Posts from December 2022

Who are you? It is such a simple yet profound question. How we identify ourselves is a confession of sorts. There are millions of connections, roles, achievements and failures, ideologies, and attributes by which we could describe our identity. How we define our identity gives insight to the way we see life and our place in it. The author of Hebrews writes to an audience who is practically struggling to answer this question. Rather than finding their identity in Jesus,…

Over the past several years, Matthew 1:1-16 has become one of my favorite passages of Scripture to study during Christmas. I must confess though, in the past I found this passage of Scripture to be quite boring. I used to see these verses as just a list of names I had to quickly read through in order to get to the “good stuff.” It wasn’t until I really began to appreciate the Old Testament that I began to appreciate the…

Thirty-three years ago, Tri-Cities Baptist Church launched as a new congregation in upper East Tennessee. One family that has been a part of this church body from those early beginnings is Gene and Gayle Mermilliod. Over the last three decades, Pastor Gene has served as a consistent, steady, and wise pastor of the flock. Gene has faithfully taught God’s Word, cared for God’s people, served the body of Christ globally, led our student ministry, served on our elder team, provided…

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care…