Advancing Word Podcast

A “changed life” is the standard and bar to which every child of God must by grace assent and ascend to.  It requires commitment, courage and consistency.  These characteristics are in short supply in the contemporary church.  In Part 2 of this series, based on Galatians 2:20, the “changed life” is viewed through the lens of surrender.  The Christian life is not about dying but about letting Jesus live in and through us!

The Apostle Paul’s compelling affirmation about the spiritual life in the Book of Galatians, Chapter 2, verse 20 is formative, informative and transformative.  In the first of a three-part sermon series focused on “The Power of the Changed Life,” Dr. T. D. Stubblefield explores the first implication of this pivotal passage in the Word of God for believers today.  The “changed life is a sacrificed life.” 

What makes the church so special?  This question is implicit in the Apostle Peter’s compelling commendation of the church in Chapter 2, verses 9-10 of his first epistle.  The question is still relevant considering the increasing pressure on the contemporary church from within and from without to cave, compromise, and capitulate to a secular culture.  This sermon exposes the movements in the text that is pivotal and primary in this ongoing challenge by providing three key responses to the question, “What makes the church so special?” 

In Psalm 73 Asaph, a worship leader in the Temple during the reign of King David experienced a crisis of faith as he observed around him "the prosperity of the wicked".  When he worshipped, he faced his crisis, found clarity, and framed a confession of his renewed faith in God.  His experience still provides insight for the uptight.  

While pursuing perfection, the Apostle Paul was in a war. The battleground was within him, and the adversaries were the flesh and the spirit.  For those who are struggling with sin today, we learn from Paul’s words and experience that, we cannot win the war with human reason, resolve or resources but only with and through the Heavenly Redeemer, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Book of Acts, Chapter Three, verses 1 – 10 is relevant to anyone who occupies residence, domicile, territory, and hiatus in holy places.  The primary character in this narrative had settled on the premises.  Yet, when his story concludes, he is standing on the promises.  Dr. T. D. Stubblefield has preached all around our country and abroad.  In this classic sermon preached during revival at the Colossians Baptist Church in Newport News, VA, he shares how this man moves from settling to standing!     

In Chapter Three of the Book of Daniel, the primary characters, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, did not make a purchase at a clearance sale or in a bargain basement but transacted the business of their faith under the most difficult and deadly of circumstances.  They embraced the “high cost of standing.” Their courage, commitment and confidence are an inspiration to every generation of believers.  They stood up, stood in and stood out!  We can too!    

In Psalm Fifty-five, stanza 22, King David laments the suffering and disappointment that he experienced because of his son Absalom’s attempt to usurp the throne and from the betrayal by a close advisor and friend.  Yet David expressed his personal, persistent and profound faith in God who can handle every demanding situation we face in life.  In this moving passage and its larger context, David offers timeless and relevant encouragement to each of us.  This sermon tells us how.  

During the 225th Anniversary Celebration of the Historic Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, Dr. T. D. Stubblefield parses powerfully and passionately the Risen Lord’s commendation of the Church of Smyrna recorded in Chapter Two, verse 10 of the Book of Revelation.  While doing so, in this memorable message he exposes and explains the three characteristics of "the kind of church the Lord blesses".  

Chapter Eleven of the Gospel of Matthew begins with an exceptional interrogation by the John the Baptist but ends with an exclusive invitation in verse 28 by the One whose mission, ministry and message that John seemed to momentarily question.  This invitation should not be so easily dismissed or discarded.  On the one hand, to do so would forfeit an unparalleled opportunity for love, joy, peace and happiness now and in eternity.  On the other hand, ignoring it could place and plunge one’s life into extreme jeopardy or eternal danger.  This sermon explores the characteristics of this “exclusive invitation.”