By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Psalm 146:1-10 We are quick to trust human leaders because we are drawn to things that we can see with our own eyes and hear with our own ears. But the longer we are preoccupied with the people around us, we lose sight of the person above us. It’s no wonder that American people are anxious, fearful, restless,

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Psalm 136:1-5, 10-15, 23-26 Communicating our love to others strengthens our relationship and reassures them of our commitment. Rather than describing how much we love God, Psalm 136 tells of the many ways God has loved us. The psalmist knows that there is a direct connection between remembering and thankfulness, and between thankfulness and trusting in God. When

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Psalm 19:1-14 No matter how busy our lives may become, we all have experiences where the beauty and grandeur of God’s creation stop us in our tracks. Our family lives in a beautiful area surrounded by hiking trails, swimming holes, and caves. We’re always amused to see the variety of state license plates on the vehicles in our

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Psalm 95:1-11 Psalm 95 is a call for believers to joyfully and reverently worship God in a world characterized by unbelief. Psalm 95:1-7 contains a three-fold invitation for us to “come” to him (vv. 1, 2, 6). It’s not primarily a call to individual believers, but to the collective assembly (note the use of “us,” “our,” and “we”).

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Psalm 84:1-12 At the center of your being, what do you long for? Once you have seen the dwelling place of the Lord of Hosts, you have no desire to be any place else (Psalm 84:1-2). As the Sons of Korah strolled through the temple courtyard and reflected on the glory of the Lord, something caught their attention:

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Psalm 138:1-8 “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me” (Psalm 138:8). I believe this truth now more than ever, because I have a history with God. When our son was 2 years old, he was misdiagnosed with a virus. After several days of a persistently high fever, and many tests and consultations, he was diagnosed with a

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Psalm 23:1-6 Psalm 23 is undoubtedly the most beloved psalm, and maybe even the most well-known chapter in the entire Bible. Even irreligious people are familiar with these words and drawn to them in times of crisis: “The LORD is my shepherd.” There are many names for God in the Bible, but Yahweh is the most sacred. Often

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Psalm 78:5-8, 32-39 Recently, I watched a video in which people were asked important questions about American history. These videos have likely been edited (we hope) to include only the most outrageous answers. When asked about World War II, one individual suggested it was fought in 1970! The warning is clear: When a people forget their history, they

By Ben W. Curtis Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City Focal Passage: Psalm 1:1-6 Almost a year ago, a group from our church trained for a 5K. Due to some miscommunication among the volunteers, most of us took a path that extended our run by six-tenths of a mile. As three miles came and went and the realization set in that we were still a great distance from the finish

By Charles D. Earl Former Director of Missions, Holston Valley Baptist Assoc., Rogersville Focal Passage: Matthew 28:16-20 We have arrived at our final session of this quarter from the gospel of Matthew having to do with the life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of God’s only begotten Son, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our lesson for today is taken from Matthew 28:16-20, and is, of course, what we