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APRIL 30: I AM HE

April 24, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Focal Passage: John 18:1-11

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleIn our fallen culture, it’s not uncommon for criminals to scramble from police to avoid arrest. A few weeks ago, a man in West Tennessee was accused of assaulting a family member. 

When the police arrived, the suspect barricaded himself inside the home and threatened to open fire on the officers. The standoff lasted for over four hours until a special response team carefully made their way into the house and took the suspect into custody. Thankfully no one was injured, and the man was brought to justice. 

Such a tactic is a natural reflex for criminals because the last thing they want is to be apprehended and punished. But this reality is what makes Jesus’ arrest so unordinary.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Explore the Bible, Sunday School Lessons

APRIL 30: THE TEMPTATION TO TEST GOD

April 24, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 6:16-25; Matthew 4:5-7 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeTo say that we trust God is one thing, but to deliberately put God in a position where He must prove His trustworthiness without necessary warrant is sin. 

In other words, we can trust that God will take care of us as we obey His commands. 

Yet, it is sin to deliberately “set God up” in such a way to show others that God will care for us as if God must act on our command. 

In the past, such an attitude was called the sin of presumptuousness, where someone would “blindly walk off the end of the pier,” so to speak, to show that God must protect that person from an otherwise foolish and unwarranted act. And when God doesn’t save us when we fall, we blame Him instead of the laws of gravity and our own foolishness. Risk-taking faith is essential; stupid faith is not. [Read more…]

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APRIL 23: THE TEMPTATION TO RELY ON MYSELF

April 17, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 8:2-10; Matthew 4:1-14 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeWe are self-assured, aren’t we? We think we can handle just about anything on our own. Sadly, many Christians think this way. In fact, I would argue that many Christians think that the course of the Christian life goes something like this — I trust Jesus for salvation, but the rest is left up to me. 

Salvation belongs to God, but we are on our own when it comes to our sanctification. Right? Wrong! The greatest temptation is self-governance apart from the enabling power of God. What are our resources? [Read more…]

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APRIL 23: I PRAY

April 17, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Focal Passage: John 17:13-26

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleOne of the great blessings of having close relationships with other believers is the ability to call upon them to pray for us in a time of need.

As a pastor, I receive numerous prayer requests each week, where people ask me to pray for the most serious and urgent needs in their lives. 

Similarly, it’s not uncommon for me to call upon many others to pray for my personal needs in life and ministry.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Explore the Bible, Sunday School Lessons

APRIL 16: THE SOURCE OF TEMPTATION

April 10, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: James 1:13-18  

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeTo be tempted to sin is the universal experience of humanity, both for Christians and non-Christians. 

The difference between the two is that the Christian has the awareness and the tools to overcome a variety of temptations, the unbeliever does not. Let’s do an autopsy on temptation through James 1:13-18 so that we might see how it works in order to conquer those temptations that come our way. [Read more…]

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APRIL 16: WHEN THE SPIRIT COMES

April 10, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Focal Passage: John 15:26-27; 16:7-15

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleOne of the strangest elements in literature is what’s called a “paradox.” 

According to the dictionary, a paradox is a statement that seems self-contradictory or illogical. In other words, it’s a message that seems backwards or doesn’t make sense. 

We encounter paradoxes when business owners say, “You have to spend money to make money;” or when a counselor states that “failure often leads to success.” One of the most memorable was President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s axiom, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  [Read more…]

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APRIL 9: I HAVE SEEN

April 3, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Focal Passage: John 20:1-18 

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleA few years ago, my girls and I were listening to a popular podcast where a Bible teacher was explaining Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. As he was describing all of the glorious details, my oldest daughter’s eyes began beaming with fascination and she said, “Oh, I just love the story of Jesus coming out of the tomb!” 

Hopefully that’s the emotion you feel when you think about Jesus being raised to life. There’s no event in world history more fascinating, mysterious and powerful than Jesus coming out of the tomb. But while each of the Gospel writers gives us specific details concerning Jesus’ resurrection, we find three unique pictures in John 20 that show us the hope we have in our risen Savior. We see a dark morning, a folded cloth, and a glorious gardener.  [Read more…]

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APRIL 9: JESUS ROSE AGAIN TO GIVE ME LIFE

April 3, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: John 20:1-2, 11-18 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeChristianity is a historical religion. While there are many historical events recorded in Scripture for our benefit, two events form the basis of the Christian faith — the substitutionary, atoning death of Jesus and His resurrection from the dead. Apart from these two historical events there is no Christian faith. 

As I Corinthians 15:12-19 notes, if Jesus has not been raised from the dead: (1) Jesus is still dead, (2) our preaching is meaningless, (3) our faith is in vain, (4) we are still in our sins, (5) all who died believing were fooled and are still dead and 6) we are to be pitied among all people. But then, in I Corinthians 15:20, Paul writes, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (died).”  [Read more…]

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APRIL 2: REMAIN IN ME

March 27, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Focal Passage: John 15:1-17 

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleOne of the most popular topics among believers is spiritual growth. It’s the subject of countless books and blogs, the theme of numerous conferences and events, and the aim of sermon series, church programs and small group studies. 

According to Barna Research, 75 percent of Christian adults desire spiritual growth in their lives. This desire comes naturally for true believers who are being sanctified in Christ, and hopefully you’re among the many who want greater spiritual growth in your life today. 

But even though the majority of believers long to grow spiritually, many have questions about how to get there. What are the keys for having a greater sense of God’s presence and comfort? How do we develop spiritual strength and wisdom and reorient our hearts towards God’s will? Where do we find the power to resist temptation and remain obedient to Christ?  [Read more…]

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APRIL 2: JESUS DIED FOR ME

March 27, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: John 19:16-19; 28-30, 38-42 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeThe great Puritan theologian John Owen once wrote that through the death of Jesus Christ the death of death has been accomplished. 

Even more, because of the death of Jesus Christ the sins of all who would believe — past, present, and future — would be forgiven. The One who knew no sin bore the penalty for our sins so that we might be given the righteousness of God (II Corinthians 5:21). It has been called the “great exchange” — our sin for His righteousness.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Bible Studies for Life, Sunday School Lessons

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