The Word is Near You: Sermons for the Church

The testimony of the entire Bible is that God searches for hearts, but even God has trouble with us because we are so fickle. The other side of this is that man has tried to find God too. "Man is incurably religious," we are told. And so he is, so we are. In times past people have ransacked the universe searching for God. They recited incantations or burned incense or spilled blood, all in an effort to find God. And all the while, God was close by to be found. This is what Paul was saying in Romans 10. "The word is near you," he says. "It is in your mouth and in your heart." (from "The Word Is Near You")

For Don Aycock, the sermon is the church's "verbal instrument of growth." This book offers over 20 messages that are not intended as literary examples, but rather as flesh-and-blood efforts to proclaim the word of God. Aycock is an inventive and experienced preacher who employs many fascinating illustrations -- but they are always used to shed light on the biblical text at the heart of his message. Currently the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Palatka, Florida, Don M. Aycock is the author of more than 15 books, including God's Most Unmistakable Message (CSS). A pastor for over 20 years, Aycock has also served churches in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee, as well as a stint as Director of Pastoral Care at Baptist Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. He also developed and launched Men's Ministries for the Brotherhood Commission in Memphis. Aycock holds a BA degree from Louisiana College (Pineville, Louisiana), MDiv and ThM degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, Kentucky), and a ThD degree from New Orleans Baptist Seminary.