Notes of Faith December 15, 2025

Notes of Faith December 15, 2025

Don’t Be Slothful

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

2 Corinthians 9:15

An interviewer asked actress Kristen Bell, “What is the best gift you’ve ever received?” She said, “It’s the sloth that Dax surprised me with. It was just so unexpected and if you knew how much work goes into getting a sloth cleared…. And a wild animal insurance policy!”1

Not many people will get a sloth for Christmas, and not many want one! They are little animals from the rainforest that hang upside down and sleep eight to ten hours a day. Even when they’re awake, they hardly move. They are so, well, slothful!

Regardless of what we give or receive for Christmas, let’s remember that the tradition of gift giving didn’t begin with the Magi who brought their gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Christ Child. It began with God who gave us the incredible gift of Jesus Himself. Nothing we can ever give or receive compares to His infinite worth. He is our High Priest, our Friend and Brother, the Savior who came to die for our sins. Don’t be slothful today. With lots of energy, give thanks to God for His unspeakable gift!

The essence of salvation is the gift of God’s only-begotten Son to die for us, that we might live through Him.

Charles Spurgeon

Rom 6:20-23

20 When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You must receive a gift for giving to be completed. God’s gift of His Son is offered to all but each one must receive Jesus personally for His sacrifice to be placed to their account and for them to receive forgiveness of sin and salvation that brings eternal life! There is no greater gift. Let us give thanks with those around us that believe and follow Jesus during the Christmas season and share the gospel of salvation with those who have not heard nor received the world’s only indescribable gift.

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 14, 2025

Notes of Faith December 14, 2025

Bagdad, Kentucky

Temperature at 8 a.m. this morning was 5 degrees with a windchill factor of 6 below zero! Pipes are frozen, but hearts are warm with the love of Jesus! May you be blessed with His love and warmth that last forever! Dale

JOY TO THE WORLD

Joy to the world the Lord is come

Let earth receive her King

Let every heart prepare Him room

And Heaven and nature sing

And Heaven and nature sing

And Heaven and Heaven and nature sing

Isaac Watts

George Frederick Handel

When our son, Jeffrey, was little he would sing, “and hammanamma nature sing,” which made the song even more joyful to his parents and older sister. He, of course, caught the real essence of the song most accurately. It wasn’t about lyrical precision but rather about the spirit of joy, and he sang it with great gusto and joy!

In 1719, Isaac Watts published a unique hymnal in which he paraphrased the Old Testament Psalms through the eyes of New Testament faith. He simply called it, The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament.

He said, “I have rather expressed myself as I may suppose David would have done if he lived in the days of Christianity.” He went on to say, “By this means, perhaps I have sometimes hit upon the true intent of the Spirit of God in those verses farther and clearer than David himself could ever discover.”

For such statements and for such an undertaking he endured much and great criticism from many quarters. Joy To the World is Watts’ interpretation of Psalm 98, which says, “Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.” Isaac and Jeffrey seem to come to a similar conclusion: it’s more about the spirit than the mechanics; more about the music than the method.

Julie Andrews, portraying Maria Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, sang, “The hills are alive with the sound of music.” Scientists would scoff, intellectuals would mock, but scripture proclaims, “Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth,” and “all of nature declares that He is God.”

It is in this realm that the true spirit of Christmas seems to suffer most. Christmas has become so much about what is not joyful: crowds, shopping, traffic, hectic schedules, financial pressures, and on and on it goes… instead of hammanamma nature sings!

We all carry into this Christmas season the realities of life in a fallen world. We deal with sickness, mourn the loss of loved ones, and struggle in the realm of finances due to an ever deteriorating economy. Many of us have realized in this past year the truth of Christ’s statement, “Each day will have enough trouble of its own,” but none of these things can separate us from the love of Christ!

No more let sin and sorrow grow

Nor thorns infest the ground

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found

Far as the curse is found

Far as the curse is found

Remember this season as you ponder what gifts to give to those you love, He also has thought of what blessings to give to you and His ways are high above our ways. This is not only to be a season of joy but we are to live a life of joy in the reality of our redemption and the sure hope of Heaven’s home.

Just this morning I read David Wilkerson’s daily devotional and it reads as follows:

“God desires that we be so convinced of His tender love, so persuaded He is at work bringing us into His best, that we will have continual joy and gladness in our walk with Him! Moses warned Israel, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of all things” (Deuteronomy 28:47-48).

God is saying to us today, “Be glad and rejoice in what I have already done for you! If you go around moping, murmuring and complaining, you will forever be spiritually starved and naked, a prey to your enemies!” God wants us to trust in His love for us so that we will be testimonies of gladness and good cheer!

We must, in the midst of all the aspects of our lives, embrace joy and sing Joy to the World!

In Christ,

Dallas Holm

Indeed, we have opportunity to receive once in our lives an indescribable gift, the Lord Jesus Christ! It can be received at any age, time of year, or moment in a day or night. But the offer of true relationship with Jesus must be received to have forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Come to Jesus and know the true “Joy” given to this world!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 13, 2025

Notes of Faith December 13, 2025

A Life Evergreen: Christmas Boughs

Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.

Deuteronomy 4:9, NLT

Surveys tell us that blue is the most popular color in the world, but green comes in at second place in Thailand, China, and the United States.1 During the holidays decorating with boughs of pine branches or garlands of evergreen can create a festive atmosphere that reminds us of Christmases past and generations now gone.

Psalm 71:18 suggests a prayer for those who are approaching the golden years: “Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.”

Christmas is a wonderful time to share your story of faith with your family. Nestled in your chair or at your table, surrounded by the greenery of the season, tell your children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews about how you celebrated the birth of Christ when you were their age. Share what Christ has meant to you. Let your testimony be boughs of evergreen!

How you live your life is a testimony of what you believe about God

Henry Blackaby

Ps 71:17-24

17 O God, You have taught me from my youth,

And I still declare Your wondrous deeds.

18 And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,

Until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to all who are to come…

22 I will praise you with the harp

for your faithfulness, O my God;

I will sing praise to you with the lyre,

O Holy One of Israel.

23 My lips will shout for joy

when I sing praise to you —

I, whom you have redeemed.

24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts

all day long,

We should give praise and thanks to God for every breath we take and with that breath declare His love and grace to all around us, that they too might partake of the glory of God!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 12, 2025

Notes of Faith December 12, 2025

Lowliness

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.

Luke 4:18

Most of us are curious about the lifestyles of very wealthy people, and we often satisfy that curiosity by reading books. A news channel recently reviewed eight books that “expose the secret lives of the super-rich.” But when you read the Gospel accounts of the life of Christ, you find the opposite story. Though Jesus arrived as the King of the Jews, He was born in a cave, laid in a manger, raised by an impoverished couple, worshiped by ragged shepherds, and mainly ministered in rural areas populated by needy people.

The Lord has a different plan for every one of us, and we all have different levels of need or of income. But Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions”

(Luke 12:15, NIV).

The Christmas season tends to bring financial pressure. Be cautious and be a good steward. Your love of Jesus and your simple acts of kindness in His Name are the most valuable gifts you can give.

God is near to lowliness; He loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak and broken.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

We should be thinking “poor in spirit”, the lost without hope, those in need of a Savior… “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”! It is most often those who are poor financially, the suffering or emotionally distraught, that respond to spiritual conversations, listen to God speaking to them, respond to Him in faith and receive His eternal blessing. We all too often shun the poor of the world, whether it is financial, emotional, health, or other “poorness” that is more poor than what we consider ourselves. Let us pray for God to open our hearts, minds, and eyes to the world of people that He places around us that appear rich or poor, for they all need a relationship with Jesus to be saved. May we be ready and willing at all times to share the gospel of Jesus and trust Jesus to bring all to Himself that belong to Him. He is faithful! Let us be faithful as well to share the gospel that was shared with us!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 11, 2025

Notes of Faith December 11, 2025

A Belief That Shares

Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.

Luke 2:17

As an atheist, David Lepore ascertained that most Christians didn’t really believe what they professed. If they really believed the Gospel, he thought they should be far more excited and eager to share it with everyone and anyone. Since becoming a Christian, Lepore has done just that. He found that his faith compelled him to share the message of Jesus. He now works with the Australian Bible Society to get the Gospel into as many hands as possible.1

The shepherds of Bethlehem were like that. Once they received good news from the angelic messengers in Luke 2, they immediately responded by believing. Furthermore, their belief compelled them to share the news everywhere they could.

Do we truly believe God became human to die for our sins, rise again, and prepare an eternal home for us? If so, we’ll be unable to stop telling the news, just as Peter said in Acts 4:20: “As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (NIV).

I wanted to be part of the people who were doing it on the ground, talking about the importance of Scripture and letting people know that there are people who don’t have it.

David Lepore

1Stoyan Zimov, “Former Atheist-Turned-Bible-Worker Reveals Why He Thought Christians Didn’t Really Believe the Bible,” The Christian Post, December 12, 2018.

You would also think that if we were told that we could not speak in the name of Jesus or be threatened with dire circumstances that we would speak even more!

Acts 4:18-21

18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."

Our believing hearts must fervently desire to share the “Good News” with all who will hear and respond in faith. Since we do not know who will respond in faith, we must share with all that God places around us that some might join His eternal family!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 10, 2025

Notes of Faith December 10, 2025

One of Us

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

2 Corinthians 8:9

What did Jesus Christ look like? Did He have the appearance of royalty like Israel’s first (Saul) and second (David) kings did (1 Samuel 9:2; 16:12)? The Bible doesn’t describe Jesus’ appearance, but when the prophet Isaiah described the coming Messiah, the description was less royal and more common.

Using the descriptive words of The Message paraphrase, Jesus entered the world as “a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field.” He was not “attractive,” a person to whom we wouldn’t give “a second look.” He was “looked down on and passed over”; indeed, people “turned away” from Him (Isaiah 53:2-3). In other words, if you had passed Jesus on a crowded first-century street, you likely would have walked right by.

Paul makes it clear that Jesus left royalty behind and embraced poverty when He entered our world (Philippians 2:5-8). He became poor that we might become rich. Jesus welcomes us, the common man and woman, because He became one of us.

Thank God today that Jesus gave up royalty so that you might become spiritually rich in Him.

A Christian’s life is full of mysteries; poor, and yet rich.

Thomas Manton

Phil 2:5-11

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Thank You heavenly Father for sending Your only begotten Son to take on flesh and be the only sacrifice sufficient to save our souls from eternal destruction. Thank You Lord Jesus for doing the will of the Father and giving Yourself to save us, sanctify us, and take us to glory to be with You forever. True believers and followers of Jesus are indeed the richest of all…for the inheritance of the saints is to be with the glory of God both now and forevermore!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 9, 2025

Notes of Faith December 9, 2025

House of Bread

Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

Ruth 4:21-22, ESV

Bethlehem means “house [beth] of bread [lechem].” During the period of the judges it was referred to as “Bethlehem in Judah” (Judges 17:7-9) to distinguish it from another Bethlehem near the Sea of Galilee (Joshua 19:15). Though Bethlehem was “little among the thousands of Judah” (Micah 5:2), it was important.

Recommended Reading:

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Boaz was a well-to-do farmer in Bethlehem who married a Moabite woman named Ruth. Boaz saved Ruth—and Ruth’s mother-in-law, Naomi—from poverty and established a legacy of salvation in Bethlehem. Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed, who had a son named Jesse, who had a son named David. When it was time for God to choose a king to replace Saul, He sent the prophet Samuel to Bethlehem to choose David as king. Because Joseph was a descendant of David, he and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem to register for the census—where Mary gave birth to Jesus. So Boaz and Ruth are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5-6).

Bethlehem, the “house of bread,” gave the world the “bread of life” (John 6:35). God’s hand is always at work to accomplish His purposes.

Christ is the true Bread of Life sent by God to bring us eternal life. We all need Christ to be the Bread of Life to us.

Witness Lee

There is a lot of great information on Witness Lee and Watchman Nee to be viewed and to gain insight on Christian leaders used by God in the midst of great persecution. Their teaching and writings are still wide-read today and continue to inspire true believers and followers of Christ. Those who have the time to invest in a deeper intimacy with God should check out books that both have written.

We all need the “Bread of Life” to live spiritually!

John 6:48-58

48 "I am the bread of life. 49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 "This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh."

52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" 53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.

John 10:27-30

27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 "I and the Father are one."

Jesus, the eternal Son of God, took on flesh in Bethlehem, the house of bread. May we eat daily from the “Bread of Life” becoming more like Him, doing the will of our Father in heaven, bringing glory to the Father, and Son, through the power of the Holy Spirit given to live in us!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 8, 2025

Notes of Faith December 8, 2025

O Little Town

Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

Genesis 35:19

The first biblical mention of Bethlehem is a sorrowful one. Genesis 35 says that Rachel died near there. Rachel was beloved by her husband, Jacob, and he was anguished when she perished during a difficult childbirth. With her final breath, she named her child Ben-Oni, which means “Son of My Sorrow.” But Jacob changed his name to Benjamin, which means “Son of My Right Hand.” Jacob set a monument over her grave, and pious Jews visit the site to this day.

Today we find delight in visualizing our Lord’s birth town. We build models of it on the stages of churches and in public parks. It’s become an evocative scene for the world’s greatest painters, and we love to sing about the “little town of Bethlehem” where “in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light.”

It’s the Lord Jesus who eases our sorrows and lifts our spirits. His birth became the means by which He entered the human family to “preach good tidings to the poor” and “to heal the brokenhearted” (Isaiah 61:1). Do you have a zone of sorrow in your life? Ask the Lord Jesus Christ to give you comfort, understanding, healing, and happiness today.

O come to us, abide with us, our Lord, Emmanuel!

Phillips Brooks

Isa 61:1-3

61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

Because the Lord has anointed me

To bring good news to the afflicted;

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to captives

And freedom to prisoners;

2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,

Giving them a garland instead of ashes,

The oil of gladness instead of mourning,

The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.

So they will be called oaks of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem! God with us! He has always been with mankind but since His coming, taking on flesh, giving His life as the only perfect sacrifice for our sin, we have a Lord and Savior who reconciles us to God, makes us a friend of God when previously we were enemies. Faith in Jesus, His work, death, burial and resurrection bring glory to God and eternal life to man. Yes, we praise the Father for sending His Son and praise the Son for doing ALL the will of His Father, that we might be saved now, and live in the house of the Lord forever!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 7, 2025

Notes of Faith December 7, 2025

Away in a Manger: Eternal Impact

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head; the stars in the sky looked down where He lay, the little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing; the Baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes; I love Thee, Lord Jesus! look down from the sky, and stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay close by me forever, and love me, I pray; bless all the dear children in Thy tender care, and fit us for heaven, to live with Thee there.

– John Thomas McFarland, 1851–1913

Eternal Impact

The virgin-born baby was God in human form. He humbled Himself, He took the form of a servant, He was made in your likeness and mine, He identified Himself with the problems of the human race. And thus it was that the apostle John wrote,

The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, as of the only begotten of the Father.) – John 1:14

In the early days of the nineteenth century, the world was following, with fear and trembling, the march of Napoleon across Europe. Day after day they waited with impatience for the latest news of the wars. And no one was paying any attention to the babies that were being born. In just one year, lying midway between Trafalgar and Waterloo, there came into the world a host of heroes. During that year of 1809, listen to the people who were born in that year – when everybody was taken up with the problems of Napoleon: Gladstone was born in Liverpool, England; Alfred Tennyson was born in Somersby, England; Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Frederic Chopin was born in Warsaw, Poland; Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg, Germany; and Abraham Lincoln was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky. But nobody thought of babies. Everybody was thinking of battles.

Yet over two hundred years later, with a truer perspective which the years enable us to command, we can ask ourselves, “Which of the battles of 1809 were more important than the babies of 1809?”

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:1-5

What a difference the baby born in Bethlehem’s manger two thousand years ago makes to our world today. The educational systems He has inspired, the social reforms that His teachings have instituted, and the transformation of families and lives that have come about as a result of a baby born at Bethlehem!

The whole world was thinking of Caesar. The whole world was thinking of Rome. But in God’s eternal plan, He was thinking of a Baby in a manger in the little tiny town of Bethlehem.

Excerpted from The Cradle, Cross, and Crown by Billy Graham, copyright Thomas Nelson.

I love the babies and little ones in our church! They are sweet and gentle and loving…what happens when we grow up? Let us remember to pray fervently for all of the babies that God gives us, but most of all for the baby in a manger that came to die that we might truly live!

Pastor Dale

Notes of Faith December 6, 2025

Notes of Faith December 6, 2025

A Life Evergreen: The Wreath

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life

John 3:16

Do you put a Christmas wreath on your door? So do people around the world. In Eastern Europe they are decorated with fruits and nuts. In Mexico you’ll see colorful wreaths of paper flowers. In Poland the wreaths are often made of straw with ribbons and dried flowers. The residents of Hawaii make many of their wreaths out of tropical flowers, palm leaves, and seashells.

Everywhere the meaning is the same. The shape of the wreath—a circle—represents the endless and eternal life Jesus came to bring us. The Gospel of John, though it doesn’t really tell the story of Joseph and Mary, has the most to say about our limitless life in Christ. In the New King James Version, John uses the word eternal ten times and the word everlasting another eight times. In John 6:47, Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.”

This season when you spot a wreath, let it remind you to thank the Lord for endless days!

If Jesus were born one thousand times in Bethlehem and not in me, then I would still be lost.

Corrie ten Boom

John 3:3-17

3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" 5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 8 "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

9 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 11 "Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 12 "If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 "No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. 14 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Let’s not just remember the birth of our Savior Jesus this Christmas season but consider if we are like Nicodemus, knowing about God without truly knowing God and needing to be born again spiritually! Lord, fill us to overflowing with Your Spirit this Christmas that we might live for You and declare the truth to all that You put around us to bring You glory!

Pastor Dale