Category: Article

Today will be the last day of our Gospel Meeting with our Brother Willie Franklin.  What a blessing it has been to hear him preach God’s word.  Hopefully, the sermons he has brought us Friday evening and Saturday evening have been encouraging and thought provoking for each of us.  We look forward to the sermons he has prepared for us today and worshiping together with him.  We wish him safe travels as he returns to his home.  Hopefully, the seeds he has sown among us will produce much fruit for the Lord’s Church here at Walter Hill. 

What does “Gospel Meeting” really mean?  Years ago, and still today, some religious organizations call them “Revivals”. 

One definition or purpose of a gospel meeting I found was “to give those who live in our area a special opportunity to hear the original gospel of Christ proclaimed by an able preacher of the gospel”.  We are fortunate to live where we can hear the Gospel preached by so many able preachers not only during gospel meetings but each Lord’s Day.  There are many people around the world where this isn’t possible.  We should be expressing our gratitude to God for this luxury every day.   We are blessed here at Walter Hill with men such as Justin, Paul and Chris who love God and love to preach His word.  Please continue to pray for these men and let them know how much you appreciate them and their work as Gospel Preachers. 

by Justin Morton

Do you perceive Walter Hill to be a friendly congregation? I have no doubts most all of us would affirm Walter Hill to be a welcoming church, however, how would our first-time visitors answer that question? The truth is most churches perceive themselves to be friendly because the members are friendly to one another. But visitors might not feel the same way. Paul told the church at Rome to pursue hospitality (Romans 12:13). While we all understand the value of hospitality, many congregations of the Lord’s people are not as warm and welcoming as they perceive themselves to be.

I am currently reading a book by Thom Rainer called Becoming a Welcoming Church. In this book, Rainer points out that most church members never look at their facilities, parking, seating or friendliness through the perspective of a visitor. Over time members have forgotten what it’s like to be a first time guest because they have established relationships and routine—these are definitely important factors for our members! But what about our guests?

Each week we are having more visitors attend Walter Hill. Let’s consider a few ideas that might help to make our guests feel welcome at Walter Hill (Matthew 7:12):

1.  Introduce yourself to someone if you do not recognize him or her. Smile and say hello!

2.  Ask guests to sit with you, so they are not sitting alone.

3.  Scoot to the middle of the row, so there are open seats on the end.

4.  Move closer to the front of the auditorium so visitors are not the ones who have to walk up front for a seat.

 5.  Park on the back side of the building to allow visitors the closer parking spots.

Let’s all make sure our current visitors feel that same welcome we felt when we first came to Walter Hill.

Recognizing our Intern

Youth ministry is something I love dearly.  This summer has been especially rewarding, as Walter Hill has had our first full-time intern. Donavon Hamlett has served our young people and our youth ministry well. In Philippians 4:8 Paul tells the Philippians to think on whatever is excellent, commendable, and worthy of praise. This summer and the work Donavon has done certainly fits this type of thinking.

Donavon’s been such an asset to our ministry, and I hope we have been an asset to him as well. His job as youth intern is to learn as much as possible about youth ministry, while also developing relationships with the students, setting an example for them to follow, and mentoring them in their faith, through teaching and event planning.

I believe Donavon has learned a lot about youth ministry, gaining a lot of valuable experience. Essentially, anything we have planned Donavon has been a part of it, from finalizing this year’s camp schedule, to planning next year’s camp, to evaluating and publishing our fall schedule. Donavon has played a huge part in 2 major projects this summer. He has put together an updated youth song book, which includes the sheet music. He has also been instrumental in getting our Walter Hill Youth app up and running. We are very excited to have this new way of sharing important information!

Donavon has also been teaching throughout the summer.  He taught on creation and the fall during VBS. Then he taught 1 and 2 Peter throughout the summer on Sunday nights. Donavon has done a great job teaching our teens the Word of God, and as the summer has progressed, he’s grown a lot as a teacher. I know the teens have greatly appreciated Donavon’s service. Some have even considered one day serving in a similar capacity. We all should be proud and thankful for Donavon.

 Many people are given nicknames because of their physical appearance (“Red” from their red hair) or something they did (e.g., “Wrong Way Corrigan”) or their birth status (“Junior”). Perhaps you remember an apostle who had a good nickname and then was given an unflattering moniker. Three times John’s gospel refers to Thomas the Twin (or Didymus which is a transliteration of the Greek word for “twin”). See John 11:16; 20:24; and John 21:2.

 In reality, Thomas could have been given a different nickname in John 11:16 when he suggested they go with Jesus to Bethany and die with Him. Surely his courage was noticeable to his fellow disciples and “Daring Thomas” would have been a suitable nickname.

 But the nickname this apostle has been stuck with is “Doubting Thomas” – a phrase that is often applied to anyone who refuses to believe without direct personal experience. When Jesus appeared to His disciples at evening on the day of His resurrection, Thomas was not there (John 20:24). When the other disciples told Thomas of the Lord’s appearance, he doubted the event and refused to believe unless he could actually see and physically touch the nail prints in His hands and the place where the spear pierced His side. One brief statement by this apostle earned him an uncomplimentary nickname!

A week later, when Jesus again appeared to His disciples on the first day of the week, Thomas was flabbergasted when he saw Jesus. As Jesus offered Thomas physical proof of His resurrection, Thomas made a wonderful acknowledgment of His Savior when he said, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28)! Thomas, perhaps more than the other disciples, recognized the oneness of the Father and Son. Yet that could not undo the mistake of the previous week.

Is it possible we have earned a nickname related to our faith? How will we be remembered? Will it be for one mistake or for our total contribution to the kingdom? We all need reminding of the children’s song – Be careful little feet where you go…etc.!

by Justin Morton

Our lives are filled with a lot of chaos and noise. So many different things in our world are vying for our attention. With every new day, more and more voices are screaming for Christians to conform to the evils of the world. If we are not careful, we can allow those voices to drown out the voice of our chief shepherd (I Pet. 5:4).

Just imagine if your child or grandchild was standing in the back of the auditorium, and you were standing in the front. As long as it was just you and the child in the auditorium, you would easily hear his or her voice calling for you. However, imagine trying to hear your child’s voice if the auditorium was full of talking people. Due to the many voices in the room, your child’s words would be drowned out. You would not hear them clearly because of all the other voices competing for your attention. 

As disciples of Christ, we must be careful not to allow all the “other voices” in our world to drown out the most important voice of all. These other voices want to saturate our mind with false truths and messages that go against God’s will for our lives. They believe if they speak loudly enough, it will drown out the truths of God’s Word in our lives.

Friends, we must be on guard and not allow the voices of others to drown out the voice of God. No matter what other voices may say, God’s word is truth (Jn. 17:17) and it’s that truth that will set us free (Jn. 8:32). May you and I listen closely and not allow the voices of others to drown out the voice of God. 

It’s July and we are a little over halfway through another year.  For some, the year has flown by, and for others, it is just creeping along.  If you are a student or teacher, you are also a little over halfway through the summer break.

Halfway is not totally bad because there is still time left in the year and there is still a little time for the summer school break.  We can still accomplish goals we may have set out to achieve before the year is up.

If we take the time to examine our spiritual walk, we may surmise that we are halfway there, but our walk may be close to the end, or we may have a long walk to go.  Only the Lord knows how much longer our journey will be.  It is important for us to be always prepared, regardless of how long we think we may have.

There is another halfway mentioned in the Bible in which we do not want to find ourselves.  In John’s inspired writing to the Laodiceans in Revelation 3:14-22, Jesus is warning them not to be lukewarm, or halfway hot and halfway cold.

The Laodiceans thought they were self-sufficient in their faith, needing nothing from anyone.  This lukewarmness must have been evident by their works as Jesus goes on to tell them to repent and be zealous.

We do not know the full story of the Laodiceans, but we know enough that it is better to be fully committed or not committed at all than it is to be halfway committed.  Not being committed to the Lord and His church is a bad choice, too.

The only viable option for one wanting to live forever with the One who created us, loved us, and provided for us is to be fully committed to Jesus Christ.

by Justin Morton

Earlier this week, our boys spent a few days with their grandparents and cousins. While they were only away from us for a couple of days, Miranda and I missed them so much and kept bringing them up as we talked about different things. We could not wait for them to come back home with us.

Some of you know how we were feeling. You’ve had the same experience and felt the same way when your own children were away from you for various reasons. Others in our congregation feel this way right now as their loved ones are on a mission trip. When we are away from our loved ones, we long for their return home.

With this thought in mind, we can understand a glimpse of how God feels when His beloved children are away from Him. Any time a child of God leaves home and goes off into a “far country” (Lk. 15:13) for any length of time, the father watches and waits for that child’s return (Lk. 15:20). He doesn’t write off that child because He has other children. He doesn’t think to himself, “Oh well, It’s their loss.” No, God eagerly waits for that child to come back home. He wants nothing more than for that child to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9) and return to the family.

We missed our boys so much while they were gone, and we are thankful they are back at home with us. Perhaps you are one of those children God is waiting to come back home. I want you to know that God hasn’t given up on you. He is watching and waiting for your return. Will you make the short walk back home to Him?

            A very popular hymn is based on Psalm 4 and entitled Hear Me When I Call. Brother Teddlie expresses so well how we often feel as we go to God in prayer. We are so dependent on our Creator and Savior that we want to make sure He hears us when we call out to Him for help – not just in an emergency but for our daily needs. Because of what Jesus and the Holy Spirit have promised, we know the avenue of prayer is always available (John 14:13-14; Hebrews 4:15-16)!

            There’s a very sad story recorded in 1 Samuel 8 when Israel demanded a king like all the other nations. Of course, Samuel took their request personally and thought they were rejecting him as their judge. You may recall how the Lord reassured Samuel in verse seven that they were not rejecting the prophet – they were rejecting the sovereignty of God Himself.

            But there’s a statement often overlooked that should have scared the living daylights (pardon the slang expression) out of the Israelites. After the Lord warned the people through His spokesman Samuel what a king would do to them, they were still adamant about wanting a king. The ending of the Lord’s warning by Samuel is in verse eighteen: “And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.” It may be a matter of semantics, but the inspired writer does not use the normal Hebrew word for “hear” in this verse. Rather, he uses a word meaning “answer” and that is the rendering in most modern translations.

            What a helpless feeling if we knew God would not respond in any way to our prayers! Yet the foolish Israelites wanted a king more than the God who hears and answers prayers. Is it possible that we might choose to be like everyone around us rather than having Almighty God answer our prayers? 

by Justin Morton

Our family has spent the last couple of days in Knoxville celebrating our dear friends’ daughter’s wedding. We have been planning and talking about this weekend for almost a year. While I have been honored to officiate several weddings over the years, honestly, this time just hit differently. We have known the bride and her family for thirteen years. We vacationed together, ate meals together and spent countless hours in one another’s homes laughing the night away. We celebrated highs and mourned lows together. And even though we moved away from Knoxville, we remain close friends with this wonderful family.

As I prepared for the wedding, I was reminded of how important it is to have deep, godly friendships as we walk through this life. Even Jesus, the very Son of God, had a close group of friends while He lived on this earth (Matt. 10:1-4; Mk. 5:37). Deep relationships are vital. The Bible teaches essential thoughts such as, “A friend loves at all times” (Prov. 17:17) and “The sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel” (Prov. 27:9). You and I need people in our lives we can count on to not only love us, but to be there for us and to share godly wisdom with us.

This weekend has been special for my family as we celebrated this momentous occasion with some of our closest friends. We couldn’t imagine not being a part of it. Are you making the effort to build lasting relationships with other believers? If not, start today! Invest in relationships with brothers and sisters who will laugh with you, cry with you and help you get to heaven.

            Moses E. Lard once wrote that “perhaps no passage in the New Testament has given rise to more extended controversy than” Romans 8:28-30.[1] While a discussion of all the misunderstandings about this passage are beyond the scope of this article, I believe most would agree that God’s plan for all mankind is “to be conformed to the image of His Son.” Christians often say they want to be Christ-like or to look like Jesus and we know that man was originally created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). However, sin soon separated man from God and redemption/reconciliation became necessary – as God knew before creation began (Ephesians 1:3-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17-19).

            When we obey the gospel by being baptized into the death of Christ (Romans 6:3-4), we become a new creation – a new man (or woman) – created in the image of Christ. Like the growth of children into adults, we must grow “in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” to become like Him (2 Peter 3:18a).

            May we resolve to let God mold us into what He wants us to be! That does not absolve us of our responsibility but becoming more like Jesus requires the total submission of our lives to the Father’s will. Consider the words of Isaiah 64:8 –

            But now, O Lord,

            You are our Father;

            We are the clay, and You our potter;

            And all we are the work of Your hand.  

Perhaps these hymns will drive the point home:

29 — All to Jesus I Surrender

197 – Have Thine Own Way, Lord

426 – More Like Jesus

619 – Take Time to Be Holy

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[1] Moses E. Lard, Commentary on Paul’s Letter to Romans. (Lexington, KY, 1875. Reprint, Delight, AR: Gospel Light Publishing Co.), 279.