Notes from the Narrow Road: Observations from a pilgrim traveling along The Way

This past Sunday we learned of the turning point in Jeremiah's career as a prophet to the kingdom of Judah. In Jeremiah 7, Yahweh sends him to the Temple to preach a sermon that would almost get him killed. The reforms of Josiah's reign were accomplished and popular, and everyone thought all was well. But Yahweh told Jeremiah to proclaim to the people that they were in danger because the reforms had changed the outward appearances, but had not changed their lives. They needed to repent or pay the consequences. When Jeremiah finished his sermon and offered the invitation as they sang every verse of "Just As I Am," the people responded by trying to kill him. All of us who long to live lives of significance and relevance need to pay attention. Those of us who desire to stand in the gap between our Lord Jesus Christ and our families, our friends, and our culture should take notes. Jeremiah's experience shows us that not everyone will be receptive, and it is pos...

At First Baptist I have started a sermon series on the life of Jeremiah. We hope to learn how to live God-sized lives of relevance and importance as we see how Jeremiah lived in relationship to Yahweh and then stood in the midst of his times and culture and proclaimed and lived out the word of the Lord. This Sunday we will look at the point Jeremiah's early ministry when things really began to get sour on him. For over 55 years God's people had been ruled by evil and sinful kings: Manasseh and his son Amon. These guys led the country astray, and began state-sponsored pagan worship and immoral practices, some taking place in the Temple in Jerusalem. There was no end to their evil and wickedness. Amon's son, Josiah became king and began to turn things around. They found the book of Deuteronomy and this sparked a time of renewal as people returned to the Lord. Chapters 2-6 in Jeremiah contain some of Jeremiah's sermons during this time of renewal. He preached against the s...

USA Today is running a article on its website about what the BBC News is reporting is the most expensive coffee in the world today. It is called "Caffe Raro." It is a blend of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (my personal favorite) and Kopi Luwak (that extremely rare coffee made from the beans collected from the droppings of civets in Southeast Asia). The roast is being served in the espresso bar at Peter Jones, a London department store, with the proceeds going to a cancer charity. Right now it is going for $100 a cup. Don't laugh, but...I'm intrigued. Just when I thought coffee couldn't get any better or stranger, along comes Caffe Raro. I forgot to mention at Prayer Meeting Wednesday that I'll be speaking at a Men's Fish Fry at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Ennis on Friday night. Ennis is just a little south of Dallas. Pray for me as I travel, and pray that God will speak to the 300 or so men from the community who will be gathered together that night....

Are you as mesmerized by what is taking place in El Dorado , TX as I am? Years ago my family lived next door to some Mormons. They were wonderful people and I loved them dearly. Every year they would give my family a Book of Mormon, which I tried to read but found boring. Mark Twain called it "chloroform in print." Although they described themselves as Christians, my parents assured me that they weren't. That bothered me, because they were so nice. The folks in El Dorado are a small, extreme branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ( LDS ), and don't represent the wider Mormon community. As an adult I have done a lot of studying on Mormonism and in Seminary Kim and I were trained to witness to Mormons and how to teach others to do so. I have spoken to many members of the LDS church and have never led one to Christ. Our Roman Catholic friends believe that the Pope is the highest religions authority on earth, that he is God's representat...

I've known for a while now that Charlton Heston was gravely ill, still his passing affected me in odd ways. I first became familiar with his acting in the mid 1970s after watching The Planet of the Apes on tv. I thought Taylor was cool, although I didn't understand why he was screaming at the Statue of Liberty at the end of the movie. I wasn't very political at 6 years old, so the message was lost on me. Of course I knew that Heston was Moses in The Ten Commandments . My mother would watch it every time it came on tv, about once a year. I would always get bored and fall asleep before the plagues. I don't think I've ever seen the end of that movie. As an adult I have really enjoyed watching Ben Hur , and highly recommend it. No joke, good movie. While I have not always appreciated Heston's acting abilities, I have always loved his voice. I think I could sit and listen to him read the phonebook. When I was in high school the traveling exhibit on Ramses II came to ...