Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
May 26, 2025
By Troy RustAssociational mission strategist • Holston Baptist AssociationThe Book of Psalms begins with the contrast of two life paths; one leads to happiness, the other leads to ruin. The psalmist clarified that the pathway to happiness consists in part of actively avoiding the pathway to ruin. In our walking, standing, and sitting (all of […]
May 26, 2025
By Kevin Shrum Pastor • Inglewood Baptist Church • Nashville The taproot of righteous living for God is a righteous standing before God. Noah possessed both. He found favor with God that gave him a righteous standing before God that enabled him to live faithfully in ways that pleased God. Noah’s faith in God produced […]
May 19, 2025
By Troy RustAssociational mission strategist • Holston Baptist AssociationFocal Passage: II Peter 3:8-18 My family has an elderly friend who will soon be with Jesus. One thing is for sure — there will be no deathbed confession. Why? Ms. Jean has been confessing her faith in Jesus for decades. Whether you were family, friend, home […]
May 19, 2025
By Mike DawsonRetired Tennessee pastorFocal Passage: II Kings 6:8-12, 15-24 This is the final lesson in the series Elisha: Seeing the Hand of God at Work. And what an exciting series it’s been! The prophet Elisha’s story often parallels our Lord Jesus Christ’s. Elisha and Jesus both did hard work in their early years. Both […]
May 12, 2025
By Mike DawsonRetired Tennessee pastorFocal Passage: II Kings 5:1-3; 10-19a Today’s lesson, God’s Hand in Restoring Lives, could also be called The Gospel According to Elisha. Remember that the prophet Elisha is often referred to as a “type” of Christ: many events in Elisha’s life are similar to events in our Lord’s life. But none […]
May 5, 2025
By Troy RustAssociational mission strategist • Holston Baptist Association Focal Passage: II Peter 1:3-8, 16-21 When you are sending your child away on a trip, you may ask, “Do you have everything you need?” What if the question was broadened to address your life as a whole? Typically, we would answer the question with several […]
May 5, 2025
By Troy RustAssociational mission strategist • Holston Baptist AssociationFocal Passage: II Peter 2:1-3, 17-19; Jude 17-23 I am currently teaching Contemporary World Religions in Seminary Extension, because the nations are coming to our cities and we need to know what they believe. The course is mostly a study of spiritual darkness. It reveals the numerous […]
May 5, 2025
By Mike DawsonRetired Tennessee pastorNote: For most of our readers this lesson is for May 11, Mother’s Day. It’s appropriate to be focusing on the prophet Elisha’s encounters with one of the most courageous and faith-filled MOTHERS in the Bible. Focal Passage: II Kings 4:8-17, 32-37 From the series Elisha: Seeing the Hand of God […]
April 28, 2025
By Troy RustAssociational mission strategist • Holston Baptist AssociationFocal Passage: I Peter 5:1-11 A CEO is much different than a shepherd. In the final decades of the twentieth century, an excessive emphasis on numerical growth began to “flip the Script[ure]” and many churches put the shepherd model out to pasture. He was replaced by a […]
April 28, 2025
By Mike DawsonRetired Tennessee pastorFocal Passage: II Kings 4:1-7 Many Bible students see the prophet Elisha as a “type” of Christ — a person in the Old Testament who behaves in a way that corresponds to Jesus’ character and/or actions in the New Testament. One scholar identifies sixteen ways Elisha is a type of Christ! […]
April 21, 2025
By Tony RustAssociational mission strategist • Holston Baptist AssociationFocal Passage: I Peter 4:12-19 I had been a Christian for several years before I heard anyone speak on God’s purpose in suffering. I had heard preachers affirm Paul’s desire “to know Him and the power of His resurrection,” but they often failed to finish the verse: […]
April 21, 2025
By Mike DawsonRetired Tennessee pastor Focal passage: I Kings 19:19-21; II Kings 2:7-15 I’m very excited about the next five weeks of studies entitled Elisha: Seeing God’s Hand at Work. Elisha is one of my favorite Old Testament characters; I love his life stories! Plus, since retiring as a pastor twenty years ago, I’ve been […]