Oseolla McCarty was an eighty-eight year old widow who lived in Mississippi.  She had dropped out of school after the seventh grade and labored as a seamstress until her retirement.  Although known to very few people, she entered the spotlight on July 26, 1995 when she walked into her bank and withdrew  her  “nest egg”  of  $150,000 and gave it to the University of Southern Mississippi.  Following the gift, the New York Times interviewed her and Harvard gave her a honorary humanities degree.  The world took notice because very few people operate with their money in this manner.

 Read what the Word of God says in I Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

 The world places such emphasis on serving wealth and prosperity.  When the world sees someone like Oseolla McCarty they seemed as if in shock that someone would act in such a manner.  The way in which you can tell what someone values most in life is how they handle their money.  It all seems to settle down to what you and I prioritize with our money.  What is your priority with your money?  I think God wants to see that He is our priority no matter what area of life it is.  Always make the Lord your priority in every detail of your life, even your money.  May God bless you today

THE PRECIOUS BIBLE 

Though the cover is worn
And pages are torn,
And though places bear traces of tears,
Yet more precious than gold
Is the Book, worn and old,
That can shatter and scatter my fears.

When I prayerfully look
In the precious old Book
Many pleasures and treasures I see;
Many tokens of love,
From the Father above
Who is nearest and dearest to me.

This old Book is my guide,
'Tis a friend by my side,
It will lighten and brighten my way;
And each promise I find,
Soothes and gladdens my mind,
As I read it and heed it each day.

Author Unknown

One of the hot issues of our day is that of immigration.  This has become an issue of division among groups throughout our country.  Many significant Bible characters changed countries in their lives:  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Elimilech, Naomi, Ruth, David, Joseph, Mary, Christ, Aquila, Priscilla, etc.  Many countries today like the United States, face immigration problems.  Let me try to give you as biblical perspective as I can concerning this.

 First of all, all people are made in the image of God.  Gen. 1:26-27 applies  to  every  human  being  regardless of color or nationality.  People  should  always  be  treated  with  respect.  Secondly, people everywhere need to earn a living and care for basic needs of their family.  A  perfect  example  of  this  is  the  fact that Boaz allowed a foreign woman named Ruth to glean in his fields.  He even offered her safety, water and shelter.  He was following the law of God (Exodus 12:49, Leviticus 19:9-10, 33, 34 Deuteronomy 24:19-22).  Thirdly, governments were set up by God to keep order and serve Him (Romans 13). They are set-up for well-being of people, even though we must remember that they are not infallible.  A nation has a right to establish a manageable flow of foreigners who immigrate.  Finally, everybody  needs to know Christ as their Saviour.  Regardless of how they got to our nation or as to why they are here, we must do all we can to reach them for Christ.  In Acts 2 at the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit made it so that fourteen different nationalities could hear the Word of God in their own language.

 My  family and  I  recently  toured  Ellis  Island  where  12 million immigrants entered America.  Knowing I had family that came through there made it that more special.  Let’s always be about the business of reaching all people for Christ.  May God bless you.

Prayer of National Repentance

 “Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance.  We know Your Word says, “Woe to those who call evil good”, but that is exactly what we have done.  We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.  We confess that,

 We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism;
 We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle;
 We have exploited the poor and called it lottery;
 We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare;
 We have killed our unborn and called it choice;
 We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable;
 We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem;
 We have abused power and called it politics;
 We  have  coveted  our  neighbor’s  possessions  and  called  it ambition;
 We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression;
 We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

 Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.  Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent; to direct us to the center of Your will and to openly ask these things in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.”

   (Offered by the Rev. Joe Wright at the new session of the Kansas Senate, January, 1996)

Today I am with the teens and our adult leaders at Lifespring Baptist Church in Springdale, Arkansas.  Jon and Liz Dillon have planted this church to reach northwest Arkansas with the gospel of Christ.  Be sure to keep them in your prayers.  Each year we take a group of our teens to spend a week serving the Lord in a specific ministry.  I have always believed that when young people get in the arena of service this will be used to better prepare them for future service as well as be used of God to call them into full-time service.  Pray that God will use these experiences to change and mold their lives in service to Him.  We will be traveling back home tonight and tomorrow.  The teens will share some testimonies about what God did next Sunday evening.

 Just a reminder that next Sunday is the celebration of the 234th birthday of our wonderful nation.  This promises to be a great day.  In both morning services the choir will present “His Truth Is Marching On” a celebration of our country using both song and multi-media.  Be here for this great service as we honor our nation.  Invite someone to be with you.  Although July 4th falls on a Sunday, do not let this be a day to be away from God’s house.  We will run a full schedule as well as have a cookout and fellowship time before the evening service starting at 4:30 pm.

 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.”  Proverbs 18:10

Only A Dad

Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame
To show how well he has played the game;
But great in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.

Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd,
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad but he gives his all,
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.

-- Author Unknown

It  is good to be back home.  Last Saturday we flew to Baltimore and then drove two more hours north to West Chester, Pennsylvania to spend a few days with April’s parents.  We had a great couple of days with them and watched our nephew Joseph graduate from high school.  We visited two different churches on Sunday.  I still think there is no church like Bible Baptist Church.

 On Monday morning we left West Chester and drove a couple of hours north to New York City.  Autumn turns 16 this month and has wanted to go to the “Big Apple.”  We spent three days there visiting the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Broadway, Chinatown, the World Trade Center sight, etc.  What a great sea of people!  May I also say that this is a spiritually needy  area.  The large metropolitan cities of our world have become vast areas in such a great need of gospel preaching churches.  Let’s make this a matter of prayer that God will send forth laborers into the harvest.

 We left New York City and headed to my parents house in Westminster, Maryland.  It was good to stay with them and see my brother and his family.  On Friday evening my parents took all of us to one of my favorite restaurants, Hickory Bridge.  This restaurant has the best crab imperial I have ever had.  Don’t worry about how much I ate, I was on vacation.  Even though we had such a great time, it is good to be home.  I cannot wait to preach today
.
 Be sure to pray for our baseball camp each day this week.  It will be a great week.  It is good to see you today.

This is the time of year for us to honor and congratulate all of our graduates.  Graduation is a time of completing one area of life and then moving on to the next thing God has for you.  How wonderful it is to know that God has a wonderful plan for each  of  us  which  we  call  the  will  of  God.   Be sure to take a moment and congratulate these seniors on their accomplishment.  Tonight after the service you will be able to congratulate them at a special time in their honor.  Here is a list of the graduates:

College
Matthew Camden    University of Southern Florida 
                             B.S.  Electrical Engineering

High School
Brad Bohley           Lakewood Ranch High School
Roland Bohley        Lakewood Ranch High School
Alyssa Garnett       Community Christian School
Matthew Hatch       Community Christian School
Felix Lopez            Palmetto High School
Colby Martin          Community Christian School
Shiloh Reeves        Home School
Kylie Suttle            Community Christian School

 Be sure to get your child or grandchild registered for this year’s baseball camp which begins in just one week.  This will be our  best  one  yet.   There  are  many  exciting  things  planned, surprise guests and daily fun.  Do not miss this great event.  Go to the Welcome Center and get the registration form.

 My  family  and  I  are  not  here  today  as  you  may  have noticed.  Yesterday  we  flew  to  Baltimore  and  will  be spending time in the northeast.  We will return later in the week.  The pastoral staff will preach this morning and tonight will be a new preacher to us, a young evangelist named Rick Moore.  I know this will be a great Lord’s Day.  May God bless you today.

No, Freedom Isn’t Free
by:  CDR Kelly Strong, USCG (Ret.) 

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.

We sing:

• Heavenly Sunlight and stay away from church when it’s hot.
• Sweet Hour of Prayer and skip Prayer Meeting.
• Onward Christian Soldiers and then go AWOL.
• O For A Thousand Tongues and don’t use the one we have.
• Blest Be The Tie That Binds then let little misunderstandings cut it.
• We’re Marching To Zion and don’t even drive to Sunday School.
• Throw Out The Lifeline and are content to throw out a fishing line.
• I Love To Tell The Story and yet never tell it.
• Lead Me To Calvary and ask directions to the ballpark.
• Faith Is The Victory and depend on our feelings.
• Make Me A Blessing and pray “Give me a blessing.”
• Oh! To Be Like Thee and imitate the TV stars.
• All That Thrills My Soul Is Jesus and seek worldly pleasures.
• Jesus Loves The Little Children and refuse to teach a Sunday School class.
• Burdens Are Lifted At Calvary and make an appointment with our therapist.
• Oh Say, But I’m Glad! and walk around frowning.
• A Mighty Fortress Is Our God and put our trust in our bank account.
• When We All Get To Heaven and live as though we plan to stay on earth forever.

Let’s let our walk match our song.  I hope your have a wonderful Lord’s Day!

My Mother's Bible
 
My mother's Bible is tattered and worn,
Many of its leaves are faded and torn.
Tear drops are mingled on many a page
With words that have comforted down through the age.
 
Dust never gathers on my mother's book.
When answers she's seeking, it's here she will look.
How often I see her with Bible in hand
Sifting its pages like soft desert sand.
 
The small bit of gold that glowed on the side,
Is dull from the thumbprints that open it wide.
My mother's Bible is black never more
But faded and tattered from use that it's bore.
 
My mother's Bible is valued, though old,
'Tis from it that all bedtime stories were told.
Oh, how we loved it when from it she read
And then she would kiss us and tuck us in bed.
 
The memories are golden...the ones that I hold,
Of my mother's Bible and wisdom it told.
Oft times I saw her kneeling in prayer
And always beside her...the Bible was there.
 
 
 
 
 
Ruth H. Underhill

It is a honor to have Geraldine Ragan and Ricky here with us today.  As a teenager I first saw Geraldine and Ricky in action and still to this day I remember the humor and laughs around them.  Geraldine has used her tremendous talent from God to reach many people for Christ.  Geraldine will bless your heart and you will never forget her and Ricky.  Please welcome her here with us today.

 Remember that this coming Saturday is our Annual Bible Baptist Church Golf Tournament.  I would love to see a great number of golfers here for this event.  Invite others to play with you.  All the money raised goes towards the Teen Missions Trip.  We will have prizes, giveaways,  great  fellowship  and  good  food.  Go  by  the Welcome Center today and sign-up to be part of this.  We will have a fun afternoon.

 I was reading II Corinthians 12 this week and came across verse 10 which states, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”  Let me take a moment and help you with this list of items which you and I are to take pleasure in:

1. “Infirmities” -The weaknesses I have.
2. “Reproaches” -The insults I face.
3. “Necessities” -The hardships I endure.
4. “Persecutions” -The burden I must bear.
5. “Distresses” -The perplexities I do not understand.

 The glory and pleasure from such matters is that of showing my physical weakness and frailty, but also my Saviour’s ability to overcome such things by His strength.  God’s strength is never measured by human terms but rather it is “made perfect in weakness” (v. 9).  Whenever you hear me say, “die to self” this is what I am asking us to do.  Thank God for His strength, power and might for our infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, and distresses.  To God be the glory for the great things He has done and is doing.

The Heart of a Child
Whatever you write on the heart of a child
No water can wash away,
The sand may be shifted when billows are wild
And the efforts of time may decay.

Some stories may perish,
Some songs forgotten;
But this graven record --
Time changes it not.

Whatever you write on the heart of a child,
A story of gladness, or care,
That heaven has blessed, or earth has defiled,
Will linger unchangeably there.
Who writes it has sealed it forever and aye,
He must answer to God on the judgment day.

Author unknown

“Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is
old, will not depart from it.”—Prov. 22:6

It is critical in the day in which we live to have a true heart for God.  How wonderful that God wants a personal relationship with you and me.  You cannot have a true heart for God until you know Him as your personal Savior.  The human heart itself is truly amazing.  Your heart beats an average of seventy-five times a minute, forty million times a year and two and half billion times by the time a person is seventy years old.  With each beat, the average adult heart pumps four ounces of blood.  This amounts to three thousand gallons a day and over one million gallons a year.  Your heart produces enough energy in a twelve hour period to lift a sixty-five ton railroad car. 

 Just like it is good to take care of your physical heart, a healthy spiritual heart is just a vital.  Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”  This verse encourages us to guard the heart and careful of all that comes near it.  Things may so affect the heart so as to divide it and create such a division that is harmful.  No doubt we all have had a time in our life when the heart has had divisions which resulted in a dismal heart for God, rather that a true heart for God.

 Let me give us a few areas that if applied will keep you and I with a genuine heart for God.

1. Love the Lord.  The Bible commands us to “love the Lord” 250 times.
2. Walk in all His Ways.  Follow His directions no matter where He leads
3. .Keep His Commandments.  These commandments in Scripture are given to guard your heart for God.
4. Cleave unto Him.  The glue in your life is the Lord Jesus Christ.
5. Serve Him.  It is the highest honor for a man to serve God and bring Him glory.

Have a true heart for God!