By Travis Biller Pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Elizabethton Focal Passage: Proverbs 3:21-35  Wealth. It is something that people pursue every day. From simply going to work to pay the bills, to building corporations that span the globe and generate billions of dollars. From our earliest days we learn that, to some degree, we must spend our time pursuing wealth. Unfortunately, the pursuit of such wealth can distract us from what is

By Travis Biller Pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Elizabethton Focal Passage: Proverbs 3:1-12  Life is a journey. As we travel the road of life, we discover that the journey can be long, arduous, and sometimes confusing. There are many signposts along the way; but if those signposts do not originate with the Lord, they will serve only to misdirect us. As Solomon speaks to his son about navigating the journey of life,

By Travis Biller Pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Elizabethton Focal Passage: Proverbs 1:7-19  The poet Robert Frost once wrote, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and / I took the one less traveled by / And that has made all the difference.” As we begin a new study in the book of Proverbs, we are encouraged to walk in the path of wisdom. To walk in wisdom is to take the road

By Travis Biller Pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Elizabethton Focal Passage: Romans 15:14-21, 30-33  “Reach.” I like the title to our lesson this week. I think about a little boy reaching across the counter to grab the cookie jar. Because his arm is too short, he must strain his little body as he stands on his tiptoes and extends his fingers as far as he can, just barely reaching his prize. But

By Travis Biller Pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Elizabethton Focal Passage: Romans 14:1-12  Freedom. It’s a word we all love. More than that, it is an experience we both enjoy and expect in our culture. Unfortunately, not everyone in the world is free. For some, freedom is a distant dream. They long for the day when they can be free.

By Travis Biller Pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Elizabethton Focal Passage: Romans 13:1-14  Several years ago, my wife and I had a house built, but only the downstairs. I took the next year and a half to finish the upstairs. As I spent my nights and weekends working, there were times when my son, who was only 3, would come by my side and mimic what I was doing. I have a

By Travis Biller Pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Elizabethton Focal Passage: Romans 12:1-2, 9-18  Not long ago I watched a documentary on the transformation that takes place inside a cocoon. With less than scientific language, let me explain it: a caterpillar is enveloped by a cocoon. While in that state the caterpillar literally dissolves into a pile of goo, then miraculously is rebuilt into a lifeform utterly different from what it was.

By Travis Biller Pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Elizabethton Focal Passage: Romans 11:17-32  Adoption is something that is common. Families adopt children every day. What is unique is that these families have a bond of love as strong as families who have not adopted children. God’s love is like that. It is strong enough to love adopted children as much as natural children. In our text, Paul is addressing gentile believers in

By Travis Biller Pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Elizabethton Focal Passage: Roman 10:5-15  We were walking through Calcutta when we saw the temple for Kali. Curious, we walked to the gate and looked inside. A Hindu priest was holding a goat in one hand and holding up a knife in the other. To our surprise, he suddenly sacrificed the animal. He then dragged the goat through the temple to the Kali idol.

By Travis Biller Pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Elizabethton Focal Passage: Romans 8:12-25  There is nothing like knowing you have a home. Many are familiar with the Christmas song, “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” I was a young soldier in the army as Desert Storm began in 1991. As the prospect of war became real, and as our training began to reveal the dangers we would be exposed to, thoughts of home