Chief Shepherd

Where are you going? Why are you here? Why are you reading this? Did you just happen to visit this place? I don’t believe that we are here by coincidence. Actually, I don’t believe in coincidence – or luck. What I do believe is that God’s providence has ordered my steps (compare Ps 37:23 KJV) and [...]

(Last update: Oct 4, 2009:  This is one of my all-time favorite articles/sermons. I just felt that it needed some “front-page” attention again so I have re-published it. I believe it will be a blessing. – Ray) I am embarrassed that in 40 years of dedicated Bible reading and study, I have often overlooked some of [...]

I am working to make it a simple and easy task to download my sermon notes and/or audio. Previously, the only way you could download a file was when I published an article providing the links. (Those links are temporarily broken.) As of today, there is a DOWNLOAD PAGE (see the menu at the top of [...]

Of course there is a world of information about eternity that we will NEVER know – until we get there! But there are many other things that we DO know. And, there is still more that we SHOULD know but, because of some preconceived ideas, we may not realize or understand. One of the concepts that [...]

Does it seem that the number of people attending church has dwindled in recent years? Most pollsters seem to think so. It is my impression that (at least in the smaller congregations), there is a trend toward lower numbers each week. At such a point, the devil tries to plant feelings of despair & hopelessness in [...]

The title describes me on some of my better days! The rest of the time, I just can’t seem to “get it together.” But this was the title of Bishop Warren Heck’s message at Agape’ Fellowship on the 28th of September. He used the words of Paul when he was speaking to King Agrippa in Acts [...]

Over the past few months, I have been studying “glory” as it relates to Christians today. It is common to see people (everywhere) struggling to get glory for themselves. But, in the Bible, we are told to take a different approach (cf. Philippians 2:4-8): 4  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, [...]

I especially like the old BBC sitcom “Keeping Up Appearances.” Here is a short description from the www.tv.com website… Patricia Routledge played Hyacinth Bucket, a woman who pretended to be upper-class but wasn’t. To side herself with Britain’s top ten percent, Hyacinth insisted her surname be pronounced “bouquet.” Her attention to cleanliness, candlelight suppers, and desire [...]

(Last update: August 21, 2008) There have been many times that I have been so frustrated by the events in my life that I just threw up my hands and asked, “What am I supposed to do?” When our circumstances get “out of control” (or at least, out of OUR control), then we tend to get [...]

(Last update: August 21, 2008) Most of us have experienced the feeling of having our money run out before the bills do. We often wish that God would multiply our limited cash reserves just as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish in John chapter 6. In that story (verses 1-15), Jesus fed 5000 people with five [...]