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2023 Elders’ Report

As we come to the end of the Annual Meeting, I would like to read our 2023 Psalm of the Year: Psalm 8 To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David. [1] O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. [2] Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of yo...

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Pastor Blair’s Top Ten Books of 2023

Reviews can be found in previous blogs. Hamilton, Pauline. To A Different Drum. 10ofthose Publishing: Leyland, UK, 2023 Beale, G.K. D.A. Carson, Benjamin Gladd, and Andrew Naselli (eds.). Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, 2023. Ventura, Robin (Ed). A New Exposition of the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689....

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (October 2023 through December 2023)

Ascol, Thomas (ed.), Dear Timothy: Letters on Pastoral Ministry. Founders Press: Cape Coral, 2016. This is a collection of essays written in the form of letters to a fictional young minister ("Timothy") as he begins his first pastorate. The wisdom comes from a variety of well-respected Reformed ministers and scholars from the United States and International. Such names as...

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Our 20th Anniversary!

Next Sunday, October 29, we will be celebrating our 20th anniversary as a congregation. It falls on the choicest of days, as it is Reformation Sunday. We love celebrating these anniversaries as they are a homecoming to us. While everyone is invited, if you were a part of our initial work here at Providence, we would especially love to see you at one of the two events of th...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (July 2023 through September 2023)

Adams, Isaac. Talking About Race: Gospel Hope for Hard Conversations. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2022. I started this book back in February during Black history month. I had to lay it aside as a bigger project interfered. But I resumed reading it this summer. This is a great book regarding race and much needed. Note the title- this is not a book about race- but a volume on...

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The Ugly Parts of the Scriptures

I recently went on record in my sermon three weeks ago, that I believe the Bible is the most wonderful book on the earth. It is supernaturally composed and can reveal to us not only our great God but also who we are as well (James 1:22-25). The construction of 66 books written over two millennia having a complete story from beginning to end and the fact that it still has r...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (April 2023 through June 2023)

Akenson, Donald Harman. A Protestant in Purgatory: Richard Whately, Archbishop of Dublin. Archon Books: Hamden, CT, 1981. I have frequently come across Richard Whately's (1787-1863) name in my studies. He has been considered somewhat of an enigma in history as to what his purposes were when he became archbishop of Dublin for the Church of England. Many wonder if he was a ...

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Preparing for the Lord’s Supper

Recently, I read Aubrey Sequeira's little book on the Lord's Supper (you can find this in the book reviews). Many people ask me how can I make the Supper more meaningful. The number one way that you can enhance this means of grace is to prepare at least the night before. Knowing that we celebrate the Supper on the first Sunday of the month allows you to meditate on the eve...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (January 2023 through March 2023)

Chin, Richard. Captivated by Christ: Seeing Jesus Clearly in the Book of Colossians. Matthias Media: Sydney, 2019. Next month I am leading a men's retreat at another church. We will be working through the book of Colossians and I was looking for helpful resources to assist me in my preparation. I had this one on a shelf and read through it quickly. This is probably a goo...

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Pastor Blair’s Top Ten Books of 2022

Reviews can be found in previous blogs. Brotherton, Marcus. Blaze of Light: The Inspiring True Story of Green Beret Medic,GaryBeikirch, Medal of Honor Recipient. Waterbrook: 2020. Strickland, Darby.Is It Abuse? A Biblical Guide to Identifying Domestic Abuse and HelpingVictims.PR Publishing:Phillipsburg, NJ, 2020. Peter. The Ten Commandments: A Guide to the Perfect La...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (September 2022 through December 2022)

Allen, Leslie C. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1976. I was able to grab hold of this reputable commentary at a thrift store. The NIC series is well known and even the older copies are of great use. I was not satisfied with the previous study on Joel, so I thought this...

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An All-Sufficient Savior for An Insufficient Man

Dear Church Family, I officially returned to my office duties on Monday, December 5. I am open for business (so to speak)! I am a much better, well-rounded person upon my return. First, I want to express how grateful I am that you had the foresight in your personnel policy to provide a sabbatical period for your senior pastor every seventh year of service. That is amazin...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (July 2022 through August 2022)

Boothe, Charles Octavius. Plain Theology for Plain People. Lexham Press, Bellingham, Charles Octavius Boothe (1845-1924) was the founding pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama (later renamed King Memorial Baptist after Martin Luther King, Jr.). He created this theological primer to meet the needs of the people sitting in his pews, from the busines...

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Taking A Break

I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to take a sabbatical from my pastoral duties starting September 13. I have been in contact with three fellow area pastors and each of them had taken recent sabbaticals as well. They encouraged me greatly about how re-energized they are to serve their congregations once again. I have had people ask me, why am I taking a sabbatical,...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (April 2022 through June 2022)

Barcellos, Richard. Better Than the Beginning: Creation in Biblical Perspective. Reformed Baptist Academic Press; Palmdale, CA, 2013. I have completed my initial overviews of Genesis (my next sermon series). Now I am getting down into the 'weeds' so to speak by studying issues related to the book. I am glad I picked up this volume because Barcellos places Genesis within ...

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2021-2022 Annual Elders Report

'Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.' Perhaps you recognize those words. They are from Psalm 33 (our Psalm of the Year). They appeared to be appropriate words for us as we emerged from the COVID world of 2020. The Lord's eye has been on us....

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Elder Response to the Report on Sexual Abuse in the SBC

Elder Response to the Report on Sexual Abuse in the SBC If you are not aware, a report regarding the handling of the victims of sexual abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention was released on Sunday (it can be found here https://www.sataskforce.net/updates/guidepost-solutions-report-of-the-independent-investigation). It was done by an independent task force and is...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (January 2022 through March 2022)

Benton, John. Straightening Out the Self-Centred Church: The Message of Titus. Evangelical Press: Durham, 1997. As you can tell by the spelling this is a British publication. It is an expository commentary on Paul's letter to Titus in the Welwyn series. This was also a $5.00 bookstore find and worth every penny. Benton does a remarkable job of portraying the first centur...

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Getting the Most Out of Our Annual Psalm

Getting the Most Out of Our Annual Psalm Our Psalm of the year is Psalm 5. I encourage you to listen to last week's sermon to familiarize yourself with the meaning of the text. But I have been asked before, 'How can I make better use of the Psalms for the entire year?' Here are eight ideas: Meditate upon the Psalm. This is what I do every Sunday morning as part of my...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from October 2021 through December 2021)

What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from October 2021 through December 2021) Alcorn, Randy. The Treasure Principle: Bible Study. Multnomah: New York, 2018. This is a Bible study based upon the book with the same name title. Lisa and I did this study together using the DVD. I would say the videos are dated and definitely need to be redone. But we were both challenged ...

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Wonderful Weeks of Reflection and Worship

We are in the midst of some amazing events here at Providence. This past Sunday, we just got finished celebrating our sixth annual chili supper at the Kelly's farm. (Congratulations to Susan Herder on winning our competition!). It was a pleasant evening with a delightful fellowship. Thank you to Amelia Kelly and all the members that organized the gathering. But there are w...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from July 2021 through September 2021)

Ammon, Mark. The Power of His Reign: An Easy Introduction to Amillennialism. Lowerlight Books, 2019. If one is looking for a brief overview of the amillennial eschatological position, this it. I have yet to find a better survey within an easy-to-read format. Ammon begins the book by defining the major eschatological positions fairly without criticism so that the read...

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Back in the Saddle Again (But with a Little More Clarity)

It is good to be back at work. I am grateful for these three weeks off (four Sundays of preaching). It allowed me to attend to some household needs that I have neglected. (I am almost caught up on those!) And it also allowed me to have the space to address some spiritual needs. One of the resources that has been guiding me is Sinclair Ferguson's book Devoted to God. It h...

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Gone But Not Forgotten

I wanted to announce to you that the elders have granted me a mini-sabbatical. It will begin this week. We have been tremendously blessed at Providence over this past year. We have had unprecedented numerical growth. And I confess this has brought many challenges to me. There have been a host of counseling appointments and meetings that have invaded my personal time. I ...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from April 2021 through June 2021)

Begg, Alistair. Made For His Pleasure: Ten Benchmarks of a Vital Faith. Moody Publishers:Chicago, 2018. In this short volume, Alistair Begg (pastor of Parkside Church in Cleveland, OH) outlines the basics of Christian growth. While this book is essentially about sanctification, it's not so much what one has to do as much as it is a description of what the Christian expe...

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Summer Prayer Meetings (and why you should be there)

Tomorrow night we will begin gathering as a church body to pray. We do this now for two reasons. First, the time is excellent to meet as a body when our small group ministry is on break for the summer. We know how hard it is to maintain attendance when there is frequent travel. Therefore, this is an excellent time for the body to join together in fellowship. But second, ...

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A Great Way To Serve!

A Great Way to Serve! Would you like to serve your church family by participating in our worship service? We need your help. We are looking for people to read scripture during the worship service. Many of our older members remember when this was a common practice at our services. There are only three requirements to participate: You must be a member in good standing at...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from January 2021 through March 2021)

What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading(from January 2021 through March 2021) Alcorn, Randy. Heaven. Tyndale: Carol Stream, IL, 2004. I have never read this book cover to cover until now. Prior to this I read the abbreviated 50 day devotional and consulted the larger work as a reference. I am glad that I did this now. In 2021 I have been re-evaluating my eschatology (the do...

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Easter Sunday Lord's Supper

Dear Brothers and Sisters, We are eagerly looking forward to our first unified corporate worship service in over a year. The last time we met all together for an entire service was March 15, 2020. And even though we might be separated by a simulcast in different rooms, the vast majority of us will be under one roof. While this is a small step moving forward, we long for t...

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When a leader lets you down …

I have had a few conversations with people over the recent exposure of Ravi Zacharias double life. I have one friend who was devastated by the revelation as he truly looked up to the man as a hero. Lots of questions begin to go through your mind. 'Was Zacharias a Christian? If so, how could he do such heinous acts? Are my current church leaders trustworthy? Is Christianity...

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2021 Church Re-Opening!

Last Tuesday night your elders along with several ministry team leads met to discuss re-opening the church for public use. We gave praise to God that the infection rate in Madison County hit its peak on January 13th and is now in steady decline. And while not optimal, the Huntsville Hospital System is seeing a decrease in its burdens, both in the ICU, beds, and ventilators...

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An Open Letter To a Discouraged Saint

Mike Emlett is a Biblical counselor that works wit CCEF. He recently wrote a blog that seemed to pair well with the sermon from this past Sunday. You can click on the link below to find it. It is a brief 3-4 minute read. But take a moment to allow the truth to settle inside and mull it over. It will encourage you and bless you. https://www.ccef.org/an-open-letter-to-a-dis...

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Sanctity of Life Sunday Change

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I wanted to update you on a change for this coming Sunday. I have made an 'executive' decision to postpone our normal Sanctity of Life Celebration from January 17 until March 7. On that date, we will also have our Child Dedication service as well. Let me explain why in four reasons: The date of the third Sunday marks the closest date to the ...

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Top Ten Books read by Pastor Blair in 2020

This year, I read 67 books. (The 'Shelter in Place' order obviously left lots of time for reading). Here is my top ten for the year. I have been asked why I do this. I find it helpful to see if a book had a lasting impact after I read it. Putting together a list like this helps me to reflect on what I read earlier and then later- rediscover if I want to read the book again...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from October 2020 through December 2020)

Capps, Matthew Z. Knowing the Bible: Hebrews a 12 Week Study. Crossway: Wheaton, In our devotions, Lisa and I used this study to guide us through the book of Hebrews. There are pros and cons with using it. To its credit, it does capture the Biblical theology of Hebrews. And in addition, it does point out the relationship of the book to the gospel message. However, the qu...

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Did the Grinch Steal Christmas?

By now, you are aware of the elder's decision to have livestream only worship for the next three weeks. Already, I have received some negative feedback from that decision. So, I thought it prudent to communicate to the church body my own perspective. First, there was not a single elder that did not agonize over this decision. We, all to a man, know how important it is t...

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2020 Annual Elder Report

It may be that this is the first time that you have participated in one of our annual business meetings. Every year, the elders try to report on the state of the church. We look back to 2019 for the goals that we set for 2020, record how we are doing -as well as giving you an idea of the next steps for coming year for our church body. Who would have known at our last annua...

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Regretting What I Didn’t Say

After my sermon this morning, I had a check in my spirit. I felt it soon after I preached. In one particular moment, I was too heavy upon the law and too light upon grace. Our topic for the morning was on persecution in Matthew 10. As Jesus, spoke about the truth being made known, I was drawing upon the fact that nothing escapes God's eyes when it comes to justice. My word...

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Curiosities, Novelties and the Bible

My concern is for teachers of the Bible. As a teacher, it is inevitable that as you study the Bible and theology, you will come across a perspective that you have never heard before. For example, while I was studying the subject of angels and demons for my sermon in Matthew 8, I discovered some new research that tweaked my interest. None of it was relevant to what I was pr...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from July 2020 through September 2020)

What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading(from July 2020 through September 2020) Davis, Dale Ralph. In the Presence of My Enemies. Christian Focus: Fearn, Scotland, 2020. This is Davis' third installment in this series. Previously he released, The Way of Righteousness in the Much of Life and Slogging Along in the Paths of Righteousness. This book covers Psalms 25-37 (don't...

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More Thoughts On Fasting

I was doing my personal quiet time when I came cross Zechariah chapters seven and eight. Within this section is a real warning about spiritual discipline fasting and a reminder of what purpose it should serve. In way of a reminder, Zechariah prophesied in the period between the return of the exiles from Babylon and the rebuilt temple. It was at this time a delegation came ...

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Growing through Fasting

Last Sunday, we learned about the Spiritual Discipline of fasting. It is a practice that I do not do often, but when I do, I derive great benefit from it. I have learned from several other spiritual mentors on this subject, so below is a list of recommended reading on the topic. Dave Mathis. Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines (Crossway, 2016...

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Phase 2 of Sunday School

We are excited to begin offering Children's Sunday School at the church. We have surveyed our parents and asked them if they are ready to have their children back and the vast majority responded with a resounding, 'yes!' So under the direction of our Children Sunday School directors, Ric and Giselle Crooks, we are pleased that we can start once again. Our planned beginning...

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August COVID-19 Update

I was asked by a very dear friend, a very good question; 'Is the church sending a mixed message by saying we want you back and then asking members to rotate church attendance?' My answer is I hope not. Allow me to explain why I think that way. Right now, due to state and CDC guidelines, we are limited in our physical space at the church. There are some churches that think...

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An Update on our COVID-19 Protocols

Greetings Brothers and Sisters, It has been our joy to regather in corporate worship even if all have not been able to participate. With the recent spike in our state and county of coronavirus positive tests, we wanted to update you about what we are doing. Let me remind you that there is no fool proof way to prevent the spread of the virus in any public setting. But we a...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from April 2020 through June 2020)

Begg, Alistair. Pray Big: Learn to Pray Like an Apostle. Epsom, UK: Good Book Co., 2019. Every year, I try to read a book on prayer to inspire me in the discipline so that it doesn't become a monotonous duty. I want prayer that helps me thrive spiritually. And this short book was the right medicine for such an occasion. I did not learn much that was new. But is was an e...

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The Convictions of a Pastor Over Racism

I am utterly heartbroken over the murder of George Floyd. I cannot imagine what his family and friends must feel after seeing the video broadcasted day after day on our news outlets. I am also angry that this has happened again to another African American by a police officer. We have assured fellow Americans of color that we would get better at this, and we still have fail...

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Preparing Your Heart for Worship: What Are You Here For?

Right now, church re-openings and their procedures have captured my attention when they are on the news. I was watching a reporter interview one individual as he was entering his church building. She asked him, 'why did you come today?' And he responded, 'I am exercising my constitutional right to come to my house of worship!'. My thought was 'really? She asks you THAT que...

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Preparing Your Heart For Worship: Help I am Just a Volunteer

I was mad and I was frustrated. I was speaking to the customer service representative of my cable and internet company. Once again, I was having to request that they come out and fix the same problems that were supposed to have been fixed a week ago. And to top it off, I was being told that they would schedule a technician in a week. I was having to keep my temper in check...

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Preparing Your Heart For Worship: What do I do with my kid?

When you have small children, parenting is already difficult. When you throw in the environment of a pandemic it seems doubly so. These days are challenging. Most likely, you are tired of being indoors and not having playdates with other families. The constant demands of feeling like you must keep your child occupied (or entertained) make you long for 'nap time' (either th...

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Preparing Your Heart For Worship: Loving Your Neighbor

I admit that I am an introvert. People are always surprised that preachers and actors can be on a platform, yet still desire to avoid attention- but I am living proof of it. I am uncomfortable when people make much of me. Seven years ago, I had the privilege of engaging an unreached people group in South East Asia. This particular island was remote and rarely had any forei...

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Preparing your Heart for Public Worship: Embracing the Awkward

Over the next few days, I hope you will read these brief emails to prepare your heart for the re-gathering of the body. It was 10 weeks ago when we stopped having public worship at Providence. We were blessed that we already had a fantastic Media team in place to livestream our services. The elders decided to proceed in that manner. I was the first to preach in that envir...

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National Day of Prayer- May 7, 2020

The National Day of Prayer has been held annually ever since 1952 (you can read about its history here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day_of_Prayer). It is a day that calls upon citizens to pray for the United States. It is based upon the biblical mandate that we should pray for our government leaders and for the well-being of the land in which we live. (see 1 Timo...

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Why we are suspending the Lords Supper for the present crisis

In this difficult season, I want to explain why we are suspending the Lord's Supper until the entire church body is able to gather again. The plain and simple reason is that the New Testament teaches us that the act of the Lord's Supper is a corporate event. A few years ago, I remember watching the series television series From the Earth to Moon. It was the first time tha...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from January 2020 through March 2020)

What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from January 2020 through March 2020) Beeke, Joel Rob Wynalda. Matthew: The 17:18 Series. Grand Rapids: ReformationHeritage, 2014. The 17:18 series is based upon Deuteronomy 17:18 which specified that the ling of Israel was to write out all the books of the law by hand. Reformation Heritage has created a journal for each book of t...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from October 2019 through December 2019)

What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from October 2019 through December 2019) Angel, Sivert, Hallgeir Elstad, Eivor Andersen Oftestad (eds). Were We Ever Protestants?Essays in Honor of Tarald Rasmussen. De Gruyter: Berlin, 2019. This is a festschrift for Taral Rasmussen, a well-regarded historian at the University of Oslo. He has been teaching at that institution sin...

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Coronavirus

Dear Church Family, I wanted to let you know that the church staff has been staying aware of all developments from the CDC regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19). First, we have been praying for the infected areas. God is sovereign over every situation. At this point, there are no plans to cancel any services or domestic mission trips (though we may have some international ...

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Top Ten Books Pastor Blair Read in 2019

Last week, I shared Donald Whitney's Ten Questions to ask for a new year. I wrote how the questions help me set goals for the upcoming year. Coupled with that, I am frequently asked about my reading. Someone asked me recently, 'how are you able to stay disinclined with the volume of books you read?' I mostly read for professional development. With one or two exceptions, I...

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Achieving 2020 Vision in 2020

I know we are a week away from the New Year. But once again, I would like to share a spiritual discipline with you that has given me great advantage. I am a goal-oriented type of person. In my work, I tend to make lists that keep me on track. I have various calendars in which I can mark progress. Give me a target that I can aim for, and I will get results. But the opposite...

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Having God Speak to You On a Regular Basis

In the sermon this past week, we spoke about how God speaks to you through his word. Regular Bible reading shapes our conscience and creates avenues in our thoughts in which the Holy Spirit prompts us toward sanctification. But in order for this to happen, we must be diligent to take in the word. Eric Geiger offers this helpful (and encouraging) article about how to begin...

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2019 Annual Report

'The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!" Those words should sound familiar to you. It is the last verse of Psalm 50, which was our Psalm of 2019. From that passage, we saw that the Hebrew nation was under judgment of Yahweh. They had developed an attitude of entitlement. And they we...

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The Voice that Will Not Be Silenced

I have a very dear friend who actually knew Martyn Lloyd Jones and sat under his ministry while he attended school in London. His wife told me that she remembered when he received the final volume of Iain Murray's biography of Lloyd-Jones (It is in two parts). He immediately sat down to read it. She told me that when she descended the steps and entered the kitchen the next...

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6 Members Who Build Up the Church

This article written by Chopo Mwanza from Zimbabwe is too good to pass up. It's a great resource to check your heart about your own involvement in church membership. https://www.9marks.org/article/6-kinds-of-church-members-that-build-up-the-church/...

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Supper and then Supper!

This Sunday we have fallenness opportunity to live out the New Testament. On this day, we get to have the Lord's Supper and a fellowship meal together. This is somewhat of a rarity in our contemporary era. From 1 Corinthians 11, it seemed to be the practice that when the church gathered, they celebrated the Lord's Supper and had a meal together. In Paul's mind, this seeme...

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Ten Years A Member

It is strange to think that this week marks my seventh anniversary as being the senior pastor of Providence Baptist. But even more remarkable, is this is the tenth anniversary from when we began attending the church. It began when I resigned from my previous position back in Tennessee and before I left for school in Britain. I had been having exchanges with a friend from ...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from July 2019 through September 2019)

Allberry, Sam. Lifted: Experiencing the Resurrection Life. Phillipsburg, NJ: P R Publishing, 2010. I am very familiar with Sam Allberry's writings as an evangelical who struggles with same-sex attraction. I have found his counsel and example to be inspiring. But this is the first work that I have read by him that does not delve into that subject. Allberry provides a co...

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‘Evangelicals and the Bible’ A History Symposium to honor David Bebbington

I am so glad that I serve a church that allows me time off for personal improvement. This past week, I ran off to Baylor University in Waco, Texas. The university was hosting a symposium in honor of my PhD supervisor David Bebbington. David recently retired from the University of Stirling and is completing one final semester teaching at Baylor (at least for now). Thomas Ki...

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New Elder!

We are pleased to introduce, Michael Hutchison our newest elder to the community. Mike was confirmed by our congregation this past Sunday. If you haven't gotten to know him yet, make sure you do. Below is a brief biography. Thanks for serving us, brother! Mike Hutchison, Elder Mike grew up in a really small town (Pratt, 660 people) in rural West Virginia and came to fa...

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Is He worthy?

Last year I had the privilege of attending the Sing! Conference. At one point, Andrew Peterson came to the stage to sing his song 'Is He Worthy?' from his album, Resurrection Letters, Vol. 1. If you are unfamiliar with the song, it is a confession of call and response from the congregation. The song begins with an admission that we live in a broken world and we are compl...

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Eric Geiger’s 10 Commandments for College Students

Many of us have children that are headed back to college. Eric Geiger is one of my favorite authors and researchers. He sent out a list this past week that shows a practical use of the Ten Commandments for college students. I shared this with my daughters and thought I would share it with you. http://ericgeiger.com/2019/08/10-commandments-for-college-students/ By the...

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And we are off …

We broke ground for our new education building last Sunday. It was a wonderful evening or prayer, fellowship and celebration with delicious Handel's ice cream. Psalm 127:1-5 (ESV) 1Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go ...

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A Time to Rejoice

Ecclesiastes 3:1 'For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. It seems appropriate to acknowledge the wisdom literature of the scriptures as we celebrate our ground-breaking this Sunday evening. God is so good to us. The education ministry of Providence is a primary tool that we use to make disciples. Jesus instructed that Christians s...

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Work, Leadership and Making Disciples

I have been contemplating this past Sunday's sermon and I wonder if I made the connection between leadership and disciple making strong enough. I said that the call to make disciples automatically puts us into the 'leadership' category because we are leading others to Christ. Too often, the thought of making disciples is regulated to evangelism or an initial gospel prese...

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The Move is On!

This week marks a new challenge in the life of our church. First the good news: The portables are gone!!!! Second, the bad news, the portables are gone. That means over the next six to eight months all of our adult Sunday School classes and youth classes will be meeting in the sanctuary and all of our children's classes will be scattered throughout the main building. Our ...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from April 2019 through June 2019)

Allison, C. Fitzsimons Allison. Trust in an Age of Arrogance. Eugene, OR: Wipf Stock, 2010. Allison is the former Episcopal Bishop of the diocese of South Carolina. He is a rare conservative voice in the Episcopal Church USA (In fact, I am not sure he has remained within his own organization at this point). He has written only a few books. They appear maybe once ever...

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Opening eyes and hearts to help the poor

In my sermon this past week, I said I would recommend some resources to assist you in the best ways to help the poor. Why do we keep doing the same wrong things over and over again? Why do we expect different results from using those same old methods? This is what we must be challenged in doing. I am going to recommend five books that will change the way you view the poor ...

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Is it wrong to charge interests?

In our study on wealth and poverty in proverbs, I had some questions about the issue as to whether or not it is ok to charge interest since our banking system is based on the concept. Kevin Deyoung has said it better than me, so I will refer you to his article. I hope it blesses you as it blessed me. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/is-it-wrong-to-...

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Supporting the Boarding House

Providence Baptist Church supports a boarding house in Southeast Asia. Children from surrounding islands come to the city that we are working in to receive an education. The local church in this city pays for 100% of the children's expenses. We have created this adoption process to take the financial burden off the church and create pen-pal relationships with the students....

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from January 2019 through March 2019)

What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from January 2019 through March 2019) Alexander, T. Desmond. From Eden to the New Jerusalem: An Introduction to BiblicalTheology. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2008. This was the most recent choice of my men's group that meets on Thursday morning. It may seem elementary to some, but it is amazing how quickly people forget the meta-na...

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The Blessing of Gifted Friends

We have a true blessing in our church. April Box is a gifted writer. Over the past couple of years, she has been writing a blog about everyday moments. She and her dear husband have been blessed with an incredible little boy that some would term 'special needs'. The Box family sees him as the true gift that he is; a precious child created in the image of God. April writes ...

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Learning to Rest

In this past week's sermons, I talked about the misapplication of the 'sluggard' passages in Proverbs. I said that they don't apply to two groups; those who are burned out and those who are work-a-holics. With the former group, they feel extreme guilt when they here the words 'lazy' or 'slothful' when the truth of the matter is they are exhausted. The latter group uses the...

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Sexual Abuse Reporting Update

Our elders met last week to consider this serious matter in light of the Houston Chronicle article exposing sexual abuse in Southern Baptist Churches (see http://www.providencebaptist.us/blog/post/sex-abuse-investigation-of-sbc-leaders). It was a true blessing to meet and discover that all of us were of one accord on this issue. We all agreed that a) there should be a clea...

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Sex-Abuse Investigation of SBC Leaders

On Sunday morning, a few minutes before I left my office to go to the worship center to preach, a friend sent a text to me. I knew he would not text me in this hour unless it was important. Within it's contents was a link to the front page story of the Houston Chronicle (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/) detailing their investigation of sex crimes committed by leaders wit...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from October 2018 through December 2018)

What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from October 2018 through December 2018) Anon. Proverbs: The 17:18 Series. Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage, 2011. This was a Christmas gift to me from Laura Hogue. The inspiration is from Deuteronomy 17:18 where the Hebrew king was to write out the law of God. Reformation Heritage has produced a journal to do this with each book o...

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Pastor Blair’s Top Ten Books Read in 2018

Pastor Blair's Top Ten Books Read in 2018 As usual, my top ten tend to reflect my interests in history. I choose the ranking on how much the book influenced my thinking. If I have found myself still pondering and dialoguing with the content much later, I rank the book higher. The reviews can be found in my earlier blog posts. Traeger, Sebastian Greg Gilbert. The Gos...

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2018 Annual Report

Presented at the 2018 Annual Business Meeting It is with a great deal of pride that I get to present the elders annual report on this our 15th anniversary of Providence Baptist Church. This coming Friday will mark the official date of the signing of the church covenant, but we held our celebration a little over a month ago in a warmer climate. On behalf of the elders, ...

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Don’t let these two important events pass by you!

We have two important events coming up in the life of our church. The first is our annual missions banquet. Providence has the privilege to sponsor two domestic church planters and four international missionary families. We will hear from them this Sunday night, 5:00 PM, on December 2 at the fellowship hall of Capshaw Baptist Church. In addition to this, we will kick off o...

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Giving By Guilt

It is that time of year again. Thanksgiving and the holidays are before us and various organizations are asking for some type of contribution. At Providence, alone, we have the Madison County Sherriff's Chaplain Corp, Operation Christmas Child, Lunches of Love, the Downtown Rescue Mission and Lottie Moon, not to mention the 50/50 fund and regular tithe. With so many reques...

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Fifteen years and going strong …

It seems hard to believe, nine years ago, via Facebook, my friend from high school asked me to come down from Winchester, TN to see her church. I had just resigned my previous position in order to attend school overseas and I finally ran out of excuses to say no. So, on one Sunday in September, 2009, Ella and I drove down to Huntsville for our very first experience at Prov...

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Further thoughts on the temptation of Eve (and a clarification)

1 Timothy 2:13-14 (ESV) 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. After the service on Sunday, I had someone bring the above verse to my attention. They wanted to challenge me that Eve was deceived, when I said she was not. I think I must have had a 'deer in the headlights' look. I couldn't ...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from July 2018 through September 2018)

What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from July 2018 through September 2018) Buchan, James. The Authentic Adam Smith: His Life and Ideas. New York: W.W. Norton Co., 2006. As I prepared for my trip to the Pacific Rim, I focused on the historical figure of Adam Smith (1723-1790). Smith is considered the father of modern economics and the proponent of the free market syste...

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Another word on gossip

Many of you expressed how much you learned about gossip last Sunday. Like I said in the sermon, I can't take much credit for it. The descriptions of the various types of gossip came from Matthew Mitchell's book, Resisting Gossip: Winning the War of the Wagging Tongue. It offers great insight into this sin that we rarely notice. Perhaps you are not a reader. That's OK. Mitc...

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A God Bigger Than Our Fears

On the heals of last weeks sermon on Proverbs 29:25, I came across this sermon by John Piper. It was preached in June, 1993. The sermon speaks of sending his son Benjamin to boot camp the previous week and the concerns that came with that on the heels of the Gulf War. 25 years later is son is safe and sound. It is an encouraging read to hear the honesty of worry and anxiet...

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Doing good to Jesus

On Sunday morning, I concluded the service by introducing three ways to help cultivate an attitude of doing good toward others. The first was to stop being self-absorbed (Phil. 2:3-4). The second was to set your mind that doing good to others will require sacrifice. It means you will have to suppress your own desires for your resources (whether it is your money, possessio...

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The Wisdom of Reading Proverbs

Donald Whitney is one of my favorite writers. His book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life revolutionized my growth as a Christian. I found this recent article to be an inspiration to reading Proverbs repeatedly. If you reading through the book has become lagging these last few weeks due to repetition, perhaps this will keep you at it. http://equip.sbts.edu/art...

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Letters to the Pacific Rim

In a few weeks our team will be heading out to the Pacific Rim. Letters to the students at the boarding house are due to the Church office by July 22. I have been asked, 'What do I say?' There is no right or wrong answer to this question. But let me offer a few suggestions. Avoid politics or anything related to religious controversy where Christians are in the minority....

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from April 2018 through June 2018)

What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from April 2018 through June 2018) Brand, Chad. Flourishing Faith: A Baptist Primer on Work, Economics, and Civic Stewardship. Grand Rapids: Christian's Library Press, 2012. This book is within a series on how various denominations view the concepts of work and government. Brand writes from the standpoint of a committed Baptist. H...

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Food

This Sunday afternoon we will be having our annual church-wide picnic at the home of Matt and Amelia Kelly. I am looking forward to it and I hope you are also for a better reason than the first two items in the title. I am sure we will have great food (Kevin Hammond the Grill Master will be cooking the burgers and the dogs). And I am sure Matt will be driving the kids arou...

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‘Adopting a child’ at the Boarding House

This past Sunday you were introduced to our partnership with the Christian boarding house in the Pacific Rim. The church we work with in this area have established a home for children so that they can live in this city in order to receive an education. Some of these children have been discarded by their families. Most live in remote areas of other islands where there is no...

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Global Hymn Sing 2018

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Back on February 25, Providence participated in a global hymn sing. We joined over five thousand churches from seventy-six different countries in singing the hymn, Jesus Shall Reign. Our purpose was to join our hearts together in public proclamation of this great doctrinal truth. We are not ashamed to stand before the world and affirm that our Jesus shall reign wherever th...

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Working with our friends in Maine and Why it Matters

The first week of July we have a team of seven men headed to Christ Fellowship in Portland, ME to do some church renovation. I visited our good friends, Scott and Julie Terry there last November who planted the church. Portland is beautiful, but it is also located where it is exposed to harsh elements such as sea air and frigid temperatures. The good people of Christ Fello...

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Eight ways to deal with your entertainment addiction (escaping from escapism)

Sunday morning, after our sermon on laziness, someone caught me at the door. He said, 'Blair, what you just preached is me. I really struggle with being distracted by ______________ that keeps me from resting, working well and enjoying God. You pegged me. But what do I do about it?' While Solomon offers his wisdom and counsel on this matter beginning in chapter 10. I reali...

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What if I told you that you would win the publisher’s clearing house sweepstakes?

What if I told you that you would win the publisher's clearing house sweepstakes? Would you send in your entry form? What if I told you that you will achieve great heights in your career? Would you make sure you attend college to prepare for it? What if I told you that you would win the championship? Would you show up for practice? What if I told you, your retirement plan ...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from January 2018 through March 2018)

What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from January 2018 through March 2018) Anon. Isambard Kingdom Brunel: A Life from Beginning to End. Hourly History, 2017. The premise of the Hourly History publications is to introduce the reader to a subject in less than 60 minutes of reading. This one was on the life of the great engineer Isambard Brunel. He is considered one of Br...

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Verse by verse

I preach through the Bible expositionaly; which simply means I expound upon each verse as it comes in the text. Some of the topics I preach upon are a pleasure to address. Others can be awkward and difficult within a public setting. The upcoming verses in Proverbs 5 through 8 will be a challenge to some. Throughout these chapters, Solomon addresses the subject of marriage ...

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Preparing your heart for Resurrection Sunday

We have been hearing a lot about 'the heart' in our study of Proverbs. So, I want to address your heart concerning the events of the coming week. Lord willing, on Sunday morning, we will celebrate another Resurrection Sunday together as a church family. Now, we know that every Sunday should celebrate the risen Christ. But there is something special about celebrating the re...

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Serving the Lord through Monika Carroll

This is just a reminder that throughout this month, we are collecting money for Monika Carroll's trip to Ecuador. Monika has made eight previous trips to this beautiful country. And if you know Monika through her work at CEF, she is passionate about getting the gospel to children. Recently, she has branched out in working with children in very remote villages through min...

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Discipleship Projects or People?

This past Sunday, I preached a sermon on the topic of discipleship. Proverbs 4:10 and 13 taught us that those who are newer to the faith should remain in posture to receive wisdom from those more experienced in their faith. Likewise, we saw from Proverbs 4:11 that mature believers should be involved individually with a less mature believer in nurturing their growth throu...

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Global Hymn Sing this Sunday

During this Sunday's worship service, we will be singing the classic hymn by Isaac Watts, Jesus Shall Reign. We will be doing this in conjunction with churches all over the world who will also sing this hymn in multiple languages. The purpose is to draw attention to unreached people groups that still need to hear the gospel. This great hymn, based upon Psalm 66 reminds u...

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Proverbs

This week's Blog is the outline I was supposed to give you in last week's sermon. I hope it helps your study of Proverbs 3. Sermon Outline ...

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Being a Good Dad

As I have been working through Proverbs 2 and 3, I can't help but see that at the time of writing Proverbs, Solomon was being the ideal father in leading his family spiritually. According to Deuteronomy 6, parents were teaching their children how practically to apply God's words to individual circumstances in life. Consider this text and notice particularly the italicized...

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Confessions of a ‘Good Dad’

So here it goes I am not a perfect father. I have made many mistakes over my lifetime, and I have also made many mistakes since becoming a father. Who am I to teach my kids how to live their lives? Solomon had the dilemma. As we know Solomon was granted wisdom beyond most human beings. Yet he flittered away that wisdom wasting it on human excess and pleasures- particular...

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Come Said Jesus' Sacred Voice

On Sunday, I mentioned that in the book of Proverbs, the person of Lady Wisdom is synonymous with Jesus. She is crying out in the streets calling people to repent and listen to her. I can't help but think of one of the hymns that Matthew Smith performs on the Indelible Grace Volume 5 CD. It is entitled 'Come' Said Jesus' Sacred Voice. It is the same sentiment of Lady Wis...

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Pastor Blair’s Top Ten Books Read in 2017

As usual, my top ten tend to reflect my interests in history. I choose the ranking on how much the book influenced my thinking. If I have found myself still pondering and dialoguing with the content much later, I rank the book higher. The reviews can be found in my earlier blog posts. Trueman, Carl R. Luther on the Christian Life. Wheaton: Crossway, 2011. Paretsk...

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How I was introduced to Indelible Grace?

How I was introduced to Indelible Grace? Prior to working on my doctorate, I was a college and university pastor in Tennessee. We had our own Bible study on Sunday morning (and on Sunday Evenings after church services in the summer). Prior to our study we sang songs, and I could tell the students were interested in songs with substance. So, at one of my conferences, I cam...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from October 2017 through December 2017)

What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from October 2017 through December 2017) Beale, G.K., The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: 1-2 Thessalonians. DownersGrove: IVP Academic, 2003. This was a nice overview of the Thessalonian correspondence. I consulted it from time to time. However, it suffers from both a lack of detail in some areas and possibly accommodates the...

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Preparing for 2018

It's that time of year again when you hear of people making New Year Resolutions. I am no different. I do try to set spiritual goals for myself that are realistic but also stretch me to depend upon God for lasting fruit. To that end, I have found Donald Whitney's questions for self-evaluation very helpful. (http://biblicalspirituality.org/10-questions-to-ask-at-the-start-o...

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Final Thoughts from Thessalonians

As we finished our sermon series on the Thessalonian correspondence, I challenged you to grade yourself upon the eight great themes found in these two letters. If you were like me, you didn't give yourself an 'A' in any of the categories because you were well aware that we all could use improvement in some area of our lives. But most likely there were one or two where you ...

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Why You Should Come to the Annual Meeting

Just 50 years ago, no one who was a member of a church would even conceive of skipping a business meeting. Yet in our day an age, it is quite common for people to be absent from one of the most important meeting of the year.Some people skip it, because they don't like conflict. But I think at Providence, we are most likely to skip because it is conflict free and runs so s...

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Being Thankful for You

Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year. I love the autumn. I love the food. I love the sports. And I love the emphasis on being thankful (especially before the materialism of Christmas sets in). My family and I take time to write down things we are grateful to God for, but too often we fail to recognize how thankful we are for the body of Christ. In her book on pray...

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When you don’t feel appreciated …

This past Sunday, both Brian and I received a bag of cards and letters from the congregation. Over the afternoon, I delighted in reading the heart felt sentiments expressed in those notes. Some made me laugh and few brought a tear to my eye. This was already on top of a few small gifts others had brought into the church. I cannot thank you enough for the kindness you expre...

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Marking the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation

It is widely regarded that October 31, 1517, the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church in Germany, marked a turning point in the Protestant Reformation. But it would be incorrect to believe the reformation began on that day. God has been reforming his people ever since he called a people to Himself. Truth has always been disseminated f...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from July 2017 through September 2017)

Bruce, Robert. The Way to True Peace and Rest. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2017. This is the most recent Puritan Paperback put out by the Banner and it is a good one. Robert Bruce (1554-1631) was a minister in Edinburgh Scotland and a leading Reformer. This is his exposition of 38:1-22. There are six sermons full of beauty, challenges and grace. The first two were ...

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Special Visitor from Southeast Asia

This coming Sunday we will have one of our dear friends working in the Pacific Rim return to Providence. This family has been faithfully in the field for the last seventeen years. They serve in an area that is hostile to the gospel. I hope you will make a special effort to come hear him preach at our morning services and hear testimonies of God's work on the other side of ...

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New Sunday School Classes are set to begin in October!

Below are the classes that will be offered in the fourth quarter of this year. Begin praying about where the Lord would have you for the remaining three months of 2017. Spiritual Gifts 101 Teacher: Mike Hutchison Textbook: The Bible The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:1, "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed."(ESV) Late...

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Providential Potlucks

As the organizer, I had asked Jim Carter if he would write a word about our Providential Potlucks and why they are important. He told me he couldn't say it any better than this article by Mary Mohler, wife of SBTS president, Al Mohler. (https://cbmw.org/series/hospitality-matters/hospitality-matters-the-true-purpose-of-hospitality/) I have to agree. It...

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How to help victims of Hurricane Harvey

I have had many people ask me how we can help Hurricane Victims in Texas. There will be projects we can assist with for years after a disaster like this. But for immediate help, let me suggest you give to these two organizations. First and foremost is the North American Mission Board's disaster relief fund. https://www.namb.net/send-relief/disaster-relief Another is Sam...

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Thinking About the Eclipse

Yesterday, Desiring God posted an article about the eclipse. I thought it was very well done (or course the history part really resonated with me). I Hope you enjoy it as well. http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/see-the-son-in-total-eclipse Eric Metaxes also wrote and interesting opinion piece on Fox News (please be aware that this site can carry image and advertiseme...

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How to have a successful K group experience

Once again, it's time to begin our small groups at Providence. Let me provide a few tips to help you get the most out of your time with your fellow church members. #1- Pray. Begin praying that the Lord will bless you through other members of the Body of Christ. Recognize that they too have the Holy Spirit and that God intends to minister to you through them. Ask God to he...

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Save the Date- 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses upon the Wittenberg Church door.Luther's purpose wasto initiate a debate about abuses within the Roman Catholic Church. His protest drew attention to false teachings such asthe sale of indulgences and the concept of purgatory.It was a public moment that launched the Protestant Reformation and began a return to biblica...

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Why new hymns?

This past Sunday night we had a wonderful time of worship led by Nathan Neely and Ryan Hale. The purpose of the evening was to familiarize the congregation with some of the unknown hymns in our new hymnal. But we discovered much more than a few new melodies. The lyrics touched us deeply. Our hearts joined together in singing truth about our God. We were able to worship. B...

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Mid-Summer Check Up

As we have been studying the church at Thessalonica, we have seen a model for us at Providence. Were the Thessalonians perfect? No, and we won't be a perfect church either. But they were a church that strove toward practicing their faith in Christ, promoting holiness, loving one another and promoting the gospel as they anticipated the return of Christ at any moment. Of cou...

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A Christian Ethic

In this past Sunday's sermon, I introduced to you the concept that part of Paul's mission was to help his Gentile converts discover a new ethic in which to live; one that would be distinctly Christian. In the past, Jews were noticeable by their outward behavior- particularly as it related to the law. Unlike their Gentile counterparts, they practiced circumcision. They did...

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The Sex Talk

This Sunday, I will need to delve into a subject that will be uncomfortable for some within a public setting. In 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, the Apostle Paul addresses the topic of sexuality among the Thessalonian believers. And since I am under obligation to preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), I cannot avoid these particular verses just because they may cause discomf...

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Thinking of skipping church this week?

A friend sent me this article from Tim Challies this week. I don't think I could have said this any better. It reminds us that Church is not always about us. https://www.challies.com/articles/the-worst-consequence-of-skipping-church#.WQCclOzMJKM.email...

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Preparing for Resurrection Sunday

In addition to inviting a friend to our service this Sunday, a great way to prepare for our service is to contemplate the events of Holy Week in the life of Jesus. Crossway has put together some wonderful videos with Justin Taylor describing each day of that week. I encourage you to watch each one and be gratified in our Savior as Sunday approaches. It will prepare your he...

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You Are Exquisite

I must admit, I have been surprised by the positive response to this past Sunday's sermon on 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20. I even had a friend who lives in Missouri get in touch with me to tell me that he really needed to hear that message. I think your response communicates to me that too often we are absorbed into negative self-reflection. It is true that we should be 'sin de...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from January 2017 through March 2017)

What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (from January 2017 through March 2017) Asmus, Barry Wayne Grudem. Poverty of Nations: A Sustainable Solution. Crossway,2013. Economist Barry Asmus and theologian Wayne Grudem have proposed a solution to helping nations rise out of impoverished economic conditions. They argue for a free market system using Biblical principles and sugges...

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A Pastor’s Plea

A new quarter is about to begin in Sunday School. Our new classes start on April 2, but we need you to sign up this weekend so that we can assign classroom space and order the correct number of materials. But as your pastor, let me request, beg and plead that you attend Sunday School. We have such a special privilege to be blessed with so many gifted teachers. We also have...

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Faithfulness and Holiness

JI Packer

This past Sunday, I spoke about Paul's desire to be faithful in holiness while ministering in Thessalonica. As they watched him work his 'day' job, they witnessed a difference to the way he lived compared to the way others lived. By working hard at his trade and treating others fairly, Paul would be demonstrating a dependence on the word of God (as he practiced obedience t...

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Be Prepared For Another Blessing This Sunday

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Sunday was an incredible day of worship. We literally got to see God's kingdom expand as we installed Jim Carter as a new elder at Providence and we commissioned our first deacons, Roger Fries and Andrew Hanks. What a powerful picture to see every member of Providence commissioning these men. As we were reminded on Sunday, don't let this be the only time we pray for our l...

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A New Era at Providence

This Sunday, February 26, will be a landmark event in the life of Providence Baptist Church. For the first time, our congregation will be commissioning two men for the office of deacon. For those who are unfamiliar with the leadership design of our church, let me explain this vital role in our church. Providence will not have a deacon board where a group of deacons meet ...

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Top 10 Books Read By Pastor Blair in 2016

Best Books I read in 2016 1. Naselli, Andrew J.D. Crowley, Conscience 2. Eswine, Zach, The Imperfect Pastor 3. Perkins, John M. Let Justice Roll Down 4. Moo, Douglas. Romans 5. Tripp, Paul David. Awe 6. David, Dale Ralph. Study Commentary on Micah 7. Vos, Howard. Ezra Nehemiah and Esther Bible Study Commentary 8. Stiles, J. Mack. Evangelism 9. Chantry, Walter- Pr...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (October 2016-December 2016)

Allen, Leslie Timothy Laniak. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Grand Rapids: Baker Books,2003. In this month's reading list, I thought I would review some of the commentaries I used in our study of Nehemiah. I only review those that I read completely. This review is only on Leslie C. Allen's work on Nehemiah. Allen has a tendency to lean toward more liberal sources. It was help...

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What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading (July 2016 - September 2016)

Booth, Gordon. Evangelical Congregational: The Principles of the CongregationalIndependents with the Savoy Declaration of Faith and Order. Ware: EFCC, 1981. This is one is probably only for those who have some historical interests in the polity of Congregationalism. It was written by congregational pastors in the late 20th century to encourage their brethren to return ...

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