By: Waylon Bailey ~ “Guests decide whether or not they will return to a church within ten minutes of turning into the parking lot.” Martha and I spent our Sunday yesterday with our pastor son-in-law and daughter and their children at their church in northern Virginia. We arrived Thursday. It has been rainy or cold or both ever since. It began raining Friday night and rained …
By: Waylon Bailey ~ I want to ask you a question that may be the most important question for your life in Christ. Is your faith static or are you growing in Christ? Are you stuck where you’ve been for months or years? I don’t know how you will answer the question, but the question and its answer is vitally …
By: Waylon Bailey ~ Yesterday at First Baptist Church, I preached on “Ten Truths for Christian Giving.” These truths ranged from “God loves a cheerful giver” to “Giving is a matter of the heart.“ I tried to cover the gamut of the theology of giving from Scripture. I enjoyed preaching on this subject, and our people responded graciously. Of course, …
By: Waylon Bailey ~ Scripture is God breathed (inspired) and intended to help us know God. In a very real sense, there’s nothing more important than knowing the One in whose image we are formed. Here are seven reasons why Scripture matters. First, Scripture comes from God Himself. It is His word of instruction, encouragement, and revelation to the people He …
By: Waylon Bailey ~ You may be beginning to pray or you may be beginning again. Good for you. What should you do as you seek to deepen your prayer life? Let’s remember no one on earth has a precise formula for prayer. Prayer is so much more than a formula or a recitation. It is coming into the presence …
By: Waylon Bailey ~ I have been blessed to study and preach from the Birth Narrative of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew’s Gospel gives the events of the birth of Jesus from the point of view of Joseph while Luke gives us the point of view of Mary. What we see in Matthew’s Gospel is an emphasis on …
By: Waylon Bailey This has been an amazing year, but it is quickly coming to an end. I want to challenge you with some of the practices which will make this next year even better. I see these practices as good for life and a blessing for the woman and man of God. May God bless you as you grow …
By: Waylon Bailey ~ Matthew’s description of the birth of Jesus Christ is very much filled with the Providence (divine guidance) of God. Again and again, God directs Joseph, and Joseph unquestionably obeys. This is an amazing picture of God‘s sovereignty and human obedience. Both work together to provide for the safety of the child and His mother. Joseph’s example …
By: Waylon Bailey ~ We live in a world of evil. We don’t even have to read news reports to understand that evil is all around and constantly with us. The birth of Jesus shows us the magnitude of that evil. Jesus was born when Herod the Great was king. He was a king like the most awful dictators of …
By: Waylon Bailey I don’t have to remind you that we are living in very difficult times. Right now, we are dealing with an immorality which is creating division in the country and casting a pall of anger and distrust in our lives. The “#Metoo” movement has opened a door that we all hope will bring us to a better, …
