Golden Plains Baptist Church · Pastor Robert Carlson

Choosing Time with Christ

January 27, 2026·46 min·3 clips

When we say we don't have time for God, we are essentially telling Him we've chosen to use His time on someone or something else.

1. This episode is a sermon from Golden Plains Baptist Church titled 'Choosing Time with Christ,' based on Ephesians 5:16-17 and Luke 10:38-42. 2. The pastor is the sole speaker; no guests appear; he identifies himself as having gotten saved at age 30 and as a member of a congregation in Manitoba, Canada. 3. The sermon's core thesis is that every Christian chooses, daily, how much time to spend with Christ, and that claiming to be 'too busy' is a lie—one is simply choosing other things. 4. Ephesians 5:16 ('redeeming the time, because the days are evil') is defined as 'a careful and diligent use of time to the best advantage,' with the preacher citing a commentator who notes that lost time 'can neither be recalled nor prolonged.' 5. The preacher asks listeners to imagine a chart of their 2025 time use: 'How much time have we spent on useless videos on YouTube and TikTok versus time with the Lord Jesus Christ?' 6. He calls claiming to have no time for God 'one of the greatest insults to our Heavenly Father' and states God is fully self-sufficient—Jehovah, all-knowing, all-powerful—yet chose to redeem humanity: 'we just don't have time.' 7. The sermon walks through God's nature: he 'came as a babe in human form, lived a perfect sinless life to redeem fallen man' so 'undeserving creatures could be saved and become the sons of God'—and yet Christians treat fellowship with Him as a leftover activity. 8. Luke 10:38-42 (Mary and Martha) is the primary illustration: Martha is 'cumbered about much serving' while Mary sat at Jesus's feet and heard His word, and Jesus says 'one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part.' 9. The preacher uses the grandparents analogy: the most precious gift grandchildren can give grandparents is simply their presence—no activities required—and asks why Christians think God wants less. 10. He argues that without Word-based fellowship, faith 'shrivels up,' citing Romans 10:17 ('faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God') and Job 23:12 ('I have esteemed the words of his mouth above my necessary food'). 11. Jonathan Edwards is cited as a man who spent at least 13 hours a day in study and prayer, whose preaching of 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' sparked revival, with the preacher asking if such a life could spark revival in Manitoba. 12. A personal hearing-aid story describes how the audiologist told the preacher that the brain tunes out repetitive sounds after consistent exposure—applied directly to churchgoers who become immune to familiar sermons. 13. Brother Beckham's prayer conference is cited: the regular pastor had preached salvation for 30 years, but when Beckham preached the same message with a different voice, 21 people got saved—including the preacher's own daughter and son. 14. The preacher's wife conversion story is told: she attended a Bible conference, came home with 'a glow about her face' excited about things she had learned, prompting the preacher (who thought the church was a cult) to eventually investigate and get saved at 30. 15. The preacher identifies critical attitudes about church service—'why am I the only one who shovels snow?'—as the first symptom of broken fellowship, directly paralleling Martha's complaint. 16. A man who attended the church from its founding, sat in three services per week for 34 years, and raised his children there, then retired and announced 'we're done, we really don't believe that anymore,' is presented as the sermon's most sobering illustration. 17. The preacher cites Colossians 1:18 ('that in all things he might have the preeminence') as the standard: God wants first place, not leftover time. 18. The tone is confessional and self-implicating throughout: the preacher repeatedly includes himself—'I was deeply convicted and sadly ashamed that much of my time was spent in useless things in 2025.' 19. Practicing Christians who struggle with consistency in personal Bible reading and prayer, or who feel their church attendance has become mechanical, will find this sermon most challenging. 20. Those seeking academic theology, non-Protestant perspectives, or content outside evangelical Baptist devotional practice are unlikely to find this episode relevant.

As heard by us

A direct call to put Christ first and make room for his Word before the day fills up.

This sermon presses one simple aim: make time for Christ before the day slips away. It draws on Ephesians 5:16-17 and Colossians 4:5, then returns to the same charge in different forms: redeem the time, put the Word of God first, and keep fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ at…

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Why you'd press play

If your mornings go to phone, email, and errands, this calls you back to choosing time with Christ.

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