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A compelling devotional by Day1 host Peter Wallace, designed to help people of all ages connect meaningfully with God as revealed in the Psalms.
The Rev. Jim Somerville is pastor of the First Baptist Church of Richmond, VA.
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First Baptist ChurchThe Rev. Dr. James Somerville
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
First Baptist Church
The Rev. Dr. James Green Somerville is pastor of the First Baptist Church of Richmond, VA.
He is the 16th Senior Pastor in the 228-year history of First Baptist Church. A gifted preacher and a seasoned pastor, he has preached on the Chicago-based "30 Good Minutes," the internationally broadcast Day1 radio program, and was one of the featured preachers at the Festival of Homiletics at the Washington National Cathedral in 2004. His articles and sermons have been published in Christian Century, Leadership, The Upper Room, Preaching, Lectionary Homiletics, and Preaching Great Texts. He was awarded the Clyde T. Francisco Preaching Award while a student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
Jim served as Pastor of the First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, DC for seven years before coming to Richmond. Prior to that, Jim served as Pastor of Wingate Baptist Church in Wingate, North Carolina, for nine years. While attending seminary, Jim was pastor of First Baptist Church in New Castle, Kentucky.
Jim was a Boy Scout, earning Eagle Scout at the age of 13. At age 15 he began his studies at the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. In college he was an All-Conference distance runner and was editor of the Georgetown College campus newspaper. He was recognized as the Outstanding Senior in Art and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Georgetown.
In his time off, Jim enjoys traveling, backpacking, sailing, reading, watching movies, and spending time with his family.
Jim and his wife, Christy, have two daughters, Ellie and Catherine.
Born March 14, 1959, in Selma, Alabama, Jim moved with his family to Wise, Virginia, in 1961, and to Boone County, West Virginia, in 1967. He grew up as the third of six sons of a Presbyterian minister who had a special ministry to the poor in West Virginia.
He earned the Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, in 1991. His major was New Testament and his minor, Preaching. He earned the Master of Divinity from Southern Seminary in 1987 with a concentration as a Pastor/Teacher.
Jim was an Art major and minored in English when he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY, in 1981.
He was ordained (1986) by First Baptist Church, New Castle, KY and licensed (1984) by Faith Baptist Church, Georgetown, KY.
Latest Content by The Rev. Dr. Jim Somerville
Dr. Jim Somerville: Making Time for Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength
The Rev. Dr. James Somerville (CBF)May I tell you about something that has been helpful to me? Once every three months or so I try to go on a 24-hour spiritual retreat. I just get away by myself somewhere. In the spring and fall I often go to a state park and camp. In the summer and winter I tend to look for something a little more climate-controlled. I used to go to a Benedictine monastery when I was in North Carolina and loved it there, chanting with the monks in worship five or six times a day and eating with them in their refectory. I loved the little room they gave me-my "cell"-with just a single bed, a comfortable chair, and a desk in it. One of the first things I did then and one of the first things I tend to do on every retreat is to make out a new weekly schedule. I just draw a grid on a piece of paper, dividing it up into the days of the week and the hours of the day. But over on the right hand margin I write the words heart, mind, soul, and strength, and then I try to make a place for each of those things in my weekly schedule.
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Dr. Jim Somerville: Will the world end on Dec. 12, 2012?
The Rev. Dr. James Somerville (CBF)No. Not according to Walter T. Witschey.
Dr. Witschey wrote to me after my recent sermon on 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 in which I mentioned that some people think the world is going to end on December 21, 2012, because that's what the Mayan calendar "suggests." It was in that part of the sermon where I was talking about the Day of the Lord coming suddenly, like a thief in the night.
Read full article...Other Recent Content by The Rev. Dr. Jim Somerville
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