By Randall Pressnell
Senior Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Mount Carmel

Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 15:7-11

Herschel Hobbs told a story of one man asking another, “If you had a thousand hogs, would you give me half of them?” “Sure!” came the man’s reply. “Well, if you had a hundred hogs, would you give me half of them?” Again, “Sure!” was the answer. “Okay, if you had two hogs would you give me half of them?” “That isn’t fair!” came the reply. “You know that I have two hogs!” The man was generous with what he did not have, but was miserly with what he did have. [Read more…]

By Randall Pressnell
Senior Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Mount Carmel

Focal Passage: Exodus 23:1-3, 6-9

In his book When a Nation Forgets God, Erwin Lutzer retells one Christian’s story of living in Hitler’s Germany during the Holocaust. The man wrote:

“We heard stories of what was happening to the Jews, but we tried to distance ourselves from it. … A railroad track ran behind our small church, and each Sunday morning we could hear the whistle in the distance and then the wheels coming over the tracks. We … heard the cries coming from the train as it passed by. We realized that it was carrying Jews like cattle in the cars! We dreaded to hear the sound of those wheels because we knew that we would hear the cries of the Jews en route to a death camp. Their screams tormented us. [Read more…]

By Randall Pressnell
Senior Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Mount Carmel

Focal Passage: Psalm 91:1-4, 9-11, 14-16

Van Morris of Mount Washington, Ky., told of a visit to the zoo with his daughter and grandchildren during which they visited the orangutan exhibit. The only thing separating them from these creatures was 20-feet-tall panes of thick glass. Morris said that his 2-year-old grandson was at first amused by the orangutans. Then one of the hairy beasts suddenly began to beat on the glass. The grandson leapt into the arms of his mother, crying, “I scared!” [Read more…]

By Randall Pressnell
Senior Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Mount Carmel

Focal Passage: Psalm 42:1-3, 6-8; 43:3-5

H.J. Duffy told a funny story in the Christian Reader. “While traveling in Wyoming, we stopped at a garage for minor car repairs. As we waited, my wife spotted a drinking fountain. When she pushed the button, water shot over her shoulder splashing against the wall. She tried again, pushing the button gently and regulating the flow before she drank. This time, as she raised her head, she noticed a crudely lettered sign on the wall: Old Faceful.” I couldn’t help but think that sometimes when we are thirsty — life gives us another face full of pain. [Read more…]

By Randall Pressnell
Senior Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Mount Carmel

Focal Passage: Psalm 32:1-7

In August 2014, Esquire magazine ran an article about the fallout from the cheating scandal that ended the “career and the endorsements for the world’s most successful cyclist.” According to the article the individual has commendably been busy trying to make amends to those he hurt but still “hasn’t experienced the liberating power of forgiveness.” [Read more…]