Dr. Marc Drake, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church Sun Lakes In 1787, when the Constitution for our nation was drafted, a woman asked Benjamin Franklin what the founders had given the American people. Would it be a republic or a monarchy? Franklin replied, “A republic, madam—if you can keep it.” By God’s grace, it has…
Dr. Marc Drake, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Sun Lakes The great 18th century evangelist George Whitefield once stepped into a stagecoach about to leave Edinburgh. A lady who belonged to a different church denomination happened to step into the same coach. She saw Whitefield and became alarmed, saying, “Are you not Mr. Whitefield?” He…
Dr. Marc Drake, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Sun Lakes During the Christmas season, I began reading a biography of missionary William Carey. What a remarkable life! In 1792, this former shoemaker-turned-pastor preached to a group of ministers a missionary sermon that would become famous. In it he declared, “Expect great things from God;…
Dr. Marc Drake, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Sun Lakes There is a very Welsh town in North Wales by the name of Bala. The language spoken in the homes and shops is Welsh and, with few exceptions, the names on the houses are Welsh. One of these exceptions is seen in the nameplate on…
Dr. Marc Drake, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Sun Lakes A well-known pastor of an earlier generation, Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse would regularly hold an open forum at his church in Philadelphia. The building would be filled with people as he stood before a microphone with his Bible in his hands to answer questions from…
Dr. Marc Drake, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Sun Lakes If some of your goals for 2017 have fallen by the wayside, this may be a good time to reflect on the words of the apostle Paul in the Bible: “One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,…
Dr. Marc Drake, Sr. Pastor, First Baptist Church, Sun Lakes Former President Ronald Reagan had a great goal: “To have a vision to dream of a better, safer world, and the courage, persistence and patience to turn that dream into a reality.” His bold vision demanded a response from the global community and, as a…
Dr. Marc Drake, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Sun Lakes Russian leader Vladimir Putin thinks he can stop the gospel. Perhaps you’ve read of his action to sign into law measures that severely restrict religious freedom and criminalize missionary activities. Like so many others before him, he is attempting the impossible! How successful were Nero,…