Beholding His Glory ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

John Wesley, the leader of the Methodist Revival in 18th Century England was once asked how he knew if his preaching was successful.  He responded, “I know my preaching is successful if some are angered and some are saved.” Wesley’s ministry revealed something of the same kind of rejection, anger, and denunciation that descended upon our Lord when He first brought God’s message to His people. Their response? They tried to throw Him...

In the account of when Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness we discover the essence of every temptation we experience as well. In every temptation we face, whenever we have a crises or need, or whatever trial we go through, the question we face is: “Am I going to trust God and obey Him or am I going to do something else?”  The temptation is always to get our needs and desires met outside of God and His will. We want our nee...

Since Alex Haley's best-seller— “Roots: The Saga of an American Family” – and blockbuster television miniseries aired in 1977, a new genealogy craze has swept the nation. Genealogy is the second most popular hobby in the U.S. after gardening.  It's a billion dollar industry that has spawned television shows, scores of books, and a cottage industry in DNA ancestry testing.

But the most important genealogy, as well as the most exci...

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, . . . and we were all made to drink of one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:12).” Paul uses a great word picture here. He says that when we are baptized in the Spirit, when we are immersed in Him, we were made to drink of the one Spirit. The Spirit of God permeates every aspect of our being. It’s like  a man drowning in water. At some po...

Preparing the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus, John the Baptist came preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3). John makes it very clear that repentance is necessary to be forgiven and to be saved. But how can we know that we have truly repented of our sins and how do we do that? How can we tell the real thing from that which is shallow and therefore false? One’s eternal destiny depends on the an...

It was against the backdrop of political and religious darkness that “the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness” (Luke 3:2b). John the Baptist came on the scene preparing the way of the Lord when politically there was wickedness, intrigue, and conspiracies. And religiously there was a degenerate priesthood that had aligned itself with Rome for its own power and wealth. But there was G...

YouTube and social media is filled with the performances and the amazing accomplishments of child prodigies. We are amazed at a six year old who plays the piano at Carnegie Hall or a seven year old who performs surgery in India. Then there is the two year old toddler who is a pool wizard and is already a member of the American Pool Association. But what are we to make of the child named Jesus?

In Luke chapter 2, verses 39-52, we ha...

Concerning the birth of John the Baptist, who would prepare the way for the coming of Jesus into the world, the Gospel of Luke records,

         “Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave                 birth to a son. Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord             had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing              with her.” (Luke 1:57-58)

There had been promise...

We most often think of giving God thanks and glorifying Him for His mercy and what He has done for us. But how often do we think of giving Him thanks and glorifying Him because He is a God of judgment? According to the Virgin Mary’s Song of Praise in Luke chapter 1, the coming of Jesus Christ into the world at Christmas is not only about extending mercy and grace and lifting up the humble. But it also about scattering into the wind...

At that first Thanksgiving celebration in the Plymouth Colony, half of the chairs were empty. More than half of the pilgrims had died the previous winter and half of those where children. The Thanksgiving Holiday is borne out of extremely difficult times in history. History tells us  about  a time of  severe religious persecution, of insurmountable adversity, and extreme physical deprivation. That’s our history. That’s early Americ...

Detrick Bonhoeffer said of Mary’s song of praise in the first chapter of Luke, “God is not ashamed of human lowliness but goes right into the middle of it, chooses someone as instrument, and performs the miracles right there where they are least expected. God draws near to the lowly, loving the lost, the unnoticed, the unremarkable, the excluded, the powerless, and the broken. What people say is lost, God says is found; what people...

Mary, the young mother of Jesus, is a good example of how God confirms His Word to us. It was going to be hard for Mary but God, with whom nothing is impossible, is going to confirm it. Along the way, He is going to give confirmation and assurance in Mary’s humble obedience. Along with the greatest task that takes the most determined obedience comes the greatest joy and the greatest assurance and confirmation that this is of God an...

Martin Luther remarked, “[The angel] might have gone to Jerusalem and picked out Caiaphas’ daughter who was fair, rich, clad in gold embroidered raiment and attended by a retinue of maids in waiting. But God preferred a lowly maid from a mean town.”

When we come to the announcement of the angel to Mary that she would conceive and bear the Son of God, we must accept the essential spiritual fact that the Lord comes to needy people. T...