Pastor's Blog for June and July - John Chowning

The summer of 2017 is in full swing with area schools closed until early August. Many families are going on vacation during the summer months and will spend a good bit of time with the children and youth playing baseball, softball, and other summer activities. Warmer temperatures are likely during June and July, and many young people will enjoy spending time at the local swimming pools or at Green River Lake. Summer is always a special time for the children and youth as well as the entire family.

One constant remains in play during the summer months. The church remains open and involved in a lot of different missions and ministries. Vacation Bible Schools are a traditional and important ministry of many churches - our Vacation Bible School 2017 is scheduled for July 7-9, and we certainly invite children in the community to attend and participate. VBS remains a primary summer ministry for churches like Saloma Baptist Church, and during 35 years or so of pastoral ministry, it has been a joy to see children to come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord during VBS. We have witnessed unchurched families to come into the church during VBS. So, we take our VBS mission and ministry very seriously at Saloma Baptist Church.

There are increased number of activities and "opportunities" competing for the attention of the families of all churches. Many of these are very positive activities, but they sometimes compete with the church for the attention and dedication of otherwise dedicated church members.

Vacations are great - trips to the lake and pool are fun - sports teams and athletic competition are important - but do we place more emphasis on these and other things than we do on our relationship with Jesus? That's something to ponder during the summer 2017.

Yes, God doesn't take a vacation. He's available 24/7/365. 

Pastor's Blog for May - John Chowning, Pastor

The month of May is one of my favorite months. Perhaps it's because, in part I was born on my mother's birthday - May 3! So, May always begins with some sense of celebration for me - giving God praise for life and another year of abundant life in Jesus Christ. 

For those of us growing in Kentucky, May brings, on the first Saturday, one of the world's premiere sporting events - the Kentucky Derby. Even for those of us who have no involvement in, or knowledge of, thoroughbred racing, we take time to read about and watch the actual "Run for the Roses." There's a sense of pride, as Kentuckian, in our state being at the center of the nation's attention. 

On the second Sunday of May, May 14 this year, we celebrate Mother's Day. We should give thanks to God for our mothers and grandmothers and for Godly women in our lives. Cathy and I are both blessed by having had Godly mothers. 

And there's graduation or commencement time. Most students, who have reached certain milestones in their educational paths, graduate during the month of May. This year is no exception. Our church will honor our graduates on Sunday morning, May 21. 

This year is the 48th anniversary of my high school graduation- same for Cathy - we were both members of the class of 1969. On one hand, it seems like along time ago. But in many ways, it also seems just yesterday. Time passes quickly. 

Then on Memorial Day - which is May 29 - we give honor to those men and women who have given their lives in service in the defense of our nation. And we honor the memory of those loved ones who have gone home to be with the Lord. 

May is a month of transitions in many ways. It's a month of consequential observances and acknowledgement of milestones in the course of our lives. We should enter each day of May - as well as throughout the year - with faith, hope, and anticipation. Each day should be a day we live to the fullest and a day to consider with thanks and praise of how blessed we are. Every day is a day of consequence and is a gift from God. 

Pastor’s Blog for April – John E. Chowning, SBC Pastor

The month of April is a wonderful and exciting time of year. We witness the full array of God’s creative hand as spring bursts forth with new life as flowers bloom and trees display various shades of green. Temperatures are generally nice – cool evenings into early mornings with warmer temperatures during the day. April is a time that we transition into more outside activities, softball and baseball, and thoughts of summer vacation begin to come to mind. We are generally positive and upbeat about life in spring and our energy levels seem to increase.

April 2017 also brings the celebration of the most sacred events of history – the passion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. From Palm Sunday into Holy Week, we are reminded of the course of events that culminated the approximate 33 years of life of Jesus on earth and that brought to an end his three years of earthly ministry. During this three year period, Jesus called in action His 12 original disciples, spent time preaching and teaching, challenged the religious establishment of the day because of their hypocrisy and self-righteousness, reached out to the masses of people and ministered to all rather than the few, and prepared for His ultimate sacrificial death on Calvary.

At Calvary, we witness “love in action.” It is the love of God as manifested in the sacrificial death of “His only begotten Son” (John 3:16) – it was the intervention of God into the course of human history that was necessary because of the sin of humanity. Jesus died a horrible death on “The Old Rugged Cross.” Why? He died on the Cross because of your sin and my sin! And His was a voluntary death because of His love and grace.

But then on the third day, as the women went to the Tomb to anoint His broken body as was the custom of the day, they found that the tomb was empty. How could this be? Had His body been stolen? No, Jesus was alive! He arose from the dead! The tomb was empty!

More than 2,000 years later, we live in the Resurrection! We are people of the Resurrection! The Resurrection Power is in us through the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ through the living power of God’s Holy Spirit.

He’s alive – how is that truth impacting our lives today? Does our Christian witness truly reflect the Living and Resurrection Power of Jesus Christ?

Pastor’s Blog for March

John Chowning, Pastor of Saloma Baptist Church

We are now officially in the Season of Lent during the month of March and into April. Lent, which has traditionally observed in the high church, or more liturgical Christian traditions, is receiving more attention in recent years among Baptists and other evangelical Christians. The Season of Lent, which began in the fourth century church, runs for some 40 weekdays beginning with Ash Wednesday (March 1 this year), running through Holy Week, and concluding on Saturday before Easter. Easter Sunday for this year is a bit later on Sunday, April 16. As an aside, please note that the six Sundays between Ash Wednesday and Easter are not counted as part of the 40 days.

In the early church, Lent was a time of preparation and study for those who were to be baptized into the church on Easter Sunday. An entire body of believers was called to this period of preparation, and many who had been away from the church for whatever reason, were encouraged to return to the church community during this season.

The number 40 relates to a number of events in the Bible – in particularly it relates to the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness as He prepared for His three years of earthly ministry and resisted the temptations of Satan.

Today Lent is observed by many Christians as a time of prayer and preparation leading up to Easter. Some will spend time during this season in self-examination and repentance. In some traditions, Christians enter into a period of fasting on certain days during Lent – giving up certain food, drinks, and other types of enjoyment. Other traditions focus on helping the “least of these” (Matthew 25) by acts of giving, service, and sharing with those in need. In sum, the Season of Lent is an excellent preparatory time in which believers are called to periods of prayer, penance, repenting for failures of the past, and focusing on God’s grace. Lent is a time to prepare for Easter and to live the resurrected life in Jesus Christ to which we are called.

We as Baptist Christians can benefit by taking time to learn more about the practices of other Christian groups. While we don’t need to do something just for the sake of doing it, or to simply imitate the practices of others, the meaning and observance of Lent can really enhance the depth of our understanding of the passion and suffering of Jesus Christ at Calvary and His ultimate resurrection on the “third day…” One way of observing Lent at Saloma Baptist Church is through the daily use of our Lenten Devotional Guides, titled “Empowered: A Guide to Experiencing the Power of the Holy Spirit,” written by Dr. Jim Denison. Daily prayer, repentance, study, and contemplation of the meaning of this season of the year, will give us deeper understanding and application of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Pastor's Blog for February 2017

February is the shortest month with only 28 days except in Leap Year when there are 29 days. It's a month of transition - moving from the coldest days of winter with hints of spring in the air. It's not uncommon, at least in Kentucky, to experience snow and zero temperatures one weekand signs of spring the next week - all during the month of February.

But more than anything, many people think of "love" during the month of February. Valentine's Day is observed annually on February 14. Also known as Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, the holiday emphasis originates from a Western Christianity liturgical feast honoring early saints by the name of Valentinus. By the 14th century AD, the holiday had evolved to a time for romantic expression, and by the 18th century AD, it became a time when gifts, such as flowers and cards, were presented to others as an expression of love and romance.

For those of us in the Christian tradition, it's fitting and proper for us to share small gifts as expressions of our love to our spouses, children, grandchildren, and close friends. But it's also a time that we should give consideration to the greatest expression of love in all the course of human history - i.e., the gift of "God's only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him (Jesus) will not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). That, my friends, is the ultimate expression of the inexplicable love of God the Father in the form of God the Son and with the indwelling presence of God the Holy Spirit!

"This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us" (1 John 4:9-12).

During February 2017, and in all times, may we show the love of God in all that we do.