By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Daniel 7:1-14   

Question: If you could know exactly what was going to happen tomorrow, would you want to know? 

Some might say, “Yes, I would want to know so that I could better prepare for what is coming my way.” Others might say, “No, I don’t want to know because knowing would increase my anxiety and stymie my faith.”

We cannot know the future. Yet we serve a God who knows the future. He is omniscient – He knows all things about all things past, present, and future. He not only knows the future, but He “makes” and “designs” the future so that His purposes might be accomplished. As Daniel 7:21 states that God “changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” As the old saying goes, “Has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God?” [Read more…]

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Daniel 6:10-24    

According to GodTube.com, John H. Sammis was the writer of the Christian hymn Trust and Obey in 1887. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1846, Sammis died in 1919 in Los Angeles, Calif. 

He was a businessman and a preacher for the Presbyterian church. He taught at Biola University.

The inspiration for this hymn began in 1886 when the composer of the music, Daniel B. Towner, was the music conductor during one of Dwight L. Moody’s revivals.  [Read more…]

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Daniel 4:28-37

God hates pride (Proverbs 6:16-19). In fact, James 4:6 notes that God resists the proud. So, let’s be clear. God doesn’t just hate pride; God hates the proud person. This is strong, but biblical language. Pride is not some disembodied sin that someone, somewhere, in another time and place commits. Pride is a sin committed by a person. Pride is being self-sufficient to a fault; pride is arrogance wrapped up in a ‘know it all attitude’; pride is not needing God even when we say that we do. Pride puffs up our self-esteem and destroys relationships. Whereas godly confidence is grounded in a reliance upon God, pride is self-centered.  

Pride declared (Daniel 4:28-30). Nebuchadnezzar was a proud man. Twelve months after Daniel interpreted two dreams for him that made him appear powerful and supreme (Daniel 5), Nebuchadnezzar was “walking on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon,” exclaiming to himself that he alone had vast power and majestic glory (Daniel 4:30). It’s one thing to think it; it’s quite another to say it aloud.   [Read more…]

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Daniel 3:14-26    

The “Pledge of Allegiance” has become a controversial thing in recent years. For some, to pledge allegiance to a nation they feel has been unfair to them is beyond the pale. 

For most, however, the pledge to a nation that has given them so much is a “no brainer.” The point is clear — a person pledges allegiance to that which they value or deem worthy. Allegiance has a companion word — alignment. We align ourselves squarely with what we have pledged our allegiance to. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s allegiance to God and His truth caused them to align themselves with practical holiness — prayer and theological conviction.   [Read more…]

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Daniel 1:8-21

We are amid a massive cultural shift. Things that were once familiar are now strange; truths that were once cherished are no longer applauded. In his book, Reinventing Liberal Christianity, Theo Hobson traces the collapse of Western civilization through three steps: (1) What was universally condemned is now celebrated; (2)  What was universally celebrated is now condemned; (3) Those who refuse to celebrate are condemned. In other words, we are “behind enemy lines” in the sense that the Christian faith is no longer the favored worldview in the public square. How are we now to live? Just as Daniel did when he found himself in a foreign land — with integrity and conviction.

A Commitment Expressed, Daniel 1:8-10. As Daniel was taken into Babylonian captivity he was put to the test. Nebuchadnezzar demanded that the best of the Hebrews men be selected to be reeducated and to be put on a different diet. He wanted them to conform to the “Babylonian way.” But Daniel determined “not to defile himself” (v. 8). Daniel wasn’t belligerent, but he was determined to keep himself holy. This was his minor act of rebellion that ended up having a major impact. [Read more…]

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Ezekiel 16:20-21; 23:36-39; Psalm 139:13-16   

Dictionary.com defines the term “value” as: something that is of relative worth, merit, or importance. We apply the term “value” to many things. We value our money, time, families, and friendships. We value life. 

But what happens when a person (or an entire culture) stops valuing the right things and starts valuing the wrong things? This is exactly what has happened in Western civilization (Europe and North America). Rather than valuing life, we have become a “culture of death” that no longer values the very things that give life. But we are not the first to embrace such a deadly posture against God and the life He gives. [Read more…]

By Kenny Bruce
Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis

Focal Passage: Micah 5:2-5a; Matthew 2:1-6, 9-11  

There are some 330 prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Jesus. 

The prophecy of Micah (Micah 5:2-5a). The people in Judah were insecure because of the threat of the Assyrians invading their nation. Micah gave them hope by prophesying of a future King who would shepherd them. Micah stated that this King would come from Bethlehem.

Furthermore, he foretold of His origin being from “ancient times,” which means from eternity (v. 2). Finally, Micah predicted that, “He will be their peace” (v. 5a). Jesus brings peace that surpasses all understanding to those who trust in Him for their salvation.

The introduction of the wise men (Matthew 2:1-2). The events in these verses probably occurred one to two years after Jesus was born. Jesus was now living in a house rather than the stable where He was born (v. 11). Also, Matthew called Him a child rather than an infant (v. 11).  [Read more…]

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Ezekiel 28:11-19; 25-26   

My car warns me all the time; yes, my car. If I get into my car without buckling my seatbelt, it warns me with an annoying sound. If one of the car doors is left ajar, it warns me. These warnings are annoying, but necessary. They are meant for my safety and security. These warnings want me to change my mind about not buckling up or closing my vehicle doors. 

God warns us as well. In fact, the Bible is filled with “oracles of woe,” (see Matthew 23) warnings, threats, and judgments that God announces to His people so that they might change their minds, repent of sin, and return to Him. So, as we think about God as a God of grace and mercy, we must also be reminded that our Holy God is a God who announces warnings and makes judgments against sinners. In brief, God offers grace to the humble and brings down the proud (James 4:6-10). [Read more…]

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Matthew 2:1-12   

Five major events outline God’s redemptive plan. 

First, in creation God created all things good. Second, in the “fall,” mankind ruined God’s goodness through sin. Third, in redemption God became a man (the incarnation), dying a substitutionary death for sinners and rising from the dead victorious over sin, death and hell. Fourth, in His ascension Jesus intercedes for individual believers and His church, empowered by the Spirit to fulfill God’s mission until His return. Fifth, in the consummation of God’s plan Jesus returns to gather His Church and reign eternally.

With Christmas approaching, we are focusing on Jesus’ incarnation that would lead to His death and resurrection, the centerpiece of God’s plan to save everyone who would ever repent and believe the gospel. But God did not invade the world through an army bent on the destruction of rebellious sinners. Instead, God wrapped Himself in the human flesh of a baby, living the perfect life we could not live and dying a death He did not deserve so that we might receive what we could not earn — salvation. [Read more…]

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Ezekiel 24:1-14

Have you ever heard anyone say, “You shouldn’t judge people?” Many misquote Jesus’ prohibition against judgmentalism in Matthew 7:1 as an excuse to not develop sound, biblical judgment, an attitude of discernment between right and wrong. God abhors prideful judgmentalism; yet Scripture calls us to make judgments all the time and to practice discernment. 

While our judgments can be subjective, God’s judgments are true, right, just, and merciful through the person of Jesus Christ. God will judge those who reject Him. Ezekiel was commissioned to not only preach a message of salvation, but of judgment. The message of judgment serves as a warning to unrepentant sinners. [Read more…]