By Clay Hallmark
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Lexington

Focal Passage: Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

A disciple of a great Rabbi asked, “Rabbi, I mean no disrespect, but why is it that each time I pose a question, you respond with a question.” The Rabbi asked, “Is it wrong for Rabbi to answer his disciple with a question?”

Life is filled with questions. In 1991 James Peterson and Peter Kim wrote a book entitled The Day America Told The Truth. In the book 2,000 people were asked, “What would you be willing to do for 10 million dollars?” The results were shocking: [Read more…]

By Clay Hallmark
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Lexington

Focal Passage: Ecclesiastes 1:1-14

An 8-year-old boy came to his mother and asked, “Where did I come from?” The mother took a deep breath but was determined to answer it truthfully. So, she started explaining “the birds and the bees” in explicit detail. About 20 minutes later, her horrified little boy interrupted her and said, “But mommy, where did I come from? My friend Jimmy said he came from Memphis.”

Where did I come from? Why am I here? Does my life have a purpose? These were the questions in the mind of Solomon and is a question that is in the minds of people all around us today. [Read more…]

By Greg Steele
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper

Focal Passage: I John 2:18-29

Building off of what we talked about last week. John has been teaching “his children” how to tell truth from a lie and how to tell if  a person is really a Christian or not. It doesn’t depend on just what a person says, but also what they do.

He begins by saying, “it is in the last hour.” This message was delivered over 2,000 years ago. How do we know it’s the “last hour?” According to the text many antichrists have come. Antichrists are the enemies of the Messiah.

Antichrists are both in a sense the “opposite” of Jesus Christ, and someone who comes “in the place of” Jesus Christ. They come trying to take His place in our lives. This is where we find ourselves today. There are many “antichrists,” many who are opposed to Jesus, many who would try to take His place. [Read more…]

By Greg Steele
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper

Focal Passage: 1 John 2:12-17; 3:16-18

Billy Sunday, the once professional baseball player turned evangelist, once said, “To talk about a worldly Christian makes about as much sense as talking about a heavenly devil.”

We live in a world where there are many people referred to as worldly Christians that have never become Christians at all.

I think there are some people whose lives are so different to the Christian faith that though they may claim to be a Christian, the fact of the matter is they have never really experienced the love and grace of Christ.  [Read more…]

By Greg Steele
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper

Focal Passage: Genesis 2:18-25

I don’t know a lot about construction or really building anything from scratch, but I do know it’s not an easy thing. If you are building a house, there is a lot of hard work involved. It takes long hours. It takes financial sacrifice.

Well, there’s just as much hard work in having a good marriage. It is hard work to have a good family. If it takes all that time and effort to build a house, we should not think for a minute that somehow marriage and family are just going to automatically work. [Read more…]

By Greg Steele
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper

Focal Passage: Ephesians 5:15-21

What is the greatest need in our life? Is it people, money, clothes, water, love, value or happiness? All of those are things people need but those are not our greatest need. The greatest need we have in our life is what Paul is recommending in these verses to the church of Ephesus. 

We need the power of the Holy Spirit to work in our midst. If we truly were walking in the Spirit and living a Spirit-filled life our life would be so much more than what it is now.  [Read more…]

By Greg Steele
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper

Focal Passage: Psalm 42:1-3,6-8; 43:3-5

There is a question that we like to ask when the trials and storms of life gather. “Why do bad things happen to good people.” Has this question ever plagued your mind? Of course, it has! One day, a woman asked R.C. Sproul that particular question and his answer to her was a classic. Dr. Sproul said this, “I don’t know, I haven’t met any good people.” His answer accomplished two purposes. First, it was designed to remind the lady that we are all sinners. None of us are really good people! Secondly, he wanted her to understand that no one is immune from trouble. This second truth is what we are looking at in the Psalm.

It would seem that the author of this Psalm is going through a time of stress, personal attack and inner struggle. His life has brought him face to face with circumstances that are out of his control and they have brought pain and confusion to his heart. [Read more…]

By Greg Steele
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper

Focal Passage: Exodus 1:16-17, 22-2:9

I love to hear babies and kids in our worship services. Several weeks ago, we had one getting a little loud. When the mom got up to take him out he was telling everybody around them bye. 

The reason I love to hear the sound of children is because that indicates to me a growing and alive church. Dead churches don’t have young babies in the sanctuary.   [Read more…]

By Greg Steele
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper

Focal Passage: Ephesians 2:11-22

The Great Wall of China was built approximately 200 years before Jesus was born. It took almost a century to build. It was originally 3,000 miles long. Today there are only about 1,500 miles remaining.

It varies in height from 15 to 50 feet high. The average width is about 12 feet.

I have been told that The Great Wall of China can be seen with the naked eye from space. That’s interesting to me, the only thing visible to the eye is a wall man built because that’s what man loves to do is build walls, because walls are built to separate. [Read more…]

By Greg Steele
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper

Focal Passage: Matthew 2:1-11

There are some popular misconceptions about these magi. Most of us get our idea about these individuals from songs, cards and poems rather than from theologians. First, most people assume there were three because of the song, “We Three Kings,” and because they gave three gifts. But we’re never told how many there were. 

There could have been two, three, or 23.  They were said to be kings, though the text doesn’t say that either. They were said to be representatives of three families of Shem, Ham and Japeth and therefore one of them is pictured as an Ethiopian. Their names are given as Caspar, Balthazar and Melchior.   [Read more…]