Graydon Baptist Church

05/31/2026

05/31/2026

Facebook Sunday school lesson 5/31/26
Damien:

- To continue the theme of our Memorial Day, Let us look to the beginning of Joshua’s role as leading the Israelites. You see Joshua had big shoes to fill following after Moses. Moses turned his staff into a serpent, water into blood, called down the ten plagues upon Egypt, he split the Red Sea with his staff, & called mana down to feed these Hebrews every day for forty years & that just names some of what he did. Of course it was God doing these things through Moses, but He didn’t do it through anyone else.

- Joshua, on the other hand, was believed to be with Moses from the beginning, a soldier who crossed the Red Sea. Joshua was one of the ten spies sent to spy out Canaan, & he & Caleb were the only two who remained faithful amongst the spies & the entire flock of Israelites. You see the Million & a half Israelites who crossed the Red Sea refused to believe that God was giving them the promised land. So, all of these people died in the wilderness, because of their unbelief. If you put that into perspective; for forty years an upwards of 5 to 6 people died in your traveling caravan. It was a hard journey, but God blessed them throughout it all. Throughout this journey Moses had what was called the tent of meeting before God gave the dimensions for the Tabernacle. God would physically meet with Moses in this tent & Joshua would guard outside the tent. Joshua was even brought into the tent too. Joshua went up mount Sinai with Moses & was there when the people constructed the golden calf. So, yes, Joshua had the experience & teaching to lead God’s chosen people.

- But how will Joshua lead them? The answer, in a fashion much like Moses, but a little different. In Joshua chapter 3 we read that God is going to Magnify him. Joshua gives the command that the Priests will first carry the Ark of the Covenant into the Jordan River, a river that at the time of harvest could be up to a mile wide. Once their feet touch the waters, the waters will heap up, like an invisible wall pushing the waters back, & they will be standing on dry ground. Once the Priests are in position the Israelites are to cross this dried up river no closer to the ark than 3,000 feet, or 2,000 cubits. You see, like Moses but a little different. With Moses, he simply struck the waters of the Red Sea, they split, & the people followed him on dry ground. Here the Priests had to first step into the water & the people had to stay far away from them.

- Anyways, it was an immense miracle & was proof that God is with Joshua & them. So, God informs Joshua that we cannot allow the people to forget this amazing moment. Here’s what God has Joshua to do.

Joshua 4:1-7
1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,
2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

- All But the Priests are across the Jordan River & God tells Joshua to send the 12 leaders, one leader for each tribe, back into the Jordan River. They were to go where the Priests are standing & find a large enough stone to be used as a monument for each tribe. Then, they are to carry these stones, for upwards of 2 to 4 miles, to Gilgal. Here they will erect these stones in such a way that everyone will look upon these stones & ask why they’re there. Once the question would be raised, it was then that you told them of the miracle God performed for Joshua & how it was just like Moses & God’s work through him.

- On Memorial Day we look upon the flags erected in remembrance of our fallen heroes. We stop & remember that we have this great freedom because of them. The Israelites stopped & looked upon these stones & remembered that they were freed from bo***ge & were walking under God’s protection, because God is doing a great work through Moses & Joshua.

- Let’s Read the description of Memorial Day as Joshua sets them up in Gilgal.

Joshua 4:20-24
20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:
24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.

- It is good to remember. What do we remember? We remember that God is always faithful. So please stop & have a time of remembrance every day. Without our God we would be lost to eternity, never knowing what peace, comfort, or love truly is.

05/31/2026

Join us for Adult Sunday School at 10 A.M., Worship Service & Children's Sunday School at 11 A.M..

05/24/2026

Facebook Sunday school lesson 5-24-26
Damien:

- A great lesson can be learned from studying how God moves throughout history. Today we can look back & see that things seemed to move at a breakneck pace. However, it was once said that the wheels of God grind slowly, but exceedingly fine. When God sent Barnabas to restore Saul’s eyesight, it seemed that he was immediately ministering & evangelizing. In actuality, he spent three years in the wilderness & then went back home to Tarsus. It isn’t until ten years pass that Barnabas is once again going to call on Saul of Tarsus. However, this time is different. You see the church in Jerusalem has heard of the growing church in Antioch, but they were a church of Jews who were also preaching the gospel to Gentiles. The question came up of who could go & minister to these people. Immediately Barnabas remembered Saul.

Acts 13:1-13
1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.
10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
13 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.

- The Church was a foreshadowing of compassion. Barnabas, who is known as the compassionate & Simeon, the same Simeon who is believed to have carried the patibulum, the beam Jesus was nailed to on the cross, for Him. Immediately you see a church with compassion. Now, besides Saul’s name, the other names we know little about, but their outreach had to be notable. Otherwise, they would not have been mentioned. Their faith had been cemented by the ministry of Barnabas & Saul. Now, the Lord has moved the church to spread the good news beyond their congregation. Who could they send? God shows them the men they can reliably say inspired most of them, both Saul & Barnabas. You see the church had grown strong enough to support itself & now God is ready to expand His church. Not everyone is fit or able to go. Barnabas & Saul are able. The church agrees & an act of showing their blessing & part in sending out these evangelists, they lay their hands upon them. There was no mystical power in this, but it showed that we are taking part in your ministerial works, first in prayer & secondly in whatever means they could.

- As Barnabas & Saul went to the Jews first it became clear that opposition from their fellow Jews was intense. What’s interesting is that even when those Jews who had been deceiving many called on these evangelists, another Jew would step up & try to discredit them. The greatest case was BarJesus, which means son of Jesus, was truly curious about their faith. It seemed that he was truly persuaded. Until, another sorcerer stood up & attempted to deceive him away. Saul was ready for this. Do you know how I know he was ready for this? He was ready because this is what he would have done. Because this is what he would have done, he asks that God deliver this man in the same way the He delivered him. Saul called for this man to be struck with blindness & in turn he find his faith, just as Saul did. Because of this intense moment, BarJesus, the deputy, believed. His days of deception were over. Now, God has placed someone to share the gospel here & Barnabas & Saul press on. The good news is catching on & what was just a simple blaze is starting to become a growing fire.

Acts 13:44-47
44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

- The Fire was taking off in the Synagogue of the Jews, but then those with closed ears, hardened hearts, & set ways intervened. Rather than believing the Messiah had come, they proclaimed that Paul & Barnabas we’re believing in a false Messiah & fairy tales.

- Slowly God turns His wheels; He reveals what must happen next. You see if the Jews would have all believed, the gospel would have never gotten to the Gentiles, the rest of the world. God told Abraham that his seed will bless the WORLD. Jesus came Not only for the Jews, on of whom Jesus was. Jesus came to save all of mankind. So, Paul revealed that they have been instructed to take this Gospel to the Gentiles & that they do. Now I want you to notice this next part.

Acts 13:48-52
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

- You see Paul & Barnabas were doing what they were called to do & the enemy aimed to destroy all of their work. In the midst of their work the enemy sowed factions in the homes as they deceived the wives of these men & caused trouble, not in the streets, but in their homes. This is the way the devil works! He will hit us as close as he possibly can. The only way we can overcome this enemy is to know that our God is greater the he is. Once the strife became too much, & the people would not believe, Paul & Barnabas left. When it says that they dusted their feet, this means that they know that if they could be saved, God will save them. So, if they reject Paul & Barnabas, they will press on to the next area because God has done His work there. Never forget, we cannot save anybody, God saves everyone. Jesus said the Father draws them unto Him. If they will believe it is because God drew them to believe.

- These People rejected the message & So Paul & Barnabas moved on. As they went they were full of joy & the Holy Spirit, because they knew God was still in the saving business, their job is not done, & there are still souls ready to be saved.

- Let This lesson ring true to you today. Think of what is important, it is Christ, & if you’ve forgotten that He is the most important. I want you to stop & tell Him that He is the most important. Then let’s pray that the world will soon see this. Let’s pray that the evangelists will be effective in sowing this into the hearts of those they’re ministering to. Let’s pray that this world will soon be saved.

05/17/2026

Facebook Sunday school lesson 5-17-26
Damien:

- Peter & John showed us how God has given us the ability to be bold in our faith. How are we bold? Well, we are bold in the fact that we cannot keep quiet about our Savior. Even in the threat of the Sanhedrin they still proclaimed that He is Christ & The Savior of men.

- God has a unique way of leading each one of us on this adventure. Now, before you say I’ve never done anything special, stop & think about your character. What do people see when they evaluate you? If their response is they are a Christian, and then you are bold, you are affecting them, & you have started this adventure.

- In Acts chapter 8 verse 26 we are presented with Philip’s adventure. Now Philip was one of the first disciples who in Acts chapter 6 was chosen to help minister food to the widows who were thought to have been overlooked. This was actually a pretty important position, because only men who were seen as full of the Holy Spirit were chosen. Another name we might remember amongst these men was Stephen who was stoned to death for his faith, or for the Holy Spirit he displayed. Saul of Tarsus watched holding their coats as Stephen looked up & Seeing Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father said, Father lay not this charge upon them.

- Stephen is gone, but Philip remains. Now let’s read what the Lord has for Philip to do.

Acts 8:26-29
26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eu**ch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

- Philip is told to head back to Jerusalem. Without question he heads out along this desert road. You get the impression that this road would be scarcely populated, but as God had set it up, Philip sees a chariot just ahead of him. Now the chariot was without question a richly arrayed chariot. Why do I think that? Well, the man seated within this chariot is the Eu**ch for the Candace (The title like Caesar, or Pharaoh) of Ethiopia. His job is to serve her who has charge over all the treasury & Governmental affairs of her husband, the king who is also seen as the Sun God. So, yes, this chariot would be costly, because it is in service of the King’s wife.

- Why would God call for Philip to go to an Ethiopian, who’s place of origin worships the Sun god? God didn’t send Philip here on a whim. No. God had already prepared this man’s heart. Why was he in Jerusalem? He was there to worship Yahweh the God of Judaism. He was what was called a proselyte. He had evidently converted to Judaism. How could we know that? Well, look at what he was doing. He was sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah. That doesn’t sound like much today, but you couldn’t just go get a scroll of Isaiah. Unless you were of nobility & had the finances, the only place you would find one of these scrolls was in the temple or synagogue. This man had a close enough relationship & a means to be able to get this scroll. So, you see God had already set Philip’s adventure in order. The only thing he has to do was go on the adventure.

- So, Philip sees the Chariot & the Holy Spirit says go & talk to him.

Acts 8:30-35
30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eu**ch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

- As soon as Philip went it was revealed that God had even set this man up to know Him by reading of His sacrifice that was foretold Through Isaiah. This man is amazed by what Isaiah has already done. Could you imagine meeting a man that in one instance tells the king you will soon die? Then he goes back to him, tells him God has heard your cries, binds up his wound, & tells him that he will live 15 more years. Years that he did in fact live. The Eu**ch reads this description of a man going before his enemies, but rather than defend himself, he allows himself to be killed. The Eu**ch wonders who would do this? He wonders if this is the description of the Prophet himself. He doesn’t have all the facts. So, he desires a teacher & Philip is the teacher now. Philip reveals that Isaiah is describing what Jesus has done for all of mankind. Finally the Eu**ch understands. Do you know how I know he understands? Let’s read the next 3 verses & I’ll explain.

Acts 8:36-38
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eu**ch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eu**ch; and he baptized him.

- To be a proselyte, a convert to Judaism, a Gentile man had to be circumcised & go through a full immersion baptism. A practice that a Jews went through as they drew near the Temple is The would pass through the Micvah, large open pools, so that they could be ritually cleansed. In order to show his conversion he had to begin the ritual cleansing. This was this man outward showing that he believes, he is converted.

- You see we continue this practice in water baptism for the same reason this Eu**ch did it. In essence we are showing that we do believe. As we go under the water we are showing the world that the sin stained body has been buried in Christ. Then as we rise up out of that water we are showing the world that we are resurrected in Christ. We are alive in Christ! Philip showed the Eu**ch & the Eu**ch showed us the way of faith.

- As we ponder this lesson today, take it with you in your heart, & when you feel like you should do something, or say something, begin the adventure. I think that we might be surprised at how God has already put things into place for us.