By: Waylon Bailey Every follower of Jesus Christ knows this battle. It’s the battle that seems so much bigger than we are. It’s the flesh that wars against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. We well understand the feelings of Paul the Apostle: “I don’t understand why I act the way I do. I don’t do what I …
By: Waylon Bailey Some people don’t like the concept of church membership. I talked recently to a family who wanted to know why we have church “members.” It’s a good question and one that should be answered. The appropriate answer is for the purpose of understanding our responsibility to one another. The New Testament is filled with statements related to …
By: Waylon Bailey Martha and I have hearts filled with gratitude over the 25 years we have served as pastor of First Baptist Church, Covington, Louisiana. You outdid yourselves yesterday. We enjoyed the time together under the pavilion. These have been joyful years, and we are thankful for them. Here are some of the reasons why these years have been …
By: Waylon Bailey “Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16). These are Paul’s words to believers. He wanted the followers of Christ to take advantage of every opportunity to do good and to make Christ known. Another translation says to “make every …
Not long ago, Martha stood next to the desk where she does most of her studying and held up a book. She said: “I’m thankful for these books. We are so blessed to have resources like these to help us.” She was holding a book from a large set given to us by a wonderful couple in Donaldsonville, where we …
By: Waylon Bailey We all struggle with right speech. There’s just something about our tongues that give us trouble. Nowhere is that more evident than the words of the Apostle James. James was the (half) brother of Jesus. He grew up in the same house as the Lord but without believing in Him as the Christ. After the resurrection Jesus …
By: Waylon Bailey Our lives are made up of decisions. As we look back over life, we find that our lives are the sum of all our decisions. We all know that good decisions are difficult to make. How can we learn to make better decisions? First, immerse yourself in God’s plans and God’s ways. As you read and meditate on …
By: Waylon Bailey Early in January, I sat on a plane flight next to a young father from Georgia. After we exchanged polite conversation, we settled in to the flight. He slept, and I worked on this new sermon series. When he awoke, he said: “You’re a preacher!” I laughed and said: “Yes, I am.” At that point, we went …
Christians worldwide celebrated the resurrection of Christ yesterday. Of course, this is not unusual. We do the same each first day of the week. As we think about the resurrection week by week, I see three essential and strong facts about the resurrection of Christ. This, of course, matters because the resurrection of Christ is the essential element of our …
By: Waylon Bailey No one despises joy. Joy is universally appreciated and desired. It is a great gift from God. Joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In the great list of nine qualities the Spirit brings to our lives, joy follows only love in the list. Love, joy, and peace make up the first of …
