Carolina Baptist Church

Just as God raises the dead, He is still in the business of restoring ruined lives. At the age of 40, Moses wrecked his life with one sinful choice. He lost his position, his freedom, his relationships, his influence, and the dream of fulfilling God's calling. For 40 years he lived on the backside of the desert wondering if God was through with him. But at the age of 80, God appeared to Moses in a burning bush and revealed that He had not forgotten him. In this second part of our series, Pastor Marc Williamson traces Moses' journey from a special calling, through a sinful choice and its severe consequences, to a sacred commissioning by God. Failure does not have to be your final chapter when God is involved.

Sin can ravage a life like wildfire and reduce it to ruins. But no sinner is too broken for God's redeeming power and no failure is too great for His restoring grace. In this first part of a new series, Pastor Marc Williamson examines the life of Manasseh, the worst king in Judah's history. Despite being raised by the godly King Hezekiah and growing up under the preaching of the prophet Isaiah, Manasseh plunged into the depths of wickedness. He rebuilt pagan worship sites, desecrated the temple, sacrificed his own children, slaughtered believers, and led the entire nation into sin. Yet when God's judgment finally brought him to the end of himself, Manasseh cried out in humble, repentant faith, and God not only forgave him but restored him. His story is proof that where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.

Many of us have hit the snooze button on getting serious about the Lord, saying "I'll do it later." That one lie has robbed more people than we can number of profitable years, eternal rewards, and a life that counts for Christ. In Ecclesiastes 12:1, Solomon writes as an old man full of experience, shouting back to those at the starting line to start right and stay the course. Pastor Marc Williamson examines why God commands us to remember our Creator in the days of our youth, the dangers of procrastination, the power of acknowledging God early, and the privilege of a personal relationship with Him. The days of youth are foundational years, and what you build on them will determine the direction of your entire life.

Why does God sometimes say "no" to our prayers? In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul reveals that when God says "no" to our request, He says "yes" to meeting our deepest need. After receiving an extraordinary heavenly experience, Paul was given a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble and dependent on Christ. Though he pleaded three times for its removal, God responded with something greater — sufficient grace and perfected strength in weakness. Pastor examines how God uses suffering to produce an elevated perspective, exalting praise, an experienced presence of Christ, and an enabling purpose. Every testimony begins with a thorn — trust God to turn yours into a testimony of His glory.

Will America see another 250 years? While no one knows God's timetable, Scripture holds insights about the future of the nations. In Job 12:23, the Bible reveals that God alone increases nations, destroys them, enlarges them, and constricts them. Based upon end-time prophecy, America is not mentioned among the nations that play a role in last-days events. So what will happen to the world's current superpower? Pastor Marc Williamson examines six biblical possibilities for America's decline, including moral collapse, military attack, assimilation into the Antichrist's alliance, natural disasters, turning against Israel, and the Rapture of the church. Through it all, we are reminded that our greatest need is not political but spiritual.

Key Verse: "He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again." - Job 12:23 (KJV)

One of the great attributes of our God is His omniscience. He is all-knowing. There is absolutely nothing that God does not know, will forget, or will ever discover. He knows all things innately, eternally, and comprehensively. In this message from Psalm 139 and Isaiah 40, Pastor Marc Williamson explores the nature of God's knowledge and what it means to us personally. God's knowledge is intuitive (He depends on no one for information), comprehensive (He knows every possible outcome), and personal (He knows us better than we know ourselves). Understanding God's omniscience should move us to repentance, honesty, rest in Christ, obedience, trust in suffering, and rejoicing that He never stops thinking of us.

There are some things in life where good intentions are not enough. In 2 Samuel 6, David desired to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem to restore God's worship to the center of the nation. His intentions were good, but he went about it the wrong way, following the methods of the Philistines rather than God's Word. When Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark, God struck him down for violating His clear command. In this third part of our series on Encountering God, Pastor Marc Williamson examines how a carnal perspective, a careless presumption, and finally a corrected perception of God's holiness shaped one of the most sobering events in Scripture. God's service and work must be done God's way if it is to see God's blessing.

250 years ago, a courageous declaration from the 13 American colonies announced that our human liberties and rights come not from governments or kings, but from our Creator. As America celebrates this milestone, it is fitting to give God thanks for His blessings and to honor those who sacrificed to preserve our freedoms. But this anniversary is also a time for honest reflection. While America has grown stronger economically and militarily, it has weakened spiritually. Pastor Marc Williamson examines the historical evidence that America was founded upon Christianity, traces how that foundation has been systematically dismantled, and confronts the devastating moral consequences our nation is reaping. Our nation's greatest need is not political but spiritual, and its future relies on repentance and a return to the Lord Jesus Christ.