West Salem Baptist Church

(John 21:18)   “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.” This statement was made to Peter by Jesus after he asked him 3 times if he loved hm. As we know Peter denied the Lord three times the night of his betrayal, and so here in (John 21) Jesus confronted Peter on his commitment of love. You see, in the Greek language there are three different words used for the word “love.” 1) “ Agapeo” love . This is the type of love that caused Jesus to die on a cross for mankind. 2) “ Phileo” love . Is the type of love one might have toward a good friend or someone you like. 3) “ Eros” love . An erotic sexual love. The 3 rd is never used in the Bible, but in the first two questions that Jesus asked Peter he asked him if he ...

(Isa. 26:3) “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”  What does this verse mean anyway?  On the evening of the resurrection when the disciples were hiding, Jesus appeared unto them and said these words, “Peace be unto you.” Meaning that we can have #1) Peace in times of fear . When fear enters the heart, most people react by retreating into solitude, or by hiding behind another. The evening of the Lord’s Resurrection we saw both. Thomas abandoned the disciples and the disciples were huddled together for “fear of the Jews.” But Jesus gave them the remedy for overcoming fear. Faith in him, and the power of his Holy Spirit . God has given to us an entire Bible full of promises to read and claim, and then trust in through the power of His Spirit. So, when we are in fear, we just need to find a verse and trust it. #2) Peace in our ministry . We cannot go and do the ministry without ...

(Rom. 13:1)  “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”   In the above verse the words   “powers that be”   refer to the “gift of government” to mankind . God’s intention for government was to rule for Him and not just oneself, and that is precisely why we as American’s should be thankful for our form of government that is patterned after God’s ideology and not this world’s. Our Constitution, Amendments, and Declaration of Independence, were all written by our founding fathers with the will of God in mind, as well as the personal dream of having a free country where every man has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As Americans we have a tremendous heritage to remember and protect. A heritage that has been handed down to us by faithful men who expected us to defend it, because there are those in our worl...