Today we welcome Dr. Rod Masteller to First Baptist Church. Rod will be preaching in all worship services.

Rod is a long time pastor and leader of pastors. Most recently, he served for thirteen years as pastor of the Summer Grove Baptist Church of Shreveport, one the leading churches of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. He also served as President of the Louisiana Baptist Convention from 2009-2011. He now lives in Frisco, Texas, and serves Louisiana College as Vice-President of External Affairs and Director of the Joseph Willis Institute for Great Spiritual Awakenings.

Rod has a great heart for revival in America. I know you will hear him gladly.

July is also a special month at Metairie Church where Campus Pastor Jared Stacy will preach for the month. I am thankful for Jared and the leaders at Metairie Church who are seeking to reach their community for Christ.

Here are two thoughts for Independence Day.

First, freedom isn’t free. Our freedom as a country came at a price, and it continues to come with a price. Let us give thanks for those who have served and particularly those who died for our freedom.

As the church, let us remember the freedom we have in Christ. The Apostle Paul could never really get over the thought–and fact–that he had been forgiven and freed from sin and the law.

In Christ, God has set us free and made us His very own.

Second, in order to be truly independent you must be dependent. We need to use this time to declare our dependence on the risen Christ who died for us. He is the One who makes us free, and He is the One who has made us new. Because of Him, we have victory over sin.

You can receive each post I write in your inbox by subscribing to waylonbailey.com at the top of the page. I hope you will do so and pass those posts you find helpful along to your friends.