Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
December 31, 2018
By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Genesis 32:24-32 Jacob, fresh from the encounter with Laban and about to see his brother for the first time in 20 years, spends the night alone. Perhaps he wanted to pray, maybe he wanted to gather his thoughts, or he could’ve been convinced Esau was […]
December 31, 2018
By Greg Steele Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper Focal Passage: Matthew 2:1-11 There are some popular misconceptions about these magi. Most of us get our idea about these individuals from songs, cards and poems rather than from theologians. First, most people assume there were three because of the song, “We Three Kings,” and because they […]
December 24, 2018
By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Genesis 31:2-16 For 20 years Jacob had served Laban far from his own home. God had blessed all of Jacob’s work and shown him great favor. As Jacob prospered, Laban and his sons took notice and their attitudes began to change toward Jacob.
December 24, 2018
By Greg Steele Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper Focal Passage: Luke 2:25-35 No one likes to wait. But we wait in traffic, in car lines, in grocery stores, in drive-thru’s, for the doctor, for a spouse, for a baby, for retirement, for sermons to get over and for Jesus to return. To set the story, […]
December 18, 2018
By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Luke 1:26-38 Just as God had promised to Jacob that all the earth would be blessed through his offspring in our previous lesson, we now see God keeping that promise. Jesus is a promise kept. At a time when it looked like God’s people had […]
December 18, 2018
By Greg Steele Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper Focal Passage: Luke 2:1-14 Most people in America are familiar with this passage because every December we watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and hear Linus tell us about the true meaning of Christmas. Let’s set the scene. An angel rocks the routine of some guys who are […]
December 10, 2018
By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Genesis 29:16-30 So often we believe the lie that God can only use great people from great backgrounds for great things but that’s not true. God is pleased to use crooked sticks to draw straight lines. God chose to bless the nations through a broken, […]
December 10, 2018
By Greg Steele Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper Focal Passage: Luke 1:26-38 When most people think about Mary, the mother of Jesus, they think of a peaceful, serene and virtuous woman. Now all of those are probably true characteristics, but I think she also was a very real person. In our passage, Luke paints a […]
December 3, 2018
By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Genesis 28:10-22 Having successfully stolen the birthright for himself, Jacob now leaves his family. He is sent by his father to go find a wife but sent by his mother to run far away from Esau’s wrath. At this time when he would feel utterly […]
December 3, 2018
By Greg Steele Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jasper Focal Passage: Matthew 1:18-25 In my younger days, I was part of several plays/musicals. It was always the main roles that people desired. It wasn’t too often that you found a small role that had a great impact. However, that is not the case in the story […]
November 26, 2018
By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Genesis 27:18-29 Jacob’s very name denotes that he was a deceiver, a liar, and a “heel grabber.” The text today demonstrates him living up to that name. The deception begins, not with Jacob, but with Rebekah. Jacob and Esau’s own mother overheard Isaac’s desire to […]
November 26, 2018
By Michael Koontz Pastor, Pine Ridge Baptist Church, Harriman Focal Passage: Isaiah 7:10-14; 9:6-7; 11:1-5 One of my favorite Christmas hymns is “What Child Is This?” The tune is called “Greensleeves” and was written in England about the 16th century. But it was not until 1865 while America was in the Civil War that an […]