Pilgrim: a Podcast from Pastor Fortunato

Esther 10 • Why does the book of Esther end with tax policy and bureaucracy instead of the dramatic rescue? Because God values sustained daily faithfulness over spotlight moments. ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • January 8, 2026 📚 Final sermon in our verse-by-verse expository series through the book of Esther After Haman's execution and the Jews' deliverance, Esther could...

Psalm 46:10 • Are you too busy to hear God's voice? Rushing through life, always on the go, never sitting still long enough to listen? ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • January 26, 2025 In this family church sermon from Pilgrim Baptist Church in Cookeville Tennessee, Pastor Fortunato preaches through Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God" - showing how God speaks in...

1 Corinthians 11:20-29 • Are you worthy to take communion? The answer will surprise you—because the worthiness isn't yours, it's the Lord's. ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • February 1, 2026. Many Christians struggle with guilt about the Lord's Supper. "Am I worthy to take communion? I had a bad week." This exposition of 1 Corinthians 11 settles the worthiness question by s...

John 7:14-18 • How do you know if a teacher is from God or just pushing their own agenda? Jesus gives us two clear tests to discern truth from deception. ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • February 1, 2026. 📚 Part of our verse-by-verse expository series through John When Jesus showed up at the temple, the religious leaders demanded, "Where's your degree? Who authorized you?"...

John 7:10-13 • What do we do when even Jesus moves in secret? When the Light of the World deliberately dims His visibility and goes up to the feast "as it were in secret"? ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • January 18, 2026. In John 7, Jesus doesn't go to Jerusalem openly—He goes secretly. Not because He's afraid of His enemies, but because He's testing His friends. Are you a...

John 7:1-9 • What do you do when your own family questions whether God can use you? When they package their unbelief as advice and pressure you to prove yourself to the world? ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • January 11, 2026. 📚 Part of our verse-by-verse expository series through the Gospel of John Jesus's own brothers didn't believe in him. They wanted him to go public,...

Proverbs 3:13-18 • We spend our whole lives mining for fool's gold. We think the next promotion will do it, the right relationship will do it, that financial breakthrough will finally satisfy us. But every time we get what we wanted, that satisfaction evaporates like morning mist. And we're reaching again. ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • January 18, 2026. 📚 Our verse-by-v...

Proverbs 3:19-20 • Does the ground beneath your feet feel uncertain? Peace of mind evaporated? Building on sand while the tide rushes in? God's wisdom provides the only foundation that will never crack. ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • February 1, 2026. We live in a time when everything feels unstable—jobs are temporary, relationships are fragile, institutions are crumbling...

Proverbs 3:11-12 • How can the hand that feels like it's crushing you be the same hand that loves you? Why does God allow pain when He claims to love us? ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • January 11, 2026. 📚 Part of our verse-by-verse expository series through Proverbs 3 We experience pain that medicine can't touch—broken plans, aches of the soul. We ask God, "Why does this...

Proverbs 3:9-10 • You've done the math. You've looked at your bills, counted your savings, and calculated what's left. That envelope for the offering feels like you're taking food off your table. What do you do when honoring God with your substance feels like financial suicide? ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • January 4, 2026. 📚 Part of our verse-by-verse expository series...

1 John 2:1-2 • "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • February 5, 2026. What happens when you sin as a Christian? Do you lose your salvation? Is God angry with you? The answer: We have an Advocate. This exposition of 1 John 2:1...

1 John 1:8-10 • Are you trapped in the most dangerous spiritual condition—self-deception? When we claim to have no sin, we don't just lie to others; we lie to ourselves and call God a liar. ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • January 29, 2026. 📚 Part of our verse-by-verse expository series through 1 John Self-deception is the greatest type of darkness because when it takes ho...

1 John 1:5-7 • Have you been hurt by deception in the church? Are you hiding behind protective walls, nursing bitterness, walking in darkness? ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • January 22, 2026. 📚 Our verse-by-verse expository series through 1 John You can't fake light. Light either is or it isn't. After church hurt, the temptation is to retreat into darkness—suspicion, bit...

1 John 1:1-4 • We live in a world of deep fakes, filter culture, and performing authenticity. Everyone has a version of truth, but nobody's certain of anything. So what does it mean to stake your life on something REAL? ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • January 15, 2026. 📚 Our verse-by-verse expository series through 1 John The Apostle John starts his letter with shocking a...

🎁 What if the best gift exchange this season wasn't about presents under a tree—but about trading your pride for the fear of the Lord? 🗡️ This expository sermon was delivered at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN on Sunday, December 21, 2025, at 2:00 pm. 🗡️ In this powerful expository sermon on Proverbs 3:7, Pastor Fortunato delivers a spiritual checkup from the neck up that will challenge...

🎯 Are You Making Decisions WITHOUT God's GPS? | Proverbs 3:5-6 Sermon 🗡️ This expository sermon was delivered at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at 2:00 pm. 🗡️ We live in a GPS generation where we won't drive across town without plugging in directions, yet Christians often make life-altering decisions without consulting God's Word. In this powerful sermon on...

🎯 Are You Passing Down Biblical Wisdom or Just Rules? The Powerful Truth Every Parent and Young Person Needs to Hear 📖 Proverbs 3:1-4 🗡️ This expository sermon was delivered at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN on Sunday, November 30, 2025, at 2:00 pm. 🗡️ What's the difference between a child who simply obeys and one whose heart is transformed by God's Word? In this powerful sermon on Pro...

✝️ Why do Christians celebrate someone's DEATH instead of mourning it? Discover the profound truth behind the Lord's Supper and why this simple act of remembrance holds eternal significance. 🗡️ This expository sermon was delivered at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN on Sunday, December 28, 2025, at 6:00 pm. 🗡️ In this powerful message on the Lord's Supper, Pastor Fortunato unpacks the crit...

📖 Why Does the King James Bible Call Jesus "That Holy Thing"? 🗡️ This expository sermon was delivered at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN on Sunday, December 21, 2025, at 2:00 pm. 🗡️ Is Luke 1:35's phrase "that holy thing" disrespectful to Christ, or does it reveal profound theological truth that modern translations miss? This powerful sermon tackles one of the most controversial KJV tran...

🚨 Why did Jesus' disciples walk away when He needed them most? This powerful sermon from John 6:64-67 exposes the uncomfortable truth about false disciples and what it really costs to follow Jesus. 🗡️ This expository sermon was delivered at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN on Sunday, December 21, 2025, at 11:00 am. 🗡️ In this eye-opening message, Pastor Fortunato tackles one of the most c...

📖 What happens when following Jesus stops being comfortable and starts being costly? In this powerful expository sermon from John 6:60-63, discover why many of Jesus's own disciples walked away when the truth got hard. 🗡️ This expository sermon was delivered at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN on Sunday, December 21, 2025, at 11:00 am. 🗡️ Are you a true disciple or just a follower after t...

🔥 In John 6:52-59, is Jesus Really Asking Us to EAT His Flesh? The SHOCKING Truth About John 6 That Religious People Don't Want You to Know 🗡️ This expository sermon was delivered at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN on Sunday, December 14, 2025, at 11:00 am. 🗡️ What did Jesus REALLY mean when He told the crowds to "eat my flesh and drink my blood"? This verse in John 6 has confused believ...

🍞 Can You Have Eternal Life Right Now? Jesus Makes an Unmistakable Promise in John 6:45-51 🗡️ This expository sermon was delivered at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at 11:00 am. 🗡️ Discover one of the most powerful salvation promises in the entire Bible as Pastor Fortunato unpacks Jesus's declaration: "He that believeth on me HATH everlasting life." Not migh...

📖 John 6:44 | Can You Resist God's Call? Irresistible Grace Refuted Does God FORCE People to Be Saved? The Truth About John 6:44 Will Surprise You! 🗡️ This expository sermon was delivered at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN on Sunday, November 30, 2025, at 11:00 am. 🗡️ Is God's drawing an irresistible dragging of unwilling sinners, or a loving invitation that can be refused? This powerful...

🍞 Why Did Jesus' Most Controversial Sermon Drive Away His Followers? 📖 John 6:38-44 🗡️ This expository sermon was delivered at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN on Sunday, November 23, 2025, at 11:00 am. 🗡️ In John 6, Jesus delivers one of His most divisive messages—so controversial that many disciples walked away and never returned. What made this teaching about the bread of life so offe...