Beacon Hill Baptist

10/27/2026

Thoughts and a cup of coffee: Will it be a good day

Once again, the skies are dark, and the land looks like it is sleeping. I know it is not, and people are moving around getting ready for their day, but it feels asleep. Another day to use, another day to enjoy. True I have a full day ahead but that is hardly a hinderance to having a great day. In fact, it should make it easier.
Any day that starts well is usually an easy day to become a great day. True, you can turn around a day that starts poorly, and that is a great attitude to have and maintain. I mean, who actually wants to have a lousy day? We all have them, but what actually makes a day lousy?
The answer to that question is generally something going wrong. Some examples include car breaking, house repairs, stuck in traffic, family member sick or dying events like these often create a day we call lousy. A day we look at and wish it were different. But if we are honest, what makes a day lousy is not what happens during that day, but our attitude attached to that day. I am not saying that situations that we do not appreciate do not affect us; I am saying they do not have to dictate our attitude.
Yes, sadness is a very real emotion, and it arrives without our asking for it. Sadness and frustration are emotions that do not generally ask permission before hitting us. But what we do with that emotion is up to us. We can and often do permit it to affect the rest of our day, but do we have to?
Having a lousy or a great day is dependent upon what we choose to focus upon. The events surrounding us will very much influence our decision-making, making it easier or harder to choose one over the other, but the choice remains ours. Life truly is a choice-centered reality. The choices we make continually influence who we are and how we see our situations.
Am I speaking psychological nonsense or truth? You have to make that decision.
Blessings.

10/26/2026

https://youtu.be/lHErJ0XqaZk?is=uyoew3356jJzQKI-

Luke 17Romans 8:5-8James 4:7Hebrews 11:1

10/20/2026

https://youtu.be/DpRDnFk0sMM?si=IQ7nhL2sm7VT56Nm

Romans 12, 81 Corinthians 12Ephesians 4James 3Revelation 2-3, 1...

10/20/2026

Thoughts and a cup of coffee: Your adventure awaits

Life is a full-time adventure, though not each day feels like one. Some days are full of normalcy, routine, the simple things we do each day. These days are what we call normal life, the day-to-day. But these days are also part of the adventure. These days are full of choices that prepare us for the more extreme days. The days that test our resolve.
It is normal to consider the harder days as the adventure, the days of stress and other emotions that raise our blood pressure. But that average day is the day that prepares us for stress. The days that flow by like water. The days we fail to notice even exist. These are the days when we make the decisions that prepare us or fail to prepare us for every day. The calm invisible day is the day of preparation.
How we spend our days matters. How we use that normal, boring day is what sets us up for success or failure. What habits have we established? What has become our go-to? How do we look at life? What attitudes do we promote or permit to become the norm? Each of these decisions creates the foundation that we depend on during the days when the storm hits, or the vacation begins.
The adventure has already started. We are living it. And while at the moment it might not feel like a great adventure, it most definitely is. Choose well and have an amazing day!
Blessings.

10/13/2026

https://youtu.be/XFHXtYgvR_Y?si=Jg0Sl0VotLc_kbr_

1 Corinthians 12:1-13, James 3

10/13/2026

Thoughts and a cup of coffee: When God does things His way

Last Sunday was a very interesting Sunday for a couple of reasons. The first was that we had the privilege of baptizing a new believer. Her excitement was contagious, revealing everything amazing that goes with someone recognizing their future in Christ. The second interesting point was that I was preaching about Spiritual Gifts with a larger than usual number of visitors.
When I noticed the extent of visitors in attendance, I became curious if indeed I had understood God correctly. As usually a conversation regarding Spiritual Gifts is not a visitor-friendly sermon. It is a needed conversation with a congregation but not per-say one that is loaded with visitors.
Well, both the sermon and the baptism went well. Okay, the sermon went reasonably well, as once again my mouth and the assembly of words were in conflict. But after word creation in vocal form was warmed up, the sermon did go reasonably well. The interesting part was how well it was received. During the evening service, we were told that many of the visitors enjoyed the service and even the sermon.
I bring this up to reinforce this point. God knows what He is doing. I would never have intentionally chosen a sermon on the supernatural aspects of Church life when visitors were present. Not because the supernatural isn’t a very vital part of church, but because it generally creates more questions than it answers when that supernatural aspect is not salvation-centered. But God, knowing the visitors who were attending and their personal positions in Him, did desire to discuss that topic.
Do I choose to trust God continually, or do I generally tend to trust myself more? That question is the true test of Spiritual Gifts. Do I believe in God’s ability to guide me, or do I trust in my abilities to read the situation and adjust? Not just in a sermon but in daily living? If indeed I believe that the Holy Spirit dwells in me and guides me to honor Him and follow His direction, do I live in faith believing, or do I live depending more on myself?
Faith and Spiritual gifts are Christ-centered; we all know that, but the crazy part is that even knowing that, we still have to yield to His direction to agree with Him. We have to be willing to look rather crazy at times to agree with Him. Not that God desires to make us look foolish or crazy or bizarre, but God cares less about culture and far more about salvation than we do. It can be hard to let Him lead us into what we see as a risk to offer hope and peace to those who need it.
Operating in the Spiritual gifts can be scary, as they place our comfort and personal reputations on the line. But when we remember that our lives are now about His reputation, it does make it easier to say, “Thy will be done.” Which is what is so amazing about baptism.
Blessings.

10/06/2026

https://youtu.be/3OW-N7gAMs0?si=OtvYo-hEBJFFbFyl

Hebrews 12:4-11,Proverbs 3:2,11-12,13-26

10/06/2026

Thoughts and a cup of coffee: Construction concerns

We all know that a foundation matters. Building on a soft foundation prevents a successful build. While the building might be assembled correctly, the construction still might fail due to a flexible foundation creating cracks and stresses in the building. Perhaps one of the most notable foundation failures, with more than a bit of leaning, is the Eiffel Tower. We know from Matthew 7:24-27 that Jesus adds this concept of a proper foundation to living our lives.
We do not want to be off-kilter in living, but it seems that it is amazingly easy to become off-center. Emotionally, we can be encouraged to slide quickly to one side or the other for what later seems to be an insignificant reason. But at the time, that reason appeared quite valid.
A proper foundation is a solid place to build upon. A place to create something that stands. Something that matters. Our lives matter and tend to have significantly more influence than we expect, but to what degree are we aware of our foundation?
I am not talking about salvation but application. We must accept the grace and faith needed to become the sons and daughters of God, but it is another task completely to then walk in His commands. When we apply the amazing teachings found in the scriptures, we build into our lives something solid on which we can depend. These teachings are the basis of our decisions and guide our actions and emotions. Not to say we won’t have moments of being off-kilter, but we should be able to quickly return to solid footing.
The crazy truth is that knowing a passage of Scripture is not enough; we have to intentionally apply that passage to how we live. We need to accurately interpret the passage and then apply that teaching to our actions, attitudes, and thoughts. This additional work is essential to building a solid foundation for our lives, which will support living in a world full of trials and temptations.
The wind will come, the storms will crash, and the house will shake. It is up to us to ensure that the house stands. And that comes from building on a solid foundation. Are you ready for the storm? The only time to prepare is now.
Blessings.

09/29/2026

Thoughts and a cup of coffee: Today showed up again

Each day we awake there is a day waiting for us to use. It is there regardless of whether we desire to do anything with it. It sits there. It is in motion. It doesn’t even wait for us to attend to it before it starts. The day is in motion, making us choose. Now it is true we can choose to ignore it and stay in bed. We can choose to close our eyes, letting it slip on by. But the day still remains. The sun continues on its path, completely ignoring us.
As we actually know, a day is simply the result of our living on a rock that has a sun. The day-night cycle we live in is just a day-night cycle due to our rotation in space. To this rotation we have labeled day. Meaning, in this case, a twenty-four-hour block of time. A period of time we are expected to act and interact with others. A block of time that is used to make and act upon our choices. Choices that move us forward in what has become known as our lives.
What goals do you have for your day? What have you chosen to use this block of time for? Each day we have is a day we can use to advance our dreams. Each day is an opportunity. The only real choice we make is how we will use it. Some days are intentional. Days used to advance our goal, while other days are simply experienced. Each has its benefits.
What do you plan on doing today? What events are part of your day that you have placed there? How will you handle parts today that you have not planned for? Will they become part of your experiences or simply an interference an intrusion? Because while we cannot plan for the unknown, we can plan how we choose to see those moments.
Today, you have a block of time to use, experience, or simply ignore what will you do with it?
Blessings.

09/28/2026

https://youtu.be/OMMcC0DxZgs?si=KlGRldr3mMWrn73W

Matthew 18:1Numbers 12:1-8John 3:16Psalm 25:9