Unionville Baptist Church

06/02/2026

Come Join Us On August 2nd-6th

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06/02/2026

Good Morning All!

Teaching God’s Word

“And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah. Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Benhail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. And with them he sent Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests. And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.” II Chronicles 17:6-9

When Jehoshaphat became the king of the southern kingdom of Judah, he decided that he wanted to follow God wholeheartedly and that he wanted his subjects to do so as well. In the third year of his reign, he gathered some of his most powerful leaders and gave them the task of teaching the people the law of God. He also enlisted a group of Levites to go with them. These teams were to travel throughout all of the cities of Judah teaching God’s commandments to the people. As a result, there was a resurgence of obedience to God’s law throughout the kingdom. The success of Jehoshaphat’s method is a great example for Christians today. Most people in our society are aware that the Bible exists, but they are largely ignorant of what it says. If we want to see people obeying God’s Word, we must be constantly and consistently teaching its message to the people around us.

Have A Blessed Day!

06/01/2026

“Which Will Do I Follow”

(Matthew 26:41) “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Here we find the wonderful scene of Jesus with His disciples in the garden of Gethsemane. The meaning of Gethsemane is “oil press”, and it is a fitting definition when we consider the intense spiritual pressure and crushing weight Jesus experienced in the garden before His crucifixion. Gethsemane is located on the Mount of Olives; the place Jesus would surrender to God’s will of the cross and the place where Jesus will return in His second coming (Zech. 14:1-4) to set His feet upon this earth to execute judgment and set up His kingdom with His saints.

Jesus commands His disciples to “watch and pray” but gave them clear warning of why they should “watch and pray”: “That ye enter not into temptation.” Remember just hours before, Jesus had warned the disciples that before the night ended, they would all be offended, would leave Him and scatter abroad. Loyally they denied His warning. They all told Jesus instead, they would remain faithful to Him, and Peter went further by saying he would die for Jesus, to defend Him.

“Watching” was a special duty for the disciples in that hour. “Prayer” would give them strength over their flesh to “watch” and “watching” would aid them in their “praying”. If they would have been “watching” as they, should they would have also been “praying”, and if they would have been in “prayer” as they should they would have been “watchful.” Because Jesus already warned them about the temptation that was coming, Christ’ words here should have been a second warning to them, so they not “enter into temptation.” Jesus knew the exact temptation that lay ahead and He knew how badly they needed to be in fervent prayer: “for the spirit (your spirit) indeed is willing, but the flesh (your nature) is weak.” Jesus knows the power of the devil. He also knows the children of God are targets of the devil at any time, especially when circumstances or situations have caused a weakness, which becomes an avenue for the devil’s attack.

The true child of God has a desire to do the will of God (John 14:15). But the struggle comes from our fleshly nature, that wars against our spirit. The natural feelings of fear of bodily harm or being rejected by society, family and friends for our bold stand for Jesus, is where the danger of failing lies. Jesus knew His disciples loved Him, but Jesus loved His disciples so much that He knew the weakness of their flesh. He knew their strength would not be able to sustain the dark hour that was ahead, Jesus commanded them to be praying in the face of temptation.

No doubt, if you are a child of God, you’re in a struggle today between your spirit that longs to be in the center of God’s will, and your flesh that revels against the spirit, to get you to live contrary to God’s Word and will.

I look at it like I’m going into my closet to get dressed for the day. On the shelf I have two pairs of Levi jeans (I’m old school). On the left is the faded, old, worn out, holes in the knee pair that I’ve had forever that look awful, but wear like a dream. On the right-hand side is a brand-new pair of Levis, dark blue, stiff, never worn. I must choose which pair I’m going to wear. The faded ones represent my flesh. They are comfortable, I know how they will wear, they move with me, with hardly any struggle. They are comfortable because I know them as I’ve worn them a thousand times. The dark blue pair represents my spirit. Because God’s ways are not my ways (Isa. 55:8-9), therefore they don’t fit my style, they don’t walk the way I walk or bend the way I bend. It’s easy to give in and pick up the faded pair because there is no struggle, but I’m out of God’s will because it’s my flesh. It’s tough to surrender to the new pair, because I know they will be uncomfortable, it will be a struggle, but if I wear them long enough, they will break me in.

Who are you following today? Christ, your spirit that leads you to victory or your old nature, that might seem comfortable, but moves you out of the will of God? Obey the Spirit as He has promised to lead you in all ways of truth (John 16:13).

We love you,

Preacher and Mrs. Wendy

06/01/2026

Good Morning All!

The Compelling Cross

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” John 12:32

Jesus spoke in descriptive terms of the death that He would die. The people who were listening understood that Jesus was referring to crucifixion when He used the phrase, “lifted up from the earth.” The Romans commonly crucified people as a means of ex*****on, and the Israelites believed that the Messiah would rise up and cast off the Roman occupation, so Jesus’ statement must have been more than a little confusing for them. Though the repulsive specter of a crucifixion may have normally drawn a crowd of onlookers, Jesus was not referring to this base sort of curiosity and fear. He was not talking about the crowd that would gather around His cross and mock Him on the day that He was crucified. Jesus was speaking of a phenomenon that would affect all people everywhere. Jesus said His cross would “draw all men” unto Him. The cross of Calvary possesses a universal appeal. Everyone who hears of the cross is drawn to Christ; not because of the gruesomeness of His death, but because of the greatness of His sacrifice. Jesus left His rightful place on the right hand of God the Father in heaven to come to this earth and live as a man for thirty-three years. He willingly took the sins of the world upon Himself and died on the cross as the sacrifice for those sins. His love for us compels us to His cross. Once we have partaken of His great forgiveness, we must lift Him up in our lives so that others will be drawn to Him as well.

05/29/2026

“True Repentance”

(Matthew 3:8) “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.”

Chapter 3 fulfills Malachi’s prophecy, “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me…” (Mal. 3:1). Our first thought, who is this messenger? His name is John the Baptist. We may also wonder where he came from, as Matthew does not give us this information. The truth is, you don’t need to know where he came from or who he is. When an Amazon driver arrives at your door with a package, you don’t ask them where they came from? Who are they kin too? No, because we are not interested in the messenger, but we want to know all about the message he brought. This messenger, John the Baptist, was preaching the message of repentance.

John said to the Pharisees and Sadducees, “go and produce fruit that prove you have sincerely repented, then I will baptize you.” John was saying, don’t give me your self-righteous claims about being descendants of Abraham. Show me evidence of how you have forsaken sin, evidence that you want to be baptized because you want to live for Jesus, and I will baptize you.

That’s what John meant when he said, “fruit meet for repentance”. Let your life show that you are fit or appropriate for repentance. Because these Pharisee’s and Sadducees are dead (spiritually speaking), but their relatives are still with us today. Thousands have joined our local churches for different reasons. Some join to help themselves socially. Others join for political reasons, business reasons, or because they feel it’s the right thing to do. Then there are those who join because they have truly been born again and they unite with the local church so that they may better serve God. It’s true, people tend to follow the crowd, just like the Pharisee’s and Sadducee’s were doing. Many get baptized for the wrong reasons and never enjoy freedom and peace of obedience.

The reason we see the wrong decisions is because repentance is never easy. There is always flimsy excuses, self-righteous blame, that we use to try to minimize our behavior as anything but sin. This leaves us bargaining with God rather than pleading for His forgiveness. As John was preaching, he saw the religious crowd standing there, but it did not change the message of John. His message of hypocrisy and self-righteousness not only cut the Pharisee’s and Sadducee’s but cut every one that hears it as well.

It reminds us that repentance is not confession, sorrow, grief or keeping some religious standard that are often void of heart transformation. Repentance is a change of life on the inside and out. It is the true surrender of sin and turning to God. The person, whose heart has been broken by real salvation, realizes they don’t deserve forgiveness and they are willing to forsake pride and sin to receive it. Good deeds born out of humility are fruits of repentance. Religious activity, sacrifice of time and talents, and even prayer may or may not meet this criterion. The key is not what people think about you, but what God knows about you!

So, ask yourself this question; is repentance something I do, or is it a reflection of who I am? Paul’s testimony to King Agrippa gives us a good Biblical definition of repentance; “But shewed first unto them Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coast of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do the works meet for repentance.” (Acts 20:26).

We love you,

Preacher and Mrs. Wendy

05/29/2026

Good Morning All!

Fire From Heaven

“Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’S house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” II Chronicles 7:1-3

Many years after the temple dedication, Elijah stood on Mount Carmel and prayed for fire to fall from heaven and consume the sacrifice that he had prepared. Elijah’s life and the spiritual condition of the people of Israel depended upon the answer to that prayer. At the dedication of the temple, fire falling from heaven was not part of the script. Solomon prayed that God would honor and bless this new temple. He prayed that God would hear and answer the prayers of the people who prayed in the temple and toward the temple. He prayed that God’s name would be honored because of the temple and that people around the world would know that it was the temple to the one true God. Solomon prayed for many things, but he never asked for fire to fall from heaven to consume the sacrifice. God sent the fire to let His people know that He was pleased with the way that they had turned their hearts toward Him. How long has it been since you have felt the fire of God in your heart?

Have A Blessed Day!

05/29/2026

05/28/2026

“Dealing with Disappointment”

(John 21:3) “Simon Peter saith unto him, I go a fishing. They say unto him; we also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.”

Here we are after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, and His disciples are physically without their Lord, Jesus. Jesus had told them at the resurrection to go to Galilee (Matt. 28:7) and wait for Him there. So, the disciples have been obedient to Christ, and they are waiting on Him. These disciples, like most believers, find that waiting on the Lord is hard to do.

Peter is a natural born leader of the group, whether good or bad, he always gave it his all. When Petere followed the Lord, he followed Him wholeheartedly, and when he denied Him, his denial was emphatic. Peter’s life could be described as fervent but failing, warmhearted, yet walking afar off; he is impulsive and affectionate.

We can imagine by this time the disciples were uncertain, restless, not knowing what to do or which way to turn. They don’t take time to pray for God’s direction. Maybe at this point in their ministry, they didn’t know exactly how to pray effectively. Because all the times before Jesus had been with them and they had no need to pray, but now without His guidance, they didn’t know what to do.

So, Peter went back to the one thing he was good at, his old life. Peter said, “I go a fishing”. Fishing is not a sin, but it was the life Peter was sold out to when Jesus found him and called him to be His disciple (Luke 5:1-11). Just like many believers, when we come to the place of our Christian life that we don’t know where to turn, instead of waiting on Jesus, we go back to what we know, our old life of sin. Notice, Peter’s decision didn’t just affect him, but the other disciples followed Peter.

Wrong direction in leadership leads to disappointments in our lives and those who follow. Whether you are a natural born leader or a leader by title, you must bathe every decision in fervent prayer and be sure of the direction of the Holy Spirit. Because one step in the wrong direction, which may seem harmless, can lead many out of the will of God.

Again, there is nothing wrong with fishing. It’s a way some make a living, for others a way to make memories with your family. But these disciples had been called to fish for souls, and they had gone back to fishing for fish. These men had been professional fishermen before Jesus saved and called them. They knew the best spots on the Sea of Galilee, for they had fished their before and left their nets to follow Jesus. The fact that they fished all night and caught nothing proves they were not in the will of God. Jesus had already told them, “without Me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

The disciples found disappointment in their decision. Disappointments always bring pain. Life has its disappointments; courtships without marriage, clouds without rain, trees without fruit, crops without harvest, business without profit, work without promotion, and homes without love.

But it’s better to hope, plan, pursue and be disappointed, than to expect nothing. This kind of living is not living, only a disappointment existence. So, wait on the Lord (Isa. 40:31) and He will always guide you to His will which leads to joy and peace.

We love you,

Preacher and Mrs. Wendy

05/28/2026

Good Morning All!

The Glory of the Lord Filled the House

“It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.” II Chronicles 5:13-14

The dedication of the temple was a spectacular occasion. The temple itself was ornate, and much of it was overlaid with gold. Hundreds of priests and Levites were prepared to begin the sacrificial offerings and ceremonial cleansings required in the Old Testament law. A large choir began to sing praises to God accompanied by an orchestra that included one hundred twenty trumpets. As the choir sang and the orchestra played, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. When God’s glory filled the house, all of the money and time that had been invested in the building of the temple and all of the preparations that had been made for the dedication service were made worthwhile. The purpose of the temple was to provide a place where the people could worship God, and His presence was what validated the building. The king had procured the materials, the workmen had followed the plans, the priests had prepared the sacrifices, and the musicians sang praises to God; but all of this would have been in vain if the glory of God had not filled the house.

Have A Blessed Day!