Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
April 17, 2023
By Kevin ShrumPastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, NashvilleFocal Passage: Deuteronomy 8:2-10; Matthew 4:1-14 We 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 — […]
April 17, 2023
By Justin TerrellSenior pastor, First Baptist Church, DandridgeFocal Passage: John 17:13-26 One 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 […]
April 10, 2023
By Kevin ShrumPastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, NashvilleFocal Passage: James 1:13-18 To 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 […]
April 10, 2023
By Justin TerrellSenior pastor, First Baptist Church, DandridgeFocal Passage: John 15:26-27; 16:7-15 One 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 […]
April 3, 2023
By Justin TerrellSenior pastor, First Baptist Church, DandridgeFocal Passage: John 20:1-18 A 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 […]
April 3, 2023
By Kevin ShrumPastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, NashvilleFocal Passage: John 20:1-2, 11-18 Christianity 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 […]
March 27, 2023
By Justin TerrellSenior pastor, First Baptist Church, DandridgeFocal Passage: John 15:1-17 One 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 […]
March 27, 2023
By Kevin ShrumPastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: John 19:16-19; 28-30, 38-42 The 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 […]
March 20, 2023
By Kevin ShrumPastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, NashvilleFocal 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 […]
March 20, 2023
By Justin TerrellSenior pastor, First Baptist Church, DandridgeFocal 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. […]
March 13, 2023
By Justin TerrellSenior pastor, First Baptist Church, DandridgeFocal 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 […]
March 13, 2023
By Kevin ShrumPastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, NashvilleFocal 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 […]