Pilgrim Baptist Church

Most people think of Jesus as Savior. Fewer think of Him as Advocate. But 1 John 2:1 is plain: "we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Not "we had." Not "we will have." We have. Present tense. Right now. Picture the courtroom.

You stand up to preach, and there's a war going on that nobody can see. Dry mouth. Butterflies you can't pray away. Thoughts scattering. A split second where you wonder if any of it is going to land. So you plant your feet. You take a breath. You open the

That's the unspoken motto of too many institutions — and too many hearts. Say it out loud. Cheaper not to care. You can hear the boardroom that birthed it. Cut the corners. Minimize the exposure. Protect the margin. But God never built anything that way.

Most of us waste years waiting for permission we already have. We tell ourselves that real change belongs to somebody else. The pastor's job. The elder's responsibility. The husband with more experience. The wife with more patience. Meanwhile we sit still

Most of us aren't struggling with whether to murder someone. The battle is whether we'll call our pride pride. That's where self-deception lives — not in the sins nobody defends, but in the respectable ones we've baptized with better names. We confess the

There's a question that comes up more than you'd think — usually delivered with a tone that's meant to end the conversation before it starts: "If you chose Christ, doesn't that mean you get some of the glory?" You've just been handed a trick question

There's a reason John uses the present tense. "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." — 1 John 1:7 Not cleansed. Not will cleanse. Cleanseth. Right now. Ongoing. Continuous. That one word dismantles the whole performance trap. John

God never called His people to live afraid, eyes fixed on every shadow. Wisdom recognizes danger. But fear isn't wisdom — it's a counterfeit. Scripture doesn't show us a timid people. It shows us Abraham leaving everything he knew. Peter stepping out of

The false teachers didn't lack conviction. They lacked calluses. They had opinions about Jesus. Persuasive ones. Convincing ones. Sometimes ones that sounded like scripture. But they didn't have Him. John's not building an argument in 1 John 1:1. He's

God put warning labels in the Bible long before the government put them on anything. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. — Proverbs 14:12** One sentence. No fine print. The destination is hell.

Eve had a husband. She should have used him. "Yea, hath God said?" That question deserved silence from her and an answer from him. But she engaged it alone — and Paul didn't miss it. In 1 Timothy 2 he commands women to learn in silence, not to usurp

You're capable. And that might be the very thing working against you. It shows up in pastors, fathers, and business owners. It sounds like "I'll just handle it." But stewardship isn't only about what you can do — it's about who you're raising up.

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." — Galatians 6:9 You don't know which Sunday message lands at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday. You don't know if that tract you handed the cashier at Walmart ended up on

There is a kind of commerce that depends on darkness. It finds its margin in confusion, its profit in the uninformed. It does not want you thinking at all. It needs you off-balance. This is not a new problem. The prophet Amos condemned merchants who

Your child will face a moment — in the locker room, at the lunch table, maybe even in church — where the crowd goes one way and God's Word goes another. Most parents train their kids to be liked. To be polite, agreeable, easy to get along with. That's not

A packed house and a Spirit-filled church are not the same thing. We've spent so long confusing the two that nobody bothers to ask which one we're building. Count the seats. Fill the seats. Add more seats. And we called it ministry. The only thing

If you're too busy for church, you're too busy. I've heard every version of the excuse. Sports. Travel. Rest. Family time. They're not bad things. That's what makes it complicated. Nobody's skipping church for something obviously wrong. They're skipping

A lot of believers are exhausted. Not from doing too much — from trying to balance standing still. You already know this feeling. The wobble the moment you stop pedaling. A bicycle cannot stay upright without motion. Neither can you. Sanctification is a

Picture a woman who turned down a promotion to be home when her kids walked through the door every afternoon. Her coworkers pitied her. Ten years later, her daughter made the same choice — not because she had to, but because she'd seen what it built. No

There's a trap most Christians don't realize they're standing in. "I wouldn't do it that way" is not the same as "the Bible forbids it." But we blur that line constantly — in our marriages, in our churches, in the way we raise our children and quietly

We don't call it selfishness. We call it wisdom. We call it stewardship. We call it knowing what's best for our family. But most of it is just baptized selfishness — self-interest dressed up in responsible-sounding language so we don't have to feel bad

Some people don't come back to apologize. They come back to brag. You'll recognize it. There's someone who wronged you — maybe they lied about you, left ugly, or did damage they never owned. Then one day that person shows up — soft voice, spiritual

Somebody figured out you can build a following online just by tearing other men down. Reaction video after reaction video. Ministry after ministry — not known for what they teach, but for who they're against. The follower count goes up every time somebody

You don't owe anyone a closing argument justifying your convictions. The Lord Jesus Christ said, "Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay" (Matthew 5:37). Jesus wasn't being cold. He was showing you what character looks like. A man of God whose word

They say ignorance is bliss. If that's true, I'm a blizzard. Ministry has a way of showing you things you can't unsee. People you trusted. Situations you didn't ask for. Conversations that stay with you at 2 in the morning. Nobody warns you about that

I'm grateful for this nation. Grateful for freedom, for provision, for the military that protects our families. None of that is lost on me. But being grateful for your country and confusing the church's mission — those aren't the same thing. No political

There is a kind of mockery that is holy. Not the kind that tears down a struggling soul or settles a personal score. The kind Elijah used on Mount Carmel when he stood before 450 prophets of Baal and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking,

For some families, a question eventually surfaces that they never saw coming — whether God might be calling them to pull up roots and relocate for the sake of finding a faithful church. It is a question worth taking seriously, because the stakes on both

⚠️ If you have kids or grandkids, you need to see this. You've heard them say it. "6, 7." It's in the hallways, at lunch, on every phone screen. Adults call it "brain rot" and move on. But what if it's not nothing? I've searched the scriptures address

The New Testament doesn't imagine a church without order. It assumes one — and builds on it. God didn't leave that to chance. Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus about almost nothing else. And Hebrews 13:17 puts it plainly: Obey them that have the rule over

Somewhere along the way, America traded its soul for a spreadsheet. God has never been opposed to increase. The parable of the talents is not a call to contentment. It is a command to increase. Tend to something carefully, pay attention, and it gets

Time. God gave it to you. What are you doing with it? The Psalmist cried out, "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." (Psalm 90:12) Moses wasn't making small talk with God when he wrote that. He was a man staring down

Got an email last week from a guy who told me street preaching was "ineffective and embarrassing." So I asked him: "What method are you using instead?" He didn't have one. He wasn't evangelizing at all. You hear this criticism all the time in Christian

Not every wound was aimed at you. Some of the worst pain you've ever carried came from somebody who went home and slept fine that night. They said what they said, did what they did, and moved on. Most of them still don't know. No apology is coming. And

Obeying God feels risky. Disobeying Him is. Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. https://fortunato.blog/the-real-risk/

Before anything happens—while things are good and trust is strong—is the best time to think through how we handle conflict when it comes. And it will come. When church problems arise, fog descends. You hear something happened at church. There was a

Children learn what matters by what they are consistently exposed to. When the Word of God is central in church life—heard, explained, and applied week after week—children absorb its words. They learn its truth. They recognize its authority. All of this

Here's what we don't do at Pilgrim. We don't have the youth programs of the churches down the road with the coffee bar and the stage lights. We don't bounce from sermon series to sermon series to keep things feeling relevant. Our worship isn't designed to

Scripture was not given to decorate sermons. It was given to govern belief, instruct conscience, and direct life. When preaching moves away from thorough explanation of the text, authority subtly shifts—from the Word of God to what the pastor wants to

You ever notice some folks can't enjoy a good laugh unless they're the one delivering the punchline? Everything's funny when they're cracking jokes, but let somebody else bring the humor and suddenly it's "inappropriate" or "out of line." I've watched

Big Names, Little Obedience Nothing wrong with appreciating gifted preachers. Paul himself pointed people to his example. God gives the church pastors and teachers for a reason. But there's a dangerous pattern we need to call out. Every church has them.

Every Sunday, the same tragedy unfolds in churches across America. A family walks through the doors on Sunday morning with bright smiles, pressed clothes, and practiced greetings. They fellowship. They serve. They look like they've got it all together.

Let's talk about the Christians who have plenty to say about you in private but go mute to your face. They'll critique your decisions to their spouse. They'll question your character to their friends. They'll analyze your motives to anyone who'll listen.

Nowhere in Scripture does God promise you an easy life. He promises trials, persecution, and suffering. He also promises His presence, His strength, and His grace—and that's better than comfort. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good

"If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). You don't get to love Jesus on your terms. Obedience proves your love. Disobedience proves your rebellion. Stop calling Him Lord while ignoring his Word. Either obey Him or stop pretending you follow Him

We've gotten real good at not lying while still being liars. We don't technically say false things—we just don't say all the true things. We withhold information. We tell half the story. We let people believe things we know aren't accurate, but we comfort

When gas was cheap, builders could put up houses with paper-thin walls and single-pane windows. Why invest in insulation when you could just crank up the heat? It was faster. It was cheaper upfront. And for a while, it worked. Until the bills came. Month

You know the type. Bold with new believers. Silent around mature saints. Put them with struggling folks or people who look up to them, and they've got answers for days. Quick with advice. Ready to lead. But put them in a room with seasoned believers,

Your kids don't need more information. They need discernment. We're raising a generation that can Google anything but can't think critically about what they find. They know how to consume content but not how to evaluate it. They've been trained to repeat

Your children absorb what they see, not just what they hear. If you're lukewarm, they'll be cold. If you compromise, they'll abandon. If you're faithful, you show them "the way, the truth and the life." Live the faith you want them to inherit. Time is