Pilgrim Baptist Church

⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • October 29, 2026. 🎤 Guest Pastor Melvin Daniel, pastor of Albany Independent Baptist Church unpacks 2 Corinthians 4:1-4 in this message titled: Blinded By. ⛪ About Pilgrim Baptist Church: We're a family integrated church in Cookeville, Tennessee where families worship together under verse-by-verse expository preaching from the King James Bible. At Pilgrim, we believe in serious teaching for strong families built on biblical authority. Most of our sermons are verse-by-verse exposition through entire books of the Bible, systematically working through God's Word so believers understand Scripture in its full context. Families worship together. No entertainment. No shortcuts. Just faithful, verse-by-verse Bible teaching that transforms families. 🔔 Subscribe for weekly expository preaching through books of the Bible 📍 Visit Pilgrim Baptist Church: 170 4th Ave, Cookeville, TN 38506 Sunday Services: - 10:00 AM — Family Integrated Sunday School - 11:00 AM — Morning Worship - 2:00 PM — Afternoon Service & Prayer Meeting Thursday Service: - 6:00 PM — Midweek Bible Study 🌐 Learn More: pilgrimbaptist.church ✉️ Contact Pastor Fortunato: [email protected] 📞 Call: 931-219-2224 Plan your visit: pilgrimbaptist.church/plan-your-visit

What does "6 7" mean? Everyone's saying it. Few ask who it belongs to. A Christian sermon on the six seven trend through seven Bible verses. This KJV sermon for teens and young adults takes the viral "six seven" trend to the Bible and asks a better question than "what does 6 7 mean?" It asks who was already standing at every 6:7 in Scripture. If you've wondered how a Christian should respond to the 6 7 meme, internet slang, and the phrases everyone repeats without thinking, this message is for you. Slang is not the sin. The question is who you are serving when you say it. In this camp meeting message, we walk through seven passages (Exodus 6:7, Deuteronomy 6:7, Matthew 6:7, Galatians 6:7, Genesis 6:7, Isaiah 6:7 and Mark 6:7) and show how the same words can come out of two mouths and belong to two different masters. Teens, you will hear what Jesus meant by "vain repetitions," why the devil quoting Scripture matters, and why words like GOAT, "blessed," "believe," and "OMG" deserve a second look. You will get three questions to ask before you repeat any trend, and you will see what God did for a man with unclean lips. This sermon walks through: - Exodus 6:7 — God claimed you before the culture labeled you - Deuteronomy 6:7 — Your phone took God's plan and put it in your pocket - Matthew 6:7 — Vain repetition vs. Jesus praying the same words in Gethsemane - Same words, different master — Lord Lord, the sons of Sceva, and the devil quoting Scripture - Words you already use — GOAT, #blessed, "believe," "OMG" - Three questions to ask before you repeat any phrase (1 John 4:1)

Daniel 1:8 — Should Christians celebrate Halloween? Is church trunk-or-treat harmless? A Bible answer for parents from Daniel 1. This expository preaching message from Daniel 1 answers the question every Christian parent faces each October: should Christians celebrate Halloween? Pastor Fortunato doesn't hand you a list of rules. He walks you through what Babylon did to Daniel (took his home, his schooling, his food, and his name) and shows why "it's just candy" misses the point. The trouble was never the candy. The trouble is the table. If you've been asking whether a church trunk-or-treat is any different, whether it matters where Halloween started, or how to say no without being unkind or raising a legalist, this message was preached for you. It is a family integrated church sermon, so children and parents were in the room together. Daniel purposed in his heart before the table was ever set, and this message shows how to help your children do the same. This verse-by-verse KJV sermon walks through Daniel 1, 2 Kings 18, and 1 Corinthians 10, explaining: - Why Babylon always starts with the young, and wants the best of them - Why Babylon took the holy vessels and what that says about trunk-or-treat - Why it doesn't matter where a thing started, only what is burning in front of it (Hezekiah and Nehushtan) - Why Babylon gives new names, and what children say when they answer the door in costume - What "the idol is nothing" actually means in 1 Corinthians 10, and why the table is still the table - How Daniel said no with kindness, courtesy, and care for the man in charge, without legalism - How to train children to pass up the king's table

John 12:1-8 — Mary poured a year's wages on Jesus' feet, and the disciples called it waste. Jesus said, "Let her alone." Here's why. This expository preaching message through John 12:1-8 takes you to the supper in Bethany, six days before the Passover, where Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus with a pound of spikenard. Worth about 300 pence, a year's wages, it was poured out while Judas called it waste. If you've ever been criticized for giving too much to the Lord, or wondered what it means to pour out your best on Jesus, this message is for you. Everyone at that table was under orders to turn Jesus in. Lazarus, four days in the grave, was passing the bread. Mary said nothing, and Jesus spoke for her. Judas, the thief with the bag, walked out smelling like Mary's worship and went to the chief priests. Pastor Fortunato connects the supper to Matthew 26, Mark 14, 1 Corinthians 11, Ecclesiastes 7, John 19, Luke 23–24, Deuteronomy 15 and 2 Corinthians 8. This sermon on Mary anointing Jesus explains: - Why every man at the feast was under orders to turn Jesus in (John 11:56-57) - Why Lazarus, raised from the dead, sat at the table and ate - What a pound of spikenard cost, and why it equals a year of wages - How John's "feet" and Matthew's "head" are both true, and Jesus' own word "body" (Matthew 26:12) - Why Mary's hair is her glory and her covering (1 Corinthians 11:15) - How Judas the thief, introduced in John 10, shows up at the table with a bag and a price - Why Mary was anointing Jesus "against the day of my burying," and why the women came to the tomb with spices - How "the poor always ye have with you" echoes Deuteronomy 15 and 2 Corinthians 8

3 John 7-8 — Not every Christian is called to the mission field. But if you stay, you owe the ones who go. What the Bible says about supporting missionaries. This expository preaching message through 3 John 7-8 is for the Christian who will never board a plane for the mission field. Most of us will be right here next Thursday. John wrote these two verses for us. Some men went forth for His name's sake, taking nothing of the Gentiles. Someone still had to buy the bread. John says, "We therefore ought." This is a sermon on supporting missionaries, and on what God says the ones who stay owe to the ones who go. If you've ever said, "I just give when I feel led," this message will press on that. Nobody waits to feel led when the light bill comes in. The Bible uses the word "ought," and ought means owe. Calvary paid your sin debt in full. It also put you in debt to a lost world that needs the gospel. Supporting missionaries is how a church that stays home pays that debt. Pastor Fortunato traces "for his name's sake" from 1 John 2:12 to 3 John 7. The name that forgave you is the reason men go out. He shows why John calls givers "fellowhelpers," not helpers: a helper works for you, and a fellow helper works with you. Then come the unnamed disciples who lowered Paul over the Damascus wall in a basket. If they had let go, there would be no Romans and no Galatians. The sermon closes at the brook Besor in 1 Samuel 30, where David made it a law in Israel that the man who stays by the stuff shares alike with the man who goes to battle. This verse-by-verse sermon walks through 3 John 7-8, explaining: - Why these verses are written to the Christians who stay, not the ones who go

Proverbs 9:1-3 — Wisdom already built the house, killed the meat, and set the table. You can't earn a seat at a table that's already set. This expository preaching message through Proverbs 9:1-3 shows that Wisdom has built the house, hewn the seven pillars, killed the beasts, mingled the wine, and furnished the table before she says a word. If you've been trying to earn your way to God, this message on salvation by grace, not works, is for you. The sermon follows Joseph's brothers to Egypt with double money, a jar of honey, and a bag of almonds, and finds that their bill was paid before they left home. Some of us still walk into the house of God with our hands full. This Proverbs 9 sermon shows why every verb in Wisdom's list belongs to her, why the call comes last, and why you can leave the double money at home. Wisdom has a name. Paul calls Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God, and at the cross He said "It is finished" and sent out the call: come, for all things are now ready. This expository sermon walks through Proverbs 9:1-3, Genesis 42-43, Matthew 22, and 1 Corinthians 1, explaining: - Why Proverbs 9:1-3 says "she hath" six times: the work is finished before the call - What "builded her house" means: a house, not a tent - Why the seven pillars were hewn by hand, and what they cost - Why "she hath killed her beasts": nobody gets a plate of meat until something died - Why no verb in the list belongs to the guest - How Joseph's brothers show what it looks like to try to pay for a gift - Why the hardest thing to believe is that you don't have to provide anything - Why Wisdom cries "upon the highest places of the city" above the noise

Genesis 2:15 — Is work a curse? No. A biblical work ethic starts in the garden, before sin, and it's how God usually provides for us. This family integrated church Sunday school lesson answers the question "what does the Bible say about work?" Last week we learned it all belongs to God. This week we learn how God usually puts it in our hands: He gives us work. The lesson shows from Scripture that work was God's idea before sin, that the ground was cursed and not the work, and that a biblical work ethic protects us, provides for our families, and gives us something to share. If you've ever thought of work as a punishment from the fall, this lesson will change that. It speaks to fathers and mothers, to young people working through chores and schoolwork, and to anyone wondering why a full day of honest work is a blessing. Children participate throughout, reading Scripture aloud and joining an object lesson on the difference between talking about work and actually doing it. The lesson walks through Genesis 2 and 3, Ezekiel 16, Exodus 20, Proverbs 14, Colossians 3, 2 Thessalonians 3 and Ephesians 4, explaining: - Why work was God's good design before the fall (Genesis 2:15) - Why God cursed the ground, not the work (Genesis 3:17-19) - How hard work protects us from "fullness of bread" and "abundance of idleness" (Ezekiel 16:49) - What God's six-day pattern teaches about laziness and overwork (Exodus 20:9) - Why a willingness to work is a heart check for children and for marriage - What "profit" means in Proverbs 14:23, and why talk leads only to penury - Why we work heartily, as to the Lord (Colossians 3:23) - Paul's example, difference between "could not" and "would not"

John 11:45-57 — The Pharisees watched Lazarus walk out of the grave and plotted to kill Jesus. You can believe the miracles and still be lost. This expository preaching message through John 11:45-57 follows the chief priests and Pharisees into the council room after Lazarus is raised. They admit "this man doeth many miracles," and then plot to kill Jesus anyway. We walk through the plot to kill Jesus, the Caiaphas prophecy ("one man should die for the people"), and what it means to believe on the Miracle Worker, not just in the miracles. Every person in a room like this asks one of two questions: the council's question ("What do we do with Jesus?") or the Philippian jailer's ("What must I do to be saved?"). If you've believed in the miracles for years but have never trusted Christ Himself, this message was preached for you. Caiaphas meant his words for politics, but God meant them for pardon, and the sermon shows how God turned the worst thing men ever did into the best gift heaven ever gave. This expository sermon walks through John 11:45-57, 2 Corinthians 2, Isaiah 45, Luke 16, John 12, and Hebrews 2, explaining: - Why some at Bethany believed and others ran to the Pharisees (John 11:45-46; 2 Corinthians 2:15-16) - Why the council believed in the miracles but would not believe on the Miracle Worker (v47) - The council's question versus the Philippian jailer's question - Why clay that fights the potter never wins (Isaiah 45:9) - Why the leaders tried to kill Lazarus after he was raised (John 12:10; Luke 16) - What Caiaphas meant by "expedient," and what God meant by it (v49-52) - How a wicked high priest prophesied the gospel without knowing it - Why Jesus withdrew

3 John 5-6 — Christian hospitality is faithfulness with your sleeves rolled up. Somebody is about to knock on your door. Who answers? This expository preaching message through 3 John 5-6 puts two men side by side: Gaius, who opened his door to traveling preachers, and Diotrephes, who shut his and stood guard at the church house. Same preachers, same night, two different doors. If you've wondered what Christian hospitality actually looks like, or how to support missionaries and God's servants in a way that pleases the Lord, this sermon walks through exactly what John commended. John never called Gaius generous or gifted. He called him faithful. That one word reshapes how we think about serving the brethren and entertaining strangers. Your door might be a front door, a kitchen table, or a checkbook, but sooner or later the Lord's people will knock on it. This message is for the believer who punches a clock and thinks he has nothing to give, and for the family that has never had the visiting couple over for supper. John writes that Gaius brought the brethren forward on their journey "after a godly sort." This sermon explains what that phrase means, why God's servants don't get our leftovers, and how Christ Himself took us in as strangers and made us sons. This expository sermon walks through 3 John 5-7, Matthew 10, Titus 3, Genesis 14, Philippians 4 and Ephesians 2, explaining: - Why John calls Gaius faithful, not generous or gifted - What a faithful man does: he believes God, obeys God, loves the brethren, and finishes what he starts - Why your ordinary paycheck is a supply line for the gospel - Why "and to strangers" is the hard part of verse 5

John 11:38-44 — Lazarus raised from the dead after four days. Martha said it was too late. Jesus didn't argue. He shouted. This sermon on Lazarus raised from the dead walks through John 11:38-44, the moment Jesus stands at a sealed grave and a grieving sister tells Him it's too late. If you've ever wondered why God seems late, or felt like your situation has an expiration date, this message is for you. This verse-by-verse expository preaching through John 11 shows what Jesus does with our objections: He doesn't argue. He gives us His word. Martha called Him Lord and still gave Him a deadline. We do the same. We trust God with heaven, but Wednesday afternoon is the problem, when the diagnosis, the phone call or the layoff comes. Jesus tells her, "Said I not unto thee," and then does what no man can do: He calls a four-day-dead man out of the grave by name. This message walks through John 11:38-44, explaining: - Why Jesus had the men roll away a stone He could have moved with a word - How grief renamed Martha "the sister of him that was dead" - Why we trust God with heaven but doubt Him on an ordinary Wednesday - Why Jesus answers our objections with His word instead of arguments - Why Jesus prayed out loud at the grave, and what Elijah on Mount Carmel has to do with it - How "Lazarus, come forth" ties back to the Good Shepherd calling His sheep by name in John 10 - Why a believer who dies only "changes pastures" and never changes shepherds - How the same voice will empty every grave at the coming of Christ - Why Jesus says "Loose him, and let him go," and what the church owes new believers