4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!” . . . 9 Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? Jeremiah 7:4, 9-10 (NIV)

  Os Guinness is an internationally renowned speaker and the author of numerous books, including Time for Truth, The Gravedigger File, and Long Journey Home. An Englishman, he was born in China and holds degrees from the universities of London and Oxford.We should seek to understand the sources of the prejudice directed against us, and where there is some reason for it, to work to remove the grounds for the sake of our ongoing witness. In my experience, there are three major sources of prejudice against Christians and the Christian faith in the West today, and in each case the […]

What is the most important thing we can do to make sure our team is effective and comes back safely? Pray for our church’s ministry in West Africa while our members are ministering there. We expect no fruit without concerted prayer. Join us at 8–9am on Sunday October 6th  for coffee and prayer. First Baptist Church of Perryville is located at 4800 W. Pulaski Hwy., :Perryville, MD 

Pastor John Scripture Reference: Proverbs (various)

  Throughout the centuries, Augustine’s The City of God has greatly helped the Church come to grips with her place in the world. The seminal theologian divided the world into “two cities,” the city of God and the city of man, with the former destined for eternal happiness and peace, and the latter headed for destruction. In this oft-quoted passage, Augustine memorably observes that brute force is not enough to make a government legitimate. Justice is essential; without it, rulers are little more than robbers, from the perspective of eternity.

  1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with […]

  It is not surprising that David Reimer took his own life on May 4, 2004. He had never fully recovered from the death of his twin brother two years earlier, and unemployment plus illness had compounded the breakdown of his marriage. But the real damage had been done in his childhood. He was the victim of gender tampering, humiliation, and identity confusion. He had oscillated between being a boy, a girl, and then a boy again: “I thought I was an it.”1

Pastor John Scripture Reference: Matthew 18:1-36