By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: II Thessalonians 1:3-12     One of the most distinct, Baptist doctrines is called the “security of the believer.” Some tritely refer to this as “once saved always saved.” It is better to refer to this doctrine as the “perseverance or endurance of the saints.”  This doctrine states that those who have genuinely placed their faith in Jesus Christ will

By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: I Thessalonians 5:12-24     One of the main criticisms of Christianity is that of hypocrisy — too many Christians don’t live out what they say they believe. In essence, Christians don’t walk the talk.  While these accusations may be unfair and a complete misunderstanding of the Christian faith, there’s enough truth in this characterization of Christians that we need

By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: I Thessalonians 5:1-11     I once read a study noting that we may spend as much as four months out of every year waiting — we wait at stop lights and intersections, in traffic, in the fast-food line, at our doctor’s office, for friends and family to arrive and so it goes. We wait so much of the time

By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: Matthew 28:1-10, 16-20     I want to make a recommendation: If Jesus has not been bodily raised from the dead, let’s close all the churches. Because if Jesus has not been raised from the dead there is no hope, no forgiveness of sins, no eternal life, no future, no Church.  I Corinthians 15:12-19 notes that if Jesus has not

By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: I Thessalonians 4:13-18  Samuel Beckett’s 1948 bestselling book entitled, Waiting for Godet, tells the story of two men, Vladimir and Estragon, talking about life as they wait for a mysterious character to arrive named Godet, yet Godet never arrives.  Many believed at the time that this was Beckett’s subliminal way of talking about the God who teases us with the

By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: I Thessalonians 4:1-12  We are way past the point in our culture when Christians can get away with simply “saying” we’re Christians. There may have been a time in America where a person could label themselves a Christian because everyone identified as a Christian, true or not. Those days are gone, and good riddance.  Cultural Christianity has nearly killed the

By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: I Thessalonians 3:4-13     The enemy of our soul — Satan — uses many tools to attack the believer, i.e., lies, temptations and, maybe above all, discouragement. In fact, though Satan has limited knowledge, he does know that to discourage God’s people is to deter God’s work. Satan first isolates us from other believers, attacks the gospel itself, causing doubt

By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: I Thessalonians 2:13-20     The boldness and courage of the Ukrainian people are currently being challenged. Only time will tell where this challenge leads. One Ukrainian mother was reported to have said that the Ukrainian people would fight for their freedom and for democracy “to their last blood.” The question arises: are we as courageous and as bold in sharing

By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: I Thessalonians 2:1-12     What if you found a treasure that would make you both rich and that would change the world? But it wouldn’t make you rich unless you set free that gift to change the world. This is the gospel (II Corinthians 4:7). The gospel lavishes on us the riches of God’s grace in Jesus Christ, but

By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: I Thessalonians 1:1-10     Have you ever filled out a job application? More than likely you needed a list of references. You would select those who know you best, trusted people, friends, or co-workers. These references would vouch for your character and work ethic. As the Apostle Paul begins writing 1 Thessalonians, he introduces two of his co-workers, Silvanus