By Ken R. Speakman Member, Tulip Grove Baptist Church, Old Hickory Focal Passage: Acts 1:1-11 In Acts 1, the resurrected Lord is about to ascend to the Father. The Holy Spirit will descend in a matter of weeks and the New Testament church will be created. The book of Acts is volume two of the gospel of Luke (Luke 1:3-4) and is extremely important to understand the work of the

By Ray Luck Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Athens Focal Passage: Matthew 13:1-13 (NKJV) Jesus used parables as a medium for His teaching ministry. Parables are stories that depict real life, with a spiritual meaning attached. They were designed to provoke thought, calling for action on the part of the hearer. Parables have always been a strength to me over the years including this one. Since Israel was primarily an

By Ray Luck Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Athens Focal Passage: Matthew 12:38-42, NKJV Lucy, Linus, and Charlie Brown were lying on a hill looking at the clouds. Lucy asked Linus what he saw in the clouds to which he replied, “I see what looks like Honduras and that one is the profile of a famous painter and sculptor and that group makes me think of the stoning of Stephen

By Ray Luck Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Athens Focal Passage: Matthew 11:20-30, NKJV During the course of our lives we will receive several invitations to do a variety of things. Sometimes the invitation is very specific, other times it is open ended. When an invitation is given the one issuing the invitation usually, if not every time, will expect a response as to whether the invitee will or will

By Ray Luck Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Athens Focal Passage: Matthew 9:35-38; 10:1-8 (NKJV) I think all of us at some point in time have a desire to be like someone else. If you are a Peanuts cartoon junky like I am you no doubt have noticed how many characters Snoopy thinks he is — a famous fighter pilot in World War I, or a famous attorney, or an

By Ray Luck Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Athens Focal Passage: Matthew 8:5-13, NKJV One of my all time favorite cartoon strips is “Peanuts” by the late Charles Schulz. The other day I ran across one that I felt fit this lesson. Linus had built a small army of snowmen and he walked in front of them and said, “I am your leader, if you will follow me, you will

By Ray Luck Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Athens Focal Passage: Matthew 7:13-21, 24-27 Robert Frost wrote a poem about two roads converging in the woods. One had been much traveled and the other not so much. He chose the one less traveled and was a better man for it. Several years ago as I was beginning my full-time ministry in another state I was befriended by a group of

By Ray Luck Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Athens Focal Passage: Matthew 5:17-22, 43-45 We live in a society based on laws. Some laws are very good and protect us. Some laws are silly based on the times in which they were written. Some laws are bad because they focus on a certain segment of the population and are not for the good of the whole (such as the legalization

By Ray Luck Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Athens Focal Passage: Matthew 6:5-18 If we are ever going to know God then we must pray. It is through prayer that we are able to hear His heart speaking to our heart. In Matthew 6 Jesus challenged the people and religious leaders in regard to the following; their giving and fasting practices and why they fasted, where their treasure is, their

By Ray Luck Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Athens Focal Passage: Matthew 5:1-16 Evangelist Jay Strack tells a story about Chippy the smart mouthed Parakeet who was always an embarrassment to his owner. One day Chippy was accidentally sucked into a Wet-Dri Vac. His owner retrieved Chippy, washed him up, blow dried him and sat him back on his perch. A friend came over and noticed that Chippy was unusually