Crabtree Valley Baptist Church

Marches on Washington, protests against the new administration, violence on the streets of our capital, unrest, uncertainty, fear of the known and unknown dominate our news. Dissatisfaction, unrest and protests have happened in past administrative turnovers but not to the

Our youngest son, Jonathan, had an oyster roast at his home last Saturday night.  While I practically grew up on oysters and oyster roasts, it has been a long time since I have been privileged to attend one.  When I

On January 10, 1966 I wrote in my diary, “Truman Smith called. We received unanimous approval from the Personnel Committee (Foreign Mission Board) for appointment to foreign missions. We are to be in Richmond January 18-26 for orientation.” With that approval our lives were to be

I have never been one to make New Year’s Resolutions mainly because they are usually easily and quickly broken.  Nevertheless, I have already intentionally made some changes in my daily routine. For one thing, I have significantly cut back on

There is a line in the famous story, “a Christmas Carol” from the pen of Charles Dickens and it comes from the heart of transformed Mr. Scrooge: “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all

If you are looking for a new way to celebrate Christmas, you might try this idea: You gather family and friends of all ages in a large room and ask each person to hold a single unlit candle. Then you

One of the many profound questions that Jesus asked his disciples was, “Who do people say the Son of Man is? (Matthew 16:13-15) They named John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah and not to omit anyone important they said, or one of the prophets. Then Jesus

A bumper sticker on the back of a Jaguar caught my attention. It read, “How does it feel to want?”   As I thought about all the implications of that  bumper sticker, I was reminded that God gives us material things not to

Andrew, by profession, was a fisherman along with his brother Simon Peter. He was a disciple of John the Baptist until John pointed to Jesus as   “The Lamb of God”. Accepting Jesus as being greater than John the Baptist, the fisherman immediately became a follower.

Patriotism is a good thing. It is healthy for a country. It is an honorable spirit. Patriotism goes hand in hand with citizenship, with belonging, with a sense of pride and admiration for your country, for who you are and what you stand for.  It demonstrates