By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: Ezekiel 28:11-19; 25-26    My car warns me all the time; yes, my car. If I get into my car without buckling my seatbelt, it warns me with an annoying sound. If one of the car doors is left ajar, it warns me. These warnings are annoying, but necessary. They are meant for my safety and security. These warnings want

By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: Matthew 2:1-12    Five major events outline God’s redemptive plan.  First, in creation God created all things good. Second, in the “fall,” mankind ruined God’s goodness through sin. Third, in redemption God became a man (the incarnation), dying a substitutionary death for sinners and rising from the dead victorious over sin, death and hell. Fourth, in His ascension Jesus intercedes

By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: Ezekiel 24:1-14 Have you ever heard anyone say, “You shouldn’t judge people?” Many misquote Jesus’ prohibition against judgmentalism in Matthew 7:1 as an excuse to not develop sound, biblical judgment, an attitude of discernment between right and wrong. God abhors prideful judgmentalism; yet Scripture calls us to make judgments all the time and to practice discernment.  While our judgments can

By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: Ezekiel 11:2-4, 14-21    In 1898 Priscilla Jane Owens wrote a song that would become famous and well used in the Church. The first title of the song was, “We Have Heard the Joyful Sound.” Later it became better known by a phrase out of the chorus line of the song, “Jesus Saves, Jesus Saves.”  Owens initially wrote the song

By Kevin Shrum Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville Focal Passage: Ezekiel 3:8-21 When God gets ready to do something He commissions His people. Like a military General commanding his troops, God calls and commissions His people to do His will His way, executing the battle plan according to His purposes. The Great Commission of Matthew 28:16-20 is just one of many commissions in Scripture. The Prophets of the Old Testament

By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Philemon 8-21    Two ‘work crews’ can be observed in many churches. One is the demolition crew; they’re skilled at tearing down, ripping out, crushing, and trashing. They find fault, criticize, gossip and can pretty well wreck the place. On the other hand there’s the restoration crew.  These faithful souls seek to unite, make peace, and help restore broken

By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Colossians 3:18-4:6 Sometimes I teach an old yet fun way to remember the order of four New Testament books, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Using the first letter of each book, G, E, P, C, I say the phrase “Gentiles Eat Pork Chops.” You may know a couple of other phrases to help us recall the order; but all of them are equally silly!

By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Colossians 3:1-17    Johnny Mercer wrote a song in 1944 that became very popular while Americans struggled under the burden of World War II.  Mercer’s novelty song lifted our country’s sagging spirits. The refrain actually came from a sermon — and was delivered like a sermon: “You’ve got to accentuate the positive, Eliminate the negative, Latch on to the affirmative, Don’t

By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Colossians 2:16-23 I heard a pastor speak about the importance of preaching Biblical, doctrinal truth. He described a little mountain church where one lady came to the visiting minister after service and said, “That was a sweet sermon, preacher — there weren’t no doctrine in it, nor nothin’! ” Well, I pity the congregation where that could truthfully be

By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Colossians 2:4-15    During my university years in Greenville, S.C., I went to the city jail almost every week to share Christ with the prisoners. I’ve also had many times of ministry in jails and prisons as a pastor.  The prisoners often talked with me personally about their main focus: “getting out.” Almost every one of them wanted to