Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
October 29, 2018
By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: James 2:14-26 Martin Luther said, “It is as impossible to separate works from faith as it is to separate burning and shining from fire.” Works and faith are inseparable, not because works can ever bring faith but because faith always brings works.
October 29, 2018
By Micheal Koontz Pastor, Pine Ridge Baptist Church, Harriman Focal Passage: Matthew 6:11b; Isaiah 38:1-6,15-17 One of the most difficult things in ministry, for me, is taking care of myself. One aspect of that is prayer. Praying for myself doesn’t happen as it should. I think that could be said of many of our brothers and sisters […]
October 22, 2018
By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: James 1:19-27; 2:1-4 James gives his readers a quick trinity of rules in verse 19 to follow while experiencing trials: don’t get angry, listen hard and speak sparingly only after very careful consideration. If only I could live up to even this single verse, what […]
October 22, 2018
By Michael Koontz Pastor, Pine Ridge Baptist Church, Harriman Focal Passage: Matthew 6:10–11; James 4:6–10; 4:13–17 In the model prayer that our Lord gave to us, it shows us that our will is not key, but our Father’s will (Matthew 6:10). Look at James 4:6-10 and we see this passage begins and ends with a […]
October 15, 2018
By Scott Brown Pastor of First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal passage: James 1:2-15 Recently, on a long flight, I watched the movie “42” based on the life of Jackie Robinson. There is a line that is repeated either by him or about him many times that really gripped me.
October 15, 2018
By Michael Koontz Pastor, Pine Ridge Baptist Church, Harriman Focal Passage: Matthew 6:9b; Psalm 96:1-9 As we start in Matthew 6:9b today, our text brings us to a subject that we once again do not put much thought into.
October 9, 2018
By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Galatians 6:1-10, 14-15 When I think of compassion I think of Jesus first, but then I think of Job 2:11-13. Job’s friends spend most of the story trying to understand and explain God but, before they spoke foolishly they acted very wisely. They heard about […]
October 9, 2018
By Michael Koontz Pastor, Pine Ridge Baptist Church, Harriman Focal Passage: Matthew 6:9a; Psalm 103:1-5,11-13,19-22 Learning the truth that God is our Heavenly Father brings a wonderful understanding that He cares for us. Ancient (false) Greek gods were seen as a group who had to be appeased at all times and didn’t have the best […]
October 1, 2018
By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal passage: Galatians 5:13-26 In Galatians 5:13, Paul confronts the misunderstanding many face regarding God’s grace and our freedom in Him. Freedom is not an excuse to continue living in sin, nor is it merely a freedom from the punishment of sin, but our Christian freedom is a […]
October 1, 2018
By Michael Koontz Pastor, Pine Ridge Baptist Church Focal Passage: Acts 16:6–15 In today’s text of Acts 16:6-15, Paul shows us a great example of “going out.” Remember, Acts 1:8 is our commission to take the gospel to all people. As we study this part of his second missionary journey, many truths come to light for […]
September 25, 2018
By Scott Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly Focal Passage: Galatians 4:8-20 I met a young man a few years ago who was involved on the front lines of the battle against human trafficking. He was a part of a group that would go in to areas that were suspected brothels and, working with the […]
September 25, 2018
By Michael Koontz Pastor, Pine Ridge Baptist Church, Harriman Focal Passage: 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10 The point of this week’s lesson is, “Authentic joy flows from a relationship with Jesus.” As Christians, we need to understand, remember, and show this authentic joy to help us be the welcoming church. If we fail at being the welcoming […]