Personal Background: My name is Tom Drenoske. I am the third in a line of four with that name and currently live in a suburb of Portland, Oregon. I became a Christian on Christmas Eve, 1970, in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, through the ministry of Paul Kelley, an Overseas Christian Servicemen’s Center director. He became my spiritual father, mentor, and discipler. When I was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1972, I attended California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, California because Paul was the director of the Navigator ministry on that campus. After receiving degrees in Business Administration and Social Sciences, I worked for two years in industrial sales. With a desire to serve the Lord in full-time ministry, I attended Multnomah School of the Bible’s one-year graduate program and graduated in 1978. Four years later I graduated from Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary while serving with Campus Ambassadors, the campus ministry of the Conservative Baptist Home Missions Society. I have enjoyed over 30 years of ministry as a campus minister, pastor, interim pastor, and chaplain, and am currently serving as a chaplain with Nursing Home Ministries and a writer for GotQuestions.org.
Purpose: Studying and preaching through various books of the New Testament has been an exciting and fulfilling experience for me. Knowing God through His Word, and responding to Him, can be the richest experience of all. I am sharing these messages in the hope that God will use them to draw you closer to Himself.
Introduction: We will be meeting with Him regularly, as we start by studying the book of PHILIPPIANS, the “Epistle of Joy”, beginning with a background study and survey of the book. I don’t know about you, but I could certainly benefit from an extra dose of joy! These are short sermons, approximately 15-20 minutes in length when preached. The sermons will be stored in this site so that the most recent sermon appears first.
Over the past four years, I’ve studied Philippians, the epistle of James, the book of Jonah, and a few topical and seasonal messages. I am currently studying the Gospel of John and there will probably be at least another year of messages from John’s Gospel. The purpose of each sermon is, not only to gain an understanding of the passage of Scripture but also to draw principles from the passage that we can apply to our lives. The goal is to become more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ in our attitudes and actions (II Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 3:7-14).
Question: Are you ready to meet your Maker today? About 50 years ago, on Christmas Eve, I was asked the following question: “If you died tonight, and you stood before God in judgment, and God said to you, ‘Give Me one reason why I should let you into My heaven’, what would you say?” I wasn’t prepared to answer that question, but the person who asked it showed me, in the Scriptures, how I could have a personal relationship with God, and spend eternity with Him. Romans 3:23 and Isaiah 53:6 say that I am a sinner, separated from God. Romans 6:23 and Hebrews 9:27 say that the penalty for my sin is death and judgment. Ephesians 2:8,9 says that I can’t earn my way to heaven by my works or good deeds. I Peter 3:18 says that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for my sins by His death on the cross. John 5:18 and 14:8-10 say the Jesus Christ is God, the second Person of the Trinity. Mark 1:15, John 1:12, and John 10:27-30 say that a relationship with Christ, and His gift of eternal life, come as a result of repenting of, or turning away from, my sins, inviting Jesus Christ into my life as my Savior and Lord, and following Him. I hope you are truly His child today. I became a child of God that night when I responded to God’s Word and invited Jesus Christ to come into my life and be my Savior and Lord. That night I memorized several verses of Scripture (I John 5:11-13, John 5:24, John 10:27-30, and Romans 10:9-13) to remind me and assure me that Jesus Christ was living in me and that I had eternal life.
There are many, many more Scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments that describe who Jesus Christ is, and how to have a personal relationship with Him. If you desire a deeper understanding of any aspect of God, the Person and work of Jesus Christ, and what it means to have a personal relationship with Him, and receive His gift of eternal life, please let me know. I would be glad to answer your questions with Scripture.