Focal Passage: Daniel 6:6-10, 13-16, 19-22

By Terry Kirby
Senior Pastor, Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown

The American Revolution was a great success. It is easy to brag when you win. But what would have happened if the Founders lost? In the closing words of the Declaration of Independence it states, “… with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” The brave men who signed this revolutionary document and the others who were totally committed to the cause of freedom were willing to die to be free regardless of the price.

In Daniel chapter six we see one of the most famous stories in the entire Bible. This story is powerful because it has all the elements of a great novel. The story has a powerful king with scheming deputies, a faithful man of God, a seemingly hopeless predicament, and the all-powerful God. Like the brave founders, Daniel was willing to pay the ultimate price for staying faithful to his God. [Read more…]

By Dr. Terry Kirby
Senior Pastor, Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown

Focal Passage: Daniel 5:17-28

As October fades into November so ends another season of Halloween.  Halloween is big business.  Hollywood has made countless movies designed to scare even the bravest of the brave.  The movies that are the most effective in trying to frighten their audiences are the ones that seem real. Also, farmers turn their fields into haunted mazes.  Stores fill their shelves with candy, costumes, and decorations that can turn the average home into a haunted house. Halloween also turns many people into fanatics about the celebration of all things evil. Sadly many Christians join in these festivities honoring and celebrating rituals that border on satanic worship.  Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ should never mingle the sacred and the satanic.  This action dishonors the temple of God. Believer, you are the temple of God.  [Read more…]

By Dr. Terry Kirby
Senior Pastor, Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown

Focal Passage: Daniel 4:28-35

Americans are nostalgic concerning their movies. Celebrations occur as the movies of the past are remembered on special anniversaries. One recent celebration was for the late 1980s trilogy “Back to the Future.” These movies are about a time-traveling teenager and his scientist mentor. As they travel into the past or the future they try not to change the future by their actions while visiting the past. The main reason for all the hype was that the second movie was set in October 2015. It was fun to see how the predictions of the movie concerning life in 2015 matched or conflicted with present day reality.
As the events of Daniel chapter four unfold we encounter a powerful story concerning a prediction about the future. This story contains a mysterious dream, an all-powerful king, and a guarantee from a man of God that everything treasured by the king would be taken away from him in the future if he does not honor God. This is no fictional tale. Hollywood’s best attempt at storytelling cannot compare to this real story in the Word of God. [Read more…]

By Dr. Terry Kirby
Senior Pastor, Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown

Focal Passage: Daniel 3:13-18, 26-28

Most of us know one. Most of us have had one in our family. Most of us are in awe of their courage and all of us are indebted to them. The members of the United States military, both past and present, are these exceptional Americans who have given up their own lives to protect our freedom. What makes them heroes is their willingness to take a life or death stand for the noble cause of freedom. Today’s military risk everything not knowing if they will live one more moment to enjoy their own freedom earned by a previous generation of heroes.

The Bible is filled with stories of how followers of God have had to take similar stands for a cause. This cause is larger than freedom. This cause is Truth, which is the Word of God. Christians, unknown to most of the world, give up their lives every day as they bravely stand on the truth.

The events in Daniel chapter three occur 23 years after Daniel interpreted the dream for King Nebuchadnezzar. The attention shifts away from Daniel to his three friends: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The “Three”, as they will be called, vividly show us how to stand on the truth. [Read more…]

By Dr. Terry Kirby
Senior Pastor, Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown

Focal Passage: Daniel 2:13-21, 26-28a

I don’t know if you are like me when it comes to shopping but I can only endure it under certain conditions. I only like to shop when I have a predetermined list and a set number of minutes. These trips can take a turn for the worse when I hear the cries of a child echoing through isles the result of a parent saying, “No!” Depending upon the severity of the cries, the response can be called a temper tantrum. Adults are tragically guilty of these same temper tantrums.

The events recorded in Daniel chapter 2 shows the temper tantrum of King Nebuchadnezzar and the mature actions of Daniel, a teenager in exile from Judah. The king had had a nightmare that deeply troubled him. He wanted his wise men to tell him the dream and its interpretation. To put it in different terms, the king was asking them to draw a picture that he was thinking of and also tell him what it meant. The wise men declared that it would be impossible for anyone to fulfill his demands. Nebuchadnezzar apparently had grown tired of the wise men’s lack of help when he really needed it. They seemed to cost him more than they were worth. In response, the king ordered that all the wise men were to be killed. This order would include the lives of Daniel and his three friends: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Nebuchadnezzar’s temper tantrum would cost many lives. What would Daniel do? [Read more…]

By Terry Kirby
Senior Pastor, Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown

Focal Passage: Daniel 1:3-5, 8-13, 17-19

Think about it! Will anyone remember that you lived in 1,000 years? Will anybody remember that you lived in 100 years? Sad for some, only a fraction of one percent of the people who have ever lived will survive in the memories of future generations. In our world, halls of fame have been established to help remember the best of the best. How do people make it into the hall of fame? They make it because they are the best in their field.

The greatest and most long lasting “hall of fame” is the Word of God. Why? The Word of God is the living and eternal record of the lives of the best of the best of those who obeyed God’s Word and lived with an unshakable conviction of the same. Daniel, along with his three friends, are members of God’s Hall of Fame. [Read more…]

By Terry Kirby
Senior Pastor, Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown.

Focal Passage: Revelation 21:1-8

Some of my older retired friends talk about never wanting to move from their homes. They do not want to think about moving all of their stuff (junk). They are settled in for the remainder of their days. They have everything placed or piled where they want it. Their house may not be the biggest or the best but it is their home. [Read more…]

By Terry Kirby
Senior Pastor of Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown

Focal Passage: Romans 8:28-39

Many fathers and sons hunt or fish together for fun and relationship building. With me and my dad, we watched football and cut firewood. He would run the chain saw. He could “fall” a tree on a dime. At the time, I had more raw strength than ability to run the saw so I would pull the limbs and split the logs. I must confess, because I do not want to get into trouble, this was most of the time a family activity. That being said, with all of the practice I developed a skill in splitting logs. The log would be put on one end exposing its rings and cracks. The skill was to find the best crack in which to place the wedge, which was a v-shaped piece of metal that would divide the log into two pieces when hit with the sledge hammer. [Read more…]

By Terry Kirby
Senior Pastor of Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown

Focal Passage: Luke 11:5-13

With names like: bag, brick, flip, slide, and smart, cellular phones have come a long way in a few short years. Today’s smart phones are handheld computers that can do just about anything. Besides talking, smart phones are our calendars, cameras, flashlights, photo albums, to-do lists, maps, internet access and constant companions. [Read more…]

By Terry Kirby
Senior Pastor of Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown

Focal Passage: Psalm 34:4-14

When I was in middle school my parents, my twin sister, and I traveled, with our church, to Brookings, S.D., on a missions trip. Our team stayed in the dorms at South Dakota State University. We worked with the local Baptist Student Union. The BSU building was off campus. The BSU was an easy walk on the flat and straight streets of town. We had permission to walk from campus to the BSU building. One day I decided to walk to the BSU by myself. It didn’t take long for an East Tennessee boy to get lost in this strange place. I couldn’t remember the building’s address and I began to hopelessly wander the streets looking for my destination. After several hours of walking and ready to give up, I saw a familiar car turn the corner and drive in my direction. It was my father’s black Ford. Never in my life have I felt more helpless before being found and happy after being found. I knew that God had provided for my rescue. [Read more…]