Windyville Baptist Church

06/01/2026

In Paul's letter to the church in Corinth he tells them what the Lord told him about the observance of the Lord's supper. He's telling them how to do it.
First Paul tells them what Jesus said in the upper room the night before He was crucified. That the bread He broke represented His body which was broken for us. Then the cup is the new covenant through His blood. Jesus told them and us to do this to remember Him.
Then Paul told them that whoever ate the bread and drank the cup unworthily would be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. To understand that we must understand that Paul was writing this letter to a church that didn't take the Lord's supper very seriously. Paul isn't telling us here that we have to be worthy to take the Lord's supper. He's telling us that we shouldn't partake of the Lord's supper in an unworthy manner.
Paul then tells us we should examine ourselves before partaking in it. He's saying we should examine our hearts. Ask ourselves is there any sin in our lives that we need to quit doing? Have we sinned against someone? Have we ignored something God called us to do? If so, we need to repent and ask God to forgive us before taking the Lord's supper. Paul wants us to confess and repent and get back in good standing with the Lord so we can take the Lord's supper with a clear conscience. Paul says later that it is better for us if we judge ourselves rather than waiting for God to judge us.
Paul is telling us that the Lord's supper isnt something we should do flippantly. It's something that we as Christians should take seriously. We should enter into it humbly, thankfully, with awe, and with reverance.
"do in remembrance of Me."

05/25/2026

05/18/2026

The new testament book of Philemon is a small book (25 verses) with a big message.
The book is actually a letter that Paul wrote to his friend Philemon. Philemon was a wealthy man who was also a Christian. He had church services in his home each week and had actually went on a short missionary trip with Paul at one time. Philemon also was a slaveowner, and one day one of those slave named Onesimus robbed Philemon and ran away.
Many months later a letter is delivered to Philemon. He was excited to see that it was from his close friend and the man who had led him to Christ, Paul. When he opened it the first line must have really surprised him. Paul told him he was in prison for preaching the gospel of Christ. But, there was even more news and Philemon probably could hardly believe what he was reading. Guess who Paul had met while in prison hundreds of miles away. Onesimus, the slave who had robbed him and ran away. What were the chances? Paul also went on to tell Philemon that during their encounter he had also led Onesimus to the Lord and he was saved. Paul says Onesimus' life was drastically changed and he had became very important to Paul's ministry.
Now Paul asks Philemon to do a very remarkable thing. Paul tells him that he is sending Onesimus back to him and he asks Philemon to forgive him. That was drastic at that time. A master was expected to kill a runaway slave who was captured. The Romans encouraged it because it set an example to the other slaves. Paul says don't do that. Don't do what society expects, but do as God directs. Paul says Onesimus is my son. He's telling Philemon that they are now brothers in Christ. Forgive in love. Paul says receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you or owes you, put that on my account. Paul says I have sent with him an IOU that I have written with my own hand.
When I read this story I see myself in Onesimus. Actually I see all Christians in Onesimus. You see, God created us to serve Him. He is our rightful master. But, like Onesimus there was a time in our lives when we rebelled against Him. We took our bodies and minds and talents He gave us to use for Him and used them for ourselves. Effectively robbing Him of there benefits at the time. Like Onesimus we were condemned fugitives on the run from Him. We were useless to our master. But, like Onesimus while we were on the run, God's providence led us to someone someplace who shared the gospel with us and we realized we are guilty and we can't justify ourselves. Then when we accepted Jesus as our Savior it's like He handed us a letter and said give your master this letter. The letter that says "receive him as you would receive me." "If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account." That's exactly what Jesus did for us. He paid all of our sins on that cross, everything we owed was charged to His account and we have an IOU that He's written for us to bring to judgement. When we go before the Lord He won't see our sins, but will see His Son in our place and will receive us as He would receive Him.
Isn't salvation amazing?

05/11/2026

In the story of Hannah from 1 Samuel, Hannah was barren. Verse 5 says "but the Lord had shut up her womb."
Hannah was burdened. Verse 10 says "she was in bitterness of soul," in verse 11 she referred to her "affliction," in verse 15 she says " I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit." She could have blamed the Lord or cursed the Lord, but she didn't.
In verse 10 it says she "prayed unto the Lord" and in verse 15 she says "I have poured out my soul before the Lord." Hannah took her troubles to the Lord. She was fervent in prayer, She was faithful in prayer. She was focused in prayer. She prayed specifically. She laid it all out before the Lord.
Verse 19 says "and the Lord remembered her".
Hannah was blessed with a son named Samuel. Samuel became a prophet for the Lord and the entire nation was blessed through that son.
It all began with a Godly mother pouring out her burdened heart to God.
Thank God for praying mothers.
Happy Mother's Day.

05/04/2026

Heaven. The bible tells us that heaven is a real place. It also tells us that God is there with His Son Jesus Christ by His side. The bible also tells us that when a Christian dies they are escorted there by an angel and will live there for eternity.
A couple of really exciting things are going to happen to each person who is in heaven. First of all the bible tells us we are all going to get a new glorified body. The older I get the more exciting this becomes. I don't know what that body will be like, but in Philippians it says it will fashioned like His glorious body. Jesus' resurrected body could travel through locked doors. That will be exciting the first time of two. Another big change for those of us in heaven will be that I believe we will have understanding and knowledge like we can't imagine. In 1 Corinthians it says that we are looking through a glass that is dark or cloudy. But, when we get there we will see clearly. It says we know some now but when we get there we will know as God knows us. God knows every hair on our heads and our most inner thoughts. We will know as He knows. That's unimaginable.
So, we'll have new bodies and unbelievable knowledge. Plus there won't be tears, death, sorrow or pain. There will be walls of jewels, gates of pearl, streets of gold, a crystal clear river of life, the tree of life, and the glory of God will be a crystal clear light for eternity.
Heaven is going to be so beautiful and wonderful. I don't think we can even imagine how great it will be. Reading and studying about heaven uplifts me and excites me. But, spending eternity in God's love is what it's all about.
I'm so thankful God is so full of grace and made a way for us to get to heaven. He sent His Son to come and die on a cross for our sins. He paid our price. Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me." In John 10:19 Jesus said "I am the door, by me if any man enter in he shall be saved." Jesus is not only the only way to heaven, He is the door to heaven. If you want to go to heaven you've got to go through the door named Jesus Christ.

04/27/2026

A few years ago I spent several days reading a murder mystery book and when I got to the end I realized the final chapter was missing. Someone who had the book before me had cut out the last chapter. I was left wondering who did it and how they figured it out. The final chapter of a book is important. The final chapter brings closure. In the final chapter things comes together.
In the final chapter of the bible John is wrapping up describing the vision of heaven that God had allowed him to see. Then an angel assures John that the what he saw and heard are true. John is overwhelmed with this and falls and begins worshipping the angel. The angel tells him not to do that because only God is worthy of our worship.
In those final verses Jesus announces three times that He is coming quickly. Jesus doesn't want us to miss that fact. It is important to Him that we realize He is coming back and when He does it will be quick. I love John's response the third time. He says "Amen, even so, come Lord Jesus." John longed for the return of his Savior. We don't know the hour of His return but He guarantees that He is coming soon. He could return at any time and He tells us in this last chapter that you must be ready then, because there will be no time then to be saved.
The final verse in the bible is about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let that sink in. The last thing the bible talks about is His amazing grace. His grace is everything to us. By His grace He didn't come back before we were saved. By His grace the Holy Ghost put us under conviction. By His grace He sent His Son to die on a cross so that our sins could be washed away. By His grace we have His undeserved favor and help to aid us in our lives. We didn't deserve any of it but He gave it to us anyway.
The final chapter brings us a warning or a promise depending on where you stand. He is coming back and it will be sudden. We need to be ready now, not I'll get to it someday. We need to tell the lost about our wonderful Savior. By His grace they may still have time to get right.

04/20/2026

In 2 Kings chapter 6 is the story of a young man who had a problem. He was a student of the prophet Elisha and had no income. He had borrowed an axe and was volunteering to build a new campus for the students following Elisha. As he swung the axe, the head of the axe slipped off and fell into the deep and swift Jordan river. It was lost and there was no wading in to get it and he didn't have a way of paying back the owner. An iron axe was very expensive in that time period. The young man cried out to Elisha. Elisha came over and cut a tree which he threw into the river and that axe head floated up. It was a miracle.
The interesting part to me is what happened next. The young man had to walk to the edge of the river, pick up the axe head, and put it back on the handle. God could have brought that axe head right out of that river and had it land on the axe head. But, He didn't. God did what the man couldn't do. The man had to do the rest.
That axe head should have stayed in the depths of the Jordan forever. But, God made a way for it to be saved.
The bible tells us that mankind is born in sin and that the penalty for sin is death. We all come into this world as lost as that axe head lying in the depths of the Jordan. Mankind couldn't save themselves. Then Jesus came and bore the weight of our sins and died on that cross. He bought for us eternal life in heaven. He's done His part- the part we can't do- we can't save ourselves. Salvation is like that old axe head, it was out of reach, until Jesus on that cross brought salvation right there into reach. All you have to do now is step up and reach out to Him and accept it.
He did His part. Have you?

04/13/2026

They didn't understand.
The disciples that Jesus had hand-picked didn't understand. He told them over and over that He would be arrested, and tried, and beaten, and crucified, and that He would arise on the third day. It's almost maddening that they didn't understand. You would think after watching all the miracles they had witnessed Him do and even having the power to heal people themselves that they would understand that He could come back from the dead. They had even watched Him raise Lazarus from the dead. But, they didn't understand.
They should have known. They should have almost been excited when Jesus was arrested in that garden. They should have been saying to each other "Just wait till Sunday morning-they're going to be surprised." They should have been waiting at that tomb Sunday morning waiting on the women to arrive. They should have known it was empty. Jesus had told them. But they didn't understand.
Instead they came to that tomb looking for a dead man. Mary Magdalene was frantically searching for His body. They didn't believe the women when they told them the tomb was empty. When Jesus entered the room later that night they were afraid and thought He was a ghost. Thomas didn't believe even after the others told him that Jesus has been there. And after they had seen Jesus twice Peter and six other disciples decided to go back to their old lives. Even at this point they don't understand.
Think about it, these disciples are the guys that are suppose to carry on the mission- to tell the world the gospel. At this point it doesn't look too promising. How can this group of men who don't understand carry out that mission?
Something changed. If you read on into Acts these disciples are bold and powerful. It's as if they are different men. They were filled with the Holy Ghost at Pentecost. Jesus had also told them that that would happen. He told them that when He was gone that He would have the Father send the comforter to guide, embolden, teach and to provide understanding. They couldn't understand before because they lacked the Holy Ghost in them. The bible says that without the Holy Ghost the things of God are foolish to man. When the disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost they changed from that moment on.
We are no different than those disciples. We are changed when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and are filled with the Holy Ghost. The problem is that there are too many Christians in the world today who are like the disciples before Pentecost. They believe in Christ, they believe in His death and resurrection, they gather to worship, but that is all. There is no power from high in their lives. They aren't making an impact on their world. They have no boldness to declare Christ. There is no noticeable change in their lives. We desperately need an infusion of the Holy Ghost in our churches and in individual lives. There are so many people today who don't understand God's word and don't understand that they are destined for an eternity in hell because they don't have the Holy Ghost and can't understand. Someone needs to tell them about our wonderful Savior.
The good news is you don't have to understand it all to be saved. You just have to believe. Believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died on that cross for your sins, and is in heaven today.

04/06/2026

God granted us an amazingly beautiful setting this morning for our Easter sunrise service. With the sounds of the rushing Niangua River, an occasional gobble from the turkeys, and a few geese chiming in. The fog mixing with the rising sun made for an absolutely beautiful view.
But, all the beauty didn't even compete with the beauty of that empty tomb on that very first Easter morning. That empty tomb means everything to Christians. It means that Jesus death on that cross mattered. It means that Jesus defeated death and rose from the dead and is alive today. It means that if you have a saving relationship with Him that you too will rise again and enjoy eternal life in heaven with Him. Because that tomb was empty, "I know my redeemer lives."
That empty tomb sure was a beautiful sight.

04/03/2026

This was the view today from the bluff where we have our Easter sunrise service. You are invited to come and experience this beautiful, tranquil and peaceful setting with us this Sunday morning at 6:40am for Easter sunrise service (at Camp Aurora 220 Aurora Lane, Windyville). After service we will be having breakfast at the church.