By Mark D. Proctor
Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia

Focal Passage: Hebrews 11:1-6

Curious, isn’t it, that the book of the Bible that encourages believers to have faith based on evidence of things not seen is itself evidence of an author not known? The writer of Hebrews uses tactile terms to give believers hope that true faith — concrete faith — pleases God and writes this passage to show that while we enjoy its benefits, concrete faith is mixed, poured, finished, and cured by God.

Engineers know that the key to strong concrete is getting the right recipe — the mix of cement, aggregate, sand, and water. It’s called slurry. The right slurry, poured into well-constructed forms, and finished and cured correctly results in strong concrete.  [Read more…]

By Mark D. Proctor
Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia

Focal Passage: Romans 6:4-14

Sin might be rendered powerless. Dead to sin. Sin will not rule over you. Treat yourself to a study of Romans 6 by picking out phrases such as these that let you off the hook. What if sin couldn’t touch you? What if Satan the great puppeteer could pull the strings but the marionette didn’t dance? Paul describes just such a life — a life married to Christ so completely that our everyday actions are not governed by Satan, not even by us, but by the power of Christ.  But how? “How” is the reason pastors’ counseling calendars are filled to overflowing with those seeking freedom from the day to day slavery to secret sin. How do we escape? [Read more…]

By Mark Proctor
Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia

Focal Passage: Matthew 8:5-13

Hope. Everyone craves it. The little leaguer says, “I hope we win the game” but has no way of knowing the outcome. Hope to this little hitter is little more than a dream.  But a believer’s hope is broader and wider still. Isaiah prophesied 700 years before Christ that, “… the gentiles will trust in his name” (Matthew 12:21). And in the story of the healing of the centurion’s servant in Matthew 8, we see that very thing — a gentile, the centurion, trusting in Christ’s name and authority and willingness to heal. And he demonstrated that hope with his feet, his ears, and his lips. [Read more…]

By Mark Proctor
Pastor, Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia

Focal Passage:  Revelation 1:12-20

What does Jesus look like in your church?  Some might picture a benevolent lover of children, with a large lap and a tender heart.  Others might envision a healer, frequenting the hospitals, or a teacher, majestically ensconced in the pulpit.  The apostle John was “in the spirit on the Lord’s day” while on Patmos and got the chance that you and I have never had — he got to see Jesus.  He gives us two accounts in Revelation of Jesus, one in chapter 19 of the millennial king Jesus — a future Jesus — and this one in chapter 1 of the present day Jesus, the Christ of the Church.  [Read more…]

By Justin Randolph
Pastor, Zion Hill Baptist Church, Sevierville

Focal Passage: Philippians 4:10-20

More is the word that perhaps best characterizes our society — more wealth, more luxury, more significance, more gizmos, and more love.  Sometimes we do not even know what we need more of, we just know we want more. It seems we are always in search of contentment, but never quite finding it.   [Read more…]