From WWUTT: 10 Great Voddie Baucham Moments (in Loving Memory)

God Requires Holiness, But Not Perfection

God does not require a perfect, sinless life to have fellowship with Him, but He does require that we be serious about holiness, that we grieve over sin in our lives instead of justifying it, and that we earnestly pursue holiness as a way of life.

Adapted from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges

Holiness is For All Christians

God has called every Christian to a holy life. There are no exceptions to this call. It is not a call only to pastors, missionaries, and a few dedicated Sunday school teachers. Every Christian of every nation, whether rich or poor, learned or unlearned, influential or totally unknown, is called to be holy. The Christian plumber and the Christian banker, the unsung homemaker and the powerful head of state are all alike called to be holy. 

This call to a holy life is based on the fact that God Himself is holy. Because God is holy, He requires that we be holy. Many Christians have what we might call a “cultural holiness.” They adapt to the character and behavior pattern of Christians around them. As the Christian culture around them is more or less holy, so these Christians are more or less holy. But God has not called us to be like those around us. He has called us to be like Himself. Holiness is nothing less than conformity to the character of God.

Adapted from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges

A Discussion on If Wokeness is Dead in the Church

God's Desires for Men and Women in the Church Assembly

This sermon is from Chris McKnight at Kerrville Bible Church in Kerrville, TX

Costi Hinn: The Marks of Spirit-Led Worship

Brad Klassen: Truthfulness

Book Review: The Sing Hymnal

I did not grow up in a traditional church. I knew what hymnals were and over time, our church moved away from using a physical hymnal to just having the words of a song in our bulletin. The church I attended during my college years used a hymnal which I thought was strange, but I discovered a lot of my favorite worship songs were in the hymnal. 

Sadly, over the years, many churches have gone away from using a hymnal or hymns in general. There is a resurgence happening where more and more churches are using hymnals while at the same time, more modern hymnals are being written which infuses modern worship songs with hymns of long ago. The Sing Hymnal is now being added to the list of brand-new hymnals being published for the body of Christ to use in their corporate worship gatherings. 

This hymnal has a collection of modern worship songs mixed with songs that have been around for year. Some of the modern songs include ones written by Keith & Kristyn Getty, who were the main contributors to this hymnal, Matt Boswell, Sovereign Grace Music, and a couple of songs from Chris Tomlin. In case you were wondering, I did not see any song from Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation Worship bands. 

This hymnal also contains a collection of verses in the English Standard Version (ESV) and quotes from various Christian theologians. I will admit there are some in there that I would have left out, but that in itself should not take away from how good this hymnal was put together. 

Just like any other hymnals, there are different topics match with the appropriate song for that topic. I was surprised they had a section for the Psalms. However, this was my one big disappointment with this hymnal. While they had many songs based on the Psalms, they did not cover all 150 of them. Not sure why the Getty's omitted some of them, but I thought it was a real shame they did not include songs based on all of the Psalms. My hope is they will release a follow-up to this with a Sing Psalter similar to what The Master's Seminary did with their Hymns of Grace and produced their Psalms of Grace.

Overall, a well put together hymnal for the church to use not just corporately, but also in their homes whether in private worship or singing with friends and family. 

I received this book from Crossway in exchange for an honest review.

Voddie Baucham's Last Sermon: Be Careful How You Talk About Christ’s Bride

Christ is Still Building His Church

Over last few years, we have seen many influential Christian leaders passing away. While they are in heaven with God and worshipping Him with all the saints who have gone before us, many have wondered about what is going on and how this will affect the church.

The simplest of all answers is that Christ is still building His church.

The church continued after the Apostles. The church continued after the Early Church Fathers. The church continued after Luther and Calvin. The church will keep on until the Lord returns.  

We do not need another Voddie Baucham, John MacArthur, R.C, Sproul or Jerry Bridges. We need Biblically qualified men to stand in the church. We still need pastors not afraid to preach the whole council of God. We need ordinary people serving their churches who we may never know about.

The church will lose influential leaders again and again. It does not mean that God is done with the church. It means the church will continue. The gospel is still to be proclaimed. Missionaries need to go out. Local congregations need to focus on where they live and how to be serve them. 

Christ is still building his church. 

Remembering Voddie Baucham

In 1995, it was the summer of my junior year of high school just before my senior year. I attended our summer youth camp in San Marcos Baptist Academy that our church was able to secure for that week. I do not remember who led worship, but we had a preacher that no one ever heard of. We knew he was in the Houston area and preached at various youth camps. That preacher was Voddie Baucham.

I do not remember the messages he preached that week, but everyone loved Voddie. He and I got to have many one-on-one conversations during that week. I even asked him to give a nod to our recreational team who have not won any games on the last full day of camp, Voddie did more than that, He participated in two of the games that afternoon, which were Water Polo and Volleyball. We won both of those games including the last game he was not involved in because he was preparing for that evening's message. 

Voddie and I reconnected a couple of years later when he came and spoke during our Tuesday night Bible study at East Texas Baptist University (ETBU) called Timeout. He spoke at our chapel service the next day wearing a bow tie. I asked him why he was wearing one. He told me that I am reclaiming the bow tie for Jesus from Louis Farrakhan. He said it will a big smile on his face. Voddie came back to ETBU as the main speaker for our Spiritual Renewal Week. I do not remember his messages, however one thing I remember was one service he quoted Philippians 2:5-11 by memory and had tears coming from his eyes. He said nothing after that and sat back in his seat. The room was quiet for a moment till the worship band came up to lead us in some songs.

In 2000, about a month after my wife and I got married, I was also a college graduate. Voddie was preaching at Super Summer at ETBU. Our church's youth group and we were invited to go. Voddie met my wife and told him I was out of college. He looked at me and said, "They let you out?" I think my wife and everyone around us laughed. To be honest I probably did too. One interesting note, the band leading that Super Summer was MercyMe so I got to hear "I Can Only Imagine" before it was played at various funerals.

I wish I can say Voddie and I stayed in touch over the years, but we did not. His ministry was starting to take off, and I was a struggling Youth Pastor. I remember being at a Christian bookstore in Lake Charles, LA, where I saw a book called "The Ever-Loving Truth." written by Voddie. I bought it without hesitation and loved it. 

I was delighted to learn that Voddie wrote many other books and embraced Reformed Theology. I kept up with many things in his ministry. My wife and I said, we wished were part of his church when he was pastoring in Houston, but it never happened. I am so grateful that God had used Voddie not only in the church he shepherded, but the entire body of Christ whether through his sermons or his books.

Voddie was a voice of reason when wokeism and critical race theory was infiltrating the church. I always pointed out his messages to those I knew personally that flirted with wokeness. As most of you know, I have shared a few videos of Voddie preaching in various topics on the blog. 

I knew of his health issues and all I can do was pray. I was grateful that God brough him out of that situation. Yesterday, September 25, 2025, I saw the news that Voddie entered the presence of Christ due to an emergency medical procedure. As I write this, I do not know any more details beyond that.

We have had many deaths in church at large over the years, J.I. Packer, Jerry Bridges, R.C. Sproul, and, most recently, John MacArthur, but Voddie's is one that will hit many. I shared one social media that this one hurts and it truly does. While I will miss Voddie, I am thankful that he is with the Savior. He is no longer dealing with health issues. 

While I did not have Voddie on speed dial or had his e-mail, I always hoped he would remember me when I saw him again. For this reason, while Voddie was not just a brother in the Lord, he was also my friend. I hurt not because the church lost a giant of a preacher, but I lost a friend. Please join me in praying for his family and for those he worked with at Founders Seminary. 

Thank you, Father, for the life and ministry of Voddie Baucham. 

Costi Hinn Sharing the Gospel on the Charlie Kirk Show

Brad Klassen on the Omnipresence of God

Another Prediction Proven Wrong

Today, September 23, 2025, has been added to a list of days predicted when the Rapture is supposed to occur, yet it did not. It amazes me how many people throughout the years have guested when Christ is going to return and were wrong. To be honest, I am not sure why so many would want to predict the return of Christ because all of them have been proven wrong. 

Does that mean Christ will not come back at all? Christ will return one day we just do not know when. Christ Himself said, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (Matthew 24:36). The Apostle Paul wrote, "Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2). 

Christ's return will happen during a time we do not expect. Till then, what kind of people ought we to be? The Apostle Peter said, "Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens burning will be destroyed, and the elements will melt with intense heat!" (2 Peter 3:11-12). 

We are to be the people of God living lives honoring to the Lord as we wait for Him to come. We are not to guess when that time is but to expect it. It could be after our lifetime or in another 1,000 years. We have a mandate from the Lord to make disciples and teach them to observe all of His commandments (Matthew 28:19-20). We are to be holy at mentioned earlier. We are also to comfort one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). 

James Coates on the Assassination of Charlie Kirk

By now, you may have heard numerous messages on the assassination of Charlie Kirk that took place on September 10, 2025. I have heard quite a few from various sermons or podcasts. I stumbled upon this one from James Coates who pastors GraceLife Church in Edmonton. Coates was arrested and put in jail in 2020 during the COVID lockdowns in Canada for having church. Coates offers his perspective on what took place.

Voddie Baucham: Contending for the Faith

Jeffrey Johnson: The Beauty of Affliction

Costi Hinn: Do Not Fear Them

Virgil Walker: Christ in Culture: The Five Things Every Christian Needs to Know

This sermon was preached on the weekend following the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Redeemer Bible Church in Gilbert, AZ:  

What Good Comes Out of Suffering?

We all know Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." Many people quote or read that verse to one who is going through suffering which may seem innocent at first, yet we tend to leave them wondering what good this hard time will bring about.

As I mentioned in a previous post that the good that Romans 8:28 speaks of is conformity to the likeness of Christ as mentions in Romans 8:29-30. In the beginning of the book of James, the Bible says:

Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith brings about perseverance. And let perseverance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4).

Trials comes in many forms, and they will assist us in becoming more maturing believers in Christ. Yes, it is painful, but it is necessary for us as we walk with the Lord in this life. 

Our suffering is not just for our benefit, but it is also for the church. In 2 Corinthians 1, we see that God is the God of all comfort. God comforts us through His Word and He also comforts us through the church. The Bible says:

For just as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. But whether we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or whether we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is working in your perseverance in the same sufferings which we also suffer. And our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort. For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even to live.

Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not have confidence in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who rescued us from so great a peril of death, and will rescue us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet rescue us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers on our behalf, so that thanks may be given on our behalf by many persons for the gracious gift bestowed on us through the prayers of many (2 Corinthians 1:5-11).

Romans 12:15 says "weep with those who weep." When a fellow believer goes through suffering, the whole church suffers with them. We comfort them as best we can and one way we can do it is to pray for them. The church comes together when suffering occurs whether in an individual believer or the whole corporate body of believers. 

The good that comes out of suffering is believer conform to the likeness of Christ, and the church come together to comfort those who are suffering.