Mallard Creek Baptist Church

06/17/2026

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I, like many people, am guilty of mindless scrolling on Social Media and often find clips and articles that tell of attacks on Christianity, mocking Christianity, trying to as it would appear to systematically destroy Christianity. Just this morning I saw a comedian say there are two groups that you can make fun of and no one will object. One of those two groups was Christians. The sad thing is that it is only going to get worse. We are slowly heading full circle back towards first century times when Rome would allow any religion that did not upset the apple cart, but didn’t allow Christianity because true Christians refused to declare Caesar as Lord.

Yet, as I watch this and it worries me, the Lord points out Scripture that shows that despite what our eyes see, God is still on the throne and still in control of all things. Look at this verse from the end of John 11.

Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”
And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. (John 11: 45-57)

Here we see the Jews plotting to kill Jesus. Yet in the middle of this verse, it shows that God’s will and plan can not be hijacked by the schemes of man. In fact, God uses the schemes of man to accomplish His will. You can see this throughout scripture. You can look at the actions of Joseph’s brothers in Genesis 37. Yet in Genesis 50:20, Joseph tells his brothers, what you meant for evil, God meant for good. God used the expansion of the Babylonian and Persian empires to punish Israel for their idolatry and disobedience. In Isaiah 45, God speaks about how he has guided Cyrus by the right hand. The very roads and persecution of the Roman Empire allowed for the spread of the Gospel. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If God used such things then, He is using them still today.

The only thing we control is our reaction to persecution and attempts to squash Christianity. We have to hide God’s Word in our heart as physical copies could be taken. We have to know what we believe in so that we don’t fall victim to Jesus’ warning to His disciples in Matthew 24 about taking heed lest we fall into deception. We have to ensure that our actions reflect what we believe as faith without works is dead. We can not think we can just flick a switch and be ready to endure persecution. That only comes through daily relationship with Christ. We need to be as the 5 wise virgins and have the extra oil of the Holy Spirit flowing through our lives. Otherwise we will flame out.

The storm is coming, but as I have said before, Jesus in the boat does not mean we don’t have storms, but that we won’t sink. Take heart Christian, God is still in control and nothing man can do can separate us from him. I end with this verse. Psalms 118: 6: The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

May the Lord Bless You This Week!

06/14/2026

Here is the link for today’s service. The Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Pastor Daniel BryantMessage Title The Parable of the Good Samari...

06/14/2026

Here is the link for last week's service.

Pastor Daniel BryantMessage Title The Parable of the TalentsScrip...

06/10/2026

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I feel like this devotion is a part two from last week's devotion. Last week we were in the first half of John 11 and I focused on how Lazarus’ sickness/death was for the glory of God and that us going through hard times can be just for that purpose. This week in the second half of John 11 we come to Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the grave and just before he spoke to Lazarus to come forth, he said these words.

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” (John 11: 41-42)

Jesus could have just had the stone rolled away and spoke the words. But he did this prayer to the Lord and gave us insight into not only Jesus' actions but also the character of God. As he had said to roll back the stone, Martha had questioned Jesus’ actions, despite the fact that she had already stated that she believed Jesus was the resurrection and the life. Jesus’ response feeds into His prayer. He tells her that if she would believe she would see the glory of God. This was the whole purpose for this event with Lazarus; to show the glory of God. In fact, that is one of the reasons Jesus came according to John 1:14. The Word was made flesh and we beheld glory. But Jesus clarifies it. He states to Martha that to see the glory, you have to believe.

Many scriptures bear this out as well:

John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Acts 16:31: They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."

Romans 10:9: "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

Hebrews 11:6: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Mark 5:36: Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

Mark 9:24: "Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, 'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'"

These scriptures show the importance of belief. If we take what Jesus says in John 11, when we believe, the glory of God manifests itself in our lives. It could take the form of salvation, or miracles, or simply developing our relationship with the Father.
Many times we need to recognize that just like the father in Mark 9, we believe, but there is still unbelief. Because of our flesh, this world’s notions, etc., it is hard to get to just believing. Yet that is what Jesus asks us to do. We have to have the heart expressed in Mark 5:36. To get over fear and see God as he is and the glory He wants to show through our lives by being a devoted servant.

I spoke Sunday about the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. The undevoted servant who hid the talent said he was afraid of the master. Yet the other two servants did not doubt but invested and reaped a return to bring to the master. We must stop being afraid because of a perverted sense of who God is and simply believe. It is only then that we will see God’s glory manifest itself in our lives.

May the Lord Bless You This Week!

06/07/2026

Join Us In Worship.

Pastor Daniel BryantMessage Title The Parable of the TalentsScrip...

06/03/2026

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I think the hardest thing I have to do as a pastor is to sit across from someone who has or is experiencing a life-altering trauma and have to give an answer for why they are going through this. They may not ask the question, but you can see it in their eyes. No matter how many scriptures I could quote or platitudes I could say, it is hard to watch their eyes as my heart breaks for them as I can not say or do anything to stop the pain they are going through. I can only try to point them to Christ and often just be a listening ear. Being a husband and a father it is against my nature to not be able to do more than this; to not be able to give them something that I know will give them the peace they need.

It many times falls to how much faith and how much trust they have in Christ before going into the storm. We are reading John 11 this week and this is the story of Lazarus. In this story, Jesus had to look into the eyes of people he loved as they asked why He wasn’t there when Lazarus died, or explain to His disciples why it was better that He wasn’t there before Lazarus died. All the words of Jesus I think can be summed up in John 11:4. “When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

This at first seems like a callous statement. It’s for God’s glory? It’s for Christ’s glory? What about my pain and suffering? Is that for your glory? Yet, Jesus does not ignore people’s pain. He experiences it. He wept at the tomb of His friend. No God does not glory in our suffering. God’s glory comes when we see it was Him who brought us through a storm stronger afterwards. It is His glory when other people see our faith as we go through difficulty. It is God’s glory when our newly shaped testimony is encouragement to someone who goes through a similar storm. As I saw on Facebook the other day, just because Jesus is in the boat does not mean you have no storms, it just means you won’t sink!

The story of Lazarus is not the only time Jesus makes such a statement. He did so for the blind man he healed in John 9. He said in John 9:3 “Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” The things that happen in our life are not always because of sin, or the curse upon this world because of sin, or our own failings. Sometimes things happen because God needs us to be a vessel to show His glory in a way that is not always pleasant to us. Worship or showing that God is worthy is not always a mountain top experience. You can worship in the valley of the shadow of death. Why? Because as Psalms 23 says, I fear no evil because you are with me.

Is it easy to worship God, believing He has a purpose to show HIs glory when you are hurting? No! Even as I type these words, it would be hard to remember them when a storm hits my life. That is why it is vitally important to prepare to be used by God not just on the mountain, but in the darkest valley. Both are opportunities to be a vessel of glory for Christ. But you can only be the vessel if you are prepared as I preached on Sunday about the 10 virgins. The 5 were wise because they had extra oil, for when the delay happens and the night grows darker. As I found in a commentary it said, watching is having oil in your lamp when your faith is called upon.

So if you are in a storm right now. Press into God and ask for more oil for your lamp. Ask to be a vessel for the glory of God. If you are not in a storm, prepare. Ask God for more oil of the Holy Spirit so that you can be ready when called to be this type of vessel. As weird as it sounds, we can take comfort knowing that God cares for His vessels. Even when they are stressed to the point of breaking, God is the one providing us with the strength to go on.

May the Lord Bless You This Week!

05/31/2026

Come Join Us In Worship.

Pastor Daniel BryantMessage Title The Parable of the Ten Virgins ...

05/27/2026

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I find it amazing the effort people put into disproving or discrediting things in our society. People make extreme leaps of logic that take more effort than what facts or evidence clearly state is true. You watch politicians and people for various causes make statements that are incredibly inflammatory or impossible to believe when there is no clear evidence to back up their statements. However, we live in a culture now that does not believe in absolute truths and can use data that clearly says one thing and twists it to show the opposite based on some miniscule chance of it being true.

This is especially true when it comes to Jesus and Christianity. There are books written every year that discredit basic tenets of the faith and they are best sellers. People only put this much effort into twisting something unless there is a profit possible or it is dangerous to their point of view. And since Jesus came to set people free from the prison of sin and control then that makes Satan and his forces stand up against the truth. It shows the strength of the blindness and darkness upon this world because of sin when obvious truth can not be understood.

Let’s look at one example from the second half of John 10. In John 10:30, Jesus specifically says: “I and My Father are one.” The Jews that were listening to Jesus knew exactly what He said as they took up stones to stone Him and accused Him of blasphemy. Yet there are videos, sermons, books, etc. written that Jesus said He never claimed to be God. Just for the sake of argument, I Googled what was the rationale for how people get around verses like this when they say Jesus never claimed to be God. The response began to nick pick at the grammar used, that Jesus meant they are one in purpose and will, etc. Instead of looking at what Jesus specifically said and the reactions of the Jews to what He said, they try to explain it away with grammar and pulling other verses out of context.

Look at these other verses in Scripture that show Jesus’ divinity.

John 1:1, 14: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

John 20:28:
Thomas answers Jesus, saying, "My Lord and my God!"
Colossians 2:9: "For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily."

Titus 2:13: "Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ."

Isaiah 9:6: Prophesying His birth: "For to us a child is born... and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Sometimes, you have to just bow in the face of the weight of the evidence. Lee Strobel who wrote the book, the Case for Christ, was a journalist who went out with the purpose to disprove what the Bible says about Jesus. As he explored the evidence with that stated purpose, began to see that the evidence pointed him to draw the opposite conclusion. He says when you look at the evidential reliability of the Gospels, the behavior of the disciples, the historical evidence for the resurrection, and the amount of prophecy fulfilled, he had to face the facts that Jesus was what He said He was. Strobel famously referred to his conversion as a "rush of reason rather than a rush of emotion," finding the cumulative evidence so solid that he could no longer deny Jesus' identity as the Son of God.

So today, if you are skeptical about Jesus and who He is, I encourage you to simply let the evidence speak for itself with no other agenda present. I would wager to say that you will find yourself coming to the conclusion that Lee Strobel did. Jesus is God. Jesus is Lord. Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on a cross, and rose again to the glory of God the Father.

May the Lord Bless You This Week!

05/24/2026

Join Us In Worship.

Pastor Daniel BryantMessage Title The Parable of the Wedding Feast. Scripture: Luke 14: 7-24Outline:• Weddings• Where Should You Sit?• Who should you invite?...

05/20/2026

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

How many people do you know? I’m not talking about scrolling through the list of contacts on your phone, but the people you know deeply. The kind of people who you can tell what’s going on with them with just a look, or the general vibe they are giving off. People who truly know someone can do that. You hear stories about people who dance with a partner for years and can freestyle a routine with just gentle touches and the partner knows where to go. It is not just being comfortable around somebody, but a level of trust that can only come with a friend, spouse, etc that you have been to war with and know that they are with you through thick and thin. I pray that you have someone in your life that you trust that much.

Jesus in John 10 is continuing his discussion with the people who had kicked the blind man out of the temple. He starts into a discussion about being the door of the sheepfold and the Good Shepherd. While that is a sermon unto itself, I wanted to focus on verse 14. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. He begins talking about how the sheep know the shepherd and the shepherd knows the sheep. This word “knows” here does not mean an instant level of knowledge, but that the sheep have acquired the understanding of who the Shepherd is. This knowledge only comes by spending time with the Shepherd and realize that he is not like the hireling discussed in the verse before that runs at the first sign of danger.

This knowledge comes by exercising your faith in Jesus. That instead of relying on yourself in difficult times, you rely on Him. When he comes through you learn who He is. When you hide His Word in your heart, you learn about Him. When you communicate, etc. you learn about Him. When Moses was communing with God on Mt. Sinai, God passed before Him and revealed His character through His name. Then Moses would call on that character to lead the people. But we can’t know Christ, if we don’t take the time to let Him show us who He is.

When I preached the message last year on Jesus being the Good Shepherd, I looked at the relationship between shepherd and sheep. A sheep knows the shepherd so well and trusts them, that all the shepherd needs to do is just lay the staff on which side they want the sheep to turn and they will. But this only comes after using more invasive methods, including breaking the legs of sheep that want to run off. This is probably an apt description of how we are when it comes to trusting Jesus. We go through many trials and tribulations before we get to the point of trusting the Shepherd to be able to gently lead us where we need to go. When we do, you are acutely aware of the still small voice of the Holy Spirit and the gentle leading through this journey of life. If you are not at that point, and I’m sure we all need some more time with the Shepherd to get there, take some time today to get to know Him. It will be worth the pain in the short term of giving up control to have Jesus lead you into the paths of righteousness for His name sake.

May the Lord Bless You This Week!