By Joshua Franks
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Bruceton

Focal Passage: Mark 7:5-15

Over the years many different people have come to my office door and said, “Do you have a second? I need to talk about something.” I’ve noticed a pattern in many of the conversations that follow. After loitering in the door for a moment, they’ll settle down into a comfortable seat on my couch and say, “What does the Bible say about this?” The “this”  is always different but the underlying question is usually the same. They’ve found themselves in a gray area and they’re unsure of how to proceed. 

I can relate to that. We all can. We know what it is to be unsure of how to proceed in many different situations. However, it’s the unsaid question that hangs heavy in the air.  [Read more…]

By Joshua Franks
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Bruceton

Focal Passage: Mark 6:34-44

One of the great things about having boys is that I get to relive my childhood through them. They love many of the same things I loved growing up. They love sports. They love fishing. And they especially love super heroes. [Read more…]

By Joshua Franks
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Bruceton

Focal Passage: Mark 5:22-24, 35-43

We live in a world full of heartbreak and tragedy. Every time we turn on the news it seems as if another calamity has befallen the world. School shootings have become normal. Mass murders have become routine. Terrorist attacks have become commonplace.  [Read more…]

By Joshua Franks
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Bruceton

Focal Passage: Luke 2:4-20

As a pastor, whenever I hear the word “tradition” it immediately makes me cringe a little bit. I hear voices in my head loudly proclaiming “We’ve never done it that way before!” Tradition can be the corpse of wisdom.  [Read more…]

By Joshua Franks
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Bruceton

Focal Passage: Mark 4:35-41

Eight years ago my wife was pregnant with our first son. In the days leading up to his birth our house seemed like a swirling mass of chaos. Nurseries had to be painted. Cribs had to be assembled. The house had to be babyproofed. Then, the day arrived. We rushed to the hospital. Anxious relatives assembled. My wife screamed in pain.

It was during this time that she coined a phrase to describe me. A friend would ask “What’s Josh doing?” “Oh, he’s in the corner spreading the calm,” she would reply. [Read more…]

By Joshua Franks
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Bruceton

Focal Passage: Mark 4:1-9

I’ve always wanted to be a gardener. I have a romantic notion in my mind about the fresh air, the feeling of accomplishment, and enjoying vegetables with my family as we sit around the dinner table. Maybe it’s a silly idea. It doesn’t really matter because God didn’t gift me with a green thumb. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve killed a few fake plants in the past.

I’m so dumbfounded by horticulture that I don’t even know why I can’t grow things. It looks easy. I’ve seen other people do it. I’ve tried multiple times. It just didn’t work for me, so I gave up. [Read more…]

By Joshua Franks
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Bruceton

Focal Passage: Mark 1:14-20

I’m the proud father of two awesome little boys who are, of course, always into mischief. Most of the time I feel like a drill sergeant barking commands. These commands are usually met with a myriad of excuses as to why they can’t comply. “Clean up your room before dinner,” I’ll decree. Immediately the protest begins. The promise to do it later soon follows. My response is always the same. “There wasn’t a question mark on the end of that sentence.”

That’s human nature. We’re always looking for a way out of doing the things we don’t really like to do. For instance, we’re told by police officers that we can’t speed, yet how many of us don’t try to get away with it when we’re in a hurry? [Read more…]

By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier

Focal Passage: John 1:35-42; 12:20-26

We who know Jesus bear the responsibility of connecting others to Him. We will either connect people to Jesus or we won’t. There are no passive witnesses — a witness who never witnesses is not a witness. Therefore, we must be about the work of giving witness to Christ actively throughout our daily comings and goings.

It takes all kinds of people to connect others to Jesus. John (the Baptist) spoke loudly, fulfilling his role as a voice (Isaiah 40:3) by boldly calling people to repent and trust in Jesus (Mark 1:4-8). Andrew was more of a silent worker in evangelism, quietly connecting people with Jesus, whether it was his own brother, Peter (John 1:41-42), or a group of Greeks looking for Jesus (John 12:20-22). Similarly, regardless of our diverse gifts and various personalities, we all bear the same responsibility (and privilege!) to connect people to Jesus. Here’s a simple progression of how it unfolds: [Read more…]

By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier

Focal Passage: 1 Samuel 1:9-11, 17-18, 26-28; 2:1-3

Prayer conquers stress. We have no lack of stress, and therefore no lack of need for prayer.

Hannah was a woman who knew this (I Samuel 1). She had a good, God-given desire (to have children), and yet was troubled in spirit (1:15) and filled with anxiety (1:16) because her desire went so long unfulfilled. Moreover, it was the Lord who had closed her womb (I Samuel 1:5), so the questions and inner turmoil seemed to increase. [Read more…]

By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier

Focal Passage: John 1:26-34; 3:26-30

John had one job — to go ahead of Jesus and prepare the way for Him to preach and teach, and minister. Isaiah had prophesied that one would do just that (Isaiah 40:3), and John identified himself as that one (John 1:23).

But John’s job was to work himself right out of a job — sort of like the opening act of a concert. The plan was to gather up followers (through baptizing and preaching) and then get those who were following him to shift their tracks to following Jesus. When they started to do exactly that, some of his followers got a little concerned (John 3:26), but he quickly reassured them that this was the plan all along (vv. 28-30). In this he showed tremendous focus. [Read more…]