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JULY 13: GOD’S DELIVERANCE

July 7, 2025

By Troy Rust
Associational mission strategist • Holston Baptist Association

Focal Passage: Psalm 18:16-29

Sunday School Lessons explore the biblePsalm 18 begins with David’s declaration of love for the Lord whom he described as his strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, horn of salvation, and stronghold. Did you notice the military significance of most of those words?

As an experienced warrior, David knew that without God’s power he was as helpless as an unarmed man exposed in battle! A couple of centuries later, the prophet Jonah prayed part of this Psalm (vv. 4-6) as he lay in the belly of the great fish (Jonah 2:1-10) desperate for God’s intervention. [Read more…]

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JULY 13: CAN I LOSE MY SALVATION?

July 7, 2025

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor • Inglewood Baptist Church • Nashville

Focal Passage: John 10:7-14, 26-30

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeThe Point: God keeps His children securely in His hands.

Terms like “once saved always saved” or “the security of the believer” or “you can’t lose your salvation” are often tossed around the Church, but without doctrinal foundation. We know these phrases are true, but why are they true? In part John 10 enables us to understand the great truth of the believer’s security.

John 10:7-11 speaks of the promise of salvation to all who come through the only door that leads to eternal life, Jesus Christ. There is no security for a false believer who attempts to come to God by another way.   [Read more…]

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JULY 6: GOD’S MESSIAH

June 30, 2025

By Troy Rust
Associational mission strategist • Holston Baptist Association

Focal Passage: Psalm 110:1-7

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleWhen we think of a footstool, we typically think of some type of ottoman designed to prop up one’s feet. When Psalm 110:1 declares, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool” the word picture is much more dramatic. Ancient artworks demonstrate a conquering king, such as Tiglath-Pileser III or Hadrian, with his foot on the neck of his conquered foe to demonstrate the absolute defeat and humiliation of his enemy (see also Joshua 10:24).

Jesus’ referencing of Psalm 110:1 to identify the Messiah as the Son of David was recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The same passage was later noted in Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost as he explained that David, who had not yet ascended into the heavens, was clearly speaking of Jesus (Acts 2:34-35). Numerous other New Testament passages found in the Gospels, Paul’s letters, and Hebrews employ part of the same verse as they refer to Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father. [Read more…]

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JULY 6: STEPHEN: A FAITH THAT ADVANCES THE KINGDOM

June 30, 2025

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor • Inglewood Baptist Church • Nashville

Focal Passage: Acts 6:3-17

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeBold faith always advances the kingdom of God. In fact, if the truism is true – “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church,” then Stephen planted by this death (Acts 7) what would be watered by the boldness of his fellow believers as the early church exploded with growth and spiritual power.

We discover Stephen in Acts 6 as the church attempted to solve the problem of how to minister to a growing number of widows who were coming the faith in Christ. Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid did not exist in the first century. Widows depended on their families and other concerned friends.  [Read more…]

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JUNE 29: GOD’S PROMISE

June 23, 2025

By Troy Rust
Associational mission strategist • Holston Baptist Association

Focal Passage: Psalm 132:1-14, 17-18 

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleMary Poppins taught us that promises can be like pie crusts — easily made and easily broken. Mankind has become so cynical about the value of promises, that we learn as children to cross our fingers to create a loophole that frees us from fulfilling them. Yet promises are not taken lightly by most people. The outcome of the 1992 U. S. presidential election was greatly impacted by the phrase, “Read my lips: no new taxes,” because many people viewed it as a broken campaign promise. 

Sinners are good promise makers, and even better promise breakers. On the contrary, God is a perfect promise maker and promise keeper. Sometimes we try to promise things outside of God’s will. David vowed that he would not rest until he had built a house for the Lord (Psalm 132:3-5), but God spoke through the prophet Nathan (who had previously affirmed David’s desire to build a temple) to tell him that He had not asked for a house (II Samuel 7:7). Conversely, as God explained His plan to plant His people in a designated area, He declared, “The Lord Himself will make a house for you” (II Samuel 7:11). God also explained that He would raise up David’s descendent (Solomon) as king and that he would build the temple and have a throne permanently established as David did. Solomon, unlike Saul, would always experience the faithful love of Yahweh (II Samuel 7:12-15).  [Read more…]

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JUNE 29: JOHN THE BAPTIST: A FAITH THAT CHALLENGES OTHERS

June 23, 2025

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor • Inglewood Baptist Church • Nashville

Focal Passage: Matthew 3:1-12 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeJohn the Baptist could not have been a member of a local Baptist church. He was too blunt. Too abrasive. Too honest. This is not to say that our churches do not have members who are plenty blunt, abrasive and honest. It is to say that John “the baptizer” was of a different kind when it came to speaking truth. But God wanted it that way. God appointed John to bridge the gap between the Old Testament prophets (prophesiers of truth) and the Messiah, Jesus Christ (the fulfillment of truth as THE truth). 

Matthew 3:1-12 introduces us to John and the kind of God-enabled bold faith he possessed. While we may not mimic John’s prophetic “style” (you are not John the Baptist), we are called to mimic the kind of faith he displayed in serving and honoring Jesus Christ.  [Read more…]

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JUNE 22: GOD’S REIGN

June 16, 2025

By Troy Rust
Associational mission strategist • Holston Baptist Association

Focal Passage: Psalm 96:1-13 

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleDid you and your sweetheart ever pick “our song?” You know, the song that marked a particular event in your courtship. Every time it came on the radio you thought of each other because the song was a celebration of the person you loved. You probably started singing even if you couldn’t sing! Every time I heard “You’ll Be in My Heart” by Phil Collins I went googly-eyed over the beautiful young lady that would one day become my wife. When you adore someone, your inhibitions collapse as you are swept up into their praiseworthiness. 

Sadly, corporate worship sometimes sounds more like “our song” than praises to the true and living God. Emotionalism, impressionism, and plain old egocentrism sideline the glory of God in exchange for emotive songs about our struggles and a cherry-picked view of a God that exists for our glory, not His.  [Read more…]

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JUNE 22: DAVID: A FAITH THAT MEETS ADVERSITY HEAD-ON

June 16, 2025

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor • Inglewood Baptist Church • Nashville

Focal Passage: I Samuel 17:3-8, 32-37, 45-47 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeThe story of David and Goliath is not first and foremost a story of “how we face the giants in our lives,” although it does have practical implications for overcoming the challenges of life. It is, however, the story of how the God of the Israelites – our great Triune God, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – is once again challenged by the despotic, arrogant powers of this world. 

The challenge of worldly powers against the rightful place of God as THE sovereign is as old as creation and as recent as today. It is an epoch struggle between light and dark, good and evil, righteousness and unrighteousness – “against forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:10-13) It is a continual battle that takes different forms in different seasons and epochs. IT’S WAR.  [Read more…]

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JUNE 15: GOD’S GLORY

June 9, 2025

By Troy Rust
Associational mission strategist • Holston Baptist Association

Focal Passage: Psalm 19:1-11

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleIn May of 1995 I went on a mission trip to Canada with a group of Tennessee BSU students. During a brief sightseeing time we visited Lake Louise where a friend and I rode up the mountain on the ski lift. As we viewed the beautiful landscape, I remember wondering how anyone could deny the existence of God. 

The psalmist came to a similar conclusion as he proclaimed, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1). He went on to confirm that both day and night speak to us and teach us about God without ever saying a word (Psalm 19:2-3)! [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Explore the Bible, Sunday School Lessons

JUNE 15: RAHAB: A FAITH NOT HELD BACK BY FEAR

June 9, 2025

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor • Inglewood Baptist Church • Nashville

Focal Passage: Joshua 2:1-4a, 8-14; 6:22-25

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeIt is wrong to lie (Exodus 20:16; Colossians 3:9), or is it (Exodus 1:15-21; Joshua 2)? The life and faith of Rahab tests this question. Some would say that lying is permissible in a variety of very specific and unusual cases. It might better be called discretion. For example:

We lie to protect feelings:  “I loved your solo,” when it was terrible.

We lie to protect others (called an altruistic deception): “No,” you tell the Nazi soldiers, “we’re not hiding any Jews in our house.” Corrie ten Boom used this ‘protecting lie’ to hide and smuggle to freedom many Jews in WWII. [Read more…]

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