By Kenny Bruce Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis Focal Passage: I John 5:1-5, 11-13, 18-21 I John was written to provide believers an assurance of their salvation. That is why the word “know” is used over 35 times in this letter. Believers have a “know-so,” not a “hope-so” salvation. I. WE ARE CONQUERORS (I John 5:1-5) Because Jesus overcame the world (John 16:33), we have overcome the world
By Kenny Bruce Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis Focal Passage: I John 4:7-13, 19-21 God’s love is without limits. Not only should His love be shown to fellow Christians, but it should extend to all people around the world. I. THE PRIORITY OF GOD’S LOVE (vv. 7-10) God is love (v. 8). He loves the world so much that He sent His beloved Son to die for every
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Philippians 4:1-9 Joy in prayer. Joy of adversity. Joy through humility. Joy in knowing Jesus. Those are our first four lessons from the Bible’s “Joy Book,” Philippians. When the Apostle Paul wrote this joy-filled letter to his friends in Philippi, he was imprisoned in Rome for preaching the Gospel. Even though he was under house-arrest, he saw himself
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Philippians 3:8-21 Yogi Berra, famed baseball player, was known for his unique quips and quotes. One was “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” We chuckle over such lines, but in today’s text (Philippians 3:8-21), the writer/prisoner/apostle Paul speaks of several forks (or ‘crossroads’) along the way, telling which should be taken: • A personal
By Kenny Bruce Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis Focal Passage: I John 3:19-4:4 Our world is inundated with false teachers. We must walk in victory and remain vigilant in order to detect the difference between true and false teaching. I. VICTORY OVER CONDEMNATION (vv. 19-22) Because of our old nature, our hearts continue to condemn us even though God set us free from condemnation when we were saved
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Philippians 2:1-15 We’re studying Philippians, a wonderful ‘joy-book’ of the Bible. Written by the Apostle Paul while imprisoned for preaching the Gospel, this letter expresses how Paul found joy in the midst of adversity. A summary of chapter one might be ‘the difference between happiness and joy: Happiness depends on happenings. Joy depends on JESUS.’ That theme continues in
By Kenny Bruce Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis Focal Passage: I John 2:18-29 John is contrasting truth with falsehood by distinguishing a believer from an unbeliever. A believer is anchored in the truth that Jesus resides in Him and is coming again. An unbeliever denies the truth of Jesus and, therefore, is a “liar” (v. 22). He is described as an “antichrist” (vv. 18, 22). I. BELIEVERS KNOW
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Philippians 1:12-26 Nashville publisher Bob Benson was a great story teller. I remember him telling about a friend who was recovering from heart surgery. Bob asked him, “Brother, how’d you enjoy your heart attack?” His friend replied, “Enjoy it? What do you mean, man? It was awful!” Bob continued with questions, “Do you appreciate your wife more than you did?
By Kenny Bruce Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis Focal Passage: 1 John 2:3-11, 15-17 A Christian is a person who has a relationship with Jesus Christ. In 1 John 2, John gives us three tests so we can know for certain we have that relationship. (1) The test of obedience (vv. 3-6). Verse three assures us that if we keep His commands, we know Him. The word
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Philippians 1:1-11 I grew up singing hymns and ‘choruses’ like “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy — down in my heart.” We kids belted out those words with exuberance. I think the Apostle Paul would have joined us in singing exuberantly as he wrote one of the best “JOY-books” of all time, Philippians. Every lesson topic from this
By Kenny Bruce Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis Focal Passage: I John 5:1-5, 11-13, 18-21 I John was written to provide believers an
By Kenny Bruce Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis Focal Passage: I John 4:7-13, 19-21 God’s love is without limits. Not only should His
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Philippians 4:1-9 Joy in prayer. Joy of adversity. Joy through humility. Joy in
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Philippians 3:8-21 Yogi Berra, famed baseball player, was known for his unique quips and
By Kenny Bruce Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis Focal Passage: I John 3:19-4:4 Our world is inundated with false teachers. We must walk
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Philippians 2:1-15 We’re studying Philippians, a wonderful ‘joy-book’ of the Bible. Written by the
By Kenny Bruce Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis Focal Passage: I John 2:18-29 John is contrasting truth with falsehood by distinguishing a believer
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Philippians 1:12-26 Nashville publisher Bob Benson was a great story teller. I remember him telling
By Kenny Bruce Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis Focal Passage: 1 John 2:3-11, 15-17 A Christian is a person who has a
By Mike Dawson Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia Focal Passage: Philippians 1:1-11 I grew up singing hymns and ‘choruses’ like “I’ve got the joy,
