Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
August 2, 2021
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Ecclesiastes 4:13-5:7 Some older readers may remember “Hey There,” a popular song in the 50’s. It’s about a young lady in love, trying to talk herself into making wise decisions. She says, “Will you take this advice I hand you, like a mother? Or, […]
August 2, 2021
By Michael Julian Pastor, Macedonia Baptist Church, Kenton Focal Passage: 1 Kings 17:17-24 Do you remember the incident in the lives of the disciples when they could not heal a man’s son possessed with a spirit? Jesus, coming back from the mountain of transfiguration, walked into the confusion. Jesus proceeds to drive out the deaf […]
July 26, 2021
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 A Jewish rabbi was once asked by an inquirer, “Why do Jewish teachers always seem to answer a question with a question?” The rabbi replied, “Why not?” Of course that was originally told as a joke, but it’s actually quite true; the […]
July 26, 2021
By Michael Julian Pastor, Macedonia Baptist Church, Kenton Focal Passage: 1 Kings 17:7-16 This week we pick up right where we left Elijah last week. He taught us about serving God with courage. The funny thing about courage is that it may place us in even more difficult circumstances. When we find ourselves in those […]
July 20, 2021
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Ecclesiastes 1:12-15; 2:18-26 Remember your (or your child’s) first chocolate ‘Easter’ bunny? Maybe it was huge, and you could hardly wait to enjoy its chocolaty sweetness. So you took a big bite into one of those long ears, only to find the bunny rabbit […]
July 20, 2021
By Michael Julian Pastor, Macedonia Baptist Church, Kenton Focal Passage: I Kings 16:29-33; 17:1-6 We are embarking on a new study for the remainder of this quarter. We will walk through the exciting life and times of Elijah the prophet, particularly his dealings with Ahab and Jezebel, and then his passing the mantle on to […]
July 13, 2021
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Job 42:1-11 You may have heard about the little boy who stood with his dad outside the window of a pet store. His dad had promised a new puppy, and the son was now selecting one. Several pups vied for attention; one of them […]
July 13, 2021
By Michael Julian Pastor, Macedonia Baptist Church, Kenton Focal Passage: Revelation 3:14-22 This passage brings back memories. In seminary, I had the daunting task of writing a 20-22 page paper on this letter to Laodicea. Where was I going to locate enough source material to fulfill the assignment? This venture haunted this procrastinator’s dreams. I […]
July 5, 2021
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Job 40:1-14 Remember how ‘God’s voice’ sounded in Hollywood films years ago? The Ten Commandments movie portrayed God speaking in a deep and resonate voice, in Shakespearean English, accompanied by rolling thunder and heavenly-sounding music. None of the secular films starring “God” could adequately […]
July 5, 2021
By Michael Julian Pastor, Macedonia Baptist Church, Kenton Focal Passage: Revelation 3:7-13 Welcome to the church of brotherly love. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? When we live up to our name, particularly the name Christian, the church and all those around the church benefit from such integrity. This church at Philadelphia also stood as one that […]
June 28, 2021
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Job 36:8-23 “… One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and JUSTICE FOR ALL.” That phrase from our Pledge to the Flag apparently contains ‘fighting words’ for several groups in America today. Many object to the words “one nation under God,” and even “indivisible” […]
June 28, 2021
By Michael Julian Pastor, Macedonia Baptist Church, Kenton Focal Passage: Revelation 3:1-6 Welcome to sleepy Sardis. This city was known to have natural defenses that seemed impenetrable by invading forces. In fact, the thought of capturing Sardis was equated with the impossible. But, things are not always what they seem. Sardis developed a huge blindspot […]