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In Week 8 of the series,"Nehemiah: Beyond The Walls," Brian Smith uses Nehemiah chapter six to illustrate how the spiritual enemy relies on tactical strategies—specifically distraction, discouragement, and deception—to prevent believers from building meaningful lives centered on God. Just as Nehemiah faced external enemies attempting to halt the completion of Jerusalem's city gates, modern believe...

In Week 7 of the series,"Nehemiah: Beyond The Walls," Senior Pastor Jimmy Carter uses the account of economic exploitation and internal crisis in Nehemiah 5—alongside the tragic modern parallel of NFL player Pat Tillman's death by friendly fire—to illustrate how internal disunity is the greatest threat to God’s mission. Entitling his message "Avoiding Friendly Fire," he emphasizes that internal fr...

In Week 6 of the series, "Nehemiah: Beyond The Walls," Senior Pastor Jimmy Carter utilizes the text of Nehemiah 4 to delineate the core characteristics of faithful fatherhood on Father's Day. Drawing a parallel between Nehemiah’s builders—who worked with a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other—and his own coal-miner father from Harlan County, Kentucky, who diligently protected his elaborate c...

In Week 5 of the series, "Nehemiah: Beyond The Walls," Pastor Jimmy Carter explores the theme of discouragement, outlining its three common sources: criticism from others, internal fatigue, and fear of hypothetical future events. He emphasizes that while discouragement is an inevitable part of living in a fallen world, it does not have to define us; rather, our response to it shapes our character....

In Week 4 of the series, "Nehemiah: Beyond The Walls," Pastor Jimmy Carter challenges the congregation to transition from a scattered collection of individual agendas to a unified, mission-focused family. By contrasting the singular alignment of an aircraft carrier with the fragmented activity of recreational lake boats, he emphasizes that a church becomes truly unstoppable when everyday work is e...

In Week 3 of the series,"Nehemiah: Beyond The Walls," Pastor Jimmy Carter draws a parallel to his college years at the University of Kentucky—where a failing football program was completely turned around by the vision of a new head coach—Jimmy transitions into a message based on Nehemiah 2:11–20 titled "Vision That Transforms." He emphasizes that a truly transformative, God-given vision must be gr...

In week 2 of the series, "Nehemiah: Beyond The Walls," Brian Smith emphasizes that while identifying brokenness and problems is easy, true transformation requires taking personal ownership. He illustrates this by sharing a lighthearted story about his own broken trash can, a real-life update on launching a new young adult ministry at his church, and a tragic account of a drowning in California whe...

In Week 1 of the series,"Nehemiah: Beyond The Walls" Pastor Jimmy uses the biblical story of Nehemiah to challenge the congregation of Dunwoody Baptist Church to move from passive observers of societal brokenness to active, empathetic burden bearers. Sharing personal illustrations—ranging from a sobering military simulation at Fort Knox that revealed the true weight of responsibility, to his famil...

In Week 5 of the series, "Teach Us To Pray," Bridgette highlights the transformative power of combining prayer with fasting to seek Spiritual guidance, using the biblical story of Esther as a primary example. She explains how Esther and Mordecai transitioned from panic to purposeful action through communal fasting, eventually aligning with God’s plan to save the Jewish people from annihilation. Sh...

In Week 4 of the series titled "Teach Us to Pray," Pastor Jimmy shares a vulnerable account of his own spiritual transformation, moving from a place of deep personal resentment toward a college teammate to understanding the radical requirements of Christian grace. Drawing from Luke 6:27–36, Jimmy explains that loving those who mistreat us is not a call to endure abuse, but a mandate to reflect the...

In week 3 of the series,"Teach Us To Pray", Using the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6 as a guide, Pastor Jimmy Carter outlined three pillars for a healthy spiritual life: childlike affection (approaching God as a loving "Abba" or Father), Christ-centered direction (surrendering one's will and relying on Him for daily needs), and Holy Spirit protection (seeking grace to resist temptation and evil). He...

In week two of the series,"Teach Us To Pray," Brian Smith, Young Adults and Teaching Pastor, explores the theme of how to pray when we have made a mess of our own lives. He uses the narrative of King David in 2nd Samuel , tracing David's journey from a "man after God’s own heart" to a man who committed adultery with Bathsheba and orchestrated the murder of Uriah. Brian emphasizes that while we oft...

In week 1 of the series, "Teach Us To Pray" Pastor Jimmy Carter shares a message centered on the persistence of prayer, using his daughter’s journey as a collegiate golfer and the teachings of Luke 11 to illustrate his point. He acknowledges the common frustration of feeling like God is silent, but he encourages the congregation to move from polite requests to "shameless boldness," arguing that if...

In this Easter message, Jimmy Carter uses the narrative of Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb to illustrate how the hope of the resurrection can liberate individuals from the "prisons" of grief, debt, illness, and despair. Drawing a parallel to the film The Shawshank Redemption , Jimmy emphasizes that while life often feels like an incarceration of unpleasant circumstances, the risen Christ meets be...

In week 2 of the Easter series,"The Road that leads home," Jimmy Carter challenges us to "Make Room for Miracles." Drawing from a personal story about a cluttered basement that attracted pests, Jimmy uses the biblical account of Jesus clearing the temple in Mark 11 to illustrate how a "cluttered heart" can obstruct one's connection to God. He challenges the congregation to simplify their lives by...

In Week 1 of the Easter series titled, "The Road That Leads Home," Pastor Jimmy Carter speaks on, "You Are What You Love," emphasizing that our identity and direction in life are defined by our deepest affections. Drawing from the biblical account in John 12, Jimmy contrasts the radical, costly generosity of Mary—who anointed Jesus's feet with expensive perfume—with the prideful greed of Judas, il...

In Week 6 concluding the series, "The Life of Peter," Brian by examining the apostle’s final letters in Second Peter. He emphasizes that Peter, a "regular person" who experienced both miraculous faith and deep failure, wrote these instructions as his final legacy to ensure believers would lead impactful, fruitful lives. Brian uses the analogy of a failing pecan tree in his own yard—which looks hea...

In Week 5 of "The Life of Peter," Brian bridges the conclusion of The WKND with the ongoing "Life of Peter" sermon series to explore how to build a lasting spiritual legacy. Reflecting on Peter’s journey from a common fisherman to a bold apostle, Brian highlights that while faith often includes moments of failure and denial—much like Peter’s heartbreaking experience in the high priest's courtyard—...

In Week 4 of "The Life of Peter" series, Brian Smith reflects on the life of the Apostle Peter to illustrate how personal failure does not disqualify someone from their divine purpose. Brian connects his own recent vulnerability—recovering from a lost voice after a family trip—to Peter’s "soul-crushing" public denial of Jesus. He emphasizes that while the "sifting" process of life often brings us...

In Week 3 of "The Life of Peter" series, Brian explores the theme of identity and purpose through the life of Simon Peter, specifically focusing on the moment Simon recognizes Jesus as the true Messiah. Drawing a comparison to counterfeit products—like a "knockoff" soccer jersey with missing details—Brian warns that following a "counterfeit Jesus" (such as a self-help version, a mascot for persona...

Brian Smith continues the series on the life of Peter from Matthew 14. He emphasizes Peter’s relatability as an ordinary person who, despite his flaws, was willing to follow Jesus even at a high cost. Brian draws a parallel between physical hurricanes and the "personal storms" of life—such as illness, job loss, or broken relationships—noting that these trials are sometimes assignments from God or...

Pastor Jimmy Carter uses the metaphor of "drifting" versus "running" to challenge believers to pursue an intentional faith. Drawing from Hebrews 12:1–3, he reflects on his own return to his home church after a decade away, warning that spiritual drift is often subtle and unintentional, much like being pulled by an ocean current while distracted. To combat this, he outlines three essential actions:...

Student Pastor Brian Smith begins our new series on The Life of Peter. The Life of Peter is the story of an ordinary man who encountered an extraordinary Savior. From fishing boats to stormy seas, from bold faith to bitter failure, and from shame to restoration, Peter’s journey reminds us that God does not give up on broken people. This series explores how Jesus calls us, meets us in our weakness,...

In the Q&A portion of "Rekindle" with Kevin and Kerri Scarbrough, a wide range of topics related to prayer and spiritual life, beginning with a discussion on a potential longer, multi-day seminar to further develop a  culture of prayer  at the local church, moving beyond it being a mere "add-on" to services. The speakers and attendees emphasized that a life of prayer involves invitin...

In Session two of "Rekindle" Prayer Seminar, Kevin Scarbrough immediately shifted the focus from the concept of a reestablished personal "altar" to the essential, yet often-neglected, role of the Holy Spirit. Kevin emphasized that the Holy Spirit is the least desired person of the Trinity in Christian conversation, despite being the only member of the Godhead physically present on Earth and the ke...