Mitchell Landress

God spoke to me today. You probably hear that phrase as often as I do. But not everyone means the same thing when they say it. So I thought I would explain what I mean when I say it. The Bible is the way that God speaks to me. 99.9% of the time this is true. It happens either while I am reading the Bible or during the course of the day as I am thinking about a decision, a passage or verse of Scripture comes to my mind. I hear the voice of God in the words of the Bible and when I hear them I try to orient my life and my decisions based on those words.  Here is how it happened on Monday. I am reading through my Bible this year using the Discipleship Journal Plan that our church passed out in late December. I think I was several days behind on Monday and I was using the morning to catch up. So I was reading from Numbers when I came to the story of Balaam. You know the story of Balaam and his donkey, I do too. At least I thought I did.  But on Monday I heard my o...

I am against demonizing men. But many of the conversations I hear regarding the upcoming election are just that. People speak of our President as if he had no good qualities about him. And in the next breath they praise Mitt Romney as if he were the Savior of the world. Neither is true. As Christians we need to step back and, as much as possible, clear our heads about the presidential candidates and what each of them truly believes. We need our thinking to be clear and clearly biblical. I believe both are genuinely seeking to do what they believe is best for our country. That is, they are living and making decisions based on what they feel to be right. Neither of them is practicing outright deception, at least not in a way that is any different from the presidents in our past. I also would not feel comfortable calling either of these men Christians, though they would both call themselves one. Barack Obama is a member of a Christian church, but one that in which the Bible holds l...

On July 16, Dan Cathy (the President and COO for Chik-fil-a) stated in an interview with Baptist Press that his company supports a biblical view of marriage. This one simple statement has caused quite a stir both in the news and on social media outlets. The gay and lesbian community and their supporters have reacted in two ways. First, Jim Henson’s company (the Muppets) severed ties with Chik-fil-a. Second, the mayor of Boston spoke out stating that Chik-fil-a was not welcome in Boston and should end their attempts to open a franchise there. But beyond this the public outcry has been diverse. Some from the gay and lesbian community are calling for an all out boycott of the restaurant, saying that it is no different than racial discrimination and no moral person would set foot in a business that did not allow African Americans inside. Others, also in support of the gay and lesbian community, have stood up to say that many Christians are gay and these “gay Christians” must lead the ...

Riding down the highway in my truck this week, the song “Fly Over States” came on the radio. The song is by Jason Aldean and although I had listened to the song before, it was little more than background noise. Mixed in with the usual noise of kids playing in the backseat, I had never listened to the words of the song. But as I listened to the song in the quietness of my pickup I was struck by the depth of meaning captured in the observation of the song writer. The song begins with two men flying from New York to Los Angeles. As they pass over the endless cornfields and farmlands of mid-America one of the men asks the question, “Who would want to live there?” Obviously small town life might appear bland to someone accustomed to the busyness and excitement of high society in the metropolis. But the response of the song writer is simple: Have you ever been there? Have you met the people who live there? Have you ever considered the people who live in these small towns and how their wo...

Forgiveness. To say that it is hard is an understatement. In fact, most of the Christians I speak with on a regular basis find it almost impossible. Why? It is because the people who have offended them are the people closest to them. When a stranger sins against us it is almost expected. The offenses are slight and almost forgotten as soon as they occur. But when someone we know and love offends us or betrays us it cuts right to our heart. The closer the person is to us, the deeper the hurt when we are betrayed by them. So what are we to do? Here are a few ideas to get us headed in a biblical direction. First, understand that God demands that we forgive others, no excuses and no exceptions. Jesus said it like this, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses (Matthew 6:14-15). Inability to forgive someone of their sins against us is ...

The list is not exhaustive, but it is a good biblical start toward this kind of prayer. 1. Pray that God would extend his merciful hand and bring about complete healing in their body. 2. Pray that the doctors and nurses who are treating them would be instruments of God and filled with much wisdom. 3. Pray that they would not equate a lack of health with a lack of God’s love for them (Romans 8:31–39). 4. Pray that their uncertain circumstances would not diminish the reality of their most certain future (Romans 8:35). 5. Pray that their illness would cause further reliance on God and not less (2 Corinthians 1:8–9). 6. Pray that the brevity of their earthly bodies would not detract from the fullness of life within them (2 Corinthians 4:7–12). 7. Pray that their illness would become a platform of witness for the glory of God (2 Corinthians 4:13–15). 8. Pray that their visible circumstances would not take their eyes off of their invisible hope (2 Corinthians 4:16–5:5). 9. ...

The death of Jesus on the cross means many things. It is the greatest demonstration of God’s love for his creation. “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). It would also be true to say that the death of Jesus on the cross proves to us the hatred God has against sin, since the alternative is everlasting torment in hell. On the other hand, it would also be true to say that the cross proves to us our great worth and value, since God allowed his Son to suffer and die in order to redeem us. All of these are true in part. But the greatest or highest meaning of the cross is the holiness and justice of God (Romans 3:23–26). In an act of God’s grace and mercy, he allowed the sins of his children to go unpunished (3:25). But this would mean that he was not keeping his word to punish all who sin. Is God a liar? The reputation of God was at stake until the cross. By sending his own son—both God and man—he became just (punishing sin a...

As of this year, Walt Disney Studios has produced fifty-one animated movies, beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. Along the way, many of these films have become a part of American life and even part of a worldwide Disney culture. Who doesn’t know the story of Cinderella, Peter Pan, or the many adventures of Winnie the Pooh. These stories are captivating to the imagination of children (and adults!) around the world. We have watched these films times without number and know their stories inside and out. But would you ever think of watching these Disney classics in clips? I mean, would these films be as captivating if you broke them down into categories and watched clips from these films by categories? Take for instance, sword fighting. Would watching a montage of Disney sword fights—including classics like Peter Pan and Captain Hook—be as interesting as watching the movie in its entirety? Probably not. Not to mention, we would lose sight of the real story if we d...

One of our college students asked a very good question last week. The question was this: Is giving to the poor the same as tithing? That is, if your tithe for the week is ten dollars and you have given five dollars to the poor, do you give the other five to the church? Or, if ten percent of your income is a hundred dollars, is it the same to give it to a local or national charity as it is to give it to the church? These are good questions and questions that deserve a solid answer from the Bible. From the very beginning the tithe has been an expression of worship. The tithe belongs to the Lord (Leviticus 27:30, 32) and was used to provide for the priests in the temple. But even the priests in the temple were not exempt from tithing, for of all people they were expected to give as a part of their worship (Numbers 18:26). But isn’t all of life to be worship? In one sense the answer to that question is yes; all of life should be worship. So, is it acceptable to worship God by giving yo...

In the sermon last week I tried to encourage our church to live lives of holiness. Holiness is no easy task. It does not come naturally and, unfortunately, sin does. So, any and all attempts to purify our thought life, our words, or our actions will be a fight. Like any fight, the fight for holiness can get discouraging. You battle and battle against sin and it just seems to resurface when you are at your weakest. In those moments we need some encouragement to stay in the battle and not give up. The greatest encouragement in my life to pursue holiness is the presence of God. The Holy Spirit lives inside everyone who has believed in Jesus for salvation. He is God and he is also a person. He can be saddened (Ephesians 4:30) and he can be enlivened (Ephesians 5:18b). Because the Holy Spirit is a person and a person living inside us, we know when he has been grieved by our sin and we know when he is enlivened by our pursuit of a godly life. My point is this, the pleasure and joy of...

Love is the difference between faith and unbelief. Genuine faith loves God, brother, neighbor and enemy. Genuine faith also loves the Scriptures and the church. So, what do you do if you have no desire for these things? A good place to start would be this question: Have you ever loved them? The answer may be no, especially if we are being completely honest. Or, perhaps you are in a bit of a lull. You have loved God, church, Scripture – and in a very genuine way – yet the love seems to have fizzled out recently. The more important question is this: Do you want to desire God more? Do you want to love both God and the things of God? If the answer to that question is “yes,” then we are in good shape, because the Bible holds a great promise for us. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:8a) “for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” (Psalm 9:10b) The hope in these two verses is tremendous, because Jesus said that “no one can come to me unless the Father who...

There is a saying in church circles – mostly spoken in jest – that a Christian should “never pray for patience.” The reason being, if you pray for patience the Lord will bring circumstances into your life to teach you patience. We understand the point of the joke. We are impatient people and wish to avoid any situation where we might have to be patient. But we must see this as a joke and dismiss it as a joke, hoping that no one actually takes it seriously. The truth of the matter is we should pray for patience, practice patience, and desire to be patient people. Why? Because patience is a fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23a, ESV). The fruit of the Spirit is not like the gifts of the Spirit. Spiritual gifts are given to believers by the Spirit for the work of the church. Every Christian has at least one. But the fruit of the Spirit is the evidence of the Holy Spir...

As a young boy I was actively involved in the Boy Scouts. Our Troop was located in North-Central Georgia; a prime location for camping. Each summer held the promise of at least half a dozen campouts. But one in particular stands out in my mind. On this particular campout the scouts were to take their dads with them. Well, my dad is no outdoorsman. So as we were packing up the car for a mid-summer campout I thought he was crazy to load the trunk with firewood. But no explanation of mine would faze him. The rear bumper of our Impala was almost dragging the ground as we left on our adventure. We made it to the campground in the Northeast Georgia Mountains just before dusk, pitched our tents, and settled down for the night. As we zipped up our sleeping bags we heard the rain begin to fall. The light rain soon became a heavy down pour and continued until just before dawn. As daylight broke, the battered scouts emerged from their tents to find a waterlogged campsite and an unuasually b...

Webster’s Dictionary defines fellowship as: “community of interest, activity, feeling, or experience.” The church is a community. As we talked about on Sunday night, the church is not a building; it is a group of people. But it is not just any group of people. The church shares a common bond that distinguishes us from all other communities, civic groups, clubs, or organizations. In the First Epistle of John, the Apostle John gives us a good description of the Christian community. He says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). This verse speaks to our common bond. First, we are a people who have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, the Son of God. To be sure, this means that we share multiple bonds with each other. We are all sinners, all in need of a Savior, all professing faith in Jesus, and all experiencing the new birth that Jesus offers. But the first part of t...

It is not often that I agree with an atheist. In fact, atheists are still a rare breed in our country and especially in our county. So any interaction with them is usually negative. But yesterday I agreed with an atheist. Jeanne Moos, a reporter for CNN, ran a story this week about a billboard erected outside the Lincoln tunnel in New Jersey. The billboard was funded by a group called American Atheists and it reads, “You KNOW it’s a myth. This season, celebrate REASON!” The billboard is in a prime viewing area, costing the atheist group $20,000 to put in place. But the question Jeanne Moos asked David Silverman, the President of American Atheists was this, “Why go to such expense to declare your message?” After all, only 7-15% of Americans claim to believe in nothing. The answer Silverman gave was the one thing in the interview with which I agreed. David Silverman said, “We believe that there are a lot of “closet atheists” out there and we want them to come out of the closet.” Silverma...

My father is a snake. Not my biological father, but my real father – the one who raised me. He is a liar, a thief, and a murderer; evil in his innermost being. He always has been and always will be. My biological Father is a good man; loving, generous, and honest. Unlike my real father, my biological father loves and cares for his children. He feeds them, clothes them, and even disciplines them for their good. But my father is a snake. I have not always seen him for who he really is, but now I do. Now I understand. Before, he was all I knew. I didn’t know what good was, I didn’t know what love was, I didn’t know what freedom was. The house I was raised in was dark. My father gave me sugar when I needed milk, and candy when I needed nourishment. But that was all I knew. How did such an evil man come to have legal guardianship over me? Well, the place where I was born was not a good place. The law was corrupt. So, on the day I was born I was taken from my biological father and given to m...

During the sermon last week I gave a brief definition of gossip. That definition was correct, but because I made the statement in passing it probably could use a little elaboration. I defined gossip like this: Gossip is not a lie, but rather the truth spoken in a way that is neither loving nor helpful. The word gossip comes from the Greek word psithyristas, which sounds a lot like a disease you need to get a shot to cure. It may be just as bad. The definition for that word is: derogatory information about someone that is offered in a tone of confidentiality; a rumormonger; a tale-bearer. I also said that Christians sometimes couch their gossip in the form of a prayer request. This may be hard to discern, because we have to sense whether the person offering the prayer request truly cares about the person’s well being. So here are a few questions that can help us avoid gossip: • Do I really care about this person? • Do I truly desire to see them helped and will the sharing of this inform...

Despair. That is the one word that bests describes the sentiments of David in the forty-second Psalm. He describes his soul as thirsty, his God as absent, and his enemies as mockers. It is hard to imagine a worse feeling. In the midst of this despair David pens words that appear a bit peculiar. Twice in the psalm he says: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? (Psalm 42:5a, 11a) Essentially he is speaking to himself. In the midst of his despair he speaks to his own soul and instructs his own soul how to deal with despair. What are his instructions to himself? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (Psalm 42:5b, 11b) David tells himself to hope in God in the midst of despair, because God will not ultimately leave his child in despair. Eventually God works every situation for our good and for his glory. Have you ever felt despair? Speak to your own soul these words; Hope in God! Things will not always be as they are now. Love ...

Last week we saw God do many great things through our week of VBS. The atmosphere of our church was changed for an entire week. It was refreshing and joyous. One comment that was repeated quite often concerned the relaxed dress code. When we kicked off VBS two weeks ago we decided that it would be fun to wear shorts and Hawaiian shirts to church that week. Due to the heat outside, we had an easy time getting people on board with this idea. More than one person commented that we should dress casual throughout the summer. This sparks a much bigger question. Can Christians come to church in shorts and Hawaiian shirts? Well, that is a small question. But the bigger question is, “Does the Bible give instructions on how a Christian should dress?” The answer to that question is, yes! From the very beginning God has called his children to lives of holiness. Part of modeling holiness is modesty. The very fact that we wear clothing is a reflection of our fallen nature and shame. Our bodies are t...

I do not understand everything in the Bible. That thought alone bothers me, but it is a fact. It is a fact that I am certain will never go away. I am not, however, willing to use this fact as an excuse to never think about or attempt to understand hard things. That is called laziness. Thinking about difficult things is good for the mind. Predestination is one such difficult item. This week it surfaced in my mind again, as it has dozens of times. I immediately threw the old arguments at it like I always do, hoping some new insight would break forth in the process. Usually it does not. On this day it did. The word ‘predestined’ occurs five times in our Bible (Acts 4:28, Romans 8:29,30, Ephesians 1:5, 1:11). If it did not appear in the Bible I would avoid it. But it does, so I cannot. To say, “I do not believe in predestination” is to say “I do not believe the entire Bible is true.” I will never say that. I believe the Bible is without error and true in all that it affirms. So if I were t...