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MARCH 26: JESUS OPENED MY EYES TO THE TRUTH

March 20, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeFocal Passage: John 9:1-7; 32-33, 35-38 

Why? This is one of the primal questions of life, along with How? When? Where? Who? We want to know why things happen, especially if those things cause suffering. Often, God will give us whole or partial answers to these questions. At other times, God remains silent reminding us that He has reasons for how He providentially cares for His creation that are above our “pay grade.” 

But why would I raise the issue of asking Why? The events surrounding the healing of the blind man at the Pool of Siloam raises the question of why so that we can see through the lens of this event to the truth of who Jesus Christ is.

God the Son glorifies God the Father (John 9:1-7.) On observing a man blind from birth, the disciples asked Jesus who had sinned to cause this man’s blindness — him or his parents. The thinking at that time (and still is) was that all suffering was a direct result of sin. To be clear, we can suffer because of our sins (Galatians 6:7-10). But not always. God may have other purposes in our sufferings (II Corinthians 12:1-10). [Read more…]

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MARCH 26: PEACE I LEAVE

March 20, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleFocal Passage: John 14:16-29

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 264 million people have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder — and these numbers continue to rise, especially among children. Those who suffer often feel restless and on edge, and experience frequent headaches, stomachaches, and other pains. 

Many sense difficulty when trying to concentrate, sleep, make decisions, and control feelings of worry and doubt. But whether we live with an anxiety disorder or just experience the normal stresses and concerns of life, almost everyone in the world is searching for peace. And Jesus’ disciples were no exception. [Read more…]

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MARCH 19: I WILL COME AGAIN

March 13, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleFocal Passage: John 13:31-14:6

A few years ago, Emily and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary by taking a very special vacation. The only difficult part was leaving our small children behind for over a week as we traveled to a distant country. 

As expected, our girls were very apprehensive about us leaving. I was a little nervous about leaving them as well. We had practically been with them every moment since they were born, providing for all of their needs, protecting them from everything imaginable, and loving them the best we could.  [Read more…]

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MARCH 19: JESUS GAVE ME GRACE AND FORGIVENESS

March 13, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeFocal Passage: John 8:2-11 

Though we sing and preach about it all the time, we don’t know much about grace. Yes, we might say, God’s grace is the undeserved, unmerited favor of God. But when it comes down to it, most of us have been raised to believe that unless one works for something we haven’t earned it.

Yes, we are to work for our wages. But when it comes to our relationship with Jesus we can’t work for our salvation; it’s all grace. We could never deserve our salvation. We are the recipients of God’s undeserved kindness (Ephesians 2:1-10). We do not work for our salvation; we work for God because of our salvation. The extra-canonical, John-like story of the woman caught in adultery is a perfect example of God’s grace. [Read more…]

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MARCH 12: IF IT DIES

March 6, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Focal Passage: John 12:20-33

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleOne of the great privileges we had while serving in a previous church was a missional partnership in Haiti. We would send ministry teams at least once a year to serve in one of the most impoverished places in the world, both materially and spiritually. 

However, on one of our trips, we were connected with a group from another state and worked alongside them for a day. But to our disappointment, rather than hearing about their heart for the Haitian people and their desire to tell them about Jesus, all they seemed to do was complain about the extreme heat, the food, the lack of cell phone coverage, the grueling work involved and how they were all ready to go back home. 

For many church groups, the idea of serving on a short-term mission trip in a remote place seems exciting and fulfilling until they discover what real life is like in these parts of the world. The same is true when it comes to those who are interested in following Jesus.  [Read more…]

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MARCH 12: JESUS RESTORED MY LIFE

March 6, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: John 5:2-11, 19-21 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeWords like restoration, restitution and reparations are “hot topic words” these days. 

Often, they are used in ways that are harmful and unrealistic. At other times, they are mocked as impossible goals. These words have been politicized. Though Jesus seemed to be uninterested in using political means for spiritual ends, He was consummately interested in restoring the lives of broken people. Take for example the paralyzed man of Bethesda.

Restoring the helpless (John 5:2-7). Paralyzed for 38 years, this unnamed man of Bethesda was living by a pool near the Sheep Gate of the city. He was not only physically impaired, but he was spiritually dead, putting his hope in a myth that at the stirring of the pool by an angel he could slip in and be healed. It never happened.  [Read more…]

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MARCH 5: WHY WASN’T THIS SOLD?

February 27, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Focal Passage: John 12:1-11

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleNot long after we married, my wife and I quickly discovered the value of looking at the weekly supermarket circular before heading to the store to buy groceries.

 It was astounding to see how much money we would save by simply planning meals around what was on sale. After doing this for a while, we became very familiar with how certain products were priced and could quickly determine if it was a good time to buy. 

For example, if we noticed that salted caramel ice-cream was listed for $1.99/quart, it wasn’t a hard decision to add it to our list. But if a pork loin was $4.99/pound, we were definitely eating chicken that week! However, for any item, there was always a mental process of determining if what we were paying was really worth what we are getting in return.  [Read more…]

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MARCH 5: JESUS MET MY GREATEST NEED

February 27, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: John 4:7-18; 25-26 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeHave you ever met a famous person? If so, you might remember how it made you think or feel at the time. In some small way, that encounter changed your life, an encounter that became a talking point for you in future conversations with friends. 

John 4 tells us the story of Jesus with the nameless, but needy “woman at the well.” Her encounter with Jesus would prove to be the single greatest event in her life, an event that met her need and changed her life forever. What happened in this encounter with Jesus that still happens to this day whenever the repentant sinner encounters the righteous Savior? [Read more…]

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FEB. 26: I AM THE RESURRECTION

February 20, 2023

By Justin Terrell
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Dandridge

Sunday School Lessons explore the bible

Focal Passage: John 11:32-46

Death is hard. It’s a reality that no one wants to face. 

We dread the day that we will have to say an earthly goodbye to our loved ones, and the thought of our own departure from this world can be equally disturbing. 

Even when we try to distract ourselves from this mortal reality, our news channels and social media feeds are constantly bombarding us with stories of global catastrophes, tragic accidents, vicious murders, fatal illnesses and familiar names in local obituaries —  all painful reminders that earthly life will eventually come to an end. 

However, because we live under a sinful curse, death is unavoidable, and no one knew this better than Jesus.  [Read more…]

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FEB. 26: DOES IT LEAD YOU TO BE MORE LIKE JESUS?

February 20, 2023

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: Colossians 3:1-14 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeSince Jan. 22, 2023, the Bible Studies for Life have been focused on the issue of discerning the voice of God. Issues such as biblical faithfulness, convictional living, in addition to trusting and honoring God have all been in focus. But what’s the ultimate purpose of this series? The final lesson in this series sums up the intent of the series — discerning the voice of God leads us to be more like Jesus. But how? Colossians 3:1-14 is instructive.

God’s voice, our thoughts (Colossians 3:1-4). Being more like Jesus is not just a matter of the heart, but of the mind as well. Often, we ask, “Have you given your heart to Jesus?” We rarely ask, “Have you given your mind to Jesus?”  [Read more…]

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