Levy Baptist Church

09/11/2026

09/11/2026

John 8:10–11
“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

What a beautiful picture of grace and truth. This woman stood before Jesus guilty.

Her accusers wanted condemnation, but one by one they disappeared until she was left alone with the only Person there who truly had the right to judge her.

And He offered mercy.

Jesus did not say her sin did not matter. He said, “Go and sin no more.” Grace does not excuse sin—it frees us from it. Jesus loved her exactly where she was, but He loved her too much to leave her there.

That is how Christ deals with us.

We come guilty, ashamed, and unable to change our past. Jesus offers forgiveness and then calls us into a different future.

There is an important difference between falling into sin and choosing to live in it.

Falling into water does not drown a person—remaining beneath it does. Believers may stumble, but grace continually calls us back to our feet.

Jesus does not merely forgive our old life.

He gives us a new one.

So leave the past at His feet.

Receive His mercy.

Then get up and walk differently.

“Lord, thank You for Your forgiveness. Give us grace today to leave our old ways behind and walk in newness of life with You.”

09/11/2026

📖 Bible Difficulties

🧠 How Did Judas Acquire the Field?

The Challenge

Matthew says the priests bought the potter's field.

Acts says Judas acquired the field.

Which is true?

The Investigation

Matthew focuses on who actually completed the purchase.

The priests used Judas' returned silver to buy the field.

Acts emphasizes legal responsibility.

Although Judas did not personally complete the transaction, the field became forever associated with his betrayal because it was purchased with his money.

We speak this way today.

Someone might say,

"John built that hospital."

Another explains,

"Actually, contractors built it using John's donation."

Both statements communicate truth from different perspectives.

The Explanation

Matthew explains the mechanics.

Acts explains the moral responsibility.

📖 Scripture

"The field of blood."

— Acts 1:19 (KJV)

🗣 Faith Builder

The Bible often presents both the human action and the deeper moral significance of an event.

09/10/2026

THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY — SEPTEMBER 10

“This New Doctrine”—Shall He Preach It?

On September 10, 1775, Baptist preacher Lewis Lunsford stood to preach in Richmond County, Virginia. His text was Acts 17:19: “May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?”

Lunsford knew something about being accused of preaching a “new doctrine.” His powerful Gospel ministry had seen people converted and churches strengthened, but it had also stirred fierce opposition from the established religious authorities.

That Sunday, a constable arrived with a warrant for Lunsford’s arrest. Remarkably, the officer waited until the sermon was finished—and then, trembling, declared that he could not bring himself to arrest so good a man. Another finally served the warrant.

The court ordered Lunsford to give security promising that he would not preach in Richmond County for twelve months. On the advice of friends, he complied rather than go to jail. He regretted that decision for the rest of his life, saying it caused him more uneasiness than anything else he had ever done.

There is a lesson here worth remembering: It is easier to establish your convictions before the crisis than to manufacture courage in the middle of it. Good friends may give bad advice, circumstances may apply enormous pressure, but conscience must remain captive to the Word of God.

The Gospel was not new in Lunsford’s day, and it is not outdated in ours. Truth does not need permission to be truth, and the preacher of God’s Word must never trade conviction for convenience.

“We ought to obey God rather than men.” — Acts 5:29

09/10/2026

John 7:37–38
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink… out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Imagine the scene. Jerusalem was filled with worshipers celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. Water had been ceremonially poured out while the people remembered God's promise of salvation.

Then Jesus stood and cried, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.”

He was saying, in effect, “What you have been celebrating is standing before you. I am the fulfillment. I am the fountain.”

Every human heart is thirsty. Some try to satisfy that thirst with possessions, pleasure, achievement, relationships, or religion. But those wells eventually run dry.

Jesus offers living water.

And notice what happens when we drink: the water does not stop with us. Christ says “rivers of living water” will flow from within us.

God does not intend for believers to become reservoirs that merely collect blessings. He intends for us to become rivers through which His Spirit flows to others.

We come thirsty.

We drink freely.

Then we become channels of His grace to a thirsty world.

The question is not merely, “Have you received the Living Water?”

It is also, “Is it flowing through you?”

“Lord, fill us with Your Spirit and make us channels of living water to everyone we meet today.”

09/10/2026

📖 Bible Difficulties

🧠 Did the Centurion Come to Jesus Personally?

The Challenge

Matthew says the Roman centurion came to Jesus.

Luke says the centurion sent Jewish elders.

Which happened?

The Investigation

In everyday conversation we often speak this way.

Suppose someone says,

"The governor built the bridge."

Did he personally pour the concrete?

Of course not.

He acted through representatives.

Likewise, Matthew summarizes the event by referring to the centurion himself.

Luke supplies the additional detail that he initially communicated through respected Jewish intermediaries.

Neither account excludes the other.

The Explanation

One account is abbreviated.

The other is expanded.

Both describe the same historical event.

📖 Scripture

"I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel."

— Luke 7:9 (KJV)

🗣 Faith Builder

Ancient writers frequently compressed events without changing their truthfulness.

09/09/2026

Levy Midweek - September 9, 2026

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09/09/2026

THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY — SEPTEMBER 9

A Baptist “Samson” Stands to Preach

In 1778, Baptists were still paying a price for preaching the Gospel. Ministers could be threatened, beaten, jailed, and driven from their pulpits simply for proclaiming Christ according to the dictates of conscience.

One such preacher was David Thomas of Virginia. After local ruffians threatened to beat him if he preached, Thomas traveled thirty miles and asked another Baptist preacher, Amos Thompson, to fill the pulpit.

And Thompson was no ordinary-looking preacher. He was described as a man of “gigantic frame” with extraordinary physical strength.

When the day came, some people gathered to hear the sermon—and others came simply to watch the preacher get beaten. A gang armed with clubs entered the meetinghouse. But when they saw the enormous Thompson standing before them, their courage suddenly disappeared!

After preaching, Thompson confronted the ringleader. The man raised his club, but Thompson calmly took it from his hand and made it clear that while he was a preacher and a man of peace, he was perfectly capable of defending himself if attacked.

The troublemakers left, and David Thomas was bothered no more.

There is something almost humorous about the story, but there is also something deeply serious. Our Baptist forefathers did not have the luxury of taking religious liberty for granted. They preached when preaching was dangerous, worshiped when worship came with a price, and stood their ground when conscience demanded it.

Thank God for preachers who knew that meekness is not weakness, courage is not compromise, and the Gospel is worth standing for.

May God give us that same kind of backbone today.