I have always been fond of the way the 23rd Psalm begins: “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want” (v. 1). I also like the way it ends: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (v. 6).From the beginning to the ending, David claims that when a person knows God as His shepherd, he has the answer to his future. If he can...  Read More

Charles Gatemouth Brown, Louisiana native, was one of America’s foremost composers and singers of Blues music. He passed away shortly after I came as your Pastor. This award-winning artist received the Grammy Award and W.T. Handy Blues Award (among other honors) for his contribution to the Art Form. I will remember him as the one who said, “Anyone who has brains gets the blues.” I think he is righ...  Read More

Let’s reflect on what we learned this past Sunday one more time (as we so often do in this writing). You will recall that Caleb (our cool old guy) had been one of the twelve spies to survey Canaan when he was young. God instructed Moses to send twelve spies into the land “which I give unto you.” One man from each tribe was chosen. Caleb was the one from the tribe of Judah (also the tribe of Christ...  Read More

I want us to think about friendship. I suppose we all have friends. But is it possible that we underestimate the value of friendship? I heard about a man who went to a psychiatrist because he was unhappy. The psychiatrist told him he needed friends, so he gave the assignment to get three new friends. He came back and said, “Ok, I did what you asked me to do—I got three new friends.” The psychiatri...  Read More

You have probably heard the expression, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” I like that and I love apples. They are both delicious and nutritious. However, when I was a kid I used to go every year to the Louisiana State Fair where I would get a candied apple. You probably know what that is. They take the apple and dip it into liquid sugar. The problem is that when you do so, the nutritional va...  Read More

Years ago, Clyde Fant Jr., a homiletics professor, wrote a book in which he proposed the second greatest confession of scripture is when Paul acknowledged, “We, too, are only human like you” (Acts 14:15). Personally, I think that is probably wise for us all to admit.In the story of Elijah, the prophet stayed at the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, during the long drought so that he would have wa...  Read More