The Baptist Church of Driftwood, Texas

11/08/2025

12/20/2024

Join us around the table at The Baptist Church of Driftwood this Sunday, December 22, 2024 for:
- our Christmas fellowship breakfast at 9:45 a.m.
(Please bring breakfast pastries or a breakfast dish.)
- our Christmas worship service at 10:45
- and the Lord's Supper which is part of the worship service!
There is plenty of room around the table for you and your family!
Have a Blessed Christmas! Mark

07/07/2024

“Will You Pray with Me Please”
Ephesians 6:18-20

The book of Ephesians is a letter Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus to encourage them and instruct them in Christian living. Paul cared deeply for those he met during his time of ministry in the church, and he considered them to be close friends. As Paul closes this letter, he provides some important instructions. I want to look at these instructions in a message entitled, “Will You Pray with Me Please.” The first thing I notice is that we are to pray in the Spirit.

Scripture: Ephesians 6:18 – 20

Will You Pray with Me Please
1. Pray in the Spirit
2. Pray for the Saints
3. Pray for me.

Ephesians 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Matthew 6:7 And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

Romans 8:26 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

ISAIAH 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

06/30/2024

“The Journey We Take”

The psalms were songs of worship sung by God’s people during their services and ceremonies as they expressed love and devotion to our Heavenly Father. But as you know, a good song of praise and worship does not have to be sung only at church. A good song of praise and worship can be sung at any time. This song was written by David, and it became a favorite one of the people to sing when they were on their way to Jerusalem. I want to look at it with you today in a message entitled “The Journey We Take.”

Scripture: Psalm 121:1 – 8

The Journey We Take
1. Our Path is not always easy.
2. Our Provider is sufficient.
3. Our Preservation is assured.

Psalm 121:1 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come? 2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven & earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. 8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.

Exodus 23:17 "Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

1 Timothy 5:23 No longer drink water exclusively but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. 23 "Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, `Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him.

Mark 8:36 "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?

Psalm 34:22 The LORD redeems the soul of His servants; and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall sn**ch them out of My hand.”

06/23/2024

“Messages in a Father’s Day”

This is a wonderful passage for Father’s Day because Paul uses the example of a good father as he describes the godly relationship he had with the believers in Thessalonica. But this passage is not just beneficial for those who have fathered children. It is relevant to all believers. Paul had no biological children of his own. It is believed Paul was a widower prior to his conversion on the Damascus Road. In 1 Corinthians 7:8 Paul speaks to those who are unmarried and widowed and living in a time and a place of great persecution. Paul says it would be better for them to remain unmarried, as he was to avoid difficulties and heartache for their spouse. So, in the physical sense, Paul was not a father. Yet, in his writings, he often referred to the people he ministered to as his “beloved children.” Paul did so because Paul considered himself to be their “spiritual father.” That tells me a person doesn’t have to have children of their own to be able to bless the life, growth, and development of another person.

Paul is writing to the church at Thessalonica and he considered the saints there to be his “beloved children.” In these verses, Paul compares his ministry to the communication and interaction that goes on between fathers and children. I would like to look at this passage with you today in a sermon entitled “Messages in a Father’s Day.” The first point is our walk sends a message!

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:10 – 12

Messages in a Father’s Day
1. Our walk sends a message.
2. Our talk sends a message.

1Thessalonians 2:10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

Luke 22:31 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

Romans 5:8 God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Rom 10:9 if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

06/16/2024

“The Christian Experience”

As Paul closes out his greeting in chapter one, he lifts up a prayer for his readers. Paul prays that the saints of God would be enlightened and understand the greatness of God’s power toward those that believe. Paul wanted his readers to know that the power of God which raised Christ from the dead and seated Him victoriously in the heavens is also at work in the life of the believer. The fact that God’s power is available to work in us can be a difficult concept for us to grasp. But that concept is one we must become comfortable with so that we will not be intimidated by the high calling God places upon our lives as His children. To help us to comprehend the power of God which is available to us, Paul shows how God’s power has already been at work in our Christian experience. In the example that Paul provides here in chapter 2, he gives us some of the most basic and yet some of the best Christian doctrine in regard to salvation found anywhere in the bible. I want us to look at that doctrine together this morning in a message entitled, “The Christian Experience.”

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1 – 10

The Christian Experience
1. You were dead in your trespasses and sin.
2. You were made alive in Christ.
3. You were saved by His grace not your works.

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,

7 in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Mark 8:36 “What would it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?”

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 5:8 God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Rom 10:9 if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

06/09/2024

“Highlights of David’s Prayer”

Scripture: Psalm 141:1 – 10

Highlights of David’s Prayer
1. Receive my prayer!
2. Reinforce Your desires in my heart!
3. Revive me and remind me of my hope.

1 O LORD, I call upon You; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to You! 2 May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering. 3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. 4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice deeds of wickedness With men who do iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies. 5 Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me; It is oil upon the head; Do not let my head refuse it, For still my prayer is against their wicked deeds.

6 Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock, And they hear my words, for they are pleasant. 7 As when one plows and breaks open the earth, Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol. 8 For my eyes are toward You, O GOD, the Lord; In You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless. 9 Keep me from the jaws of the trap which they have set for me, And from the snares of those who do iniquity. 10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, While I pass by safely.

James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray.

John 6:68 Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”

Rom 7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

06/02/2024

“The Sending of a Servant”

Last week we looked at the first 7 verses of Isaiah’s vision in a message entitled, “The Calling of a Servant.” In that message, we considered the HOLINESS of the Lord, the HELPLESSNESS of man, and the HEART of GOD. We saw that as Isaiah beheld the perfect holiness of the Lord, Isaiah understood he was helpless to measure up to the Lord’s standard of righteousness. Isaiah was helpless, but not hopeless. The Lord cleansed Isaiah by taking from His own altar; the Lord removed Isaiah’s iniquity and forgave Isaiah’s sin. We closed the message by saying that the Heart of God is such that He has made a way for all to be reconciled to Him through the sacrifice of Christ. Jesus Christ is ready, willing, and able to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Like Isaiah, our forgiveness is not because of anything we do, it is not because of our work, it is by grace through faith in the work of Christ (see Ephesians 2:8-9). Today we will focus our attention on Isaiah 6:8. Last week we talked about the calling of a servant, today I want to speak to you about “The Sending of a Servant.”

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1 – 8

The Sending of A Servant
1. The Lord Desires to Send Forth His Word
2. The Servant Desires to Share His Word.
3. The Lord still asks, “Whom Shall I Send?”

Isaiah 6:1 In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.

5 Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." ISA 6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 And he touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven." 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Matthew 9:35 And Jesus was going about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. 36 And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

1 Peter 3:15 “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence...”

05/26/2024

“The Calling of a Servant”

This episode in the life of Isaiah occurred about 700 years before Jesus was born. At the time, the nation of Israel was divided into two separate kingdoms. There was the kingdom of Israel to the north and the kingdom of Judah to the south. Not only had the country been divided and separated geographically, but an even greater separation had taken place. The people were separated from God. They had begun to compromise on God’s principles. They not only accepted the practices of the godless people living in their land, they adopted and embraced those practices as their own. These practices were practices that were not ordained or accepted by God.

The result of this compromise of God’s principles was the degradation of their lifestyle and a break in the fellowship that they enjoyed with God. Sin always results in a break of fellowship with God. God always longs to restore that fellowship. The book of Isaiah details for us the lengths that God is willing to go in order to restore that fellowship. The book of Isaiah contains numerous scriptures that speak about the judgment for sin. It also has more prophetic scriptures that speak of the Messiah Jesus Christ than any other book in the Old Testament. God used Isaiah to speak to His people, to reach out to them in the midst of their sin and separation, calling them to repentance. Today I want us to look at the beginning of Isaiah’s ministry in a message entitled “The calling of a Servant.” The first picture that strikes me is THE HOLINESS OF THE LORD.

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1 – 8

The Calling of a Servant
1. The Holiness of the Lord.
2. The Helplessness of Man.
3. The Heart of the Lord.

Isaiah 6:1 In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.

5 Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." ISA 6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 And he touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven." 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Isaiah 53:6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way;

Isaiah 64:6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.

05/25/2024

On this Memorial Day weekend, it is a good time to reflect on the reason for this holiday. Memorial Day is observed each year on the last Monday of May. It provides us with an opportunity to honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings, having picnics and cookouts, and participating in parades. I am afraid that sometimes we get so busy enjoying our time off that we forget the reason for this particular holiday. Here is a poem I wrote a few years ago as I reflected on the brave men and women whom we honor on Memorial Day.

“21 Gun Salute”

You got a 21 gun salute from rifles
Pointed at the sky,
Taps cut through the silence,
As we came to tell you goodbye.

Now your flag is already folded,
Flowers placed on your grave,
I wish I knew how to thank you,
For the sacrifice you gave.

You loved your life dearly,
But you loved your country more.
You chose to serve her and defend her,
In peacetime and in war.

And I don’t think you knew the price,
That you would have to pay.
But I know it wouldn’t have changed your mind,
Or the oath you took that day.

It seems like there would be more,
That we could do or say,
For ones who gave their lives
To protect the freedoms we have today.

But for now I’ll just say thank you,
You gave all that you could give.
You laid down your life and fought,
So that we can freely live.

And you got a 21 gun salute from rifles
Pointed at the sky,
Taps cut through the silence
As we came to tell you goodbye.

Now your flag is already folded,
Flowers placed on your grave.
And I am deeply grateful,
For the sacrifice you gave.

I hope you have a good weekend and that you are able to enjoy some time with friends and family. I hope you will make some time to give thanks for the sacrifice of the brave men and women whom we honor on Memorial Day. May God bless you and may He bless the families of those who gave their life in the service of our country.