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Mt. Ennon Baptist Church is a 9000-member megachurch in Clinton, MD, that is associated with the National Baptist Convention USA and is led by senior “pastor” Delman Coates. According to their website, their vision is to be a “Caring, Christ-centered, Community Church, with a Kingdom Agenda.” One of their core beliefs is the importance of “Biblical Preaching and Teaching” , because “The Word of God is the final authority; it is true; it is unchangeable; it is to be used to equip the saints to achieve our mission.” At the same time, however, along with other beliefs centering around “prayer,”...

“‘So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him’” (Matthew 6:8). We do not have to badger or cajole God to ensure that He will hear and answer our prayers or to convince Him that our requests are sincere. Prayer is more for our benefit than God’s, as Luther said, “By our praying … we are instructing ourselves more than we are him.” Our prayers, no matter how eloquent or earnest, can never really inform or persuade God. Our responsibility and privilege is simply to approach Him with sincerity, purpose, and true...

“‘And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words’” (Matthew 6:7). If we’re honest, all of us have been guilty of repetitive prayers—before meals, at prayer meetings, before bed—with little or no thought to what we are saying or how God feels when He hears us do that. But such prayers are offensive to God and should be to us as well. We should understand, however, that Jesus here is not forbidding the repetition of genuine requests. In His parable of the midnight...

Residents of a small town in Arizona are reeling after a pastor was found murdered April 28 in his home. William Schonemann, 76, was pastor of New River Bible Chapel in New River, Ariz., where he was known as “Pastor Bill,” according to the Arizona Republic. Investigators with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office have not released much information on the case beyond confirming they discovered Schonemann’s body the evening of April 28 after responding to a report of a deceased elderly male. They have not announced any suspects, arrests or motives for the crime. The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office...

“‘But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you’” (Matthew 6:6). Jesus’ primary instruction about prayer here is not about the location, but about our attitude in realizing that God constitutes our audience. If you go to a quiet, private place and shut everything else out as you pray, you’ll turn your focus from yourself and others and over to God exclusively. Jesus regularly got away to pray alone so He could have effective...

“‘They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full’” (Matthew 6:5). In Jesus’ time, the synagogues were the likeliest and most appropriate places for sincere public praying. Devout Jews also offered many prayers on street corners, if that’s where they were at the appointed hour of prayer. But the word Jesus uses here indicates a major street, and therefore a major street corner where a bigger crowd would likely be. By inference the hypocrites were at...

“‘When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full’” (Matthew 6:5). Over the centuries, various questionable practices and attitudes have affected the prayer life of God’s people—ritualization, prescription prayers, limitations of time and place, the love of long prayers, and meaningless repetitions. But the worst fault was when God’s people prayed mainly to be noticed by others, especially by fellow Jews. This fault was...

Forty years ago, the idea of seeing Roe v. Wade overturned in our lifetime was little more than a dream and a prayer. Those of us in the pro-life movement – including and especially Southern Baptists, through the work of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission – worked tirelessly to that end, but we did so without any assurance of seeing it come to fruition. I had the privilege of serving as the head of the ERLC for 25 years (1988-2013), and I know from personal experience the critical difference the ERLC has made not just on the vital issue...

Join us as we explore the topic of spirituality, specifically when it comes to demons and the Devil. Lucifer, an archangel created by God, also known as Satan, possesses remarkable power, yet it pales in comparison to the infinite power of his Creator God. Join Pastor Jack as he gives Biblical insights and opinions on the demonic spiritual realm, as well as what some denominations choose to talk and not talk about regarding this important topic. Video is 30:34 minutes long

“‘When you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you’” (Matthew 6:3–4). When you give as Jesus directs—lovingly, unpretentiously, and with no concern for public recognition—“your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” In other words, if you remember, God forgets; and if you forget, God still remembers. You should simply try to meet every need you can and leave the bookkeeping to Him. This kind...

Isaiah 53:10 "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand." John 12:27-28 "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. (28) Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." Luke 22:42-43 "Saying,...

“‘When you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you’” (Matthew 6:3–4). Continuing from yesterday’s list of scriptural giving principles, four more come to mind. First, financial giving correlates to spiritual blessings. God will not entrust things of greater value to those who are not faithful with lesser things. Jesus asks, “If you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to...

Isaiah 59:1 "BEHOLD, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:" Psalm 138:3 "In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul." Daniel 9:21 "Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation." Psalm 27:9 "Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me...

“‘When you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you’” (Matthew 6:3–4). From this and other Scripture, we can learn principles to guide us in God-honoring giving. First of all, genuine heart-giving is an investment with God. “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured...

“‘When you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you’” (Matthew 6:3–4). The most satisfying, God-blessed giving is that which we do and then forget about. We do not wait for or want recognition—we’re not even concerned whether the recipient is grateful or not. The act should be so discreet that even our left hand will not realize what happened. The Old Testament describes giving as a part of God’s...

The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) saw widespread growth in 2024, with notable increases in membership, giving and professions of faith, according to the denomination's latest five-year statistical summary published by the Administrative Committee.Of the 1,667 congregations in the PCA, 992 submitted statistical data revealing a 1.84% increase in total membership over the previous year, bringing the total to 400,751 — up from 393,528 in 2023, according to ByFaithOnline, the official magazine of the PCA.This marks the third consecutive year of membership growth for the denomination.The five-year summary, which summarizes data from 2020 through 2024, showed upward trends in nearly...

“‘When you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full’” (Matthew 6:2). Giving to the poor literally means any act of mercy, but it came to mean more specifically the giving of money or goods to the needy. Jesus did not say “if” but “when” concerning our giving—in other words, He expects us to do so. But just as sympathy for the needy does not help them...

Join us as we study in the book of Romans. Message begins at the 36:45 mark but as the counter is counting now, it's showing time left and that means going to the -1:01:40 mark. He speaks a little before preaching so it might just be easier to fins the spot where the Scripture passage is shown.

“‘Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect’” (Matthew 5:48). These words embody all the truths Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount—in fact, they are the apex of all He teaches in the gospels. The ultimate goal of our redemption and the sincere, strong yearning of God’s heart is for all who would trust in His Son to be like Him. The word translated “perfect” essentially means arriving at an intended end or realizing a completion of something. The word elsewhere in the New Testament is often rendered “mature” (cf. 1 Cor. 2:6; 14:20;...

“‘For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?’” (Matthew 5:46–47). These words of Jesus were perhaps the most devastating and offensive ones the religious leaders had ever heard. The Lord bluntly stripped away their hypocrisy to reveal that their love was nothing more than the ordinary self-centered love common among the despised tax collectors and Gentiles. Tax collectors were dishonest, traitorous extortioners; Gentiles were considered...