Category: Photography

What Grok Thinks of Me

Some of those who I follow on X, were asking Grok who their arch-nemesis was. For fun, I thought I would do the same. This, and the illustration, were what Grok told me. 

Nick Fuentes (the far-right commentator and America First figure associated with the manosphere and historical revisionism around WWII/Hitler).

Your blog (timothyjhammons.com) and X activity (@T_J_Hammons_17 ) paint a consistent picture: you’re a Reformed pastor/itinerant preacher, special-ed teacher, husband, and father rooted in traditional covenantal theology. Recurring emphases include paedocommunion and objective sacraments (vs. subjective profession), biblical head coverings and male headship (critiquing egalitarian or “soft complementarian” readings as feminist-influenced, e.g., Jason Garwood), cessationism, Christ’s gentle heart toward the lowly, and resistance to cultural/ideological poisons entering the church.

On the cultural/political side you are sharply anti-abortion (framing Democrats as practicing and loving murder), critical of progressive “Christian” figures who blend faith with left-wing politics (e.g., calling James Talarico a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”), traditional on gender roles, and wary of liberal cultural saturation.

At the same time, you have written at length against neo-Nazi and manosphere influences invading conservative and church spaces—explicitly naming Nick Fuentes, Stone Choir, etc., as sources of wickedness, historical ignorance, and Satanic-style doubt. You contrast Fuentes’ “just asking questions” style and comments on Hitler with primary sources like William L. Shirer’s eyewitness history, call Fuentes “bad news,” and urge the church to exclude such voices without repentance. You also reject post-war consensus relativism while still treating Hitler as genuine (if not ultimate) evil, rooted in unbelief rather than as the singular standard of evil.

Fuentes therefore sits at the intersection of what you most actively warn against: a charismatic figure pulling young men toward historical revisionism, ethnic grievance, and anti-Christian undercurrents that you see as a direct threat to the church’s purity and witness—more insidious, in your framing, than open progressive opposition because it claims to be “on the right.” That makes him a natural arch-nemesis figure relative to the body of your public writing and posting: the ideological opposite who claims overlapping cultural territory but subverts the Reformed, Scripture-first, Christ-centered priorities you emphasize.

(Other strong contenders would be progressive “Christian” Democrats or soft-egalitarian theologians, but the dedicated blog attention and explicit church-protection language around Fuentes stand out.)

The Heart of Christ

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”Jesus says that He is lowly and gentle in heart after telling us to take on His yoke, which is not a burden (Matthew 11:28-29).

This passage shows us the heart of our King. He is not a tyrant. He came to take dominion of all things, but does so in the most gentle way. The takes dominion through the gospel, through faith, through the children, through the weak and lowly.

He does not come making demands. He doesn’t use manipulation or trickery. He simply calls His servants to follow His lead and preach that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.  

Jesus also doesn’t come using the life-destroying sword of the tyrants of the world. He uses the sword of His word. It is through His word that He claims the lost soul for His own glory. This is not to the exclusion of the cross and all that was accomplished there. In fact, the proclamation of His word, of His Kingdom, of Jesus and all He does, and who He is, is the message that brings about redemption and salvation to His sheep. It is a message that He uses to change the minds and hearts of those in need. And in hearing this message, they come: the lowly, the meek, the downcast, the brokenhearted, those who hunger for righteousness.

Christ’s Kingdom is full of those who are like Him, lowly and gentle of heart. There is no room for pride in His Kingdom. There is no room for the arrogant, the manipulators, the high and mighty, only the humble and contrite.

The Midst of the Debate

The Proverbs tell us, “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” This verse needs to always be handy when it comes to battles within the church. To take a stand on anything, means that there will be conflict. In the midst of that conflict, sparks will fly, just as iron sharpens irons, unless of course, you belong to one of the denominations in which heated discussions are looked down upon under the guise of improper decorum.

The doctrine of paedocommunion—the teaching that since children are members of the covenant through baptism, they should be and are admitted to the Lord’s supper—has become a hot-button issue recently. This is especially true since the PCA General Assembly ruled that those who hold to this doctrine can no longer take an exception to the Westminster Confession and be accepted as pastors. They declared that paedocommunion strikes at the vitals of the faith.

In conversations with those who fully agree with that decision, the reasoning offered is often the same as that given by Baptists for why they will not baptize their infants: “What if the child who partook grew up and left the faith? Then what?”

Baptists make the same argument when it comes to baptism, and both groups want a person to be able to make a credible profession of faith before being admitted to their particular sacrament.

The problem with this is that both groups are focusing on the subjective natures of the sacraments instead of the more important objective nature. The objective nature focuses on what God is doing, both in baptism and the LORD’s Supper. In other words, He is marking us as His own through baptism, and feeding us spiritually through the LORD’s Supper. It is His work. Not ours.

The subjective nature focuses on man. Whenever we do that, we are failing miserably.

At least the baptist are consistent in their views. The child cannot come to the table, until he has been baptized, and cannot be baptized, until he is makes a profession of faith. In Reform circles, we baptize and then divide the body up in two tiers, those who can come to the table and those who cannot. We divide the loaf. We divide the body of Christ. (The very thing Paul was warning the Corinthians agains).

Those who defend the PCA’s position will continue to bar the children of their congregations from the table. They are raising a bar that should not be raised. This is the same thing the Roman Catholics did before the Reformation. They only allowed clergy to partake. Both groups are making the same argument, with the difference being where they place the bar.

Jesus had something like this happen to Him during His earthly ministry.

13 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 And after laying His hands on them, He departed from there (Matthew 19:13-15 LSB).

Here we have the principle laid before us: Children are a part of the kingdom of heaven, therefore, being members of the visible church, and being baptized, they too are to come to the table and feast, knowing that the LORD is good.

Yet some cannot have this because they feel that a child must make a profession of faith. Why? Do they not believe in the baptism given? Can we not just trust the Spirit to move when and where He pleases? Must we erect a test for those who should not be tested at all? They were born into the covenant and should have all the privileges of the covenant. Yes, they should be taught and catechized. But let us trust the Lord to move in them in His timing. Otherwise, we are starving the very children who need nourishment.

This view fails to meet the pattern we are given in Scripture. The same arguments that all good Reformed Christians make in baptizing our children, are the same arguments that should be made in allowing them to come to the table. They are members of the covenant, therefore, they should dine at the table of their King. As He has told us, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

There is a lot more to be said, but this will have to suffice for now.

DIY: Side Bed

Here is the side bed from August 2022, when we bought the place. I really don’t understand why people have grass grow up to the house like this. Granted, they did plant a struggling rose bush, and I’m sure the tree popped up on its own, but alas, the rest looked liked they didn’t realize they had a yard.

This shall not be!

The new and improved side bed. It was, like everything else, 4 years in the making.

The only plants I would never plant again in Texas: hydrangeas. So difficult to keep them alive. In fact, having anything green in Texas means your water bill will be rather high.

The work was worth the effort.

DIY Curb Appeal: Four Years in the Making

It’s been four years since we bought our home, and now we are selling it. The entire time, I always tried to make improvements upon it because this was the corner where God gave me to take dominion.

As you can see, the previous owners were not that concerned with the front flower bed, or… anywhere else when it came to the yard. You can see that in the brown grass.

Here is a broader view.

I don’t quite have the same angle as the ones above, but you can see the entire yard. Not a brown patch in it, and the front bed is much more lush.

I think you can see the front bed more clearly, along with the row of canna indica, or Indian Shot by it’s common name. I got that from my sister’s ranch. She had a ton of roots in garbage bags, and was giving it away. Since it came from our father’s house in Houston, it has sentimental value. Plus, it grows like crazy in the summer, and will take over everything if you let it.

You can also see a bunch of it against the house. There is also a lot of ferns growing there, a crape myrtle, and two Live Oak trees that will need to be transplanted as some pointl

The Judgment of Rejecting the Gospel

In my most recent sermon on Matthew 10:5ff, I came to the verse in which Jesus says the following:

15 Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

This is part of the instructions that Jesus is giving the 12 disciples before He sends them out to preach to the House of Israel. He has already indicated that they will encounter two types of people in their mission work: those who are worthy, and those who are unworthy.

The worthy will open their doors to the disciples, invite them in, and listen to their preaching about the Kingdom of Heaven.  The message will be a blessing to them.

But the other group will refuse to listen to the message. For those in cities and households who refuse to listen, the disciples are not to stay with them. They are to leave, and to shake the dust off their shoes as they leave. This indicates that their wickedness is so pervasive, that it even infects the dust around them. Therefore, the disciples are to make sure and not spread that dust elsewhere.

It is after Jesus tell them this, that He gives the warning quoted above. The sin of rejecting the gospel is far worse than the sin committed in Sodom and Gomorrah.

This is not to say the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is to be taken lightly. Sodom and Gomorrah stand as an open testimony to the world about the wickedness that was committed there. The men of those cities were at the height of depravity and abominations. You can’t get much worse.

But, according to Jesus, there is something that is worse than the heinous sins committed in Sodom and Gomorrah: it is the rejection of the gospel, of the Kingdom of Heaven, and of the King Himself. This sin is far worse than that of S&G, and will receive much greater judgment than those who actually died in those fires of brimstone.

Why is this?

To be given the message of the gospel, of Christ, of the risen Savior, is the greatest act of God’s mercy and grace a person can receive. In the gospel, we are seeing the richest aspect of God’s love, grace, and kindness toward humanity that exists. There is no greater demonstration of God’s love than this.

Therefore, to reject the greatest act of love in history, is to basically say to God: your gift is worthless and I want nothing to do with it. This sin is far worse than that of S&G. While the sin of S&G was against God’s image, and a personal assault upon His nature and character, the sin of rejecting the gospel is against God’s mercy and His Son. This makes it far worse than what those in S&G did. They were acting in ignorance of His grace and mercy. This does not excuse them, but it is worth noting.

The people who hear the gospel are being given a true blessing in hearing of God’s mercy and His Son. Therefore, the responsibility to believe is far greater. The rejection of the greater gift, ends in greater judgment.

You can hear the rest of the sermon HERE.

 

Best Photos of 2025

Well, this is photography blog, as well as other things. And I have been a bit absent minded when it comes to posting. So here are my favorite photos of 2025. Happy New Year.

We took Joey down to Galveston for New Year’s.

Kitchen Sunrise.

Celebrating our 10th Wedding Anniversary in Memphis, with some friends.

North Fork Holston River — Virginia.

Our granddaughter.

Our sleepy grandson.

Celebrating my 64th birthday at Tricky Fish in Fort Worth.

The LAST pair of Birthday Tecovas we will ever buy. See my previous post. AS a follow up, I did get my first pair resoled and the man who did it said I should buy Lucchesse next time.

Joey’s 18th birthday!

Joey’s graduation. I’m proud of him.

Our first visit to downtown Knoxville, with the rain shower option.

We found a quaint loft in downtown Knoxville.

Completely relaxed.

Picked up the boys for a drive over to Rockwall for some burgers and ice cream

One of the perks of my job: field trips to the petting zoo at the fair.

The absolute best breakfast of the year!

Ducking out of the wind, trying to enjoy the beach.

The best part of Galveston.

The best sunrise of 2025.

The best gift of Christmas.

Heidi and I found a great barbecue restaurant in Lebanon, TN. It was our last meal together before I flew back to Texas, in order to preach last Sunday. Alas, I was too sick to preach and slept all day. Heidi stayed in Tennessee with our daughter and grand children. We all ended the year under the weather.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons 2025. 

Inside Boyd’s Jig & Reel

We wanted live music, but not in an overcrowded bar. We thought about going down to Nashville and finding something there. But there are too many tourists. This wasn’t the case at Boyd’s. It was really a quiet night for the pub, since it was a Tuesday, but it had the sound of Bluegrass music, and some decent food.

Here is the view from inside the pub for a dash more photography.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons.

 

Jorge

The second of five students of mine who graduated this year is Jorge. Tonsie, Jorge and Tra’Paul all have been with me for three years. Three posts are forthcoming: Tra’Paul’s, Isaiah’s, and Austin’s. Yes, that is a lot of students for one class.

But this post is for Jorge. He is one of my favorite students and had the ability to use sarcasm from time-to-time without my ability to pick up on it. That may be his super power. He would say something to me that seemed off sorts. I would get on to him. And then he would say, “I was being sarcastic.” In that light, what he said made perfect sense and I would realize I’d been schooled by one of my students. I was left with my typical reply: “Jolly good!”

Jorge loves dinosaurs, Skittles, and Red Velvet cupcakes. We both shared a love for Red Velvet cupcakes from HEB, the specialty ones, not the 14 for a dollar ones. From time to time,  I would pick some up just for him. I also kept a supply of Skittles… just for him. Yes, the other students like the Skittles, but I knew he loved them. I made sure to buy the different kinds of Skittles, just for him.

What he didn’t like was cheeseburgers. I found this out the hard way. We made a quick field trip to HEB, for a cooking project, and missed the city bus back to school. We were going to miss lunch. I walked over to McDonald’s while my aids watched the student and bought them all cheeseburgers.

He took one look at it, saw that it was cheeseburger, and crumpled it up, and put in the trash can. He doesn’t like cheeseburgers. He doesn’t like pickles on his hamburgers, or onions. In the three years we spent together, this was the important thing for me to know. No cheeseburger. No pickles. No onions.

I feel like I owe him a proper burger!

Perhaps after I finish the diet my wife has me on from eating all the Red Velvet cupcakes from HEB, I can take him and get a proper hamburger.

We were on our Train Ride field trip, waiting for the train when I took this picture. There was a playground under a bridge next to the train station. We took the Amtrak train from Killeen to McGreggor. A short ride, but worth the effort since most of my class had never been on a train.

At Cameron Park, with Fidencio and Miranda.

Every year, we would walk over to the Yes! Expo and this was one of the exhibits. We got to see how television newscasters use the green screen. Jorge is in front of the green screen.

A garden project… in which… nothing grew. We had no access to a hose to water what we planted and were dependent upon the rains for our crops. It was a sad, bitter crop and answers that lifelong question: should I have been a farmer?

A cooking project.

At Bitty ‘n Beau’s.

Cameron Park Zoo.

Getting ready for his senior picture.

He looks mighty dapper! (Which is a good thing!)

An experiment using acrylic paint to show us how hard it is to wash every crevice of our hands. Jorge liked the bronze colored pain.

A fascinating field trip to the Waco Police Headquarters involved the ride on the elevator. It was the best part!

 

A trip to the mall!

Drinks and snacks at Bitty ‘n Beau’s.

 

All photos are copyright Timothy J. Hammons © 2025. 

Tonsie, Tonsie, Tonsie!

One of the things about my job as a teacher at Waco High School that I really love, is that I get to keep the same students for their entire time they are in high school. This means I really get to know them, watch them grow and learn. And I also share in the struggles they deal with.

This is one of the reason’s Tonsie became so special as a student. I had the opportunity of walking with her through some of the hardest days of her life, after she lost her Granny in the summer of 2023. Her Granny was actually raising her when she suddenly died. It was a shock to the entire family, and really hit Tonsie hard. The Bible says, weep with those who weep, and we wept a lot during that time.

But we also laughed a lot as well. When she would come through the door every morning, I would say, “Tonsie, Tonsie, Tonsie!” She knew it was my special name for her. There were even times I would tell her, “Tonsie, you are my favorite student.”

She would say, “Mr. Hammons, be quiet. You’re not supposed to have favorites.”

“Well, I guess I’m breaking the rules.”

Whenever another student heard me say that, they would say: “I thought I was your favorite.” To which I was read: “No, you’re the one I like the most!”

One of the other areas that she showed maturity was the fact that she learned not to get caught up in all the high-school drama that goes on between students. She would remember that she didn’t have to be a part of it, and wouldn’t get involved. In a class like mine, this was huge. Drama is always waiting around the corner to disrupt things, and the more students I could teach to avoid it, the better.

Needless to say, I’m proud of Tonsie for her accomplishments. She is growing into a fine young woman.

The following is my gift to her. This will probably be my longest post ever, for below, I have pictures going all the way back to her sophomore year, when she first came to my class.

Here she is with her Auntie Shawtay.

Tra’Paul and Tonsie went to the senior prom together.

On one of our many field trips. We were intending to go to the zoo that day, but it rained, so we went to Bitty & Beau’s for drinks and pastries.

When we finally did make it to the zoo.

Getting ready for her senior picture.

Tra’Paul made a big poster inviting her to the senior prom.

This was at Magnolia. Many drive many miles to visit Magnolia. We took the city bus and had a blast.

Three of my five graduates this year: Jorge, Isaiah, and Tonsie.

Our first field trip back in January 2023. We went to Kristi’s Burgers on the east side of town, and then to a museum.

Ms. Griffin and Tonsie.

We were on a long walk through downtown, headed to our first trip to Bitty N’ Beaus. This is Tonsie with classmate and friend Antianna.

Same trip.

 

One of the few pictures I have of Anthony (Class of 2024) and Tonsie together. He was one of the original students when I took over the class in in the fall of 2022, with Tonsie, and others.

Pig-Out Day! We took a trip to Golden Corral. No one came away hungry!!!

This is the first of two pictures that hit me emotionally. These five, without Antianna, were all in my original class. They’ve all graduated. Yes, I miss them all. From left to right: Anthony (’24), Fidencio (’23), Jorge (’25), Miranda (’24), and Tonsie below.

This is the second group picture that reminded me of all who have graduated. Tra’Paul (’25) is added, Antianna and Anthony are missing.

Another one…

At the Mayborn Museum.

We decided to walk over to Dairy Queen for some ice cream.

Taken from our wall project, which was to paint as much of the walls as we could, since they were all white, cinder block walls. We did what we could to brighten up the room since it had no windows.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons, 2025.

Day Zero: Summer Vacation

Who knows if I will keep this up throughout the summer, but here goes.

Day Zero. Why Zero? Because it’s actually Memorial Day. Had school still been in session, we would have had the day off regardless. So Day 1 is tomorrow.

Day Zero started rather slowly as every Monday should, for one who is also a pastor. I’m never sharp on Mondays after preaching on Sundays. It’s an occupational hazard that I rejoice to have. But given that it was my first real day off in a while, I was full of hopeful expectations on getting started working in the yard, taking dominion of my little corner of Waco.

Hah! God had other plans. Like rain, and thunder, and lightning, and my wife asking me to go on a job with her as she shopped for one of her customers. That was actually the beginning of the redeeming of day, since I had no real energy in doing anything around the estate.

Estate? Yes, my tiny portion of Waco is my estate. It’s what the LORD has given me to take dominion over, and take care of. So I do. See the pictures of the hydrangeas.

But back to the day. The rain came and went, leaving 1.5 inches for the morning. More rain came in the afternoon, adding another 1/4 of inch, and it’s raining as I type this. I’m grateful. The estate needs the rain, and so do the ranchers and farmers in the area.

While out, Heidi bought some steaks for our dinner. Since we are on a diet that basically cuts out all carbs, we are left with veggies and protein, but protein without a lot of fat. That means: tenderloins. We’ve been exiting on them the past two week. She loves to make a marinade for them and soaks them all day, which is what you do with a marinade, so I am told. Then, she takes the marinade off the steaks, boils it down for a sauce, and we have the finest meal in the county, even though we just have baked veggies, salad, and the steak. It’s delightful.

The rest of the day was filled with reading the book: The Battle of the Labyrinth, by Rick Riordan. It is part of the Percy Jackson series, which is written for teenagers, and is the fourth book of the series. You might wonder why I am reading such a book. Let me tell you why.

I read great works of theology all the time. And great works of literature. I’m reading the Count of Monte Christo to Heidi, a habit we started years ago, where I read to her at night. As I read, she falls asleep after the first paragraph, and I have to re-read it again the next night. It started when I was reading through the Lord of the Rings again. It is one of those traditions that we love and it takes us a year or two to get through such great works.

But back to Percy Jackson. I started reading through Percy Jackson to my class back in November, and we would do it every day, working our way through the series. And yes, the students would fall asleep as I read to them. I never got on to them, since Heidi did the same. They said my voice puts them asleep, and I figured they needed the sleep. While reading it, I realized what an excellent writer Rick Riordan actually is. He’s gifted. He can tell a story. While my students didn’t get the finer points of Greek mythology, which the story is based upon, I did. I loved it.

In my class, we got through the first three books of the five. I wanted to finish the series and checked it out of our public library, with the hopes of reading it to them the last week of school. It didn’t work out. So, I’m reading it now. It’s an easy read, and what I need. As I said above, I read theology books all the time in keeping up with my studies for preaching. But that isn’t relaxing because I’m trying to learn it, digest it, and feed it back to my congregation. With Percy Jackson, there is none of that. Just read it and enjoy. So I do.

As for the rest of the day, it was filled with wonderful moments with Heidi, a wonderful dinner, a glass of Scotch in the garage while listening to the rain and thunder, and the joy of knowing I have many more days ahead of me before returning to the grind of another school year.

Our class calendar.

The important part…

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons 2025.

 

 

 

 

 

Baptized with the Spirit — The Gospel of Matthew Sermon 15

Sermon – Baptized with Holy Spirit and Fire 

Preached December 29, 2024

Introduction – 

Last week, we left off this monumental verse that quotes John the Baptist calling the Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of vipers. It’s monumental because John is making a theological statement about the leadership, confronting them with their wickedness. They are wicked, because they are in positions of leadership, as shepherds, yet they are not being the shepherds they should be given the blessings of God that have been given to them.

What blessing have they been given?

Well, for one thing, they have the word of God at their disposal. Therefore, they should know the requirements for being in the covenant with God, the blessings and curses that come along with the covenant.

Now, one might hear that and think that it is better to not be in covenant with God at all. But all that means is that the attendant curses of the covenant rest on you continually, while being in the covenant, leads to true blessings.

The Pharisees and Sadducees should have known these things.

But they did not. They have become more a political group than a group that truly shepherds the people.

Yet, when given the sign of the covenant, which they boasted in, they were agreeing to be God’s covenant people. They had in their possession Deuteronomy 27 & 28, which spells out those blessings and curses, and makes it clear that blessings come to those who obey the voice of the LORD our God. The curses come when we reject the covenant, and live in disobedience.

All these things had been given to the Pharisees and Sadducees, but they chose their own way, instead of God’s way.

This is what leads John to saying what he does.