Prepared
How God Prepares Us and Those to Whom He is Sending Us Introduction: One of the questions we’re sometimes asked is: What about those who have never heard? How can people go to hell without even having...
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Robbed!
Last week our TDF ministerial staff was targeted by a profession gang of thieves, surveilled, and robbed before we even knew it. The foul deed occurred at Imo’s Pizza at 1000 Hampton Avenue in St....
View ArticleAngelic Interventions in Acts
A Study of Acts 12 Introduction: Several years ago, I wrote a book on the subject of what the Bible has to say about angels. Recently we reformatted that book and have expanded it to include the...
View ArticleWhy We Do Missions
A Study of Acts 14 Introduction: Back in 1977, when I began pastoring Harris Memorial Church in Greeneville, Tennessee, I was a young pastor and didn’t much know what I was doing. But I knew I wanted...
View Article“It Seemed Good the the Holy Spirit and To Us…”
The Jerusalem Council: A Study of Acts 15 Introduction: From time to time, Christians have to get together and try to figure out things. Sometimes these have to do with our beliefs or with the...
View ArticleSupreme Lessons from Acts 16
Introduction: I don’t want to be drawn tonight into discussing last week’s Supreme Court decision, but it serves as a good introduction to our Bible study tonight. There’s a chilling article in Time...
View ArticleForgive Us Our Debts
The debt crisis in Greece reminds us that the whole world is in debt — and not just financial debt. We’re also drowning in spiritual debt — the debt of sin. How is “sin” like “debt”? In my recent...
View ArticleHow To Build a Great Church
A Study of Acts 19 In Acts 19, Paul traveled to the great city of Ephesus and planted a church, which arguably became the strongest church in the New Testament. Three of its first pastors were Paul,...
View ArticleThe Names of Satan Vs. The Name of Jesus
As I studied what the Bible had to say about good and evil angels for The Angel Answer Book, I was astonished at all the names given in Scripture to describe our enemy. The great fallen archangel...
View ArticleStories of Church Life
The Donelson Fellowship celebrated its 60th birthday today and we had a great celebration at our church. Since I’ve been there for 36 years, it was hard not to reminisce. Rather than sharing stories...
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Belling Out of the Pastorate
My first pastorate nearly killed me. Literally. Twice. It wasn’t the good people of Harris Memorial Church—they were wonderful. I’m forever indebted to them for supporting such a young and green...
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Lighting Up the World
Becoming a Brighter Person in the New Year Scripture: Proverbs 4:18-27: The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is...
View ArticleDestiny: Your Place in God’s Plan
Destiny: Your Place in God’s Plan: A Study of Jeremiah 1 In Star Wars, it’s the Force—the destiny that guides and empowers heroes toward their pre-appointed purposes. That’s a powerful idea in our...
View Article“And Wing My Words”
When Katrina and I started our pastoral work at Harris Memorial Church in rural Greeneville, Tennessee, I badly wanted to teach as well as preach (still do). I recall going through Paul’s letters to...
View ArticleJeremiah’s Seventy Years
In 605 B.C., the prophet Jeremiah predicted the nation of Judah would fall to the newly established Babylonian Empire. He predicted the city of Jerusalem and its temple would be destroyed, and he...
View ArticleChristians Who Don’t Amount to Much
This presidential election cycle has shown us how ego-driven human beings can be. Perhaps one can’t strive for elective office without incredible self-centeredness and raw ambition – few political...
View ArticleA Simple Sermon From James 5:1-11
Handling Money in the Last Days Introduction: The “Wall of Shame” in Lima, Peru is a concrete barrier that literally separates the rich from the poor. Lima has some of the poorest slums in the world,...
View ArticleJames 5:14: Should We Anoint the Sick With Oil?
Should Christians Be Anointed with Oil for Healing? James 5:14: Eight Things to Consider Many people have asked me if they should be anointed with oil when sick, as we’re told in James 5:14: “Is...
View ArticleWhy Do We Pray?
Why Should I Pray? A Simple Sermon from Psalm 86 Introduction (Verses 1-2): Why pray? Psalm 86 is packed with answers to that question. The Psalmist begins with his primary thesis in verses 1-2: Hear...
View ArticleFalling Down & Getting Up
A Study of the Transfiguration of Christ Matthew 17 Introduction: One night while driving home from St. Louis, I pulled off at a gas station. I was tired, and I when I resumed my trip I mistakenly...
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