June 11, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, June 11.
On a beautiful spring day in April of 1995, a man parked a van in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. It was exactly two years after the FBI siege at Waco. The van was packed with 5000 pounds of explosives, and at exactly 9:02 a timer clock stopped ticking. 660 people were injured, another 168 were killed - 19 of them were children in the day care. It remains the single deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
June 10, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Monday, June 10.
Well, another Vacation Bible School is in the rear-view mirror. God blessed our church last week with a group of 167 excited kids and 43 great volunteers. Yesterday morning, in our worship service, the kids shared their VBS musical, "Not Your Average Joe", a modern retelling of the story of Old Testament Joseph.
Starting next Monday, we'll return to our regular Daily Devotions format. But I hope you've enjoyed this week's thoughts, filled with some of my favorite scriptures. Here's my final five, as my church heads into Day Five of our Vacation Bible School. Let the Word of God speak!
June 5, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Wednesday, June 5.
It's "Hump Day" for Vacation Bible School at my church, First Baptist Center, Texas. We're halfway through our journey! Anyone who has ever worked in a VBS knows that it's an especially busy time. So, this week I'm letting the Bible speak for itself. No "two cents" from me. Maybe that's something we should do more often. I pray you are blessed and inspired by five more of my favorite scriptures. Let the Word of God speak!
June 4, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, June 4.
Vacation Bible School at First Baptist Center got off to a great start yesterday - lots of kids, lots of excitement. During the remainder of this busy week, I'll be sharing some of my favorite Bible verses, maybe some will be your favorites, too.
2 Corinthians 5:17 - If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come.
Matthew 11:28 - Come unto me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Today is opening day for Vacation Bible School at First Baptist Center. It's going to be a busy week! It's going to be a blessing! And of all the VBS activities, perhaps the one that's the biggest blessing . . . is scripture memorization. I have no doubt that some of the verses that are firmly implanted in my brain were ones that I learned as a child - at Vacation Bible School!
Did you go to Vacation Bible School when you were a kid? I imagine that you did. Lots of great memories. The 2024 version of VBS is different, in many ways, from the ones I remember. But some things remain the same.
May 30, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Thursday, May 30.
I continue today with a brief series on stories behind favorite children's gospel songs, as my church prepares for next week's Vacation Bible School.
Herbert Woolston was a pastor, a writer, a gospel song composer... and a magician. That last one kind of came out of left field, didn't it? Woolston was all about keeping his audience's attention. And so, he would incorporate sleight-of-hand into his sermons. Fun!
May 29, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Wednesday, May 29.
First Baptist Church of Center is five days away from one of the most important events of our year - Vacation Bible School! It all starts Monday morning, June 3, and includes games and snacks and Bible stories and lots of great songs. This morning, we start a three-day series on stories behind vintage children's church songs.