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 Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: Matthew 5:21-26 Conflict is a word that most of us do not like hearing, but for some they enjoy being in the middle of it. Conflict is something that keeps me up at night. I do not like having it anywhere around me! As a believer in Christ there are people all around us watching to see how we
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 Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: Matthew 5:13-20 Influence, we all have it, but some of us need to use it in a better more godly way! As humans we are easily influenced. Why do you think that companies will spend millions of dollars next week on commercials during the Super Bowl? We want to look and act like others! We have to have the
By Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: Matthew 5:1-12 When someone looks at you, what do they see. Do they see a person who has walked through life leaning on and trusting in God? Or do they see a person that has tried to walk through life all alone? A person looking at us should see God in us, and that is hard for some believers.
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 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 9:35-38; 10:1-8 (NKJV) I think all of us at some point in time
By Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: Matthew 5:21-26 Conflict is a word that most of us do not like hearing,
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
By Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: Matthew 5:13-20 Influence, we all have it, but some of us need to use
By Michael Crandall Senior Pastor, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Dyersburg Focal Passage: Matthew 5:1-12 When someone looks at you, what do they see. Do they see
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
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?