Shroyer Road Baptist Church

06/24/2026

Strength for Today…

You hear it every time you climb on the scale at the doctor’s office, especially if you’re diabetic or overweight: “You need to eat a more balanced diet.”

Not too much sugar. Not too much fat. Be careful of your cholesterol. The list is endless and, let’s face it, most of us don’t want to listen and fewer of us want to abide by what the Doc says.

Deep down we know it’s true—a well-balanced diet is good for us. It will help us, along with exercise, to remain healthy and, hopefully, live long, productive lives.
Life isn’t all about food, though.

It’s just as important we enjoy healthy spiritual lives.

In the wilderness, when Jesus was tempted by Satan, Satan’s hope was that Jesus would use His divinity for His own benefit, thus submitting to Satan rather than glorifying God.

Jesus’ answer (Matthew 4:4) was spot on: “It is written, ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Like Jesus, we need a balanced “life diet,” which includes strong doses of God’s Word, through study and worship, to keep us on a healthy spiritual path.

If you aren’t currently aligned with a Bible teaching church, please consider becoming involved. Growing in the knowledge of God’s mercy and grace will help you overcome the trials of life, enabling you to live healthy and well.

Pastor Jim.

06/23/2026

Strength for Today…

We all worry from time to time, don’t we? Let’s be honest now.

Am I good enough? That’s the question. And the answer is…no, of course not. That’s why we have Jesus: to forgive our sins—all of them—past, present and future.

But that doesn’t get you off the hook. Once you accept His salvation you are obligated to change that nasty behavior that had you worried in the first place!

If your behavior never changes, it’s a safe bet you really didn’t mean it when you asked Him to come into your life as your Savior.
Maybe you can fool yourself, but you can’t fool God. He knows what is really in your heart and mind.

In Psalm 24:3-4 David wrote: “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.”

Clean hands—someone who does not endlessly repeat the same sin.

One with a pure heart continually strives for perfection, even if he occasionally stumbles.

One with a pure heart does not worship the things of the world: money, fame or glory.

One with a pure heart doesn’t malign another for his own purpose.
It’s not about never sinning again. It’s about seeking God’s favor by having pure motives. That will lead us to righteousness.

Pastor Jim.

06/22/2026

Strength for Today…

Anticipation. Sometimes the word alone makes your spine tingle.

Remember when, as a little kid, you anticipated Christmas Day, counting down the days until you could leap out of bed at dawn into all of those brightly wrapped gifts?

Or the eagerness with which you waited for the latest Star Wars movie?

Or being a nervous groom, standing at the altar, waiting for HER to come to you?

For some, like Carly Simon, the sense of anticipation was so great she wrote a song about it. Anticipation, though, is only for those things that have not yet happened.

You cannot anticipate something that has already occurred.

In Romans 8: 24b-25 Paul wrote, “But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

We, as adopted sons and daughters of God, enjoy today the promise of eternal life, as we anticipate its coming.

Because we have this future hope, this anticipation of a great thing yet to come, we can face any adversity with the confidence of the triumphant.

Thank God today for His infinite mercy as we await and anticipate His coming.

Pastor Jim.

06/21/2026

I hope you find time to watch today's videocast. This was our second attempt to deliver the sermon not only online - but live, as well. We learned how to manage framing difficulties unique to Facebook, and several other problems that plagued us last week. Clearly,sound was the biggest problem.
Despite our preparation, when we went to "Go Live" last week, we found ourselves without sound. This week we overcame that glitch, yet concern remains over sound. We will be working to improve upon that, and other issues in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please look over this week's online sermon – and time allowing – please comment on how we can improve upon future video presentations to meet your expectations. All ideas are worth considering. No observation is too small. After all, this is a work of ministry wherein we look to serve our Lord – by serving you!
Thank you

06/21/2026

06/21/2026

Strength for Today…

Self-examination. It’s something we all should engage in but sometimes fail to do.

Really, how are we doing with the life with which God has blessed us? Are we following his will for our lives, or have we gone a’wandering—doing our own thing, not concerned with anyone but ourselves, our wants and desires.

Who are wre we serving: God or ourselves?

In Psalm 18, written by David, future king of Israel, we find him doing a lot of self-examination. He was a young man at the time—not yet king and not embroiled in his illicit relationship with Bathsheba.

Read what he wrote: (Psalm 18:20: “The Lord has dealt with me according to His righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.”

It was God’s righteousness and the cleanness of his own hands that mattered to David.

In several following verses David laid out God’s nature and character—His faithfulness, strength and ability to deliver on His promises.

Much later, David’s life would get away from him. His pride and ego would all but destroy him but here we find the bedrock principles of his faith—his trust in God’s Law and faithful adherence to it.

What about you? Do you coast through life, singing que sera, sera (whatever will be will be) or from time to time do you check in with God, to see where you stand?

Periodic self-examination will keep you moving in the right direction.

Pastor Jim.

06/20/2026

Reporting on the Video Project
Focus was initially sat on achieving a live streaming experience. Facebook is the simplest and least expensive forum to experiment with first. We were able to publish on Facebook last week; however, we experienced problems with framing and a lack of sound. I’m pleased to say that we learned a lot from that first attempt. The goal each successive week is to put forth an “adequate yet improving” sample of what utilization of our resources can provide. With that being said – please look for our second attempt to live stream this week’s pastoral message.

06/20/2026

Strength for Today…

Back in the day (1957) there was a movie titled “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?” It was a satirical comedy starring Jayne Mansfield and Tony Randall.

I’ve always thought that to be a curious title. How could success spoil anyone? Isn’t the point of life to be successful and the more successful the better? It took me a long time to realize the point of life is to be faithful.

If we are faithful, we are successful, but those seeking only success, especially financial success, often fail miserably.

I’ve seen it often in churches, when people, once down and out, are turned around by faith in Jesus. They then go on to faithful lives, becoming successful as they go.

But a strange thing sometimes happens. Along the way they forget their success came from their relationship with the Lord. It was His blessing, not their effort, that made the difference.

They turn away, believing they no longer need Him. They go their own way, until they crash land, realizing earthly success is fleeting and false.

Can success spoil you? Not if you remain focused on the One who first blessed you.

Proverbs 30:8-9 tells us, “Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neithe3r poverty nor riches but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’”

Keep Him first. Always.

Pastor Jim.

06/19/2026

Strength for Today…

You really have to hand it to Peter: he was weak and unworthy, and he knew it.

Early in His ministry, Jesus encountered Peter, then known as Simon, and his brother Andrew at the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret. Simon was a fisherman, but in this instance not a very successful one.

He and Andrew had fished all night but had caught nothing.

Simon must have been discouraged by his failure and tired as well.
He probably wanted nothing more than to go home, have a meal and go to bed.

But as discouraged as he was Simon responded when Jesus spoke.

Jesus asked him to cast his net one more time and when he did the catch was huge! More than he ever could have imagined!

It was the enormity of the catch that caused Simon to exclaim (Luke 5:6) “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

Simon was right. He was a sinful, undeserving man, but Jesus blessed him anyway. Then He challenged him, calling him to discipleship.

Jesus didn’t call the best people to be His disciples. He didn’t call the most worthy, either. He chose ordinary people who knew their limitations, faults and failings.

He chose people who were teachable and made themselves available.

Remember that if you believe God is calling you. It’s not about how skilled you may be; it’s about whether you can learn and grow to become His loyal follower.

Pastor Jim.

06/18/2026

Strength for Today…

Jonah and the whale—everyone knows the story. We all learned it in Sunday School, or in a Saturday cartoon. Everyone knows something about Jonah.

Especially the part about the whale.

The Bible doesn’t say it was a whale, by the way, but a “big fish.” A really big fish, but just a fish.

And while the really big fish is an important part of Jonah’s story, it’s not all there is.

The story of Jonah is about obedience to God, or, in Jonah’s case, disobedience. That’s what got him onto trouble—his refusal to do what God had directed him to do.

Maybe that sounds familiar. Many of us are reluctant to obey the Lord’s commands, so we find ourselves in trouble.

Here’s where the whale (er, big fish) comes in. The sailors aboard ship threw Jonah overboard to get rid of his bad influence, but God, in love for Jonah, provided the fish to rescue him.

Jonah was now in a very bad spot-in the belly of the fish. Maybe he wouldn’t drown, but he wasn’t about to live either.

He did what we all do when the going gets really rough. He prayed. (Jonah 2:7) “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord. And my prayers rose to you, to your holy temple.”

What happened next? God rescued Jonah. My question is: why wait? Why not pray before things get that bad? Better still, why not obey Him when asked?

Pastor Jim.