By Glenn Metts
Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church, Carthage

Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 30:1-10, 19-20 

It is true that the choices we make today will shape our tomorrow. There is a commercial currently running on television for Raisin Bran cereal. In the commercial, a dad is encouraging his daughter, who is going to spend time with her friends, to “make good choices.”

Those were his exact words to her. She turns and looks back at her dad, and she encouraged him to make good choices as well. He holds up a bowl of Raisin Bran and lets her know that he is making good choices regarding his health.  There is a good lesson for us in that commercial. Our choices today will have an impact on our tomorrow.  That’s a principle that can be applied to our spiritual lives as well as other areas of our lives. [Read more…]

By Glenn Metts
Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church, Carthage

Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 18:15-22 

The Word of God is critically important for each generation. Our lesson this week, based on Deuteronomy 18:15-22, shows us that God provides messengers to represent Him in the world.

In the Old Testament, God raised up Moses to deliver His Word to the people. He also raised up great prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, Jonah and others. Their prophecies were predictive for the most part. They warned God’s people of devastation if they did not turn from their sinful ways and often told of things to come. As our lesson points out, these spokesmen also foretold the Lord’s promised salvation that would ultimately be fulfilled in the Messiah. [Read more…]

By Glenn Metts
Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church, Seymour

Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 6:1-13 

Loving and worshiping God is the greatest enjoyment in all of life. I believe that. I love what the Westminster Shorter Catechism states when it says, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Those words were written in 1647. That thought is the heart of our passage this week. Written about 1407 B.C., the heart of Deuteronomy 6:1-13, is that we love the Lord preeminently in our lives. To love Him is to worship him and to walk in obedience to Him in every area of our lives. As our lesson states, “loving God with all of one’s being leads to obedience.” 

Moses is reminding a new generation of the commands, decrees and laws that God has spoken. Although he won’t be going with them into the promised land, he is teaching them who God is and that their lives are to be centered around loving, worshiping, and obeying Him. 

Moses has been their leader, and he is much like a father making sure these truths are ingrained into their minds, and more importantly their hearts.  Verses 6-9 speak of the importance of teaching these truths and living them. These things were to be upon their hearts. They were to impress them on their children. They were to talk about them when they sat at home or walked along the road and when they went to bed and when they got up. In other words, they were to be very careful to pass this on to the next generation. They were not to forget.  [Read more…]

By Glenn Metts
Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church, Seymour

Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 4:1-9

I am so thankful that as a child and young man I was taught the importance of the Word of God.  I have always had a high view of Scripture and value it as the one source of absolute truth. I was raised in the Lutheran tradition and later joined a great Southern Baptist church when I was 16 years old.

When I joined the First Calvary Baptist Church, I had the joy of attending a youth Bible study on Monday evenings led by our pastor. He instilled in us a love for the Word of God and helped us apply it to our own lives. It’s true that the Word of God is living and active! I began to grow in my faith and that has made all the difference in my life. As our lesson this week points out, God is honored when His people listen to, follow, and teach His Word.  [Read more…]

By Glenn Metts
Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church, Seymour

Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 5:17; 19:4-13 

God is our Creator and highly values all life. Indeed, our value as human beings is evident in the Word of God. A beautiful Scripture that reminds us of the value of human life is Genesis 1:26. God’s Word says, “Let us make man in our image … .” Could there be a more beautiful statement regarding human life? 

The triune God head determined together to create human life. Each human being is created in the image of God. How can it be that we have drifted so far in our society from valuing each individual from the baby in the womb to the oldest adult? God values life regardless of ethnicity, economic status, age or disabilities. Indeed, God values human life and expects His people to value it as well.   [Read more…]