My First Pentecostal Holiness Experience

"Where do you guys keep the snakes?", was one of my first statements after stepping in the pulpit at the First Pentecostal Holiness Church of Thomasville, NC. (I just couldn't resist the above picture!) Luckily, we all agreed that the only proper way to handle a snake is the way the Apostle Paul did, by shaking it off in a fire!


We had a great time this past Sunday night, which was also Halloween night. It was a blessing to see such a good crowd in a beautiful church celebrating the Light while others, no doubt, would be celebrating the darkness outside those four walls. I was privileged to preach and paint this night on the Gospel. You can see some highlights HERE.

It's a very disturbing thought to realize that there are approximately 310 million Americans in this country and 76% profess to be Christians. That's a huge number of "professors", and yet, this country has never seen such moral decline as it has now. What's the problem? Many claim that the culture today is "gospel-hardened", and I firmly say NO! They are not gospel hardened but Gospel IGNORANT! So many modern day preachers are too busy tickling the ears and preaching a humanistic spin on Christianity while unbelievers go through some emotional experience that they equate as a conversion...thus leaving our churches filled with false converts. What a shame. Let's get back to what the Gospel is really about...It begins with a righteous and holy God who demands the same from us. And, we, being the absolute epitome of corruption and sin, are in desperate need of an outside righteousness. God Himself provided this by taking on our sin at the cross and fully drinking in God's just wrath. Three days later, He arose from the dead, and now He offers Life to all who will believe. If man remains in his unbelief, He'll be required to pay God's wrath and justice which means an eternity in the lake of fire. Justification is by faith alone in Christ alone. He can legally declare us righteous because He literally and fully paid the fine of every believer. This justification only comes through a repentant faith in Jesus Christ, not some silly little prayers you repeat from a pastor or leader. May God bring us back to Biblical truth and leave the modern evangelistic methodology behind.

Remember The First Pentecostal Holiness Church in prayer. They all have needs just like any other church, and have a wonderful opportunity to glorify Jesus Christ in such a great location. They were such a blessing to me and my family.