By Scott Brown
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly

Focal Passage: Luke 15:20-32 

The prodigal son, as you likely already know, had shamed his father and broken that relationship horribly for the sake of getting his inheritance early and living his own way. Such an act as this younger son did would have been absolutely reprehensible to even consider. The father gave him his portion of what would rightfully be his one day.

 Living up to the name of this parable, this “prodigal son” wastes all of it rather quickly on shameful living. A famine comes upon the land, forcing him to become a slave to another man not only feeding pigs but being jealous of how well they ate. This man could hardly sink lower. Formerly a Jewish man of prominent family name, he is now a servant to the pigs. 

This is exactly what he deserved. Finally seeing his sin and its effects clearly, he returns home in hopes that his father would at least let him be a servant in the household. He knows he is no longer worthy of being called son but hopes to have any relationship with his father, even if it is only as master. You know the story, the father runs to him and joyfully restores him to sonship. This something he could never deserve, grace.  [Read more…]

By Scott Brown
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly

Focal Passage: Luke 10:25-37 

An expert in the law, testing Jesus, began questioning Him about the law. This wasn’t the inquisitive questioning of a heartfelt seeker but an arrogant questioning seeking only to trap Jesus through cross examination. This lawyer sums up the law rightly with the Great Commandment. He seems to be missing the point, though.

A consuming love for God produces a love of others without preconditions because of being so greatly loved by God. Knowing that He should love God and neighbor, he wants to know who qualifies as his neighbor. Who must he love and who can he hate? What I love about Jesus’ response is that while this scribe is asking what kind of person his neighbor is, Jesus responds by showing what kind of neighbor he himself should be. [Read more…]

By Russ Wilkins
Dir. of Missions, Shiloh Baptist Assoc., Adamsville

Focal Passage: Luke 9:18-27 

For years in our country, it was fairly easy, if not advantageous to be a Christian. Christians could get by with a “casual” relationship concerning Jesus and there would seem to be no consequences. Being a moral church member was “good enough.”

If you owned a local business, you were a “good guy”, went to church every Sunday, you may even become a deacon. But now, things have reversed. Showing up at church may cost you. People in the community may even consider you as judgmental or a bigot simply because you go to church. Now, we have come to a point where we have to ask ourselves if it is worth it to go to church. Some of the numbers seem to suggest many do not think it is worth it. [Read more…]

By Russ Wilkins
Dir. of Missions, Shiloh Baptist Assoc., Adamsville

Focal Passage: Luke 7:40-50 

Several years ago, I was early in my time as a youth pastor and there was a boy in the children’s department that was a “ring tailed tooter.”

Right before I got on staff, he had thrown an unopened coke can in the bonfire. Of course, it exploded, and as a result, a couple of people had minor injuries.

There were always stories about what he and his friends did and just about every one of their Sunday School teachers resigned from teaching. For two years, I heard, “I feel sorry for you when he gets into youth.” [Read more…]

By Russ Wilkins
Dir. of Missions, Shiloh Baptist Assoc., Adamsville

Focal Passage: Luke 6:1-11 

How do we show that Jesus reigns in our life? “But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Why I am starting our focus of the first eleven verses of Luke 6 with a verse from 1 Corinthians 13? That is a fair question so let’s back up and look at those verses from Luke.

Jesus and His disciples are walking through a grain field and the disciples begin to pick some “heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.” Big deal, right? Maybe you’ve done something similar walking through a soybean field or even picking apples off of a tree.  The only problem was that they were doing it on a Sabbath so the “Sabbath police” (Pharisees) were watching and of course they had something to say about it. [Read more…]

By Russ Wilkins
Dir. of Missions, Shiloh Baptist Assoc., Adamsville

Focal Passage: Luke 5:17-26  

This is one of those Scriptures where I love to picture being there. Imagine that you are in a primitive home with very few windows or doors in the first century.

The room would be fairly dark even in the middle of the day. It would be dusty and hot as people were packed in so tight in this room that no one else could fit. People were even outside the windows and the door listening.

As Jesus is speaking, pieces of the ceiling begin to fall in, and your attention is drawn upward. Suddenly, light pierces into the room and you and everyone else shades their eyes to see what was happening. [Read more…]

By Russ Wilkins
Dir. of Missions, Shiloh Baptist Assoc., Adamsville

Focal Passage: Luke 5:4-11, 27-32 

As I am writing this article, we are knee deep in football. The national championship game has been played and there are some exciting NFL playoff games ahead this weekend.

By the time you receive this it will be time for the Super Bowl. I know many of you could not care less about football but just bear with me, I have a point. [Read more…]

By Russ Wilkins
Dir. of Missions, Shiloh Baptist Assoc., Adamsville

Focal Passage: Luke 4:16-30 

Remember how much you loved fast food as a kid and now as an adult the thought of eating it makes you sick. Or how “flybacks” looked great in the 70s but now you can’t imagine having that hairstyle ever again.

Do you remember how convenient it was to have a phone in your kitchen with a cord on it that would reach halfway around the house? Would you ever go back to that now? [Read more…]

By Russ Wilkins
Dir. of Missions, Shiloh Baptist Assoc., Adamsville

Focal Passage: Luke 6:27-38 

This Scripture is too hard to live out so come back next week for a new set of Scriptures to talk about.

Are you still here? Okay, let’s talk about it then. Today’s Scriptures are so challenging and to make matters worse, Jesus is the one who spoke them. They are “red letter” Scriptures. When I think of my faith, I sometimes like the easy faith.

You know, the believe and receive type of faith but Jesus is clear about the “take up your cross daily,” “follow Me” and “no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom” type of faith too. [Read more…]

By Russ Wilkins
Dir. of Missions, Shiloh Baptist Assoc., Adamsville

Focal Passage: Luke 3:7-18 

Occasionally I’ll try to build or repair something around the house. Inevitably, it will always be harder and take longer than I imagined. Why? Because I am not skilled in this area so I am not as prepared as I should be. I believe this is often true spiritually. We rush into God’s presence to “ask a favor”, we call on Him only when we are desperate, or we pray to mark it off of our to do list for the day. [Read more…]