First Baptist Church in Hope Valley

09/08/2026

09/07/2026

Why did Christ heal the sick and suffering if he didn't consider such external conditions important? Why is the Kingdom of God equated with the deaf hear, the blind see?... and where do we get the incredible presumption to spiritualize these things that Christ saw and did very concretely? We must end this audacious, sanctimonious spiritualization of the gospel.”—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Lazarus and the Rich Man”

09/07/2026

Blog post on C. S. Lewis' "The Weight of Glory and Other Essays"

"When Nothing Is Everything"

Wisdom is being able to distinguish between love and naïveté. I think of two passages:

In the apostle Paul’s classic essay on love in 1 Corinthians 13, he makes this observation: “Love . . . believes all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). It doesn’t take the savvy believer long to point to Proverbs 14:15 as an offset: “The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.”

So yes, give the benefit of the doubt, but not when you have good reason to doubt.

I find people generally cautious when it comes to what the Bible teaches concerning salvation. Looked at one way, it sounds like someone saying, “Have I got a deal for you! I’m going to give you something for nothing! In fact, I’m going to give you the best something for nothing!” We see such too-good-to-be-true offers on infomercials all the time and change the channel.

But the Bible’s teaching on salvation, that it is a result of God’s grace alone and necessitates the death and resurrection of Christ, is beyond a too-good-to-be-true offer; it is true.

In one sentence tucked away in the middle of C. S. Lewis’s essay, The Weight of Glory, is this observation,

“A rejection, or in Scripture’s strong language, a crucifixion of the natural self is the passport to everlasting life. Nothing that has not died will be resurrected.”1

The logic is overwhelming. “Nothing that has not died will be resurrected.” The old adage is true, “No one gets out of here alive.” The saying is true spiritually as well as physically.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” - John 12:24.

1. C. S. Lewis. The Weight of Glory and Other Essays (HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1976), 172

09/07/2026

“A few years ago I started asking God to make me less concerned about looking foolish. Another bad call. I meant, 'Make me seek my identity in Jesus.' God seems to have heard, 'Let’s give him more opportunities to look foolish.' And He has.”

God can be pretty funny sometimes.

09/07/2026

If we are patient, we can look at all the events of each day – expected and unexpected – as holding promise for us. Patience is the attitude that says we cannot force life but have to let it grow in its own time. Patience lets us see the people we meet, the events of the day, and the unfolding of history of our times as all part of the slow process of development and final liberation. - Henri Nouwen

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
- Galatians 5: 22

09/06/2026

Computer scientist Sara Ho**er on underestimating difficulty: “The first step of any meaningful pursuit is to severely underestimate its difficulty.”

09/06/2026

Coach Mike Tomlin on what you choose to do: “It’s not what you are capable of; it’s what you are willing to do. Plenty of people are capable. Fewer people are willing.”

09/05/2026

The pastor and professor, who turns 89 today, labored over half a century for conservative Presbyterian doctrine.