Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
January 30, 2023
By Justin TerrellSenior pastor, First Baptist Church, DandridgeFocal Passage: John 8:3-18 A few years ago, Emily and I made a quick trip north to visit Mammoth Cave National Park. The cave is appropriately named because at 285 miles in length it’s the longest cavern system in the world. While we were inside, our eyes were […]
January 30, 2023
By Kevin ShrumPastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, NashvilleFocal Passage: Hebrews 11:1-6; 13-16 Discerning and obeying God’s voice calls for faith in God. But what is faith? Just as we talk about love without knowing what love is, we talk a great deal about faith without understanding its definition. What is the anatomy of faith that enables […]
January 23, 2023
By Justin TerrellSenior pastor, First Baptist Church, DandridgeFocal Passage: John 7:14-29 As Jesus was standing trial following His arrest, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, asked Him if He was “King of the Jews.” Jesus affirmed that he was a king (not earthly, but spiritual), and concluded by saying, “For this purpose I was […]
January 23, 2023
By Kevin ShrumPastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, NashvilleFocal Passage: Acts 2:32-41 The word conviction is used in at least two ways in Scripture. First, it is used in reference to the Holy Spirit’s work of convicting us of sin, righteousness and judgment, so that we might repent and believe the gospel (John 16:8-11). Second, it is […]
January 16, 2023
By Justin TerrellSenior pastor, First Baptist Church, DandridgeFocal Passage: John 6:26-40 World-renowned chef and culinary expert, James Beard, once noted, “Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods.” I think this statement rings true for several reasons. First, whether you are a bread aficionado or not, when you sense hunger there is something […]
January 16, 2023
By Kevin ShrumPastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, NashvilleFocal Passage: Genesis 3:1-6 Discernment or making sound judgments is a lost art. We have allowed a wrong interpretation of the phrase “Judge not, that you be not judged” from Matthew 7:1 to frighten us away from discerning between right and wrong, of making value judgments based on eternal […]
January 9, 2023
By Justin TerrellSenior pastor, First Baptist Church, DandridgeFocal Passage: John 5:5-16 Few difficulties in life are more dangerous than hopelessness. In 2020, Anne Case and Angus Deaton co-authored a book titled, Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism, where they researched a unique rise in death rates among white, middled-aged, American men. While life […]
January 9, 2023
By Kevin ShrumPastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, NashvilleFocal Passage: Psalm 139:1-10, 13-16 Though not a Catholic, we should appreciate the words of the late Pope John Paul II in his 1995 Papal Encyclical — Evangelium Vitae — when he compared two opposing cultures: the “culture of death” that devalued life and the “culture of life” that […]
January 2, 2023
By Justin TerrellSenior pastor, First Baptist Church, DandridgeFocal Passage: John 4:11-26 Over the past few months, our church has been engaged in a search for two new ministry leaders. As numerous résumés have arrived and our committee has diligently considered each one, it doesn’t take long upon an initial glance to know if a candidate […]
January 2, 2023
By Kevin ShrumPastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, NashvilleFocal Passage: Zephaniah 3:9-20 Fear is an effective tool used by Satan to demoralize and discourage people, especially God’s people. Scripture repeatedly commands us: “Do not be afraid.” And yet, we fear anything and everything all the time: fear of loss, fear of man, fear of being without, fear […]
December 26, 2022
By Justin TerrellSenior pastor, First Baptist Church, DandridgeFocal Passage: John 3:4-18 Over the years, I’ve found New Year’s Day to be so refreshing and encouraging. Have you ever felt this way? Whether it’s psychological or practical, there is a sense in which beginning a new year offers closure to the failures and disappointments of the […]
December 26, 2022
By Kevin ShrumPastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, NashvilleFocal Passage: Matthew 14:22-33 Words like discouragement, melancholy, depression and spiritual lethargy are cousins — word groupings that speak to the kind of mental and spiritual disposition that warrants our attention. The opposite of discouragement is the word courage without the prefix. Discouragement is the inability to think or […]