Troy Styer Pastor, First Baptist Church, Grand Junction Focal Passage: I John 1:5-2:6 Jesus said in John 8:32, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” John shines the light of truth on the darkness of three lies in this passage. The three lies are the lies of fellowship, sin, and obedience. John will make the contrast between truths and lies as great as the contrast

Troy Styer Pastor, First Baptist Church, Grand Junction Focal Passage: I John 1:1-4 When we claim to know someone famous, people will often ask us how? Or where is your proof? What do we do? We tell them personal stories about the person. We show them photos of the person and how we met them. These things give credibility to our claim that we really know this person. John gave

By Brent Moore Pastor to Adults, First Baptist Church, Clarksville Focal Passage: Malachi 3:1-7, 16-18; 4:1-2 God always has a plan. That is a good thing because I have a hard time trying to figure the plan out. It seems like the unrighteous prosper, the shady characters in this world get away with things that are not right, the oppressed are even more oppressed. The truths in Malachi speak to this

By Brent Moore Pastor to Adults, First Baptist Church, Clarksville Focal Passage: Malachi 2:10-17 I am not part of a generation where one can count on another to keep their word. In fact, I do not think the previous generation was much better. I have heard stories about a former age relying on handshakes and a good look in the eye to get business done, but it seems like a long

By Jay McCluskey Pastor, North Cleveland Baptist Church, Cleveland Focal Passage: Galatians 5:13-15, 6:1-5, 10 “Liberty is being free from the things we do not like, in order to be slaves to the things we do like.” — Ernest Bean In Galatians, Paul calls on believers to celebrate their freedom from the legalistic path prescribed by the Old Testament laws. In this passage he describes a high and noble use of this

By Brent Moore Pastor to Adults, First Baptist Church, Clarksville Focal Passage: Haggai 1:1-11; 2:5-9 It is so hard to do what you are told when you want something else. Kids have a hard time obeying their parents when they really want the new toy. Husbands have a hard time fixing the leaky faucet when their truck needs to be washed. All of us tend to believe our own excuses for

By Brent Moore Pastor to Adults, First Baptist Church, Clarksville Focal Passage: Habakkuk 3:1-6, 11-13, 16-19 Habakkuk comes to terms with God doing what He wants to do in the world. At one level Habakkuk’s problem is a human problem. We want to be God and we want to be in control. However, God is His own interpreter and orchestrator of His work. God has creator rights and that includes judgment

By Brent Moore Pastor to Adults, First Baptist Church, Clarksville Focal Passage: Habakkuk 1:1-6, 12-13; 2:1-4 Have you ever found yourself in a situation you thought was bad, and suddenly you hear it is going to get worse? Maybe it was a sickness turned deadly. Maybe you discovered the job is about to be “phased out.” Maybe your troubled kid turns up in jail. Whatever the predicament is, the outlook is

By Brent Moore Pastor to Adults, First Baptist Church, Clarksville Focal Passage: Zechariah 13:1-9 Have you ever found yourself in a place hazardous to your health? Maybe it is an unsafe neighborhood, an emotionally unhealthy job, or just someplace you feel you are in imminent physical danger. Then you in some small way can identify with the false prophets in Zechariah’s day. God was cleansing the house of David from sin

By Brent Moore Pastor to Adults, First Baptist Church, Clarksville Focal Passage: Luke 24:19-35 Many people have experienced the anticipation of waiting for something. As a child I did not receive presents at just any time. I had to wait for either my birthday or Christmas for something I wanted. Being a young one this seemed like eternity. As an adult I have also experienced the longings for a certain job