Last night I taught from Paul’s Letter to Philemon. While Paul wrote letters to churches, he also wrote personal letters–the most personal of all was the letter to Philemon. I hope you will read the letter. It’s only 25 verses. It will bless you, and it will cause you to give thanks for the power of God to change lives. …
Dealing With Your Fear and Anxiety
Fear is the easiest of emotions. It attacks silently, quickly, and efficiently. Before you know what has happened, you are consumed by fear. Fear takes on several forms. One, fear can become a pervasive anxiety. Without even knowing why, fear wraps itself around us and will not let go. This kind of fear is debilitating. It takes the joy and peace out of …
How I Make Difficult Decisions
Someone famously said: “Either you’re in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or one is brewing and is on its way.” It seems so true doesn’t it? We seem often to be in crisis mode. I remember years ago that Martha and I were dealing with a major church crisis. As the days turned to weeks in the midst …
An Unusual Verse of Scripture
By: Waylon Bailey ~ “Now while he [Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person” (John 2:23-25, NIV). …
The Importance of Mothers and Fathers
The Christian family “is of course the keystone of any Christian society. Let Christ be truly worshiped and served at the family altar, and we need not tremble for the Christian future of any country”–Archibald M. Hunter. “For the most part, children do not create problems; they reveal them. Parents who cannot discipline themselves cannot discipline their children. If a …
The Governor’s Prayer Breakfast
Yesterday morning I had the privilege to rise early (can you say 4:00 AM?) and attend the Governor’s Prayer Breakfast in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The prayer breakfast is held each year at the beginning of the Louisiana legislative session. This was the 51st year for elected leaders and faithful pray-ers to join together. God commanded us to do this. Not …
How to Live as Sheep in the Midst of Wolves
Last year on tax day, I wrote about my favorite verse of Scripture. It really isn’t my favorite verse, but it certainly is a very helpful verse. It’s helpful because it equips us to relate to an unbelieving world. Jesus and Paul as well as other biblical writers did their best to prepare us for what lies ahead. Jesus prepared …
My Take on “A.D.: The Bible Continues”
You may be aware that NBC is showing the sequel to Mark Burnett and Roma Downey’s series “The Bible” from a couple of years ago. I’ve watched the depiction of the resurrection, the ascension, and the work of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts with great excitement. I’ve had many people who wanted to know my reaction to …
Living in Peace and Joy
By: Waylon Bailey ~ I was profoundly touched this week as I had the opportunity to pray with a single mom and her children. They moved into a new residence and wanted me to come by and pray with them as they began this new chapter in their lives. It was moving and instructive for me. That morning I prayed …
Living Rich
By: Waylon Bailey ~ This weekend I will begin a new sermon series from the Gospel of John. The new series is titled: “Living Rich: Eternal Life in the Gospel of John.” We will have six messages which cover much of the Gospel of John. I developed this series when I discovered how often “eternal life” is found in John’s …