November/December 2023

God's Call

December 31, 2023 • Dr. Dallas Bivins • Acts 13:1–5

The Christmas Child

December 24, 2023 • Ed Eddingfield • Luke 2:1–7

It is Christmas! What a fantastic blessing to be able to celebrate the Greatest Gift ever given: Jesus! He didn’t come like you might expect though. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon. He didn’t wear the crown of a king. He wasn’t born into privilege. His parents weren’t all that famous…they were more likely scandalous (by reputation, not reality). Jesus came differently than most expected, for He had a different mission to accomplish. Today we will see some of that significance as we read the story about the Original Christmas Child!

Guess What!?

December 17, 2023 • Ed Eddingfield • Luke 1:26–38

Guess What!? Do those words scare you or excite you? Sometimes they are followed with great joy: “Guess what! I just got a promotion!” Sometimes they are followed with great disappointment: “Guess what…I just lost my job.” Mary the Mother of Jesus had a “Guess What” moment with the angel Gabriel. “Guess what! You are going to have a baby! His Name will be Jesus!”

Father Abraham Had Many Sons... 🎵

December 10, 2023 • Ed Eddingfield • Romans 4:9–25

The title of my sermon comes from a song that I sing with our school kids often: “Father Abraham”. “[He] had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham, I am one of them, and so are you. Let’s all praise the Lord!” I don’t think that song meant more to me than it did this week as I studied. For those of us who are living by faith, we are descendants of Abraham. Our faith can be made complete; Abraham had faith in a Savior he hoped for – we may have faith in a Savior we know! Are you a son or daughter of faith?

Sola Gratia (By Grace Alone)

December 3, 2023 • Ed Eddingfield • Romans 3:27–31, Romans 4:1–5

Just over 500 years ago the church affirmed, against the Roman authorities, the Scriptural basis of salvation. While Baptists were already preaching the Bible and salvation through Jesus, this affirmation became a huge turning point in Christian worship and practice. Today we continue to study one of the passages that led to a reaffirmation of biblical salvation through grace alone. Sola Gratia, By Grace Alone, became one of 5 pillars of the Protestant movement to point people back to Scripture and to glorify God for the work He did to save us!

Finally, the Answer!

November 26, 2023 • Ed Eddingfield • Romans 3:21–26

Have you ever taken a test that you didn’t study for? Have you ever studied for a test only to fail? Have you ever memorized a name at church only to panic and forget it as you stand in front of them at church the next week??? (I feel your pain). The horror of not having the answers is real. But…isn’t there a great sense of relief when you finally get it? Today we see God’s answer, THE Answer, to our biggest need. Want to guess who it is?

Shut Thy Mouth; Bend Thy Knee!

November 19, 2023 • Ed Eddingfield • Romans 3:1–20

But Maaawwwwm! Danny did it! He pushed me first! She made me do it! They are looking at me! We all know what it is like to make excuses and we have all heard them. It is always someone else’s fault. What about with God? Can it ever be God’s fault? Can God ever be unfair? Paul challenges the excuses that keep us from salvation in our text today by reminding us to “Shut Thy Mouth and Bend Thy Knee!”

Praise Him, Praise Him!

November 12, 2023 • Ed Eddingfield • Romans 2:17–19

“Praise Him, Praise Him! Jesus Our Blessed Redeemer.” What a great song. What an even better idea! Jesus is worthy of our praise and worship! Not only that, but we are going to learn today that we should not only praise Him, but we can be His praise. Does your life praise Jesus? Do you live for His glory? Let’s study the Word today to see how we can live to praise Him!

Meeting the Standard

November 5, 2023 • Ed Eddingfield • Romans 2:12–17

I assume that most know what it means to get an “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, or “F” on an assignment. For our little kids, perhaps a smiley face or a frowny face? For some of us – we want the “A”. A “B+” feels like failure – we must make the grade! For others, a “D” is still passing. While a 4.0 grade point average might be “perfect”, it doesn’t mean that you did perfectly on every assignment. What if that is what it took? Now, that would be impressive—but it would also be unlikely. That is the standard with God—perfection. Today we will see how we can all meet the standard of God!