Category: Penny Pulpit

Msg #1801 Counting The Cost

Msg #1801 Counting The Cost

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

 

I have sketched five little cross-eyed bears in the margin of my Bible, two in Matthew, two in Mark, and the ugliest near Luke 14:27, that says, “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” Get it? “Cross-eyed bear.” That little clause, “Cannot be my disciple,” is repeated thrice in this chapter and is a stark contrast to, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” We seem to be talking about two different commodities here; the rich man who went away grieved in Mark 10 mightn't teach that, but if you will be a disciple with Christ as Lord, you should count the cost. You will have Conflict with his enemy, and his arch enemy is presently the prince of the power of the air. You will have Contention and the Contempt of this world; even from family, as Christ explained. There will be Constraints on your life, a lot of “thou shalt not” conditions come with him as Lord. There will be Convictions that handle the “gray-areas” of life; i.e. things you cannot do, watch, eat, drink, or play with, places you cannot go, thoughts you cannot harbor, even though other Christians have and do them. Convictions keep filth out of your life; one cannot have faith and filth together, nor fellowship, nor fervor for our Lord. As his disciple you will have Correction and Chastisement; you will never sin and enjoy it again. And Contributions will only start with a tithe, law or not; offerings are not to raise money, they are to raise Christians. Count the cost, but hear a couple crusty testimonies too, and learn the song, “It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus.” Be a disciple, and finish the course.

 

An Essay for week #1 Jan 7, 2018

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Copyright © 2018 Good Samaritan Baptist Church, All Public Domain
A weekly 300 word essay- The Penny Pulpit

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54 Main St. Box 99

Dresden, NY 14441

Msg #1708 What Every Christian Should Be

Msg #1708 What Every Christian Should Be

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

 

Ephesians is the first of the Apostle Paul's prison Epistles, written after two years of his silent reckoning. The Holy Spirit of God aptly inserts a depth in his communication. “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone…. To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God” (2:19-20, 3:10). In this boldness every christian should be under a pastor, a shepherd and teacher, for the perfecting of the saints, that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine (4:8-16). Hebrews 13:7 and 17 (mark them in your Bible) stating that your pastor should have “the rule over you.” Every christian should also be active in the body of Christ (Eph 4:4-7). Not a denomination, with their catholic church, but an independent, autonomous, Bible believing, solid, local, Baptist one. Every christian should be effectually working their vocation, i.e. calling (4:1,4, Php3:14, 1Cor 1:26, 7:20). Don't be deceived by Presbyterians and Calvinists, your calling and election are not to salvation but to service. Effectiveness comes from dedication to the work, dedication to prayer, humility of heart but authority in purpose. And every christian needs to be exercised in the Word. “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night… Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly… but his delight is in the law of the LORD” (Josh1:8, Ps1). This I say, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk.

 

An Essay for week #8 Feb 19, 2017

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Copyright © 2017 Good Samaritan Baptist Church, All Public Domain
A weekly 300 word essay- The Penny Pulpit

Our mailing address is:
Good Samaritan Baptist Church

54 Main St. Box 99

Dresden, NY 14441

 

Msg #1709 Your Praise And Worship Team

Msg #1709 Your Praise And Worship Team

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

 

In a Laodicean church a good praise and worship team can raise the dead, make the spirit of man feel ever-so alive, cause the slumbering one to clap their hands and the lame to dance. But when your praise and worship team is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit dwelling in your soul, your team will slay that resurrected spirit and teach you to die daily. God teaches, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom6:11). The Laodicean team uses their powerful, sensuous, repetitive pounding music to awaken and energize the spirit. The Trinity Team uses the quick and powerful two edged sword to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart… for if ye live after the flesh ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify (put to death) the deeds of the body ye shall live (Heb4:12, Rom8:13). The worship team you follow is a matter of life and death. The Laodicean team readily admits that their copyright bible is a Not Inspired Version (NIV). They suppose that only the autographs were inspired and nobody has an inspired, infallible, inerrant Bible from God. But God, in his inspired Word calls them wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. He counsels them to buy his gold tried in the fire, white raiment, and eyesalve (Rev3:17-18). Don't be settled into the Laodicean church with their rock bands. They have a different Word, a different Way, a different Truth, and a different Life. Be honest, they have a different Christ. The Word said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John14:6). Worship in Spirit and Truth.

 

An Essay for week #9 Feb 26, 2017

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Copyright © 2017 Good Samaritan Baptist Church, All Public Domain
A weekly 300 word essay- The Penny Pulpit

Our mailing address is:
Good Samaritan Baptist Church

54 Main St. Box 99

Dresden, NY 14441

Msg #1710 The Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd

Msg #1710 The Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

 

When David wrote “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want,” God was using a shepherd boy as a pen to write a preamble for his only begotten Son. Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd… I am the Great Shepherd… I am the Chief Shepherd” (John 10:11, Heb 13:20, 1Pet 5:4). How disparaging it would be to go through life with David's twenty-third Psalm memorized, yet not knowing its three-fold fulfillment. “The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep,” and can say, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved” (John 10:9). The Good Shepherd is God's fulfillment of David's twenty-second Psalm, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?… All they that see me laugh me to scorn… saying He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him… they pierced my hands and my feet… They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture” (Psalm 22). On the cruel cross of Calvary the Good Shepherd gave his life FOR the sheep, in place of, instead of, in substitution for, in propitiation of, the sinner… For while we were yet sinners, Christ died FOR us. Have you used the Door? Only the SAVED have a Great Shepherd, that fulfills David's twenty-third Psalm. That Great Shepherd of the sheep, brought from the dead, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, can make you perfect in every good work, as he “maketh me to lie down in green pastures… restoreth my soul, leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his names sake.” At Christ's 2nd coming that Chief Shepherd shall appear with my crown of Glory and fulfill David's twenty-fourth Psalm, “The earth is the LORD's and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”

 

An Essay for week #10 Mar 5, 2017

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Copyright © 2017 Good Samaritan Baptist Church, All Public Domain

A weekly 300 word essay- The Penny Pulpit



Our mailing address is:

 

Good Samaritan Baptist Church

54 Main St. Box 99

Dresden, NY 14441

Msg #1706 Spring Time and Love

Msg #1706 Spring Time and Love

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

 

Happy Valentines Day comes in February like a carrot on a string. It is meant to entice us to press through the cold, dark, frigid throws of winter, remembering the love of life, and push towards the rejuvenating breath of spring time and love. This essay focuses on ten building blocks of blissful matrimony, while you focus on this question, “Why in the world did I marry this woman?” (or gender specific?) List item 1) get your life priorities right, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. That includes a weekly tithe of all that He has blessed you with. The physical and emotional will take care of themselves when we get this one right, God said so. 2) Love and be faithful to your local independent, Bible believing, Baptist Church, it is His most important resource in the maintenance of your life and home. 3) Regularly share your salvation testimony, with a when, where, and HOW. The latter should include so much Roman's Road that anyone could do what you did. It should be your most told story, in that your wife, children, and grandchildren could recite it from memory. These three are building blocks for life as well as blissful marriage. 4) Marriage is a spiritual union, put your main emphasis there; remember Christ's illustrations of the lily and the song-bird. 5) An intimate, personal, passionate relationship with your spouse only comes from one you have with Christ. 6) Learn to communicate well, it is a learned behavior. 7) Children are motivated only by feelings, don't be childish. 8) Use the two golden phrases often (but not together), “I am sorry,” and “I love you.” 9) Control your thought life, casting down imaginations (2Cor10:5). 10) Come back for this one next week.

 

An Essay for week #6 Feb 5, 2017

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Copyright © 2017 Good Samaritan Baptist Church, All Public Domain
A weekly 300 word essay- The Penny Pulpit

Our mailing address is:
Good Samaritan Baptist Church

54 Main St. Box 99

Dresden, NY 14441

Msg #1707 Holding Her Heart

Msg #1707 Holding Her Heart

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

 

My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.” The most challenging construct in a blissful marriage is a husband who knows how to hold on to his wife's heart. It cannot be done with force or manipulation, in fact holding her heart must be an ongoing, thoughtful, tender, deliberate art. God held Abraham's but lost Israel's, held King David's but lost King Solomon's, held Daniel's but lost Belshazzer's. If you will do it successfully it will require selfless love. Immature love is selfish and most do not go much past that. Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Giving your time, priority, attention, even your wallet are less than your life, but many falter there. Your wife also knows when you make her the most significant person in your life… or not. Selfless love will lead to one's genuine significance. She will feel significant physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Don't leave out the latter, God says that if a wife is to learn spiritual truths, let her ask her husband at home. Husbands better open their Bible and teach spiritual truths in the home. Take the lead here or loose her heart. The third aspect of holding on to her heart is giving her security. A wife needs to know that this arrangement is “till death do us part.” Our Saviour and Lord said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” A husband must learn to pass on God's selfless love, his genuine showing of significance, and heart felt security. All three must be physical, emotional, and spiritual. Use these to cradle her heart in strong gentleness. Hold it gently, and marriage is a taste of Paradise. Happy Valentines.

 

An Essay for week #7 Feb 12, 2017

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Copyright © 2017 Good Samaritan Baptist Church, All Public Domain

A weekly 300 word essay- The Penny Pulpit



Our mailing address is:

 

Good Samaritan Baptist Church

54 Main St. Box 99

Dresden, NY 14441

Msg #1703 Nine Fruits of the Spirit

Msg #1703 Nine Fruits of the Spirit

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

 

“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8). Much fruit is God's goal for every believer. “The branch in me that beareth not fruit,” Jesus said, “The Father taketh away” (vrs.2). The wayside, stony, and thorny soil bear no fruit (Matt13). When a professed believer bears no fruit, recall what Jesus said, “By their fruits ye shall know them” (Matt 7). Eternity does not depend on our knowing, so at the funeral give them the benefit of the doubt. In the mean time plead and pray for loved ones as lost souls. The fruitless are taken away and the fruitful are purged to bring more fruit. God's goal is much fruit. In Galatians the Apostle Paul gives eighteen WORKS of the flesh, and nine FRUITS of the Spirit. Consider these nine fruits, consider if they are for your consumption or for others to consume. The fruit “love” that comes from you is for others, but joy and peace are fruits that you enjoy for yourself. Your longsuffering, gentleness, and goodness, others enjoy, while your faith, meekness, and temperance are fruit feasts for everyone to enjoy. The first fruit mentioned, love, is first on purpose. The Apostle John, who mentions us to abiding in Christ to bear fruit, writes his first epistle as a dissertation on love. Love is the first fruit that needs to be tender and plentiful in our lives. John's dissertation contends that love's absence is God's absence. The well purged vineyards around our church bear much fruit when branches are overflowing with sap. It is the presence of the sap that pushes out much fruit. No sap, no fruit! Abide in Christ, keep your mind stayed on him, and bear fruit.

 

An Essay for week #3 Jan 15, 2017

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Copyright © 2017 Good Samaritan Baptist Church, All Public Domain
A weekly 300 word essay- The Penny Pulpit

Our mailing address is:
Good Samaritan Baptist Church

54 Main St. Box 99

Dresden, NY 14441

Msg #1704 Saturday's Woman's Rights March

Msg #1704 Saturday's Woman's Rights March

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

I attended the “woman's rights” march on the Saturday after Donald Trump's inauguration; he is our new president. In Seneca Falls they considered it their right to flood the crosswalks on every green light, so I stayed longer than I wanted. Nobody knew exactly why they were marching so I took a survey of their signs to see what all the hubbub was about. I saw five planks. The first was the right to be amoral in every way. Every sexual perversion never asked about paraded on the crosswalks. Being incensed about the Y chromosome and insisting it does not matter is not very scientific, but it was the main battle cry of “woman's rights.” The right to abort a human life and throw it in the trash was also claimed as their amoral right but it took a back seat to sodomy and the Y chromosome denial. They devised the term “transgender” and cram it down our throats, like Y chromosomes present or lacking, don't really do what they do. The reality is that Jehovah God, man's creator, made Y chromosome and not Y chromosome, and he has the say for our moral right and wrong. He has declared who should have sex with whom, and when a new soul is conceived and takes his image and likeness. Amoral rights are wrong, God's rights are supreme.

The second plank they marched across during green lights is that black-lives matter more than blue-lives matter, and way more than white-lives matter. It is kind of their affirmative action of who should matter more. Reality is that blue-lives, being commissioned to stand between the good and evil of society, matter more. Green-lives, commissioned to stand between the good and evil of nations, are right up there as well, but black-lives are not more deserving of rights because of race or color. Saying otherwise is actually racism.

The third plank I saw on the crosswalk was that carbon dioxide, simple CO2, was going to end the world as we know it. The brain-washing ability of the liberal progressive is displayed in earnest by their calling CO2 the most dangerous pollutant in our world. The reality is that it is a perfectly natural ingredient in God's green earth. We exhale it daily. Real science knows that ocean temperatures rise, algae populations quadruple, and all the CO2, the we could every feed them is devoured, turned into the O2, that we inhale. Algae's photosynthesis produces over half of our oxygen and consumes CO2 to do it. They grossly exaggerate what rain forests do for us. Liberals look at one tiny pieces of God's impressive, self-regulating, cyclic system and suppose the world is coming to an end unless they step in and save it. The progressive demagogues call that “science,” and have pulled blinders across the eyes of three generations. They have fossil-fuel-phobia because of the hoax. Carbon dioxide labeled as a dangerous pollutant, give me a break, where is the “logic and reason” Barrack boasted about.

The illegal cross walkers also supposed that the Muslim religion has more religious rights than those who pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God. It was affirmative action for Islam and Shari'a law. Ignore the Islamic invasions of the past, the 17th century of Spain, the Islamic State called for in Muhammad's 'Qur'an', the sociology-economic-political-militant-religious-system and pretend it to be a peace loving religion. There is nothing peaceful about suicide-bombers and terrorist truck drivers. It is mass delusion that they be given more rights in our public schools than the teacher who would read a Holy Bible, and pray in Jesus' name. The Islamic invasion, not CO2 levels, is what will change the world as we know it. “Woman's rights” march indeed; these are planks of the progressive liberal's agenda!

Lastly, the plank that “woman's rights” marchers paraded in my windshield was to take Jerusalem away from God's chosen people, Israel, and force them to make a two state solution. They would label Israel as “occupiers of Palestinian land,” and force them to share God's ancient “city of peace” with the terrorists that have vowed to “wipe Israel and Judaism off the face of the earth.” That is nothing but diabolical. Satan and the powers of hell were jubilant at Saturdays march and his minions are eager that all five planks get nailed down. Pray that our new president will have the wherewithal to rip up every one of these progressive planks. It is a formidable task for a minority group. Obama had a pen and a phone, but we have a Book and an Almighty God.

An Essay for week #4 Jan 22, 2017

Copyright © 2017 Good Samaritan Baptist Church, All Public Domain
A weekly 300 word essay- The Penny Pulpit

Our mailing address is:
Good Samaritan Baptist Church

54 Main St. Box 99

Dresden, NY 14441

Msg #1705 The Abider's Promise

Msg #1705 The Abider's Promise

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

 

“Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it” (Jer6:19). In Jeremiah the prophet's day, God had a grievance with his chosen people, Israel. In our day God has the same grievance with America. A preacher of righteousness will not be popular. Jesus tells us that the world will hate those who abide in him, and gives love and hate in stark contrast (John 15). There is no room for straddling the fence. He pleads that you continue in his love, assuring that we have the ability to step out of it. “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love” (15:10). Christ's plea to abide in his love is followed by three sobering realities. First we will be his friend, not his servant. He has intimately shared everything with us in the Holy Bible; all of his plans and wishes are written down for us We can be a friend of God, like Abraham, Moses or Daniel. Second is that the world is going to hate God's friends. It is not about you, it is about Christ. He has uncovered the sins of the world, and they are not going to like your candle. Thirdly, his friends have a Comforter and Spirit of truth dwelling in them and are commissioned to bear witness, as they bring forth fruit. There is a tremendous promise associated with these three sobering realities. “That whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (15:16). Two things, the promise is only for those abiding, as witnesses, with fruit, and the word “may” is different than the legal term “shall.” Abide in him.

 

An Essay for week #5 Jan 29, 2017

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Copyright © 2017 Good Samaritan Baptist Church, All Public Domain
A weekly 300 word essay- The Penny Pulpit

Our mailing address is:
Good Samaritan Baptist Church

54 Main St. Box 99

Dresden, NY 14441

Msg #1713 Faith Without Works

Msg #1713 Faith Without Works

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

 

A Bible believer has a great reverence for all sixty-six books of God's revealed Word, but the very first epistle ever written to the Church should hold a special place in our awe. James is that epistle. God wrote us twenty-one epistles, this one was his first. James, the half brother of Jesus himself, wrote it before Gentiles were included in the gospel's outreach. If you do not get the eight things in his outline, get these three, God wrote you an epistle by inspiration, it is the first epistle he ever wrote, and you will not get out of it what he put in it unless you, “Study to show thyself approved unto God.” The eight things are completely interwoven in this epistle. “Faith without works is dead” (2:17). Curiously, his epistle written to Gentiles several years later teaches that “works without faith is dead” (Rom 4:1-5). Faith without discrimination is good. (2:1-9). Society currently teaches that all discrimination is bad, but my parents taught me when it came to my friends discriminating carefully is wise. It is only blind or stereo-typed discrimination that is bad; be sure that all have sinned, and God can save anybody. Faith without trial is fake, and faith with an unbridled tongue is a fire. Faith without receiving is empty lust (4:1-3). Faith without wisdom is vain (1:5-8). Remember the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. James discriminates between Godly wisdom and man's wisdom. A brain forging ahead without God is called philosophy, and it ends up unstable in all his ways. Faith without patience is spoiled-figs, and finally, faith without grudging is real (5:9). Faith that holds a grudge is not pleasing to God, or anybody else. These eight qualities of faith are neatly interwoven throughout five chapters James.

 

An Essay for week #13 Mar 26, 2017

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Copyright © 2017 Good Samaritan Baptist Church, All Public Domain
A weekly 300 word essay- The Penny Pulpit

Our mailing address is:
Good Samaritan Baptist Church

54 Main St. Box 99

Dresden, NY 14441

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