Featured – Habitually Being: thoughts worth living.

“Why Worship?” series

26 Oct 202026 Oct 2020

Since most of my students use Instagram, I've been putting shortened ~7-8 minute versions of our youth lessons on that platform. We're also meeting in the park in person some…

9.16.20 Virtue- Temperance (Wednesday Night Bible Study)

16 Sep 202020 Sep 2020

This is an all church Wednesday Night Bible study I taught on 9.16.20 at 7th & James Baptist Church in Waco, Texas. It was part of a series on the…

Is Jesus Asleep at the Wheel? (Mark 4:35-41)

27 Jun 202020 Sep 2020

A Youth sermon delivered originally on June 14th, 2020. Because this sermon was originally delivered over Zoom, and not recorded, I re-recorded it. Background: With the horrific death of George…

Titus: A Crash Course

A Seventh & James All Church Wednesday Night Bible Study. 6/24/2020 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3954645711277025 I went live on Facebook at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday June 24th with the church at 7th & James!…

“God hasn’t retired”

19 Jan 202019 Mar 2020

Our story is not self-created, nor a mere matter of our past, our culture. It's something given from outside ourselves. Understanding the Old Testament stories like Exodus and how they…

Making Jesus the main attraction in Youth Ministry

3 Oct 20193 Oct 2019

Here is a link to the piece I wrote for the Baptist Standard: "Make Jesus Christ the main attraction in youth ministry" Quotation: This summer, I visited 16th Street Baptist…

“The Otherworldly Nearness of God”

4 Aug 201921 Sep 2019

7th & James Baptist Church * 8.4.19 * Hosea 11:1-11 * Jonathan Balmer Q: Why won’t God abandon His people who relentlessly run from God? A: God is not a…

Preaching for Special Occasions

15 Jun 20192 Aug 2019

Sometimes in Preaching class you pretend to officiate the wedding of two empty chairs. In Spring 2019, I took a class on Preaching for Special Occasions. I grew in love…

“Enduring Forever. Present Today.” Youth Sunday 2019 Sermon

30 Apr 201915 Aug 2019

“Enduring Forever. Present Today” | Psalm 118:14-29 | John 20:19-31 | Acts 5:27-32 | Revelation 1:4-8 This sermon tries to answer the questions: Why do the Gospels see Jesus in…

“Earth Shattering Good News”

13 Jan 20192 Aug 2019

All right, kids! It's time we had a talk about "Law and Gospel!" A MidWinter 2019 retreat sermon by Jonathan Balmer, delivered January 12th, 2019. Video of the sermon from…