By Ken R. Speakman Member, Tulip Grove Baptist Church, Old Hickory Focal Passage: Luke 24:1-12 The importance of Jesus’ death is surpassed only by the wonderful news of His resurrection. Without the resurrection we would have no forgiveness of sin, and all preaching and faith would be in vain (I Corinthians 15:14). Since the Jewish leaders had heard Jesus would be raised from the dead, they called a meeting and

By Ken R. Speakman Member, Tulip Grove Baptist Church, Old Hickory Focal Passage: Acts 2: 41-47 Speaking boldly under the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter challenged those who heard him to repent and show the sincerity of their decision by being baptized. He told the crowd that Jesus was the Messiah, God had raised Him from the grave and they had seen Him. Peter’s words pierced their hearts and

By Ken R. Speakman Member, Tulip Grove Baptist Church, Old Hickory Focal Passage: Acts 2:1-15 Thousands jammed the streets of Jerusalem. Jewish law required all males living within 20 miles of Jerusalem to attend. Ordinary labor was prohibited during this national holiday, and all shops were closed. Many Jews had traveled from many other nations to stay for the Passover and Pentecost. Unknown to them, according to the divine plan

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