Donelson First Podcast

Many Christians know they're saved but still feel spiritually stuck. In this message, we explore Jesus' promise of the abundant life found in John 10:10 and discover that following Christ is about more than simply securing eternity - it's about experiencing true life today. Learn two foundational truths that will help you see the world through a spiritual lens and embrace your identity in Christ a...

Have you ever prayed with all your heart... only to be met with silence? In Part 3 of the May I Ask a Question... Again? series, "The Silence of God," we wrestle with one of the hardest questions every believer eventually faces:  What do you do when God seems silent? Through the honest words of Psalm 13 and the testimony of Scripture, we discover that God's silence is not evidence of His absence....

Why does God allow suffering? Why do prayers sometimes go unanswered? And how do you trust God when life doesn't make sense? In Part 2 of May I Ask A Question... Again?, Senior Pastor Jeffrey Smith tackles some of the most difficult questions believers face. Through stories from Scripture—including Joseph, Paul, Job, and Jesus— you discover that suffering is rarely simple, God's purposes are often...

Is it okay to question God? Does He welcome our questions? What do we do when heaven seems silent? As we begin this summer series, Senior Pastor Jeffrey Smith lays a biblical foundation for navigating life's hardest questions. Discover why God is not threatened by your doubts, why His presence is greater than any explanation, and why faith often requires trusting Him even when answers do not come....

For the past several weeks, we have been asking a defining question as a church family: Who are we becoming? In this fourth and final Vision Sunday message, Senior Pastor Jeffrey Smith challenges Donelson First to move beyond inspiration and into obedience. Throughout Scripture, whenever God revealed His vision, He always expected a response. Noah built. Abraham went. Moses obeyed. The disciples l...

Together We Go reminded us that the future of the Church is never built by spectators. It is built by stewards. Over the past three weeks, we have talked about vision, discipleship, community, generosity, outreach, and the calling God has placed upon Donelson First to remain the light on the hill. But this week, Senior Pastor Jeffrey Smith challenged us with an important truth: "Vision without ste...

Senior Pastor Jeffrey Smith continues the Now We Go Vision Sunday series by answering a critical question for the Church: How do we actually go? Drawing from Ephesians 4, this message reveals that the mission of the Church was never designed to rest upon a few leaders, but upon an entire body of believers fully surrendered to Jesus Christ and fully engaged in His Kingdom work.  In this powerful an...

In Part 1 of the three-week Vision Sundays series, Pastor Jeffrey Smith challenges the Church to reject cultural compromise and rediscover the call to holiness, unity, and mission. "Now We Go" reflects on six years of revitalization at Donelson First while casting a bold vision for the future: reaching people, raising disciples, and sending leaders to live on mission for Christ. Through biblical c...

In the final message of Belonging: The Doctrine of Becoming Like Christ, we confront a defining question: What are we building - and why? James closes his letter by painting a picture of a healthy, thriving church - not perfect, but purposeful. A church that is: • Praying — where prayer is not a last resort, but a first instinct in both suffering and celebration • Honest — where confession replace...

Part 15, "Shine," centers on Epistle of James 2:8 and the "royal law" of love, emphasizing that true belonging in Christ is never abstract but visibly lived out. This message challenges believers to treat love not as a suggestion, but as a binding decree from the King - authoritative, public, and without exception. It confronts the tendency to edit or limit love based on preference, comfort, or bi...

The Doctrine of Becoming Like Christ draws from Epistle of James chapter 3 to confront the power of our words as a true measure of spiritual transformation. This message explores how the tongue, though small, can either ignite destruction or become an instrument of Christlike love within the Church. Listeners are challenged to move beyond passive faith and intentionally use their speech to build o...

This week's message explores the kind of deep, enduring hope described in James 5- a hope that does not remove waiting but transforms it. In seasons of suffering, uncertainty, and delay, you are reminded that true hope is rooted in confidence in Christ, not in quick answers or easy outcomes. Like a farmer trusting the unseen growth beneath the soil, you learn to trust God's timing even when nothin...

In our formation journey through the letter of James, Pastor Jeffrey challenges us to examine whether our faith is truly alive - because real faith doesn't stay still, it serves. When we understand our belonging in Christ, serving shifts from obligation to a natural response of a transformed heart.

In part 9 of our series through James Pastor Jeffrey teaches on perseverance leading to maturity. In James 1:2-4 we learn that trials strengthen faith and produce Christlike character.   "God is not merely trying to help you survive your trials. God is forming you through them!"   Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith Donelson First Belonging Part 9: Grow March 15, 2026

In part 8 of our series through James Pastor Jeffrey teaches on prayer. Our attitude surrounding prayer directly correlates to our true dependance on God.   "Prayer is belonging lived out loud."   Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith Donelson First Belonging Part 8: Pray March 8, 2026

In Part 7 of our series through James Pastor Jeffrey echos the call of James to put aside favoritism and prejudice. To take up the call of God to show mercy. "Unforgiveness does not imprison the offender. It imprisons the soul." Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith Donelson First Belonging Part 7: Forgive March 1, 2026

In Part 6 of our series through James Pastor Jeffrey challenges us as believers to answer the call of God to give. Give of our time, attention, finances, whatever God is impressing on each of our hearts, as an outward sign of an inward transformation.    "If your treasure never moves toward the mission of God, your heart will slowly drift from the mission of God."    Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith Done...

Pastor Jeffrey continues our series through James with part 5: Decide. He lays out the necessity of deciding to obey, and how that is the true way to live freely.   "Belonging is not formed by intention. It is formed by obedience."   Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith Donelson First Belonging Part 5: Decide February 15th, 2026

Pastor Jeffrey continues our series through James with part 4: Listen. He discusses the constant noise of our culture, as compared with James' call to humility and wisdom through listening.   "Sometimes your greatest ministry to someone is not what you say but how you listen."   Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith Donelson First Belonging Part 4: Listen February 8th, 2026

Pastor Jeffrey continues our series through James with part 3: Surrender. Surrendering our pain to God and trusting that He will do what He has already promised.   " Your trials are not signs of God's absence. Rather, they are tools of God's formation."   Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith Donelson First Belonging Part 3: Surrender February 1st, 2026

In this the second part of our series through James Pastor Jeffrey unpacks the importance of the believers identity as belonging to Christ and how this informs our lives as a whole.   "Exile is not the evidence of God's absence. It is often the environment of His deepest work."   Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith Donelson First Belonging Series, Part 2: Belong January 18th, 2026

This is part one of a sixteen week study through the book of James. Pastor Jeffrey begins this verse by verse study with James 1:1-12. "James is not writing as an outsider. He is not writing as an academic. He is not writing as a detached observer. He is writing as a brother who once doubted, a disciple who encountered the risen Christ, a pastor who shepherded suffering believers, and a servant wh...

In this the final part of Pastor Jeffrey's Advent series he teaches on the final components of God's provision and plan for Christ's birth: the magi. They recognized the star because God had been preparing them for years, through Daniel's teachings in Babylon. Every step of the advent story was a part of God's pre orchestrated plan.   "The same God who guided the Magi… The same God who warned Jose...

In Part 4 of our Advent series Pastor Jeffrey begins by a look into the person Luke. The one who wrote the story of Jesus's birth, without having met Jesus during His earthly ministry. The story of Jesus was related in order that all of us could hear of it and be blessed by it. It is the very promise of God fulfilled.   "The Christian faith is not built on legend nor myth. It is grounded and authe...

In Part 3 of our Advent series Pastor Jeffrey explores the cultural context and significance of the details surrounding our saviors birth. From the task of these particular shepherds to the language utilized throughout Luke God was writing a story that was understood to the Hebrews even as it was being written.   "Is this not just like the Lord? He takes the vocabulary of the culture - the words n...