Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church

Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church Pleasant Ridge Baptist, located just outside of Leavenworth IN, on Cape Sandy RD. on the way to Alton IN. has been serving God for over 150 years!

Join us on Sundays at 10:30 am.

09/02/2026

Wednesday's Word

1 Kings 9:15&19 NLT 15) This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord's Temple, the royal palace, the supporting terraces, the wall of Jerualem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 19) He built towns as supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon, and through out his entire realm.

In my bible this passage is under the heading "Solomon's Many Achievements" listed here are just that. At first read I was a little taken by the "forced labor" part, but, verses 20&21 explain this clearly, and the KJV uses the phrase in vs 15, " And this is the reason of the levy which King Solomon raised, for to build....." So rather than stumbling over this let's see it as a tax\ draft type deal, and the non Israelite nations that were left, were the labor force much like the Israelites in Egypt. Anyway none of this has a thing to do with this morning thought, so here it is;
King Solomon list of achievements, start with, "The Temple of the Lord", and end with "everything he desired"! I'm not going to really get started on this but just let me say when we start with God, putting his will, purpose and plan first, then our every desire will be filled! Solomon had his priorities spot on. May I ask what is at the top of your list of achievements? Where your list starts will determine how it will end. Are your priorities right this morning?
Be encouraged daily

08/26/2026

Wednesday's Word

Isaiah 5:11-13 NLT 11. What sorrow for those who get up early in the morning looking for a drink of alchohol and spend evenings drinking wine to make themselves flaming drunk. 12. They furnish wine and lovely music at their grand parties, lyre and harp, tambourine and flute but they never think about the Lord or notice what he is doing. 13. So my people will go into exile far away because they don't know me.

So this mornings scripture speaks of Alcohol, wine partying and getting drunk. This should be seen as a example, of a lifestyle, not just fi*****ng alchoholics, but regular users of any substance to find fulfillment and pleasure! I'm not going to go down any lists but you know what you get up in the morning looking for, and spend your evenings partaking of........ Seriously, think about this, what's the first things you do each day, and the last things you do each night before you lay down? This is your substance in which you are trying to find fulfillment in!
‎Folks if we are honest with ourselves we all are junkies of some sort. The scripture here warns that anything in our lives that leads us away from thinking about God or seeing what he is doing will break our relationship with him or worse keep us from knowing him, leading us into a miserable life of exile and captivity!
‎May we all put down our habits and addictions, begin to seek God first thing each day, desire to know him and walk closely with him, may we remember his great works as we all enter restful sleep and live for evermore in his most excellent peace and freedom!
‎Be encouraged daily

08/19/2026

Wednesday's Word
Exodus 3:2-3 NLT
2) There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn't burn up. 3) "This is amazing," Moses said to himself, "Why isn't that bush burning up? I must go see it."

Ah, the old burning bush;
1) Moses was alone, by himself, no one to consult, no peer pressure to keep him from investigating.
2) Moses saw something unexplainable, a bush engulfed in flames yet not being burned.
3) Moses responded as any should, he went to see,

How many times in life have we seen or experienced something completely unexplainable, and just kinda shrugged it off, or just kept moving along nonchalantly? If Moses would have done that he would have missed a great encounter with God.
So can I ask you is there something completely unexplainable going on in you life today? It doesn't have to be something you see, as matter of fact it will most likely be something you are going through, something that has happened or is happening that makes absolutely no sense. Could God be trying to get your attention? Can I ask you another question, do you want to have a great encounter with God? See this is the real question, there is absolutely no doubt that God is trying to get your attention, the problem is many folks just keep moving, as if to say nothing to see here, no need to stop and consider this strange occurance, no need to go and see! For all I know it may be God and I have no time for him!!
Folks God only has what's good and right for you he simply wants to get your attention to bring you to what is good and right, the best for you. What is keeping you from going to see?
Be encouraged daily

08/12/2026

Beginning Wednesday August 19, Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church will be having Wednesday evening services a time for prayer, study, and discussion all are invited, welcome, and encouraged to join us at 6pm. Services will be the 1st and 3rd Wednesday's of each month. We are excited to see you there!

08/12/2026

Wednesday's Word

2 Samuel 17:27-29 NLT 27) When David arrived at Mahanaim, he was warmly greeted by Shobi son of Nahash, who came from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and by Makur son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and by Barzillal of Gilead from Rogelim. 28) They brought sleeping mats, cooking pots, serving bowls, wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans, lentils, 29) honey, butter, sheep, goats, and cheese for David and those who were with him. For they said, " You must be very hungry and tired and thirsty after your long march through the wilderness.

I found this interesting this morning, first because of the warm greeting David and his men recieved from the ammonite. In chapter 12 we read of the capture nd defeat of Rabbah, and that the Ammonites were the subjects of David and were to pay tribute, so why the warm welcome? I find it interesting that they somehow knew of the rebellion and that David was on the run nearby, the scripture says they brought, implying that these provisions were delivered to David. I simply find it interesting that they welcomed David, when they could have assisted Absolom in overthrowing David the one who defeated them, but they instead welcome him and provide and care for him!
For me the key to this passage is the last few words, "...after your long march through the wilderness." Folks can I tell you, you will find yourself on some "long marches through the wilderness" that likely will leave you tired, hungry, and thirsty! So to put this altogether God's warm welcome, provision and care may come from some strange people, likely those that are least expected to extend a welcome and a helping hand. Now the question, when was the last time you offered a warm welcome and a hand up to someone least expecting it from you?
Sometimes we are the ones marhing through the widerness, sometimes we are the warm welcome, provision and care.
Be encouraged daily

08/05/2026

Wednesday's Word

Proverbs 24:10 NLT

If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.

What "pressure" are you facing today? What "pressure" did you face last week, month, or last year? Do you collapse under pressure, do you, physically, emotionally, or mentally breakdown when the "pressure" is on?

I find that when the "pressure" of life gets poured on we have two choices, we can let it break us, or shape us.

Think about athletes, or body builders, they continue to apply physical "pressure" to their bodies to train and strengthen them, to mold and shape them to condition them to perform the tasks they are training for. Life is no different, if we buckle under the "pressures" of life then we are not preparing our selves for the next steps in life, we are simply waiting for our next breakdown.

Here this verse says "your strength is to small" the strength of our souls is faith if we cannot face the "pressures" of life then our faith is either too small, or we are trusting in the wrong person/thing. We often put our faith in our own ability to cope with the "pressures" of life and they will simply continue to pile up until we are ultimately crushed. Seeing how life's "pressure" is the sovereign work of God Almighty, then we should go first to him for guidance and understanding for the next steps to take and not to begin to make rash decisions on our own.

The "pressures in life that we face are God's way of preparing us shaping and strengthening us for tomorrow. Learn to fully trust in the Lord day to day to grow your faith and make you strong, God is preparing each of us for eternity!
Be encouraged daily

07/29/2026

Wednesday's Word

Proverbs 30:15-16 NLT

15) The leech has two suckers that cry out, "more, more!"

There are three things that are never satisfied-no, four that never say "Enough!"

16) The grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire.

Not much needs to be said here, the scripture says 3 no 4 letting us know that the list is not complete, but these are just a few examples, the grave here meaning hell, the bible tells us that hell enlarges itself to make room for the souls to come, hell will always be eagerly accepting souls.

The barren womb, a woman who wants to conceive but can't will always want to give birth.

The thirsty desert, it may be saturated for brief periods of time but ultimately will return to its dry thirsty state.

The blazing fire, it will leave no fuel unburnt.

Folks sinful living is the very same never satisfied always looking for the next desire to fill, all ways wanting more, and spending every bit of energy you can muster to achieve the next thing.

Jesus is the satisfier, only in Jesus will we begin to be filled and satisfied, Jesus will remove from us the pressure of sinful living, remove the hunger for the things that cannot be satisfied, and will fill us with peace, contentment, and lasting joy.

Ask Jesus to put out the fires that consume you, to satisfy the ever nagging thirst in your soul, to plant the seed of truth in your womb, so that you may give birth to a new life, and to slam shut the doors to hell, to swing open wide the gates to paradise!!
Be encouraged daily

07/22/2026

Wednesday's Word

Genesis 22:1 NLT
Some time later, God tested Abraham's faith. "Abraham!" God called. "Yes," he replied "Here I am."

This is not the first time Abrahams faith was tested, but in this test we see the true growth of Abrahams faith. When we first met Abraham, his name was Abram, and God called him to leave his "native country, your relatives, and your father's family," (Gen. 12:1) This was to test his faith as well, but as we learn the story, Abraham did not leave his father, or all of his relatives, actually his father led Abraham from Ur to Haran which was well short of God's destination for Abraham, not to mention Lot was brought along. See this first test was to see if Abraham would be obedient to trust and love God more than his father. And as we see Abraham did not leave his father until he died.
Here God asks Abraham to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice, yep that would mean to kill him in honor of God. This is a very controversial story in the bible, many folks will say I can't serve a God that would ask me to kill my child, well let me assure you that God will not ask you to kill your child, we'll get to that in a second, but if that is your thought then you need to read Genesis 22, because I'm not going to tell you how it works out.
So just how is this a test of faith? Isaac was promised to Abraham and Sarah as the seed of a great nation, through Isaac would come the nation of Israel, atleast this is the promise of God. We have already established God does keep his promises and does exactly what he says he will do, so the test is in Abraham believing in God's promise of descendants through Isaac. Can I just say that Israel is a nation today and they can be traced back to Abraham as the father of these people!
Obviously God kept his promise and Abraham was found to love and trust God completely.
As Christians God will test our faith from time to time, to grow us spiritually, to bring us into a closer relationship with him. When we find our faith being tested let us say, "Yes, Lord, here I am!"
I said that God would never ask you to kill your child and I can say that with the utmost certainty because, Abraham lived before God's laws were written which gave God the freedom to make this request of Abraham, God will not make this request of you simply because God will never ask you to break any of his laws!! If you ever feel like God is asking you to do something that directly breaks one of his laws, it is not God asking!!
Through our faith being tested will our faith become greater!
Be encouraged daily

07/15/2026

Wednesday's Word

Hosea 7:8 NLT. The people of Israel mingle with the godless foreigners, making themselves as worthless as a half baked cake!"

One of my absolute favorite verses, and I will get right to it this morning. The Israelites here had been mixing entirely too much with the godless people. The scripture here tells us the result, they made themselves as worthless as a half baked cake..... Let's think about this for a moment, a half baked cake is absolutely good for nothing. Now looking back God chose the Hebrews to be different to be a light, to stand out in contrast to all other nations and peoples, not to hate them or to look down on any but to show evidence of a true and loving God in the way they lived and interacted with others. So there should and must be some interaction with the "godless" but with restraint and good judgement. The Israelites had gone so far as to intermarry, they had taken up the worship of thier gods, and were now at a point of not seeking the real and true God at all! Beause of these actions they had become worthless first to the godless, they no longer were a light, they no longer were any different, they sounded the same, they looked the same, they acted the same, second, they had become worthless to themselves vs 14 says,"They do not cry out to me with sincere hearts. Instead they sit on their couches and wail. ..... and they turn away from me. Thirdly they had become worthless to God they no longer lived for his purpose for them!
Christians listen closely to the word of God this morning, may you take the Love of Christ to the lost each and everyday but do not spend so much time with them that you trade it for the ways of this world! You have been chosen to be different, a light in this otherwise dark world, a constant joy and peace in a nation of despair, and a solid contentment in the everyday uncertainties of this life! In this world of half baked cakes, LIVE WELL DONE!
Be encouraged daily

07/08/2026

Wednesday's Word

Proverbs 14:12 NLT

There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.

The key word here is "seems" most things in this world are not as they seem.

This journey called life will offer us many options, the "path" laid out by this world will promise to be easy and ultimately lead us all to the same destination. It will offer us many options as we travel it, it seldom if ever will ask us to make any real sacrifices, or hard decisions, but will propose many choices.

As we face the choices put before us we should look closely, and ask a couple of questions ourselves,

1) Why do I like this solution? Is it a quick fix, that requires little effort on my part, now I'm not saying make something harder than it has to be, but don't take shortcuts simply out of laziness.

2) Does this solution challenge me in some area of my life? Will it require a lifestyle change, and if it does, is it for better or worse?

3) What about the moral purpose of this solution? Will you have to exercise moral restraint, or does require none?

More times than not the correct decisions will challenge us, will cause us to take a good look at our moral compasses, and ask for some kind of self sacrifice.

The bible tells us that the path to life is narrow, the path is hard, and that few will find it. Search diligently for the path that leads to life, ask the hard questions before making the easy decisions.

The pathway to life can only be found by making the life changing decision to trust in Jesus, to sacrifice, give up your way of life that will lead you to death, and to change your moral purpose in this life. Without Jesus you live a life morally based on you and what you want, what you want for your children, what you want for your grandchildren, what you want for your spouse, and so on, what you want, in many cases we spend our entire lives working for what we want never achieving much of it, and never truly being satisfied because of it. Can I tell you that when Jesus comes into your life it becomes about what he wants, and he will freely give to you so much more than you could have ever gotten on your own. Our moral purpose is changed when we begin to want what God wants for us, our spouses, children, grandchildren, and friends!

If the path you are on is promising you life and giving you options you are on the wrong path, there is but one way, and that is Christ crucified for your sins that if you believe, and trust in him, you will be saved. Are you on the one way?
Be encouraged daily

Address

Leavenworth, IN

Opening Hours

10:30am - 11:30am

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