We lost them to an overdose. What now?

Grief is real. Hope is Christ crucified and risen.

Anton Brown • Senior Pastor
September 30, 2026

3 Minute Read

The phone call already happened. The house is too quiet. Or too loud. Shame is in the room with the grief. People will guess. Some will stay back.

If you are in danger tonight, get emergency help now, then talk with us. If you are using and you cannot stop, get human help now. Then come sit with us.

We will sit with you. [Anton: FILL]

You do not have to make this neat. Eat something if you can. Tell one person the truth. Write down what the funeral home asked. Sleep when the body will let you. Those small acts are enough for this hour.

God comforts the afflicted. He means to.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
(2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

The church in Thessalonica needed this too. People they loved had died. Paul would not leave them guessing.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)

Grief is real. Hope is Christ crucified and risen. We do not invent a story about the last minutes. We do not invent a verdict on their soul. We do not treat an overdose as a small thing.

Chapter 31 of the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 says death returns the body to dust. The soul goes to God. The righteous are with Christ. The wicked are reserved for judgment. Two places. No third room we get to invent. Chapter 32 says Jesus will judge every thought, word, and deed. That day belongs to him. We will not play judge in this living room.

The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, article IV, says salvation is the redemption of the whole man, offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in him. Chapter 14 of the 1689 Confession says faith rests on Christ alone. Weak faith is still faith if it is resting there.

Article XV of the Baptist Faith and Message calls us to oppose vice and to provide for the needy, the abused, the helpless, and the sick. Addiction is a real destroyer. An overdose is a real death. We will help you bury them. We will help you tell the truth. We will not dress this up. We will hold out Jesus.

One next step with him: tell him their name. Then tell him yours. "Lord Jesus, I have no strength for this day. You died. You rose. Hold me." If you can, read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 once out loud.

Come talk with us. Read the gospel. Ask for biblical counseling. When you can take one, a next step is ready.

If tonight is unsafe, get emergency help first.

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From this Author: Anton Brown

October 11, 2026 • 5 Minute Read

Family Devotional: Help Us

Dear Mayflower family, This week the page grows out of “Help Us,” from Acts 16:6–10. The heart of it is this: people everywhere need help, and the best help God sends is the good news about Jesus. Paul and his friends wanted to tell people about Jesus, and God closed two roads in front of them. Then one night Paul saw a man from a faraway place called Macedonia, saying, come over and help us, and the friends knew what help to bring: the good news about Jesus. The line your table will be sitting with is the one from Sunday morning: they asked for help, and God sent the gospel. Read together, talk together, pray together, sing together. Here is this week's page. Pastor Anton Help Us Family Devotional · Acts 16:6–10 · October 11, 2026 This page works two ways: as one ten-minute sitting at the table, or as five short Monday-to-Friday steps from the same page. There is no wrong way. This week's Big Idea People everywhere need help, and the best help God sends is the good news about Jesus. Memory verse “concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” Acts 16:10 (ESV) 1. READ Read Acts 16:6–10 out loud. Stay on this one passage all week. Monday: verse 6. Paul wanted to tell people about Jesus in Asia, and God said no. Tuesday: verse 7. They tried another road, and Jesus closed that one too. Wednesday: verse 8. They came to Troas, a town by the sea, and ran out of road. Thursday: verse 9. In the night a man said to Paul, come over and help us. Friday: verse 10. Paul and his friends knew the help he needed was the good news about Jesus, and they went right away. 2. THINK Paul and his friends wanted to tell people about Jesus, and Jesus closed two roads because He knew where His good news needed to go next. A man from Macedonia asked for help, and he did not even know what kind of help he needed. God sent him the very best help there is: friends who came to tell him that Jesus died for sinners and rose again, and that Jesus is able to help everyone who calls on Him. 3. TALK You do not need to ask them all. For young children: Paul wanted to go one way, and God said no. Then a man asked Paul for help. What help did God send him? For school-age children: The man said help, but he did not say what kind. When someone we know is sick, sad, or having a hard time, what are some ways we can help them? How could we tell them about Jesus too? For teens: The man from Macedonia was asking for more than he knew. Lots of people say they are spiritual, but they could not tell you that the help they need is Jesus. When things get hard, what do you reach for first? Have you ever asked Jesus to help you in your own words, the way a woman once knelt in front of Him and said, “Lord, help me” (Matthew 15:25)? For the whole table: Who is one person we know who needs help this week, and what is one way we could help them and tell them about Jesus? 4. DO Do this: Pick one person who is having a hard time: someone sick, someone lonely, someone sad. Bring them something small this week, a meal, a treat, or a card the children made, and in the card write one true sentence about Jesus, like “Jesus is able to help.” Another way to do this: Pick one person who does not know Jesus yet. Draw a little boat on a piece of paper, write that person's name on the sail, and put it on the fridge. Every night this week, ask God to send them the good news about Jesus, the way He sent Paul across the sea. 5. PRAY Father, thank You that when people cried for help, You sent the good news about Jesus, who died for sinners and rose again. Please save every person at this table who does not yet trust Jesus, and grow the ones who do. Help us to notice the people around us who need help, and give us courage to tell them about Your Son. In Jesus' name, Amen. 6. SING Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. It sings that we have come this far only by God's help, and that Jesus came looking for us when we were wandering, which is exactly what He did for the people of Macedonia. If no one wants to sing, read the first verse out loud instead. One faith talk this week is a win.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

October 11, 2026 • 4 Minute Read

October 11th | Help Us

The help the world is begging for is the gospel. This morning Pastor Anton preached Acts 16:6–10. The sermon was Help Us. Paul and his team tried two roads to preach the word, and Jesus closed them both. At the edge of the sea, in the night, a man of Macedonia appeared to Paul and said, come over and help us. He did not say, come and preach to us. He said help, and he did not know what help he needed. By morning the team had concluded that God had called them to preach the gospel, and they went immediately. The help that man was begging for was the good news of Jesus Christ. They asked for help. God sent the gospel. Now that you have heard it, sit with it this week. Some of us walked in Sunday standing in front of a road God closed, and most of us know someone who is saying help without using the word. Live into what was preached in two plain ways: hand the map back to the Lord who sees the whole road, and when someone near you cries for help, bring the meal and bring Jesus with you, in words. The five readings below do not repeat Sunday's passage. They walk you through the Lord who went where He was sent, the God our help comes from, a woman who knelt and said Lord, help me, the Savior who is able to help because He suffered, and the beautiful feet of those who are sent. Grace to you as you carry Sunday's text through the week. Pastor Anton Five-Day Devotional Monday Luke 4:42–44 When the crowds at Capernaum tried to keep Jesus from leaving, He told them He must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well, because that is why He was sent. He went where the Father sent Him, not where the crowd wanted, and the same Lord closed two roads in Acts 16 because He knew where His gospel was going next. If He has closed a road on you, He has not stopped steering. Pray: Lord Jesus, You went where the Father sent You; teach me to trust You with the road You have closed in front of me. Tuesday Psalm 121:1–2 The psalmist lifts his eyes to the hills and asks the question everyone asks sooner or later: from where does my help come? His answer is not a plan or a thing but a Person, the Lord who made heaven and earth. The man of Macedonia knew he needed help without knowing what it was, and this psalm tells you where it comes from. Pray: Father, when I do not even know what help I need, turn my eyes from the hills to You, the Maker of heaven and earth. Wednesday Matthew 15:21–28 A Gentile woman with a suffering daughter came to Jesus, knelt in front of Him, and said three words: Lord, help me. She had no claim on Him and she knew it, and He helped her. Those three words are still a prayer He has never turned away. Pray: Lord, help me, not because I have earned it but because You are the One who helps. Thursday Hebrews 2:14–18 Jesus took on our flesh and blood and suffered when tempted, so that He is able to help those who are being tempted. He does not help from a distance; He went to the cross so that when we cry help, there is someone who can actually answer. Whatever you are carrying this week, you are bringing it to One who has been there. Pray: Lord Jesus, You suffered so that You could help me; make me quick to come to You first and not last. Friday Romans 10:13–17 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, Paul writes, but how will people call on One they have never heard of, and how will they hear without someone preaching? That is why God sent Paul across the sea to Macedonia, and it is why He sends you across the street. Carry that into next Sunday's gathering, and think about the one person near you who is saying help, and what it would look like this week to bring Jesus with you in words. Pray: Father, You sent someone to tell me about Your Son; give me courage to speak His name to the one You have put near me. They asked for help. God sent the gospel.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

October 4, 2026 • 4 Minute Read

Family Devotional: Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

Dear Mayflower family, This week the page grows out of "Timothy Joins Paul and Silas," from Acts 16:1–5, Sunday's passage, with Leon Jones as our guest preacher. The heart of it is this: Paul was willing to give up almost anything so people could hear about Jesus, but he never changed the good news about Jesus. A young man named Timothy, taught the Bible at home by his mother and grandmother, joins Paul and Silas, gives up something hard so Jewish people will listen, and helps carry the good news to the churches just as it was. Read together, talk together, pray together, sing together. Here is this week's page. Pastor Anton Timothy Joins Paul and Silas Family Devotional · Acts 16:1–5 · October 4, 2026 This page works two ways: as one ten-minute sitting at the table, or as five short Monday-to-Friday steps from the same page. There is no wrong way. This week's Big Idea Paul was willing to give up almost anything so people could hear about Jesus, but he never changed the good news about Jesus. Memory verse "So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily." Acts 16:5 (ESV) 1. READ Read Acts 16:1–5 out loud. Stay on this one passage all week. Monday: verse 1. God gives Paul a new helper, a young man named Timothy. Tuesday: verse 2. The Christians in two towns said good things about Timothy. Wednesday: verse 3. Timothy gave up something hard so Jewish people would listen. Thursday: verse 4. Paul and his friends brought the churches the decisions from Jerusalem to keep. Friday: verse 5. The churches grew strong, and more people believed every day. 2. THINK Timothy's mother and grandmother taught him the Bible when he was little, and when Paul came to town, God gave Timothy to Paul as a helper. Paul had Timothy circumcised, a sign Jewish families gave their boys, not to make Timothy right with God but so Jewish people would be willing to listen, because Paul would give up almost anything so people could hear about Jesus. But Paul never changed the good news itself: Jesus did everything needed to save us, and nobody has to add anything to what He did. 3. TALK You do not need to ask them all. For young children: Timothy's mother and grandmother taught him about God when he was little. Who teaches you about God? What is one thing you have learned about Jesus? For school-age children: The Christians in two different towns said good things about Timothy. What do you think they noticed about him? What would you want people to notice about you, and who could help you grow that way? For teens: Paul would change almost anything about how he did things so people would listen, but he would never change the message. Is there something you could give up so a friend would be more willing to hear about Jesus? Have you ever been tempted to leave part of Jesus out so faith would be easier to talk about? And have you trusted Christ yourself, or have you only learned about Him? For the whole table: What is one thing our family could give up this week so that someone else could hear about Jesus or feel His love? 4. DO Do this: This week, each person picks one thing they usually get to choose, like the dinner, the game, or the seat in the car, and gives that choice to someone else in the family on purpose, without being asked. At the end of the week, talk about how Paul and Timothy gave things up so others could hear about Jesus. Another way to do this: Choose one favorite thing to share together this week, like a snack, a toy, or an afternoon, and give it to someone outside the family, a neighbor or a friend from church, with a note that says, "Jesus loves you, and we wanted to share." 5. PRAY Father, thank You that Jesus gave up everything to come and save people like us, and that nobody has to add anything to what He did. Please save every person at this table who does not yet trust Jesus, and grow the ones who do. Make us a family that gladly gives things up so others can hear about You, and that never changes Your good news. In Jesus' name, Amen. 6. SING All I Have Is Christ. Paul could give up so much because Christ was enough, and this hymn sings that nothing else is needed. If no one wants to sing, read the first verse out loud instead. One faith talk this week is a win!

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

October 4, 2026 • 4 Minute Read

October 4th | Character Over Comfort

Everything but the Gospel As you sit with Sunday's passage this week, ask yourself two plain questions. What freedom am I holding so tightly that I will not spend it for someone else's good? And where have I been tempted to soften the gospel, or add something to it, to make it easier to carry? The five readings below do not repeat Sunday's passage. They walk you through the home that raised Timothy, the man Paul came to trust most, the freedom Paul spent, the line Paul would not cross, and the Christ who finished what no one can add to. Grace to you as you carry Sunday's text through the week. Pastor Anton Five-Day Devotional Monday 2 Timothy 1:3–7 Paul remembers the sincere faith that dwelt first in Timothy's grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, and now in Timothy. Luke tells us only that his mother was a believer and his father was a Greek, which means much of that faith was handed down in an ordinary home, by people who were not famous and may often have felt alone in it. The faith taught at your table is never wasted, even when it seems small. Pray: Father, thank You for the people who taught me Your Word, and make me faithful to hand it on to the ones You have placed in my home. Tuesday Philippians 2:19–24 Years after Lystra, Paul writes, "I have no one like him," and says that others seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. The young man two towns once spoke well of had spent years proving it, serving with Paul in the gospel as a son with a father. A good name among God's people is not built by guarding your image; it grows out of a life that keeps looking to the interests of Christ. Pray: Lord Jesus, turn my attention from my own interests to Yours, and make my life one that speaks well of You. Wednesday 1 Corinthians 9:19–23 Paul says he is free from all, and then he spends that freedom by making himself a servant to all, that he might win more of them. That is what Acts 16:3 looks like on the ground: a real cost, freely paid, so that others would listen. Ask where your freedom has turned into something you guard, and who might be helped to hear the gospel if you let it go. Pray: Father, show me one freedom I can spend this week for someone else's good, and give me joy in spending it. Thursday Galatians 2:1–5 The same Paul who circumcised Timothy refused to let Titus be circumcised, and he says he did not give in for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved. With Titus, people were demanding circumcision as a condition of being saved, and giving in would have said that Christ was not enough. Paul was flexible about everything that belonged to him and immovable about the one thing that belonged to Christ. Pray: Lord, give me a soft heart toward people and a firm grip on Your gospel, and never let me trade the one for the other. Friday Colossians 2:9–14 Paul tells believers that in Christ they were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, and that God canceled the record of debt that stood against us and nailed it to the cross. Timothy's circumcision opened a synagogue door; only Christ opens heaven's door, and He does it with nothing added. Carry that into next Sunday's gathering, and come with empty hands to the One who finished the work. Pray: Lord Jesus, I stop trying to add to what You have done, and I rest in Your finished work with nothing in my hands. Everything but the gospel.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

September 30, 2026 • 3 Minute Read

Is it greedy to want a better job?

Wanting honest work that can feed a household can be wisdom. Greed is something else. Greed wants more as a god. It measures people by pay. It envies the neighbor's offer letter. It treats God as a vending machine. The tenth commandment forbids that hunger. The Second London Baptist Confession of 1689, chapter 19, still uses the moral law to expose it and to send us to Christ. A better job can also be love. Skill unused. A wage that cannot cover rent in 2026. A workplace that asks you to sin. A desire to have something left to give. Those reasons need prayer, not a scolding. As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19, ESV) Paul does not tell the rich to fake poverty. He tells them where to put their hope. God richly provides. Enjoy his gifts. Then do good. Be rich in good works. Be ready to share. That is the test of a raise, and of the hunt for one. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, article III, says man is made in God's image, male and female, with full dignity. Work is part of how image bearers serve. Article XIII says time, talents, and possessions are a trust for God's glory and for helping others. Article XV says Christians should oppose every form of greed and selfishness, and should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, and the helpless. A job search can serve those ends. It can also feed the greed article XV names. Ask which one is in the driver's seat. Chapter 16 of the 1689 Confession helps here too. Good works are only what God has commanded. They are fruit of faith, not a ladder to pardon. They need the Spirit. They come mixed with weakness, and God still accepts them in Christ. Diligence at work can be gratitude. It cannot buy you a cleaner record with God. If the new job would require you to lie, steal, or crush people, that is not a door from the Lord. If the new job is honest and the motive is mixed, confess the mix and keep walking. Most of us live in that mix. One next step with Jesus Ask him to search your hope. Say the real reason you want the change. Then take one honest step this week: update the facts of your work, ask a trusted brother or sister to pray, or talk with a pastor about the motive and the door. Seek first the kingdom. Let the job serve that, not the other way around. Therefore do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33, ESV) If you are still far from Jesus, a better title will not quiet that. Come to him first. What is the gospel? Biblical counseling Next steps

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

September 30, 2026 • 4 Minute Read

My phone runs my life. How do I get free?

You can get free. Not by a new case and a new app. By a new Master. If the first thing you touch in the morning is that glass, and the last thing you touch at night is the same glass, you already know this is bigger than "screen time." Your attention has a lord. Your fear of missing something has a lord. Jesus is willing to be Lord instead. Come as you are. Bring the phone with you. He already sees what is on it. What has you A phone is a tool. In a fallen world it becomes a master fast. News. Images. Anger. Comparison. Betting. Porn. Empty talk. You reach for it when you are bored. You reach for it when you are ashamed. You reach for it when you should pray. Chapter 6 of the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 says we became servants of sin. Completely defiled in soul and body. Unless the Lord Jesus sets us free, we stay there. That is not only a 1600s sentence. That is your thumb at 12:40 a.m. Article III of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 says we inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. The environment in your pocket is built to keep you. The nature in you wants to be kept. That is why willpower fades by Thursday. We will not baptize this as a medical label only. Some of you need a doctor for anxiety or sleeplessness. Say so. Get help. Still call the worship what it is. You have been giving your heart to a device. Freedom has a name So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36, ESV) For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1, ESV) Christ did not die so you could manage notifications better. He died to take you out of slavery. He rose so you would stand firm and refuse the old yoke. Article IV of the Baptist Faith and Message says salvation is the redemption of the whole man. Regeneration. Justification. Sanctification. Glorification. No salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Sanctification is progress toward moral and spiritual maturity by the Spirit who lives in you. That includes your eyes, your hours, and your hands. Chapter 13 of the 1689 Confession is honest about the fight. The dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed in those united to Christ. The evil desires are weakened and put to death. Yet the war is not finished in this life. Remaining corruption may prevail for a time. Then the Spirit supplies strength. The regenerate part overcomes. So you should expect a fight. You should not expect to lose forever. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:12-14, ESV) Your members include your thumbs. Repent of the real thing Chapter 15 of the Confession says repent of each specific, known sin specifically. Name it. The hour you vanish from your children. The messages you should not send. The images you hunt. The way you hide the brightness when someone walks in. The Lord's Day you spent scrolling instead of gathering. Ask for pardon. Ask for strength. Then take a plain step. Leave the phone in another room when you sleep. Tell a brother or sister what owns you. Sit under the Word with the church on Sunday when every nerve wants the feed. Filters help. Accountability software helps. They do not regenerate you. Jesus does. One next step with Jesus Put the phone down long enough to speak. "Lord Jesus, this device has been my refuge. I have served it. Set me free. I trust you. I will present my body to you today." If you do not know him yet, read the gospel and come to him. If you do know him, stop lying about a "busy season." Ask for counsel. Walk with the church. Come further The gospel Next steps Biblical Counseling Baptism, if you have turned to Christ and have not yet gone public The Son sets people free. He can set you free from a glowing rectangle.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

September 30, 2026 • 4 Minute Read

The pills started as pain. Now I cannot stop.

You can get help today. Medical help. And Jesus. If you are shaking, if you are out, if you are scared of what happens when you stop, call a doctor or emergency services now. Do not taper yourself from a guess you read online. Do not wait for Sunday. Your body can be in real danger. Go to a doctor, an emergency room, or the care already in your life. This page will not name a clinic. Then keep reading. Christ saves sinners. Including the ones who started with a real injury and ended up owned. Both things can be true Pain is real. A prescription can be a mercy. Dependence can grow in a body without a cartoon villain in the story. Sin is also real. Hiding. Lying to the person who loves you. Taking what is not yours. Numbing so you do not have to face God. Chapter 6 of the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 says this corruption remains even in the regenerate. The actions that rise from it are truly sin. Article III of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 says we inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Only grace brings a person into holy fellowship. We will not treat you as a case number. We will not treat you as a lecture. You are an image bearer who needs a Savior and, often, a physician. God does not despise a trapped person If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9, ESV) Confess the theft. The deceit. The worship of relief. He is faithful. He is just. The blood of Jesus is why he can cleanse you. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36, ESV) Freedom is the Son taking a servant of sin and making that person his. Article IV of the Baptist Faith and Message says salvation is the redemption of the whole man. Offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Sanctification begins in the new birth. The Spirit enables progress toward maturity. That progress can include a hospital bed, a hard conversation, and a long obedience after the crisis. Chapter 13 of the 1689 Confession says the war is real. Remaining corruption may prevail for a time. The Spirit still supplies strength. The saints grow. They do not grow by pretending the body is nothing. Chapter 15 of the Confession says there is no sin so great that it will bring damnation on those who repent. There is also no sin so small that it does not deserve damnation. So we preach repentance. We do not shrug. We do not crush you. What to do in the next hour If you are in withdrawal danger, get medical help first. Tell them the truth about what you took and how much. If you can think clearly, tell one person who will not help you hide. A pastor at Mayflower. A spouse. A parent. Pray as you go. "Lord Jesus, I started with pain. I have made this my master. I have lied. I cannot save myself. Have mercy. I trust your death and your resurrection. Give me the courage to get help and to tell the truth." Bring your body to him. Present yourself to God as one brought from death to life. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:12-14, ESV) One next step with Jesus Get the medical help you need. Then come to Christ in the open. If you have never trusted him, the gospel is for you this night. If you have trusted him and hid this, repentance is still a gift. Ask for counseling. Sit with the church. Do not do secret recovery as a second religion. Come further The Gospel Biblical counseling Next steps Baptism, when you have turned to Jesus and are ready to say so in the water Christ saves sinners. He can meet you in pain. He can meet you in dependence. He can make you free.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

September 30, 2026 • 4 Minute Read

Sports betting is on my phone. Is it just a game?

No. A game does not take the rent. A game does not own your Sunday. A game does not make you hide a second account. If the app knows your pulse better than your friends do, you already have your answer. There is help. Jesus Christ came for people who chase a rush and call it harmless. You can stop lying about "just entertainment" today. What the bet is after Sports can be a gift. Skill. Rest. A shared afternoon. Betting on the same screen is often something else. Greed dressed as fandom. A promise that the next slip will fix the last one. A small god of chance. Chapter 6 of the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 says we are servants of sin and partakers of death and all other miseries unless the Lord Jesus sets us free. That misery can look like debt. Shame. A marriage that no longer trusts your word. A heart that cannot watch a game without a stake. Article III of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 says we become transgressors as soon as we can act. Article XV says Christians should oppose every form of greed, selfishness, and vice. The 2000 text names greed. It does not need a new vice list from us. The app is enough. You may tell yourself you can afford it. The question is not only money. The question is worship. Who do you trust when you are bored, angry, or sure you are due? The gospel names greedy people. Then it washes them. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11, ESV) Greedy. Swindlers. Idolaters. Some of you were that. Washed. For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1, ESV) Stand firm. Delete the app. That is not legalism. That is refusing a yoke. Article IV of the Baptist Faith and Message says there is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Sanctification is the Spirit enabling you to grow. Chapter 13 of the 1689 Confession says the desires that rise from the old body of sin are put to death more and more. The war can still go badly for a season. The Spirit still supplies strength. Chapter 15 of the Confession says repent of each specific, known sin specifically. The bets. The borrowed money. The lie to your spouse. The way you taught a younger person that this is normal. One next step with Jesus Open your hands. "Lord Jesus, I have trusted a wager more than I have trusted you. I have loved money and a rush. Forgive me. I believe you died and rose. Set me free. I will tell the truth about the accounts and the debt." Then tell a pastor. Bring the numbers. Ask for counsel. If you owe people, make a plan to repay. If you have never belonged to Christ, start with the gospel, not with a self-help streak. The church will not mock you for coming clean. We will not bless the app either. Come further the gospel Biblical counseling Next steps Baptism, if you have trusted Christ and have not yet obeyed him publicly Christ saves sinners. He can save a person who cannot watch a game without a stake.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

September 30, 2026 • 3 Minute Read

Someone I love died by suicide. Is there hope?

You can barely breathe. The questions will not stop. Why. What did I miss. Where are they. If you are in danger tonight, get emergency help now, then talk with us. If someone near you is talking about dying, stay with them and get human help now. Do not sit in a dark room with this alone. We will sit with you. The Lord comes near when a heart is crushed. He said so. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18) Jesus stood at a grave and wept. He also named himself. Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26) Hope is a Person. Jesus Christ was crucified for sinners. He rose from the dead. That is the hope we have. We do not invent a verdict on the one you love. We do not stand in God's place and close the door. We do not shrug as if this death were small. Our confession, the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689, chapter 31, says the soul does not sleep. The bodies of the dead return to dust. The souls of the righteous are with Christ and wait for the redemption of the body. The souls of the wicked remain reserved for the judgment of the great day. Scripture names those two places. Chapter 32 says God has appointed a day when he will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ. We are not that court. We will not pretend we know the hidden work of God in a last hour. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, article IV, says there is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Salvation is offered freely because of his blood. Chapter 14 of the 1689 Confession says the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting on Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life. That faith can be weak. It can be attacked. Christ is still the one who saves. Article XV of the Baptist Faith and Message says we contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. A life ended this way is a real tearing of what God made. We will not call it fine. We will not tell you the cross cannot reach a sin this dark. The Judge is Jesus. The hope is Jesus crucified and risen. One next step with him: say his name out loud. Tell him the truth. "Lord Jesus, I am crushed. I cannot fix this. I need you." Then read John 11:25-26 again. Slowly. Come talk with us. Read the gospel. Ask for biblical counseling. If you need a next step after that, start at next steps. If tonight is unsafe, get emergency help first.