Whenever I get the opportunity to baptize someone into Jesus Christ, my emotions are all over the map. It's a combination of sincere, heart-deep joy and panicky, clammy-handed nervousness. Here's why:

In the past, a big part of my nervousness has been over petty stuff. I get nervous about sounding silly or looking silly. Admittedly, I have an ongoing fear that I'm going to drop somebody in the water. Irrational and silly? Yes. But true? Unfortunately, yes.

But in my better moments, when all of that is gone, rather than fading, the disquiet is often even stronger. My heart races and my hands often tremble as I realize the gravity of what is happening at that moment:

• I'm witnessing the moment that God saves someone's soul from Hell.
• I'm seeing the moment that God transforms someone's heart.
• I get to be a spectator to death of the old life and resurrection to new life in Jesus.
• I'm witnessing God's forgiveness of a lifetime of sin.
• I'm watching as God fulfills so many of his promises at once.
• I'm right there as God breathes life into a person's soul like he did to the first man he created.
• I'm seeing a testimony to the fact that the Devil has been defeated.
• And I'm rejoicing with the angels that one more sinner has repented.

And as all of that starts to sink, the thought that is always in my mind is, "How do I say something that even comes close to describing this marvelous reality? How do I communicate how astoundingly powerful God has made this moment?" I know what I usually say. And I know what I will probably say in the future. But I also know that those words fall far short of the real significance of the moment.

So, until the power and splendor of baptism into Jesus Christ fades from the scope of reality, I guess I will have to continue being nervous.

- Dan Lankford, minister

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before 
its shearers is silent, so he opens not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)

“And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do.’” (Luke 23:34)

“Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on 
the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:39)

“Roll with the punches.” That phrase comes from the realm of boxing, where competitors are taught to pull their bodies in the direction that an opponent’s punch is thrown in order to lessen the blow and therefore allow the fighter to endure a little longer.

While Jesus does not use that same imagery, he does give us some related encouragement to endure the blows that life will inevitably deliver. In the verses above, the Holy Spirit encourages us to press on in a life of faith even when you must suffer. Obviously, these verses are meant to encourage Christians in the toughest times: when you or your loved ones are threatened, attacked, or killed for believing in Jesus. But if we are being encouraged to roll on through the punches in those hard times, how much more should we endure our smaller sleights and struggles? Can’t we learn to “roll with it” sometimes?

My encouragement to you is this: Don’t take too many things personally. Find peace in forgiving others. And when life delivers a hard blow: roll with the punch, admit that it hurt, and keep on fighting the good fight.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Consider Paul’s words about the human heart before and after Christ: “...you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:21-24)

When our lives are transformed—which we often call ‘converted’—by Christ, a change takes place at the core level of existence: the heart. This is why we must always recognize the difference between a person’s need for conversion and his need to “learn the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26). We need true conversion; not just moral improvement.

Look again at Paul’s words. Do you see the contrast between “deceitful desires” and “renewed in the spirit of your minds”? Conversion means more than living a better moral life; it means changing what we want. Does that mean that we will no longer be tempted? Of course not. But it does mean that we no longer dwell on those desires—the ones that corrupted our lives and robbed us of salvation and joy in God.

For those of us in Christ, our prayer should be that God would transform our minds, that he would make us altogether new people, and that our desires for that which is holy will grow ever stronger. I pray that every person who names Christ is truly converted to be a Christian at every level, down to a change in the heart.

- Dan Lankford, minister

In the fall of 2007, Lisa and I drove to Florida to do something we had never done before. We were taking our daughter, Lesley, to Florida College to begin her college career. It was fairly traumatic for us, the first time she would live away from us after 18 years of being with us all the time. And she is our first born child, so we just had never experienced this.

To top it all off, we lived in Kentucky and she was going to be in Tampa, Florida, some 14 or so hours away. It wasn’t like we could just visit her on the weekend whenever we wanted. Her mother and I felt a sense of sadness, but we didn’t want to say anything about it so Lesley wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the whole thing. She was excited about meeting new friends and anticipating her studies that would take her closer to the college degree she sought and so she was looking forward to the experience while we were dreading it.

We pulled up to the girls’ dorm where she was going to be staying. It was the same dorm her mother had lived in when she attended Florida College. After we parked, Lisa and I looked at each other silently and took a deep breath (it was probably more like a sigh, to be honest). Here we go.

The first person to come flying out of the dorm to help us carry Lesley’s luggage and clothes inside was Ralph Walker. His familiar and genuine smile gave us some instant comfort. We had met Ralph through mutual friends years before but really didn’t know him well. We had heard him speak on various occasions and he was always encouraging to listen to and we felt a little better knowing that someone we trusted would be close enough to help if she got into trouble. After helping us find her room and carry everything in, Ralph was ready to assist the next family.

But before he left, he put his arms around Lisa and me and told us that it was going to be a great year for Lesley, that we had made the best decision in choosing to send her to Florida College and assured us that she would be fine. (We already knew all of that, but it was reassuring to have a friendly and kind reminder.)

A bit later in the school year, actually her second semester there, she was driving her little car to a Sunday evening church service with some friends. They had become quite close and Lesley often took them wherever they needed to go. They were not far from campus, headed toward the congregation where they all had placed membership, and the car broke down. Driving down the road, all of a sudden, there was a really loud screeching sound. When they stopped, the noise stopped and they realized they had to quit moving so they pulled over on the side of the road. None of the friends knew anything about fixing a broken car and they were not sure what to do.

Lesley was getting ready to call Triple A auto services and, as she was looking for her AAA card, a car pulled up and the driver asked them if they needed some help. They were uncertain about whether that was a good idea to have someone they didn’t know to help them but they noticed he was not alone. They could see that his wife was with him in the car, so they said, “Sure.”

To make a long story short, as they talked, they discovered that the man helping them was Ralph Walker’s son in law, Joe Cable. He and his wife, Bonnie, were headed to their own evening services, saw someone who needed help and without even realizing that everyone in the story was a Christian, Joe offered to do what he could to help them. It turned out to be a broken muffler and Joe twisted a metal clothes hanger around the muffler and the chassis of the car so it wouldn’t drag on the ground and they all went on their way. Lesley’s car was fairly loud without a functioning muffler, but it got them where they needed to be and a few days later, she had the car repaired.

All of that happened because Ralph and Paula Walker reared a godly daughter (three of them, actually) with values that included helping people in need and when she married, she chose a husband who had been taught those same values. And although it cost them some time and inconvenience (they were probably late for services), they did the right thing and helped. I have never met Joe and I doubt that he is a Samaritan, but he learned that parable of Christ well enough to put it into practice. If I ever get the chance to meet the Cables, I will shake his hand and thank him for teaching some young people a valuable lesson about kindness.

Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).

--Roger Hillis

"Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice." (Prov. 16:8)

It is all too easy to look at our lives and focus on what we don't have. We feel like we do not have enough time, enough energy, or enough money. Maybe we feel that we do not take enough vacations, we do not have enough good friends, or we are not respected enough.

While there may be times of legitimacy to some of that kind of perspective, the verse above reminds us that it does not take much to have what is best for us. If our lives are governed by God's righteousness, we will find contentment in him. And so even if we do not have enough time to do all that we want to, if we use our time in righteous ways, it is enough. If we do not have as many friends as we would like, we can still be righteous with the friendships we do have, and it is enough. If we are not as highly revered in a particular realm of life as we would prefer, we can be an influence for righteousness in a small circle, and that is enough.

May God give us the ability to be perpetually content with whatever portion he gives us. And may we have the determination to be wholly righteous with our portion in life.

- Dan Lankford, minister

About two months ago, some of our members met a disheveled-looking older man named John at an evening service. He sat alone on the back row near the media booth—if you're a member, you may remember seeing him if you think back. I’d like to tell you his story.

John was at the church building when I arrived to work one weekday. He was living in his car and had spent a cold night here in our parking lot. I introduced myself and asked, “What can I do for you?” His answer: “I was just wondering if I could have a cup of coffee and somebody to talk to. I haven’t talked to anybody in a long time.”

John and I had breakfast together that day, and I was impressed at what an intelligent and honest man he was. He quoted several poems (favorite poet: E.E. Cummings), great novels (favorite: Moby Dick), and ancient religious creeds (at one point in his life, he was a diligent seminary student). He was open about his past, about his current vices and sins, and about his current needs. And he shared a good deal about his family life and how he had gotten into the predicament where he was that day.

The most compelling thing about him was that he had deliberately created a distance between himself and his family—four siblings all living here in Louisville—because he felt unworthy of their love. And, as these things often go, as his life got worse, he believed himself less and less worthy of being accepted back among them. He had made no contact with any of them for over 4 years.

After we spent a long time together, I bought John a place to stay for a couple of nights, told him to clean himself up and get something to eat (it’s amazing how much good that can do for the mind and the heart), and gave him a Bible with Luke 15 bookmarked (look it up real quick; it helps the story). I encouraged him to read it that night, and I invited him to come worship with us on the promise that we would do our best to help him more then. At the service he came to, we were talking about the importance of solitude as a spiritual discipline. And although John had been alone for a long time, he told me later that the sermon helped him to see the difference between seeking healthy solitude and isolating yourself as he had been doing for so long.

So the next morning, John came to the church building and we called his sister with whom he was the closest. She and her husband both cried on the phone when they heard that he was okay (they had wondered if he was even still alive), and they asked is they could come meet him. After not having spoken in almost five years, they had a tearful reunion in our lobby, and some of the first words spoken were, “Come on, John. Let’s go home.”

The scene reminded me of Luke 15. A son who had gone astray was welcomed back home by those who love him. It showed a small glimpse of God’s love and his willingness to bring even the most ragged, ashamed, and broken spiritual son home into his family. And it showed what brothers and sisters should do when one of our own comes back from the prodigal fields—celebrate their return and enthusiastically welcome them among us!

Pray for John, that he and I can continue our friendship and that I can share the gospel more fully with him. And give thanks to God that he is willing to accept wayward sons like us into his home.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Like everything he or she does, a Christian’s use of social media must be governed by the wisdom of God. Jesus’ instruction to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16) applies as much in what you share as in how you speak. So here are a few considerations for those of us who use them to do that in a way that fits with a living faith:

• Above all, be clearly Christian in your social media presence. Comment with language that is appropriate for Christians. Refuse to post, like, and share pictures that are inappropriate. Speak out about cultural matters with a Christ-like humility & conviction. Show gratitude (cf. Rom. 1:21) for God’s blessings. Care about the lost, the isolated, and the downtrodden. If the real you is Christian, let the digital you be equally Christian.
• Share truth. If you are going to share your beliefs about current events, public figures, or cultural matters; do so with thoughtfulness, prayer, and a humble desire to spread truth. Don’t find yourself regretting the speed with which you jumped on a trending bandwagon that turned out to be utterly vain or false.
• Share truth (it’s in here twice for a reason). Any tool for communication can be a tool for evangelism in the hands of a Christian. That is often awkward, but it is a great way to be the light of the virtual world.
• Encourage others. For all the complaints many people make about digital interactions being less personal than face-to-face, your digital voice can still be and encouragement to others. (It can be particularly helpful in the cases of Christians who have left the faith and rebelled against God.)

Plenty more guidelines could be given, but even these simple ideas will help us if we are serious about being people of faith in all areas of life.

- Dan Lankford, minister

When the Lord called Gideon to do a great work in delivering the Israelite nation, he didn't call him because he had proven himself a great man of war. In fact, at that moment, Gideon was proving himself to be a scaredy-cat. And yet, God's first words to him were, "The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor." (Judg. 6:12)

Why did God call him a mighty man of valor when it was so clear that he wasn't that? The key to the second phrase is the first phrase: "The Lord is with you."

If you are doubting whether you have what it takes to do the Lord's will today, be encouraged by the fact that God has given the same promise to us that he gave to Gideon. Paul frequently ended his letters with this blessing: "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." And he will be.

Whatever the will of God has commanded of you today, know that the Lord is with you and will give you the strength to accomplish it, even if it's very difficult. The Lord is with you.

- Dan Lankford, minister

The limited number of things that Jesus spoke from the cross have been the subject of much preaching over Christianity’s two millennia. The gospel writers record seven comments that he made during those six hours. Two of them are quotes from the Old Testament, and both have been in our daily Bible readings these past few weeks.

When he said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, he was quoting from Psalm #22. And when he said, “Into your hands I commit my spirit,” he was quoting from Psalm #31. When heard from one hanging upon the instrument of his death, both seem to ring with a clear tone of defeat. And yet... In both of the psalms that Jesus quotes, the final assessment of the situation is more about hope and redemption than about death and defeat.

Psalm 22 begins by questioning why God is away from the psalmist, but it ends in celebration of the psalmist being drawn into the presence of God (read Psa. 22:22-24)! And while it may sound that his quotation of Psalm 31:5 is a sign of Jesus’ giving up, the psalm continues on to say, “Oh, how abundant is your goodness!” (Psa. 31:19)

Two observations here:

1) Jesus knew that in his death, the will of God was being accomplished, so his comments did not reflect his perspective on failure, but rather on the ultimate triumph of faith in an almighty, all-good God!

2) We may rightly lament our troubles—for they may be great—but we can always turn our eyes upon on the throne of God and find hope. As another psalm says, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psa. 30:5)

- Dan Lankford, minister

In the midst of his grander point in one of Sunday's lessons, I found a great deal of wisdom in one of brother Tack's short asides. Here's a quick reminder of his point and then a reflection on it from me:

To deviate to the right side of the path of faithfulness to God is to wander into legalism; the belief that you must be good enough to redeem yourself from sin and its consequences. And to deviate to the left side of the path of faithfulness to God is to wander into libertine religion; the belief that God's grace will freely cover even the sins we commit willingly—that we should continue in sin so that grace may abound.

Of course, neither of these is the God-given, Biblical path to redemption, and the reason they both fall short is a fundamental truth that both of them misunderstand in the same way.

What do both liberalism and legalism have in common? They both underestimate the horror of sin. Legalism purports that sin's contaminating power is small enough that I have the power to overcome it on my own. Liberalism imagines that sin is not really all that bad in the first place, so its consequences toward us are negligible. Both misunderstand the compulsory life-debt incurred by sin and imagine that it is something small.

Which leads to the other problem with both deviations from Biblical truth: by downplaying the gravity of sin, both erroneous philosophies trivialize the grace of God. It's either not necessary at all (the legalist), or it is just a cheap band-aid for a petty problem (the libertine). Neither is the case when we look at what the apostle Paul says about the grace of God.

"...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." (Rom. 3:23-25)

- Dan Lankford, minister