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 Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: Psalms 8:1-8 What does it mean to cherish something? The word cherish means that we hold something dear to us. When we think about cherishing something we often think about our children or grandchildren. Sometimes when we refer to childhood memories we think about those as a cherished memory, because we hold those thoughts so close to us. Have
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 Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: I Corinthians: 12:12-16, 21-22; I Peter 4:9-11 Are you ready to go to work? That was a question that I was grateful to hear, from the head of personnel of a local market. I was a broke college student, living on my own, and I really needed a job! So, when the head of personnel asked me if I
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
By Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: I Corinthians 12:4-11 What are gifts? Are gifts the things we wrapped up in shining paper or placed in a decorative bag or maybe gifts are the things we place beautiful bows on! Maybe gifts are the things we shared with others just a few weeks ago! And to answer the question we would have to say yes! Yes,
By Ray Luck Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Athens Focal Passage: Matthew 4:1-10 Temptation is a word that often causes us to shiver because of the connotation attached to it. John McArthur in his New Testament Commentary on I Corinthians says this about the word “temptation” found in I Corinthians 10:13. The basic meaning in Greek is simply to test or prove, and has no negative connotation. Whether it becomes
By Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: Ephesians 3:14-21 What is strength? How can we measure strength? What does strength look like? These are all questions that a person could ask. And on the surface these are questions that have simple answers. From a purely secular point of view, strength could be defined as the state of being strong. And if we look at it from
By Ray Luck Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Athens Focal Passage: Matthew 2:1-12 There is a song that is nearly always sung at Christmas time titled “We Three Kings of Orient Are.” The song assumes three kings based on the Scriptural fact that three gifts were presented to the baby Jesus (gold — royalty; frankincense — priestly role, and myrrh — a burial ointment). A pastor friend of mine, Bill
By Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: John 1:1-5, 9-14 Have you ever thought about what life would be like if you never married the person of your dreams or if you never had your children or grandchildren? At times when we think about things such as this, we wonder what life would be like! Now let me ask you this, think about your life before
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
By Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: Psalms 8:1-8 What does it mean to cherish something? The word cherish means that
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.
By Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: I Corinthians: 12:12-16, 21-22; I Peter 4:9-11 Are you ready to go to work?
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
By Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: I Corinthians 12:4-11 What are gifts? Are gifts the things we wrapped up in
By Ray Luck Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Athens Focal Passage: Matthew 4:1-10 Temptation is a word that often causes us to shiver because of
By Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: Ephesians 3:14-21 What is strength? How can we measure strength? What does strength look
By Ray Luck Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Athens Focal Passage: Matthew 2:1-12 There is a song that is nearly always sung at Christmas time
By Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: John 1:1-5, 9-14 Have you ever thought about what life would be like if
