Snow Hill Baptist Church

10/03/2026

Basking in the glow of their self-confessed assurance, they could not imagine running away. But they did. Jesus tells them failure is not the end of his love for them … or you. Gather with us for Bible Sunday at 9 a.m. and Worship at 10:15 a.m. @ Snow Hill. We have a place for you.

10/02/2026

What Loyalty?

Always looking for something better.

Dear Church Family, Friends, and Neighbors,

Rick Devens won the recent season of Big Brother.

Reality TV is not everyone’s cup of tea. But this season held an interesting plotline. A former Survivor contestant meets a young surgical dental assistant. Over the season, these two strangers formed a friendship in which Rick Devens was “Dad,” and Drew Campbell was “Son.” Both players used this arrangement to their advantage.

By the final episode, three players were left. Two of them were “Dad” and “Son.” Both told the other they would take them to the final two. For those unfamiliar, and those who think Reality TV is a joke, the promise to take a player to the end is common but rarely kept. The rule applied here. In video clips, both Devens and Drew, as most referred to them, wondered whether it was wise to compete for votes if it was just the two of them.

In the end, the very public proclamation that Devens would take Drew to the final two did not pan out. Claims of betrayal and broken promises are standard fare in a show where all bets are off in pursuit of $750,000. Spoiler Alert! Rick Devens evicted Drew, took Taylor to the end, and the vote wasn’t close: 6-1.

What does this have to do with anything?

Loyalty is an odd experience. Maybe even a rare commodity in human relationships these days.

This is likely because most human relationships are grounded in the unseen and unspoken transaction that is part of what we call friendship. Friends are friends right up to the point where one of the two violates the unseen and unspoken expectations to take the other to the end. That means we place a burden on the other, unwritten rules, as if both parties know the future perfectly. What could ever happen that would make someone disloyal? And is that ever an unrealistic expectation?

Sunday, we conclude what we know as John 16. Last Sunday we heard Jesus tell the disciples their sorrow would be turned to joy. And, as a case in point, this week Jesus tells the disciples they will choose a path that brings Jesus sorrow and added suffering, but their failure will actually be overtaken by peace- Jesus’s peace.

Talk about a made-for-reality-TV scenario.

And that may be a point.

Jesus overcomes the world where the success or failure of our relationships is embedded in you scratch my back, and I will scratch your back; you do for me, and I will do for you; I will take you to the end, right up until the point where I realize what I did not know.

Where the disciples abandon Jesus, Jesus refuses, having fulfilled both sides of our commitment to the relationship with his faithfulness. This calls us back to God’s covenant with Abraham. There, under the starlit sky, while Abraham sleeps, God makes a covenant with Abraham and keeps both sides, for he loves Abraham.

That is the Good News of God’s love for us in Jesus.

Take time to read John 16:33. You may find the Big Brother illustration odd, even nonsense. But that is also what most think of the Good News: that God loves us, odd creatures, failures, and all. After all, Jesus has conquered the world of all failures, creating in us something new.

Looking forward to gathering with you for Bible Study and Worship, including celebrating the Lord’s Supper on Sunday!

Glad I’m Your Pastor,
Todd

09/30/2026

Thank you for following our page. We will continue to post here. However, we learned today that Facebook is now limiting the number of links we may share on our Page to two per month when they originate from our Happenings On The Hill account on Substack. To keep resharing here, given the number of posts that fit that pattern, we would need to pay a ridiculous fee for a church of our size and budget. It just does not make sense. We invite you to find us on Substack and follow us there or subscribe to our account there. It is free.

If you need help, message us and we will help walk you through that.

Send a message to learn more

09/30/2026

Dear Church Family, Friends, and Neighbors,

Our friend Jason Micheli has a dictum,

“Deitrich Bonoheffer is overly famous and seldom read.”

He arrived at that assertion after reading much of Bonoheffer’s works over the past couple of years. The set includes 17 volumes and covers almost 9000 pages. Listening to hot takes that invoked Bonhoeffer as an authority led Jason to his dictum. It means lots of people know of Bonhoeffer (He is overly famous), but few have actually read him.

For example, Bonhoeffer’s best-known work is The Cost of Discipleship. But that is the title given to the English translation of that part of his work. In the 17-volume set published by Fortress Press, it is Discipleship, and not a standalone volume. Many well-meaning people have Googled “Bonhoeffer quotes” looking for a supporting voice for an idea, belief, published project, or a talk/sermon. Bonhoeffer is then very often quoted out of context.

Bonhoeffer is not the only one who could be described by Jason’s dictum.

The Bible suffers the same fate.

One need only listen to public figures hoping to secure the vote of Christian groups by referencing the Bible, quoting Jesus or the Apostle Paul. Some even take one view of Revelation and use it to form policy. Listening to these figures often means granting them a sense of authority without discerning whether that authority should include references to the Bible. The practice takes in what we call both sides of the aisle; it does not matter if you are Red or Blue or Purple.

How do we discern the way the famous Bible is being deployed?

Read it.

Read it with your small-group Bible Study on Sundays.

Read it with the Church, the cloud of witnesses, that covers two millennia. Find out who they are and read them. They are often called the Church Fathers and Mothers. I have a 38-volume set that includes many of these writings and reflections.

Read it.

And when you do, pray John 14:25,

Lord Jesus, you told the disciples that you spoke these things the Father has given you to say. Now, by Your Promise and through Your Spirit, teach us all the things and remind us of everything you have said.

May no one say of us that the Bible to them is overly famous and seldom read.

09/26/2026

Jesus confounds the Eleven once more with a little phrase, “in a little while.” Clarifying his confusing line, Jesus tells them their sorrow will turn to joy. Always. Gather with us at Snow Hill for Bible Study at 9 a.m. and Worship at 10:15 a.m. We have a place for you.

09/26/2026

https://snowhill.substack.com/p/in-a-little-while?r=ym8vk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

09/23/2026

Don’t underestimate the model set by worshiping alongside your kids.

“I hope more families will bring school-aged kids to the gathering that is big church, in addition to sending them to the blessing that is children’s church,” wrote Jen Wilkin in 2021.

“For families, the ‘with me’ of worship matters. Let the little children come—even if they wiggle and whisper. They are the missing pieces that complete the picture of the church as God’s family. Let them be formed in the house of the Lord.”
https://chrst.today/431zdte

09/21/2026

09/19/2026

Rather than facing the future without Jesus, the Spirit guides the disciples into Jesus - reminding and teaching all that Jesus said and did. They will not be alone and not without Jesus. Gather with us tomorrow for Bible Study at 9 a.m. and Worship at 10:15 a.m. We have a place for you.

09/18/2026

https://snowhill.substack.com/p/more-of-the-same?r=ym8vk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

We need more than one hearing.