Author: Pastor Bailey

“Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.” (Colossians 3:14, CEV) Do you want to know how best to spend your life? Here it is: The best use of your life is love. God says you need to make learning how to love your primary objective, your greatest ambition,…

“You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him.” (Deuteronomy 30:20, NLT) The Bible teaches this about love: Love is a choice and a commitment. You choose to love — and you choose not to love. Today we’ve bought into this myth that love is…

“One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.” (Psalm 145:4) It can seem like hard work living in the kingdom of God. It can feel like there is so much we should be doing, and so little actually gets done. Many congregations are shrinking and ageing. It can be a…

“Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” (Psalm 85:6) Five hundred years ago this month, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, and set in motion a movement that rocked Europe. Though many other factors joined to launch the Protestant Reformation, God used a…

“Jesus went out to the lake with his disciples, and a large crowd followed him. They came from all over. (Mark 3:7) How good are you at sharing responsibility and delegating tasks? I admit that I’m not very good at this. I prefer to do things myself rather than trust others to do a job…

“While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.” (Mark 14:3) Just before Jesus went to the cross,…

“So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” (Mark 2:28) Sometimes, when we look at the world around us, there seems to be hurt, injustice and oppression everywhere. As children of the kingdom of God, we are called to shine a light on that injustice and to care for everybody as our…

“Bless the Lord, O my soul …” (Psalm 103:1a) When read in the various versions, it’s all about God! Let all that I am praise the Lord (NLT). Praise the Lord, my soul (NIV). Bless the Lord, O my soul (ESV). Hebrew uses the word “bless”. To me, bless is a fuller, richer, deeper-nuanced word…

“Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29) What God commands you to do, He will give you the grace to do. But that doesn’t mean it will be easy. Shadrach, Meshach, and…