Evangelist Kenny Evans
Entertainer in Pigeon Forge, TN
"Country Tonight Theatre"

Leading Worship at HBC Sunday, January 26 in both the 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. services. Invite a friend and join us!

"Forgiven and Forgiving" Colossians 3:12-14, Sermon Text for Sunday, January 19, 2014

This past week we discovered from Psalm 51 the way and wonder of being forgiven by God. Although sin robs us of the joy of God’s salvation, when we respond to God with a “broken and contrite heart,” God creates in us a “pure heart” and brings back the joy.

This Sunday (January 19, 2014) we will continue the theme of forgiveness but now we will look at forgiveness on the horizontal level, between one another. Based on Colossians 3:12-14, as “God’s chosen people” we are to “forgive as the Lord forgave” us (Col. 2:13). I should warn you. This message will be a little uncomfortable and unsettling to people who want to coddle their grudges and past offenses like a well-worn security blanket. However, if you’re ready to be healed, if you’re ready to be free, if you’re ready to leave behind your old baggage, then I invite you to share in the liberating experiencing of being “Forgiven and Forgiving.”

“For His Glory!”
Pastor Joe

Here's the Text of Colossians 3:12-14, NIV (1984)
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Sunday, January 12, 2014 Sermon Text (Psalm 51)

It's hard to embrace God's limitless future when your stuck in the past. Don't drag your old baggage into your new future! This week's sermon (Psalm 51) has quite a bit to say about moving beyond your past and embracing the joy of God's salvation. Join us as we discover together the wonderful power of forgiveness.

See you this Sunday as we worship the living God!
Pastor Joe

Psalm 51, New International Version

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
    you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
    to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
    in burnt offerings offered whole;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

"Christmas 2.0: What the Second Advent of Jesus Means Now and Then"

“Christmas 2.0” What the Second Advent of Jesus Means Now and Then
We schedule our life’s activities by some type of calendar: civic, school, family, etc. Advent, and Christmas are part of the Christian Church Year which is actually a calendar for the worship life of the church. This historical calendar has been used as a way for the church to remember “the story of Jesus” by marking time around Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. For instance, we celebrate Christ’s birth on Christmas, remember Christ’s death on Good Friday, sing of the resurrection on Easter Sunday, and speak of the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost.

The church year begins with The Season of Advent, the four Sundays before Christmas. Advent means “coming.” In the season of Advent, we focus on the coming of Christ into the world (past), in our hearts (present), and the “second coming” (future). That’s why we can sing, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” Joy to the World! The Lord Is Come,” and “Soon and Very Soon,” all during Advent.

In this series of sermons titled, “Christmas 2.0” we will focus on the second advent or coming of Jesus. What does that mean for us now and what will it mean then? We will look at the second advent of Jesus from the following perspectives:

December 1 -- How Will Jesus Come Again? Matthew 24:29-31
December 8 -- When Will Jesus Come Again? Matthew 24:36-44
December 15 -- What Will Happen When Jesus Comes Again? Matthew 25:31-46
December 22 -- Why Will Jesus Come Again? Revelation 21:1-7

For His Glory!
Pastor Joe

Sunday's Sermon Text, November 10, 2013 (Ephesians 6:10-18)

 This Sunday I will conclude a series of messages from the book of Ephesians. Join us for life-changing worship!

For His Glory!
Pastor Joe

This week's text is . . .
Ephesians 6:10-18, New International Version (NIV)

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Sunday, November 3, 2013 Sermon Text (Ephesians 5:21-6:9)

Our Sunday morning study of the book of Ephesians will soon be coming to a close. There are two passages of Scripture remaining that we will look at. This Sunday we will be examining our relationships in light of the Christian life. I can think of nothing more important for us to study for life is all about relationships. Come discover what God has to say that will help you in your relationships at home and at work.

For His Glory!
Pastor Joe

Ephesians 5:21-6:9, New International Version (NIV)

Instructions for Christian Households

21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

Reformation Sunday, October 27, 2013!

This Sunday, October 27, 2013 is Reformation Sunday!
On this day we commemorate one of the most important days in church history. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses (or statements of faith) on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, sparking the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation has had a tremendous impact on our beliefs and convictions today. Our belief that the Bible alone is our sole authority, that salvation is by faith alone by grace alone, that our worship should be governed by Scripture and not by tradition, that God alone should be glorified for He alone is worthy of worship, these are just a few of the important beliefs that men and woman fought for and died for during the Protestant Reformation.

Of the major leaders of the Protestant Reformation (e.g., Luther, Calvin, and Knox), Huldrych Zwingli may be the least famous, yet Zwingli played a very influential role in the beginning of the Reformation in Zurich, Switzerland. A courageous reformer, he confronted falsehood and superstition and challenged people to give their total allegiance to God by forsaking worthless idols and being undivided in their loyalty to God.

This Sunday I will provide a brief sketch of Zwingli's life and contribution to the Protestant Reformation, and I will share some thoughts from 2 Timothy 2:1-4, On Being Bold Soldiers for the Lord.


2 Timothy 2:1-4, New King James Version (NKJV)

1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.


For His Glory!
Pastor Joe