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FEB. 5: I AM THE LIGHT

January 30, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Focal Passage: John 8:3-18

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleA few years ago, Emily and I made a quick trip north to visit Mammoth Cave National Park. The cave is appropriately named because at 285 miles in length it’s the longest cavern system in the world. 

While we were inside, our eyes were opened to magnificent rock formations, spikey stalactites, tight passages and underground streams and waterfalls. But there was one part of our tour that I will never forget. 

The park ranger asked everyone to turn off their phones and cameras, and then he turned off the lights — all of them. I’ve never experienced darkness like that before in my life. The room was pitch black in every direction. [Read more…]

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FEB. 5: DOES IT CALL YOU TO TRUST GOD?

January 30, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Hebrews 11:1-6; 13-16 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeDiscerning and obeying God’s voice calls for faith in God. But what is faith? Just as we talk about love without knowing what love is, we talk a great deal about faith without understanding its definition. What is the anatomy of faith that enables us to discern and do the will of God? Hebrews 11 is our guide.

First, Hebrews 11:1 says that “Faith is …,” meaning that faith is something and not nothing. We do not believe in nothing or in thin air. This leads us to a second, complimentary point — faith is a reality, it has substance. In other words, faith is not wishful thinking. Christians believe (have faith) in historical facts and events that took place in time and space and that form the basis of our trust. The leap of faith lands on the hard soil of historical reality. [Read more…]

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JAN. 28: HE SENT ME

January 23, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Focal Passage: John 7:14-29

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleAs Jesus was standing trial following His arrest, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, asked Him if He was “King of the Jews.” 

Jesus affirmed that he was a king (not earthly, but spiritual), and concluded by saying, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37). But after hearing His words, Pilate curiously replied, “What is truth?” 

While we often brush past Pilate’s response, what he says really summarizes the deepest thoughts and assumptions of today’s culture, where “truth” doesn’t exist as something fixed or concrete, but a standard we create for ourselves. 

In the postmodern world, truth is simply what a person believes and values, and that can differ from person to person. We hear people describe truth in terms of “your truth” and “my truth,” where there are no universal standards or morals, only what each person has decided is best in his or her own heart.  [Read more…]

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JAN. 28: DOES IT BRING CONVICTION

January 23, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Acts 2:32-41 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeThe word conviction is used in at least two ways in Scripture. 

First, it is used in reference to the Holy Spirit’s work of convicting us of sin, righteousness and judgment, so that we might repent and believe the gospel (John 16:8-11). Second, it is used with the notion of someone holding a belief with “great conviction.” The two are connected. The convicted sinner comes to embrace certain truths with great conviction.

Sadly, conviction is on the decline. To hold a belief with “great conviction” can get one labeled as narrow-minded and canceled as intolerant. And since no one wants to be unliked, we too often sacrifice our convictions on the altar of acceptance. We do this to our own spiritual detriment. [Read more…]

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JAN. 22: I AM THE BREAD

January 16, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Focal Passage: John 6:26-40

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleWorld-renowned chef and culinary expert, James Beard, once noted, “Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods.” I think this statement rings true for several reasons. 

First, whether you are a bread aficionado or not, when you sense hunger there is something deeply satisfying about eating a piece of warm bread, especially covered with salty butter. 

Second, not only does bread satisfy hunger, but it also satisfies our body’s physical needs. Good bread is filled with fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients that are vital for proper digestion, good cholesterol, normal blood pressure and other indicators of a healthy body. 

A third reason bread is so satisfying is because of its availability. There are few places in the world where bread isn’t sold or produced, thus satisfying people around the globe.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Explore the Bible, Sunday School Lessons

JAN. 22: DOES IT AGREE WITH THE BIBLE?

January 16, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Genesis 3:1-6 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeDiscernment or making sound judgments is a lost art. We have allowed a wrong interpretation of the phrase “Judge not, that you be not judged” from Matthew 7:1 to frighten us away from discerning between right and wrong, of making value judgments based on eternal truths. God repeatedly calls His people to make judgments. We are called to discern between one thing and another. In fact, discernment is listed as a spiritual gift (I Corinthians 12:10). 

We can make appropriate judgments based on God’s Word. Genesis 3 is an illustration of this truth because it answers the questions, “Who gets to say so?” and “By what authority do we do or not do a thing?” God’s word alone is the basis of our discernments and judgments. As the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 notes, Scripture is “the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and religious opinions should be tried.”  [Read more…]

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JAN. 15: PICK UP YOUR MAT

January 9, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Focal Passage: John 5:5-16

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleFew difficulties in life are more dangerous than hopelessness. In 2020, Anne Case and Angus Deaton co-authored a book titled, Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism, where they researched a unique rise in death rates among white, middled-aged, American men. While life expectancy had been on the rise through the 1900s, studies revealed a noticeable decline among men, ages 45-54, since 2000 — a decline exclusive to the United States. 

In a nation overflowing with advanced healthcare, astonishing technology and accumulated wealth, what could possibly lead to an increase in the death rate? According to Case and Deaton, this unique group of men have been adversely affected by economic instability, lower education levels, joblessness, disintegrating families and other cultural maladies.  [Read more…]

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JAN. 15: VALUED BY GOD

January 9, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Psalm 139:1-10, 13-16 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeThough not a Catholic, we should appreciate the words of the late Pope John Paul II in his 1995 Papal Encyclical — Evangelium Vitae — when he compared two opposing cultures: the “culture of death” that devalued life and the “culture of life” that valued life from conception to death.As Baptists whose worldview ought to be grounded in Scripture, we value life from conception to death because God does. Psalm 139 makes the promotion of a “culture of life” crystal clear. 

God For Us (Psalm 139:1-6). God does not love us because we are valuable; we are valuable because God loves us. God, the progenitor of life itself, values life because He not only creates life, but knows our lives in intimate detail. Psalm 139 notes that God knows us (v. 1), understands us (v. 2), is aware of all our ways (v. 3), knows what we will say before we say it (v. 4) and encircles us and leads us with His kind providential care (v. 5). The knowledge that God knows us is enough to confound the wise, but console our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ. [Read more…]

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JAN. 8: BUT WHOEVER DRINKS

January 2, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Focal Passage: John 4:11-26

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleOver the past few months, our church has been engaged in a search for two new ministry leaders. As numerous résumés have arrived and our committee has diligently considered each one, it doesn’t take long upon an initial glance to know if a candidate meets our criteria and is qualified for the role. Our team has been quick to set aside those who don’t qualify and pursue those who do. 

While this method is what most search committees utilize when making personnel decisions, we as believers can unknowingly use this same rubric when it comes to who we consider might believe the gospel. 

Because of our own lack of faith, we often look at a person’s life and appearance, their past, and other details, and determine that our evangelism would automatically fall on deaf ears. I think we’ve all been guilty of bypassing people that we predetermine are “unsavable.” However, in John 4, Jesus reminds us through His encounter with a Samaritan woman that God is able to change anyone’s life when they turn to the Savior.  [Read more…]

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JAN. 8: JOY IN PLACE OF FEAR

January 2, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Zephaniah 3:9-20 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeFear is an effective tool used by Satan to demoralize and discourage people, especially God’s people. Scripture repeatedly commands us: “Do not be afraid.” And yet, we fear anything and everything all the time: fear of loss, fear of man, fear of being without, fear of sickness, fear of death, etc. 

In addition, we don’t often think of replacing fear with joy. However, if our confidence in God is ever-increasing then there is every reason to be full of joy, the kind of joy that springs out of a faith and contentment in God’s sovereign and gracious care. We may want to take a lesson from the Shepherds of Luke 2:10 whose fear was replaced by the “good news of great joy.” The prophet Zephaniah reminds us of the process of replacing fear with joy. [Read more…]

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