Texas Avenue Baptist Church

09/09/2026

Daily Walk Wednesday 9/9
Luke 13:24-25 "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,'

Jesus was just asked, “Lord, are there few who will be saved?” His answer is connected to the events of the great flood. God commanded Noah to build an ark to save mankind, and though he preached for years, as he built it, that the day of judgment was coming, people only laughed and mocked him. Then on that fateful day, God closed the door to the ark (Gen. 7:16); Noah did not close it. He probably would have opened it when people began to beat on the door, begging to come in, but when God closes a door, no one can enter. We have just as real a warning today as those in Noah’s time; only it is not for losing our life in a flood, it is losing our life for all eternity. Many will cry at the door of judgment, “Lord, Lord,” but it will be too late; once His door is closed, no one can enter. Please do not let the door close on you and hear Him say, “I do not know you…”

09/08/2026

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY’S MESSAGE: PREEMINENCE OF CHRIST (Col 1:9-18)
https://www.youtube.com/live/grsrLSvADDo?si=vUocsOrYTolWm6tM
The song "Solid Rock" begins with the phrase "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness". That hope is not a "wish"; it is our knowledge about Jesus Christ. In this passage, we will see that He is the reason we should have a PROPER WALK; why there is POWER IN HIS BLOOD; and finally, the fact that He is the PREEMINENCE OF CHRIST
I. PROPER WALK vs. 9-14
A. Paul's Prayer For Them vs. 9-11
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it (their salvation), do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
Paul’s letter to the Colossians begins with his praise of their faithfulness and acknowledgment of his continual prayer for them. His request was that they be “filled” with knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual understanding. Not just helped with these attributes but completely possessed by them. For what purpose? To be worthy of and fully pleasing to the Lord. Also for us to do “every” good work He has for us, walking worthy of the Lord.
10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
That we be fully pleasing Him, fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. We are to be strengthened with all might. How? According to His glorious power. Why? For all patience and longsuffering with joy.
B. Paul's Thanks To God vs. 12-13
12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
We are not qualified by our own works, but we must be thankful that God qualifies us to be holy partakers of the inheritance, because God delivers us from the power of darkness and moves (conveys) us into Jesus' kingdom (Son of His love).
II. POWER OF THE BLOOD vs. 14-15
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
A. Redemption (ransom, bought back)
All of these blessings come only through His blood. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (John 1:7) It is also through the blood that we receive forgiveness of our sins.
B. Relationship to the Father vs. 15-18
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God; the only way to see God is to see Him through the body of Jesus. “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) Jesus is the firstborn of all creation: as Barnes' Notes Commentary tells us, He is first among all the creatures of God, or over all his creation. He is occupying the rank and preeminence of the firstborn. The firstborn, or the oldest son, among the Hebrews had special privileges: a double portion of the inheritance and became the officiating priest in the family in the father's death or absence.
III. PREEMINENT CHRIST vs. 16-18
A. Relationship to Creation vs. 16-17
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
He is the Creator and builder of all things. God spoke (Gen. 1), and Jesus created everything in Heaven and on earth, both visible and invisible. Thrones… dominions… principalities… powers are understood to be the invisible powers of darkness (vs. 21). Even they were created holy until iniquity was found in them. So, all things were created through and FOR Him… He’s the reason for all existence. Notice the words “He is” before all things constantly, not “ He was” before all things. John would pin it this way: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:1-3 ). In Him all things consist… are held together.
B. Relationship to the Church vs. 18
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence
He is the head of the church… Not the Pope, the pastor, the deacons, or some committee. He existed before all other life existed. He took upon Himself the body of flesh through a virgin girl in Bethlehem, lived and taught us, then died on a cruel cross, but was the firstborn of the dead; resurrected, never to die again. Through Jesus, we can be born again. The reason for His creating everything and for His resurrection is so He would be PREEMINENT in everything…

09/08/2026

Daily Walk Tuesday 9/8
Philippians 2:3-4 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Selfish ambition and conceit have no place in the believer's life. All that we have is God’s gift to us. When we look at the work of our hands and mind, thinking “Look what I have done,” we are ignoring the One who gave us the ability to succeed. Without Him, all we achieve is only a house of cards that will collapse now or at our death. According to Solomon, selfish ambition causes strife (Prov 28:25-26) and conceit brings destruction (Prov 16:18). We are to have lowliness of mind (spiritually minded), seeking the best for others. Paul would also encourage the Corinthians: "Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth" (1 Cor. 10:24). Notice the phrase “not only,” meaning it's not wrong to seek to achieve in our lives; it's wrong when it tramples on others. The key to being blessed is to put the interests of others first, then do everything in your power to achieve for your family and for the Lord. Join me today in asking our Father to guide our steps, both, into humility and success.

09/07/2026

Daily Walk Monday 9/7
Col 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Want a verse to start the week off, right? Here it is. If you are retired (semi-retired), as I am, everything I do in my routine day needs to be done in a manner that pleases the Lord; same thing for those of you who are still working: do your work as if it were for the Lord, not your employer. If you are an employer, treat your employees like they were Jesus. Why should I, as an employer or as an employee, give thanks to God? Because you have a job, you have a business, you have the health that allows you to work. Without Jesus, we would be on our own without the help of His Holy Spirit. BTW, that includes how we treat our family. Our children and grandchildren should see Jesus in us. What we say and what we do will show others how we are. In our prayer time, let’s ask the Father to show us whether we need to make changes and, if not, to grant us wisdom to continue glorifying our Lord in our everyday tasks.

09/06/2026

https://www.youtube.com/live/grsrLSvADDo?si=vUocsOrYTolWm6tM

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

09/06/2026

Daily Walk Sunday 9/6
Col. 19-10 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it (their salvation), do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…

Paul’s letter to the Colossians begins with his praise of their faithfulness and acknowledgment of his continual prayer for them. His request was that they be “filled” with knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual understanding. Not just helped with these attributes but completely possessed by them. For what purpose? To be worthy of and fully pleasing to the Lord. Also for us to do “every” good work He has for us. Today at Texas Avenue Baptist, I will take these and a few more to prove that, through Jesus’ sacrificial death, we will have all the things listed above in a message titled “The Preeminence of Christ.” I invite you to join us at 11:00 to worship the Lord Jesus Christ with hymns, Psalms, and spiritual songs and the Inerrant Word of God. If you are not in our DeRidder area, join our livecast on YouTube or watch at a convenient time. Wherever you are, seek to worship the Lord on His day with other believers and give Him the praise and thanks He deserves.

09/05/2026

Daily Walk Saturday 9/5
Matt 17:20-21 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

A father had brought his son to Jesus, but He was on the mountain with James, John, and Peter, so he asked the other disciples to cast out the demon that possessed his son. They were unable, but when Jesus came down, the man fell before Him and begged for deliverance. Jesus rebuked the demon, and it immediately left the boy. After the father and son had departed, the disciples asked Jesus privately why they could not cast it out. They had been able to heal the sick and cast out demons in the name of Jesus before (Luke 10:17). Why not now? For some unknown reason, their faith failed them. Looking back on the event where Jesus sent them out, He gave them authority over demons before they went out; this time, they had no word from Jesus. (Remember, they did not have the Holy Spirit yet.) I can imagine how confused and embarrassed they were when nothing they did seemed to affect the demon. In failure, their faith was lost. Their unbelief was the culprit. Without faith, it is impossible to carry on God’s work. Jesus’ description of mustard seed-sized faith tells us the power is in Him, not our great faith. Mark tells more about the boy: he had been possessed since childhood, and would try to kill him, throwing him into the fire or into water (Mark 9). This demon had possessed the boy for a long time, and they would have had to fast and pray before they could gain power over it. Some lessons: (1) Demons are subject to Jesus and His followers who act in faith without wavering. (2) There is no special system or set of words to bring victory; we must be clean and holy, relying on Jesus’ power. (3) A little faith in Jesus’ hands will bring awesome victory.

09/04/2026

Daily Walk Friday 9/4
Matt 8:10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

On Wednesday, we read about the Gentile mother whose faith was described as “great faith.” Now, another moment where Jesus is impressed by the faith of a Gentile. A Roman Centurion came to Jesus concerning his servant who was suffering terribly and paralyzed. Jesus agreed to go to his home. Entering the home of a Gentile would be a violation of Jewish customs, but Jesus was not ruled by customs or traditions. The Centurion explains that he has the authority to tell his soldier what to do rather than do it himself, implying Jesus had the same power. That impressed Jesus to the point He “marveled.” That faith produced the healing when Jesus said, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." That very moment, the servant was healed, so once again, as with the men who carried their paralyzed friend to Jesus, the Centurion’s faith brought healing to the one he cared for. Faith like that will produce results. Do you have someone who needs Jesus? By faith, ask Him to send the Holy Spirit before you, preparing the way for the power of God to be accepted by your friend. How awesome it will be when Jesus assures our spirit, “As you have believed, so let it be done.”

09/03/2026

GEORGIA BARNETTE MISSION OFFERING
Georgia Barnette Missions provides direct help to Louisiana missions. 100% goes directly to new work and construction costs. Our march will be Sept. 13th.

09/03/2026

Daily Walk Thursday 9/3
Luke 5:20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."

*This miracle is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Here, the faith of friends brings healing to a paralyzed man. These men carried their friend to see Jesus, knowing He could heal him. Unable to reach Jesus, who was in a crowded house, they carried him onto the roof and tore out shingles, making a hole large enough to lower him in front of Jesus. We don’t know if the man had faith in Jesus, but we know the friends did. You would think Jesus would have immediately healed him, but a healed sinner is still going to hell without forgiveness. First, the forgiveness was given because of the friends' faith; then the healing… “He said to the man who was paralyzed, ‘I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house’." That man who had been paralyzed picked up the bed and walked home, healed and forgiven. I wish one of the three writers had told us how the friends responded, but I have no doubt they quickly climbed down, ran, and caught up with their friends, rejoicing all the way to his home. How about us? Would we take not only the time, but the expense they incurred repairing that roof for a friend? If not, we need to do some real soul-searching. But if the need arises, step your faith up and step up to the task of bringing that one to Jesus.