerisms. I simply want to remind you that we are not in the entertainment business. As preachers we are to exalt the Savior, edify the saints, and evangelize the sinners – not entertain people.