Baptist Churches

by Pastor Don Elmore

Part 1:  Pastor Elmore goes into the historical origins of the Baptist Church; from its inception in the 1600's and shows the changes from Calvinist to Arminianism. This is the first of two sermons that will tell the brief story of his church life before he was a preacher. It covers about the first 40 years of his existence here on earth and tells of his search for the truth of what the Bible teaches.

Baptist Churches - Part 1

Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

September 21, 2025

Scripture Reading:  Revelation 18:4

This is the first of two sermons that will tell the brief story of my church life when I was not a preacher. It covers about the first 40 years of my existence here on earth and tells of my search for the truth of what the Bible teaches.

What church should a person go to? Who is a Christian, is a question that is seldom answered. It is implied by their “no answer” that everyone, or almost everyone, on the list below is a Christian. But how could all the following denominations, with large memberships, be Christian when they hold opposite theological opinions to other Christian churches? Here are the approximate numbers of all the members of the largest and different Christian denominations in the world:

The Psalms - Psalm 96

King and Judge

by Rev. Jim Jester

September 14, 2025

SCRIPTURE READING: 1 Chr. 16:23-24

The call to the people of Israel in the previous psalm to praise the LORD as a great King (Ps. 95:1-7) is also now made to the nations in the following psalms (96-100). In these psalms, it is not the kingship of David that is sung, but that of the Lord Jesus Christ. The kingships of David and of Jesus are very closely related to each other, for the great Son of David is the Lord of hosts. Psalm 96 looks forward to the fulfillment of these promises when God openly exercises His authority over the nations.

There is no author attributed in the Hebrew text, but Psalm 96 contains the middle verses of the psalm David sang for the entrance of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, suggesting that David was the author.

There is Only One Race - the Human Race

Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

September 7, 2025

Scripture Reading: Titus 1:14:

“Not giving heed to Jewish fables [or myths of Judaism], and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. 

The apostle Paul’s letter to Titus, who was one of his co-workers during part of a couple of his missionary journeys, gives to his fellow helper a stern warning. He gave him instructions to not give any credence to … it wasn’t any Oriental fables or Negro fables or Greek fables … but only to Jewish fables. I wonder why that was. Was Paul anti-Semitic?

Ken Ham, of Answers in Genesis, wrote an article that appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper in 2017. The article was entitled "There is Only One Race -- The Human Race."  This  sermon will examine Ken's article.

The Trees in the Garden

 

By Walter Giddings 

August 31, 2025

(Genesis 3:8-10). The mention of the trees “in the garden” in Genesis 3 notes them to be a hiding place. There are two famous instances in legend and history where a forest of trees provided significant cover for an effective hiding place. David, before he became king, was King Saul’s greatest warrior.  When he fell out of favor with King Saul, David and his men hid themselves in the forest of Haro-sheth. When Robin Hood fell out of favor with Prince John in old England, he and his merry men successfully remained hidden in Sherwood Forest. Even Adam and the woman sought cover among the trees of the garden of Eden! But our Creator and Maker, who alone is God (!), has pursued us all who are born from above, and has drawn us to His Beloved Son Jesus. In His Omnipresence no one can be hidden!

The Psalms - Psalm 93

The Lord Reigns

by Rev. Jim Jester

August 24, 2025

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 2:1-6

Psalm 93 can be seen as the first psalm in a series of psalms (93-101) that describe and sing of the kingship of the LORD (Yahweh), that is, the Lord Jesus. At the same time, Psalm 93 is also a continuation of the previous psalms. It is the fulfillment of the promises of God as listed in Psalm 92.

The Lord is now King. In Psalm 93, the faithful remnant sings of the consequences of God’s action in favor of His people. We also see this in Psalms 96, 97 and 99. In the new series of psalms, beginning with Psalm 94, we get a look back at the trials the remnant went through.

Adam’s Origin

“my delights were with the sons of Adam” Proverbs 8:31

By: Walter Giddings

August 17, 2025

(Job 20:4). One of Job’s friends, Zophar the Naamathite, is making the point “that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment.”  And he is saying this has always been true, all the way back, to way back!

“Since Adam was placed upon earth” … To what point of time is Zophar referring? When did God do this?

The Concept that God took Adam from another place to place him “upon earth”, and “put him” in the Garden is expressed equally in both Hebrew and English.

Paul's Missionary Journeys - Part 9

Third Missionary Journey, Part Two:  Journey to Rome

Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

August 10, 2025

Scripture Reading:  Matthew 28:1-7

Our nation will soon have “anti-Semitic” laws that will declare that anyone who says anything against the Jews will go to prison. Well, they will have to ban the Bible, because it is very “anti-Jewish.” The first five books of the New Testament (Covenant) reveal multiple attempts by the Jewish authorities to have both Jesus and his chosen vessel, Paul, murdered, like in this verse (see part seven of this series).

Answers in Genesis started about 30 years ago in one small part of a strip mall in Florence, Kentucky. It was there that they sold their merchandise and started their outreach to churches. They opened their Creation Museum to the public in 2006 at a cost of $27 million, and the Noah’s Ark Exhibit opened in 2017 at a cost of over $100 million. The Museum opened with no debt because they built the Museum as they received the money. But for the Ark, AiG borrowed 62 million dollars on bonds from their “supporters”, i.e., the city of Williamstown, who AiG will pay back with interest, with 75% of their property tax going to this cost, over the next 15 – 30 years.

Next on their agenda, in 2026, is the indoor model of Jerusalem during Jesus’ time and then they will build the Tower of Babel. I will quote what they say on their website about this exhibit of three-part model of Jerusalem:

“They will follow Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem and learn about archaeological finds confirming the Bible’s history.”

But Jesus’ ministry wasn’t in Jerusalem, but rather to the north in Galilee. There was a lot of activity at the end of his ministry in Jerusalem, but that was not where His ministry occurred. The disciples were informed to go where they were from and meet Him in Galilee and it wasn't in the entire world as Judaized dispensationalist churches would have you believe.

The Psalms - Psalm 47

Praising the King of All the Earth

by Rev. Jim Jester

August 3, 2025

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 46:1-3, UASV

Psalm 47 is the first of a new series on the Kingship of God.

Psalm 47 is a song of praise to God, as the King of the whole earth. It has been recognized as one of the “accession psalms,” because it depicts God as assuming his kingdom, and taking his seat upon his throne (Ps. 47:5-8).

The title tells us both the audience and the authors of the psalm: “To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.” Some believe that “the Chief Musician” is the LORD God Himself, and others suppose him to be a leader of choirs or musicians in David’s time, such as Heman the singer or Asaph (I Chr. 6:33; 16:5-7; 25:6). Korah was a descendant of Levi (Ex. 6:16-24), and therefore the sons of Korah were Levites. Most assume that the specific sons of Korah addressed here and in the titles of ten other psalms were Levitical singers in the tabernacle/temple ceremonies, and perhaps they were performers of the psalm rather than the authors of it; King David being the author.

Paul's Missionary Journeys - Part 8

Second Missionary Journey (Part 5) 
Third Missionary Journey (Part 1)

Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

July 27, 2025

Scripture Reading Acts 17:34:

When Paul preached in Athens the “resurrection of the dead, some mocked [who do you think these individuals were?]: and others said, ‘We will hear thee again of this matter’” [who do you think these people were?] (Acts 17:32b). Certain men clave unto Paul and believed along with certain women.

One of the men that came to believe was Dionysius the Areopagite, who was an Athenian judge at the Areopagus Court(Acts 17:34). He was also governor of the city of Athens and had one of the highest reputations among the people. Another believer was Damaris, a woman, and many others. How many and who the identity of the others were, we are not told.