Shiloh Christian’s football team is playing for the 4-A State Championship on Saturday at noon in War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas. Moving up in classification this year, it was injected in the minds of most that this would be impossible, even to win our conference. Two years ago, our school won the State Championship, and last year lost the State Championship game in overtime. The opposition this year is the mighty Pine Bluff Dollarway High School, a public school football powerhouse. Last year, they also played in the championship game, losing to Nashville High School.

This game will be the marquis game of the weekend of State Championship games. Again, it will be played at noon on this Saturday in Little Rock. We hope you will make a great day of football and Christmas shopping in Little Rock, coming to support our team. We congratulate the Shiloh Saints football team, their Head Coach, Josh Floyd and his incredible coaching staff, along with the spirit groups, and of course, all their families. This Saturday is a great opportunity to represent our Lord on this statewide platform. If your schedule will not permit you to attend the game, go to: www.shilohsaints.org to watch the game via the Internet, which some folks did in Israel two weeks ago and said it was incredibly clear and great. You can also catch the game in Northwest Arkansas on 105.3 FM . This is a great, great team we are playing with some college coaches calling their star quarterback the greatest Division 1 recruit this year in the state of Arkansas, a pure athlete. We need prayer.

Last Saturday, Bentonville High School under the leadership of Coach Barry Lunney Sr., won the State’s Largest Classification State Championship Game. We are proud for our dear friend and church member, Barry Lunney and his staff, along with the team, the spirit groups, and all of their families. Thanks for representing the Northwest region of our state with this significant accomplishment.

This is the final weekend of High School football in our state. It should be an exciting and fun build-up, and hopefully for the Shiloh Saints will result in a victory on Saturday.

Great music is available for you to experience this Christmas.  There is nothing like Christmas music.  Our hearts are blessed each time various tunes are heard during the Christmas season. There are many options available this week through our ministry.

The Christmas Dinner Theatre at our Pinnacle Hills Campus is a great experience. Last night Jeana and I attended it.  It is entertaining and the food is very good as well.  Tickets are still available for purchase as the performances will continue tonight through Thursday night.  Call 479.271.7799 for tickets or information.

This Sunday, at our Springdale Campus at both 9:15 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., our Choir and Orchestra will perform and engage us in a major Christmas program. I know they have worked hard and their desire is to grant to us a wonderful Christmas experience.  Tickets are not needed as these are worship experiences at our morning service and then another performance at 3:00 p.m. I do hope you will choose to come to at least at one of these, bringing people with you at 9:15 a.m. and perhaps again at 3:00 p.m.

Yes, this is the time to sing.  It is Christmas.

Yesterday, we had a VISION service, the entire service filled with testimonies of Jesus’ life-changing power in the lives of people. Our hearts were blessed because of hearing how many came to Christ within the past year, plus how expansive the ministries of our church are that reach across the world. God has blessed our church greatly.

Perhaps on this Monday morning, you want your heart renewed by the Lord. If you will click below, you will hear a few of the testimonies delivered yesterday.  Oh by the way, we had a Muslim lady come to Christ yesterday after hearing the testimony of Eric Fahim, a former Muslim who now follows Jesus intimately.

Listen below and be blessed today.

[audio:vision.mp3]

Have a great week.

Congratulations is in order for Bentonville High School and Shiloh Christian High School for being the only area teams still in the State Football Playoffs. While many other teams had great seasons, these two are still standing at this point, moving forward with games this weekend.

Bentonville High School is in the State Championship Game this Saturday in Little Rock. This team is led by a great friend of mine, Coach Barry Lunney. Barry has a great heart for God and our church.  He and his family attend The Church at Pinnacle Hills.  Several of the players also attend that fellowship as well as members of the spirit teams.  Some of Coach Lunney’s assistants are also a part of our Pinnacle Hills fellowship.  May God grant them great play and victory on Saturday to win the State’s largest classification football championship. My blog today honors those coaches, players, parents, and spirit teams along with their families.

Shiloh Christian High School is in the State Semi-final Game this Friday night at our stadium on our Springdale Campus. This team is led by by our oldest son, Coach Josh Floyd.  Josh loves the Lord and our church passionately and he and his family attend our Springdale fellowship.  Several of the players and members of the spirit teams attend one of our fellowships at Pinnacle Hills or Springdale.  All of Coach Floyd’s assistants are a part of the Springdale fellowship.  Since the game is in Northwest Arkansas at 7:30 p.m. this Friday night, please come out and support this significant game against one of the state’s powerhouses in all classifications, Osceola High School. If we win, we will play next Saturday in Little Rock against the winner of the Newport High School and Pine Bluff Dollarway High School game.  These final four teams are playing for the Class 4-A State Championship.

Sunday is going to be a great day in the Lord. This Sunday, we will experience the power of what we are all about as a church.  Do not miss it.  I promise you, these services will be quite a blessing to your life.

See you on Sunday morning at one of our services.

The BCS of college football is an incapable system for determining who the best team is in college football. I have never believed in it and this week’s debacle is the result of it:  Choosing Oklahoma over Texas for the BIG 12 championship game, even after Texas won in a head-to-head game in Dallas in October and did so convincingly.  This irrelevant and anemic system has failed the college football fans of America and across the world.

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) needs to determine that a Division 1 Playoff System is imperative. A system that gathers the best teams, whether it be 8 or 16 of them, then play it out all the way to the end.  Of course, money is the driving force in those decisions because of the way too numerous bowls offered to teams that barely even win as much as they lose, even with many only winning one-half of their games.

Can you imagine it?  We have winners through a fair playoff system in every collegiate sport but the most popular one of all, college football.  No, winning is not everything.  However, fairness calls for a fair system of determining the real champion.

I do realize that many who read this blog are not college football fans.  However, I just wanted to speak to this issue that everyone is hearing about right now.  Even President-elect Barack Obama has called for a playoff system.  Well, I agree and the injustice done this year is the greatest proof of its need.

Okay, enough on this and enough of the present system:  Give us a playoff system.

This past Tuesday Doug Sprouse was elected Mayor of Springdale, now the 4th largest city in all of Arkansas. His term begins January 1. Doug has been a committed Christ-follower for years, serving this church in our Bible Study and worship ministries. In fact, there is not anything that he and Sandy have not done in this church.

The city of Springdale has elected a man of God to serve as Mayor. I realize this is not important to some, but it is very important to me. What a rare occasion for our city to have a godly man and capable leader, all in the same package. A man who has demonstrated incredible commitment to marriage and family life, as well as personifying true churchmanship all these years.

Through Doug’s service to our blessed public school system in Springdale, the Lord began to raise him up in our city in a great capacity. Through owning a private business, serving in our church, and then serving in our public schools on the board of trustees, Doug has grown in leadership greatly. Now we understand what some of his journey has been preparing him for. This preparation has now led him to be elected Mayor of Springdale.

Therefore, now we must pray for him and support him in every way. Please put him on your prayer list. Each day I call out Doug’s name to the Father. Please join me in doing this daily.

Let us also call out the name of Mayor Bob McCaslin of Bentonville and Mayor Steve Womack of Rogers, who are also a part of our church. These two men, along with Doug, should be the most prayed for public leaders in our region. So stand up in prayer for these men, church. Please join me in praying for them.

Congratulations Mayor Doug Sprouse … we ARE praying for you.

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things…

Julie Andrews’ song about her love affair with thunderstorms and flowers and the facial hair of a baby cat continues to live in infamy among the hopeless romantics that religiously revisit The Sound of Music. I must admit that I still get a little choked up when Captain van Trapp sings that song about Austria’s national flower, but Maria’s favorite things leave me in serious want … what in the world is strudel? I guess when you are a nun, your Christmas list is pretty limited!

So I decided to share with you a few of my favorite things that I am so thankful for …

The open of my front door … the sound of ecstatic frenzy from my four favorite people … the hugs … the talks and laughter at the dinner table … the tumbling and dancing shows in the living room … always knowing that Ashley, Chandler, Shelby and Anna Grace will be at home to greet me when I get there …

Fall in Northwest Arkansas … a summer sunset at the beach … Krispy Kreme doughnuts … Ruth Ann cookies … hot chocolate with marshmallows … a Route 44 cherry coke … famous fajitas at Pappasitos …

Hearing my kids pray at night … Chandler’s leadership and that he talks to me about everything … Shelby’s compassion and beautiful eyes that melt my heart … Anna Grace’s spunk and the joy she brings to our family … the smile that my Ashley gleams and the love that she has for my Savior …

Watching Chandler, Shelby and Anna Grace play sports … Friday night high school football … Shiloh Christian School … watching college football all-day on Saturdays … the Crimson Tide … listening to my kids sing songs from KLRC … Anna Grace echoing “101.1 KLRC” …

Father of the Bride Part 1 and 2 … watching TV with my beautiful and wonderful wife …

The Stars and Stripes flapping in the breeze … Lady Liberty standing tall … Lee Greenwood singing “I’m Proud to be an American” …

Early morning Truth that is the same yesterday, today, and forever … Love so wide and long and high and deep that I can’t understand it … the promise found in the manager … grace and mercy found at the Cross … hope found in an empty grave …

People that love you unconditionally … friends that believe so strongly in you … family in Mobile, Houston, and Arkansas that is always “cheering” for me …

An exciting and Spirit-filled church … a Pastor that preaches Truth week after week … the group of folks that I work with and that I love to be around …

A Savior that is always there …

These are just a few of my favorite things … So when the unexpected strikes … When the hurt stings … When I’m feeling sad … I simply remember my favorite things … and I don’t feel so bad. This Thanksgiving make a list of your favorite things.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 118:1 (NLT)

As Thanksgiving approaches, I reflect on the many things I am thankful for:

I am very thankful for my heritage and my godly mother. She prayed countless hours for her family before going to be with the Lord. Before coming to know the Lord, I distinctly remember each time I spoke to her she closed our conversations with, “I’m praying for you.” Then, as God answered her prayer in drawing me to the saving knowledge of Christ, she was the first one I called. Therefore, I am grateful my mother never gave up on interceding for me, proof that all parents should never give up praying for their kids.

I’m thankful for my family. I must acknowledge and express thankfulness for the greatest family God has put together. Gloria, my wife, is loving and supportive and is always there to help me in ministry. For the best two daughters and sons-in-law you could ever ask for, I’m also thankful. My four grandchildren bring hours of joy to my life. Lord, I am forever grateful.

I’m thankful for my church family. I am glad to be a part of a church that believes and takes God at His Word. I have the opportunity to serve the greatest people in the world. The Lord has blessed me beyond measure in allowing me to minister to the joys and sorrows that take place in the body. The Lord has always been faithful in every situation. Thank you, Lord!

Paul says, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” I’m so amazed at what God has allowed me to be a part of here at First Baptist Church. Beyond all comprehension, looking back, I’m so thankful for the plan God has for my life.

Thank you Lord!

This week Pastor Floyd has asked three guest bloggers to blog on thankfulness.

I am thankful for the grace of God. Unfortunately, in the Christian culture it is far too easy to grow dull or numb to the depth and reality of biblical terms. We throw them out casually, but somehow our minds and hearts disconnect to the powerful, very real daily implications. Old words can take on new meaning. Grace has for me. My late husband, in a sermon series some years ago, crafted this definition of grace: “The disposition, pursuit and provision of God toward fallen men, whereby He freely offers Himself as a sufficient resource for their every need.” Yes, a mouthful, yet a full, rich picture of the grace of God. He is a sufficient resource for every need. God, by His grace, empowers us to do things we would not otherwise have the strength to do on our own.

My first understanding of grace came with my own childhood salvation. Jesus Christ was a sufficient Savior to provide for my need to be made right with God. I did not have in my strength the ability to be right with the God who created me. “Saved by grace” is the entry point of relationship with God. Yet, God’s grace does not end there. His grace to BE the resource for every need is His perpetual disposition to us.

Six years ago on Thanksgiving, my “every need” was recent widowhood. At our Thanksgiving table was an empty plate and empty chair that left us devastated, brokenhearted and grieving. It was a meal that was nearly unbearable to my heart. I remember it well. Does God offer Himself as a sufficient resource for the common human experience of death that seems to come far too soon? He does. His tender care, His mercy, the hope of Heaven and His strength in the midst of our weaknesses was more real to that 45-year-old widow that I can communicate. Even with tears in our eyes, He was enabling us to walk even if feebly so.

On this Thanksgiving, I look back at the six years that have swiftly passed. His grace, His sufficient resource for my every need has not failed, even in dark days of grief, financial uncertainty, single parenting, critical decisions, disappointment and loneliness. He has truly empowered me to do things I did not have the strength to do on my own by Grace.

I am thankful for Grace.

It truly is amazing.