Be Ready Always: What 70 Years Has Taught Us About Faith and the Future
✍️ By Pastor Gary Boyd
📖 1 Peter 3:15–16
Can we take a moment to look back together?
Seventy years ago—1955—Collinsville Baptist Tabernacle opened its doors for the very first time 🙌. A lot has changed since then. Back then, gas was 23 cents a gallon ⛽, a brand-new home cost $11,000 🏠, and the Chevy Bel Air was the car everyone wanted 🚗. Families would gather around black-and-white TVs 📺 to watch “The $64,000 Question,” and you might hear “Rock Around the Clock” playing on the radio 🎶.
Now here we are in 2025. Homes average around $400,000 😳. Phones are smart, cars are electric ⚡, and TVs talk back 😅. What used to feel like science fiction is just normal life now.
But here’s the thing…
Some things haven’t changed.
✨ God is still good.
📖 His Word is still true.
❤️ The Gospel still changes lives.
⛪ And this church—our church—is still shining a light in our community.
We’re not just looking back to celebrate the past—we’re looking forward with faith 🙏. And I believe now, more than ever, it’s time for us to lean into the mission God has given us. The world is different, but the Gospel still speaks.
Did you know? A recent Barna survey found that 3 out of 4 Americans want to grow spiritually 🌱. And over 70% of teens and young adults say they’re open to faith. That’s huge. The harvest is ready. The door is open 🚪. And as Jesus said, “Lift up your eyes… the fields are white already to harvest.”
So how do we respond in a world like this?
Peter gives us a game plan—and it’s just three simple but powerful steps.
1️⃣
Put God First in Your Heart
Peter was writing to believers who were facing some serious pressure 😣. Some were being rejected by their families, losing jobs, even being thrown into prison. Sound extreme? For them, it wasn’t.
The temptation, then and now, is to tone it down—to make Christianity more “acceptable” to the culture around us. But Peter writes, “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.” That means setting God above all the other voices trying to win your attention 👑.
When God is truly first, it changes everything. You stop living for the approval of people, and you start living with a deeper sense of purpose and peace ✌️.
2️⃣
Be Ready to Share the “Why” Behind Your Faith
If you start living with God at the center, people will notice 👀. They’ll wonder why you make the decisions you do. Why your priorities are different. And that’s your moment!
Peter says we should “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you…” 💬
Here’s the key: your answer shouldn’t be based on what your pastor said, or what your family expects. Your answer should come from your personal relationship with Jesus.
✅ “Jesus has done too much for me to turn back.”
✅ “The Holy Spirit gives me strength every single day.”
✅ “God’s love changed everything for me.”
And Peter reminds us: deliver your answer with meekness and fear—in other words, gentleness and respect 🤝. You’re not trying to win an argument. You’re sharing your heart.
3️⃣
Let Your Life Speak Louder Than Your Critics
Let’s be honest: if you speak boldly for Jesus, someone’s going to talk 🗣️. Maybe even gossip. Maybe even lie. That’s hard to swallow, especially for someone like me who’s a bit of a people pleaser 😬.
But Peter’s advice? Live right anyway.
Keep your conscience clean. Let your actions speak for themselves 🧼.
He says that when our outward life matches the work God is doing in our hearts, it silences critics. It even puts some of them to shame—not because we clap back, but because we stay faithful 🙏.
I’ll be real with you: it’s tough when people say things about me or my wife or our church that aren’t true. I want to defend us. I want to snap back. But Peter says don’t. Let your consistency be your defense. Let your kindness be your strength. Let your testimony do the talking 🎤.
I can’t help but wonder how many people over the past 70 years have criticized this church—only to be proven wrong by the loving, faithful testimony of God’s people here at the Baptist Tabernacle ❤️.
So What Does This Mean for Us Today?
👉 Sanctify God in your heart.
Put Him first. Above career. Above opinions. Above comfort.
👉 Be ready to give an answer.
Don’t live off someone else’s faith. Make your walk with God personal and vibrant.
👉 Let your life silence the critics.
You don’t need to argue with every hater. Just keep living right.
🎉 Celebrating the Past—Preparing for the Future
Praise God for 70 years of ministry, miracles, and moments 🙌. But let’s not stop here. Let’s press forward into what’s next.
Now is not the time to slow down.
Now is not the time to play it safe.
Now is the time to go all-in for Jesus 💥.
Let’s make the next 70 years even more faithful, fruitful, and full of Gospel impact.
