Spirit and Truth Ministries
Biography of David Spakes
This web site contains a scrapbook and condensed biography of David Spakes,
Pastor of
Spirit and Truth Fellowship of Knoxville
and founder of
Spirit and Truth Ministries. In most cases, you can click on pictures
to see an enlarged photo in a separate window.
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Preaching at Bible Fellowship, Seymour, TN
"Sheila and I ran into some old friends who told us about a church start-up
in Seymour called Bible Fellowship. We visited the church for the first
time on Sunday, March 12, and I was invited to come back the following
week and preach. Sheila and I sang several songs together, and she also
sang solo. The sermon I delivered was titled Forgiveness
and came out of Luke chapter 11.
The audio file below contains the recording of a testimony I gave
before the start of the sermon. I described briefly some of the
work that I had done over the previous ten years as part of
Spirit and Truth Ministries. As I listen again to the words I spoke
that night, I am glad for my confession (that continues to be true
to this day) that every time I speak before a congregation, I do not
think highly of myself, and I depend on Lord."
"Starting in 2001, Sheila and I became active members of Bible
Fellowship. Sheila took charge of the children's program and took a
special interest in Vacation Bible School. Sheila persuaded the church
to purchase the 'Easy VBS' curriculum from Group Publishing,
and for our first year the theme was Polar Expedition. Sheila
recruited me and the pastor's wife to lead the 'Sing and Play'
station that started and ended the program each day with songs and
skits. These picture show me leading in the fun."
Preaching at Bible Fellowship, Seymour, TN
"Here is a list of dates when I delivered the sermon and the
sermon title."
Sermons Preached at Bible Fellowship (2002) |
January |
13 |
2002 |
10:30 AM |
The Temple |
|
March |
3 |
2002 |
6:00 PM |
Let None Be Lost |
|
June |
6 |
2002 |
6:00 PM |
The Holy GhostOn Us, In Us, And Us In Him |
|
"The Group Publishing theme for 2002 was 'Bug Safari'. The first
picture below shows me participating in a skit during 'Sing and Play'.
The second picture shows me among all the participants from the church.
(Sheila was the leader again. She is taking the picture.)"
"SCUBA stands for 'Super Cool Undersea Bible Adventure'. This was
the theme of the third Group Publishing Vacation Bible School that
Sheila led at Bible Fellowship. Again, I lead the 'Sing and Play'
station."
Singing at Bible Fellowship, Seymour, TN
"On April 11, 2004, my mother traveled from her home in Kingston,
Tennessee to Seymour for Bible Fellowship's Easter Sunday service
so that we could sing special music together as the Spirit and Truth
Singers. In these pictures, Ruby Lea and I are singing a song called
'The Love of Christ'."
"During the week of June 21-25, Sheila led the Vacation
Bible School for a fourth year at Bible Fellowship. Once again, she
chose to use Group Publishing's program and asked me to lead the
'Sing and Play' station. The first two pictures below were taken
during the volunteer briefing. The last three pictures were taken
with the children in the room."
"Here is a list of dates when I delivered the sermon and the
sermon title.
Sermons Preached at Bible Fellowship (2004) |
March |
14 |
2004 |
10:30 AM |
Sanctify Yourself |
|
March |
14 |
2004 |
6:00 AM |
Return |
|
November |
14 |
2004 |
6:00 PM |
Old Wine, New Bottles |
|
These pictures were taken during the evening service of Sunday,
November 14, 2004. The outfit I am wearingwhich included a
black shirt and white collar reminiscent of a Catholic priestwas
a 'prop' designed to go along with the lesson. About halfway through
the sermon, the collar came off and doubled as a 'tambourine'."
Singing for the National Day of Prayer, Seymour, TN
"These pictures were taken at the Kroger grocery store in Seymour,
Tennessee on May 5, 2005. A sister named Jan Scherer, who was
attending Bible Fellowship at the time, organized this gathering
of different churches as part of the National Day of Prayer. She asked
for assistance with music for the event, and I agreed to help, counting
it as volunteer work for Spirit and Truth Ministries."
"These pictures were taken at the New Vision Pentecostal Church in
Sevierville, Tennessee where Nelson Moffett is the Pastor. Sheila
and I met Reverend Moffett and his wife, Jennifer, in 1999 while
attending another church shortly after we were married.
I preached during the morning service on Sunday, June 5, 2005.
Sheila and our dear friend Marinda Magoon sang special music before
the service."
"For a fifth year, Sheila led the VBS at Bible Fellowship. Again,
she chose Group Publishing's program, and once again I led the
'Sing and Play' station. In the first picture below, Sheila is in her
VBS Director shirt. That's me in the second picture leading the
singing. The VBS took place during the week of June 6-10.
I led the commencement service on Sunday evening, June 12,
because Sheila was out of town."
Preaching at Bible Fellowship, Seymour, TN
"Here is a list of dates when I delivered the sermon, the
sermon title, and scripture references (where I have kept the record).
Sermons Preached at Bible Fellowship (2005) |
May |
15 |
2005 |
6:00 PM |
Rescue the Perishing |
|
|
September |
4 |
2005 |
10:30 AM |
Prayer Service |
John 3:14-17
|
|
September |
4 |
2005 |
6:00 PM |
The Reward of Volunteers |
|
|
On September 4, 2005, the pastor of Bible Fellowship was away on vacation,
and I had the full responsibility for conducting morning and evening
services on that day. I played guitar and led the praise and worship
during both services. During the morning service, I prayed (with the
laying on of hands) for those who felt led to come to the altar.
During the evening service, one of the ladies of the church offered an
extended testimony, and then I preached. These pictures were all taken
during the morning service."
"In 2006, Sheila led the Vacation Bible School at Bible Fellowship
one last time. Again, I served in my usual capacity as music leader in
the 'Sing and Play' station. Here is an eight-second clip of a video
we put together to show to the parents at the commencement ceremony.
It shows me and the pastor's wife leading the kids in singing and
worship. Click on the thumbnail to view the video full size and with
audio."
Preaching at Bible Fellowship, Seymour, TN
"Here is a list of dates when I delivered the sermon, the
sermon title, and scripture references.
Sermons Preached at Bible Fellowship (2006) |
May |
28 |
2006 |
10:30 AM |
The Thing Which I Greatly Feared Is Come Upon Me |
Genesis 41:15-23,28-30;
Genesis 41:32;
Job 3:25;
Psalms 61:1-2;
Psalms 34:17-19,22;
Proverbs 18:10;
Psalms 37:39-40;
Isaiah 46:9-10;
Jeremiah 29:11;
Psalm 91:2,4,14-15
|
May |
28 |
2006 |
6:00 PM |
Forgiveness |
Matthew 18:21-35;
Matthew 5:21-24;
Luke 17:3-5;
Genesis 37:3-4,11,20,26-28;
Genesis 42:21;
Genesis 45:4-5;
Genesis 50:18-21
|
September |
3 |
2006 |
10:30 AM |
Silence |
Revelation 8:1;
Psalms 39:1-13;
Isaiah 65:6-7
|
October |
22 |
2006 |
6:00 PM |
While There Is Time |
Acts 20:22,25,36-38;
Luke 18:35-19:6;
Amos 8:11;
Isaiah 55:1,6;
Hebrews 3:13
|
Recordings of these services were made available to members of the
congregation on CD-ROM. Here is a picture of the label for the
sermon I preached on the evening of May 28."
New Life Family Worship Center, Loudon, TN
"In the Spring of 2007, I learned the whereabouts of an old friend
of mine, Jeff Schrimsher, with whom I had attended church together
for about a year-and-a-half
in the late 1980s.
A short time after
I had last seen him, he planted a new church in Loudon, Tennessee
that is located just off of Interstate 75. Sheila and I had
the opportunity one Sunday to visit his church.
Before the morning service began, there was time to do some catching
up with Jeff and his wife Lisa. Through an act of obedience to
God's voice, I ended up playing the bass guitar during the
Praise & Worship part of the service. This picture
is of Pastor Jeff Schrimsher preaching during the service in which
we were in attendance. Behind him is the church's bass guitar
that I played on that day."
Preaching and Teaching at Wayside Full Gospel Church, Cocoa, FL
"I was invited to be the guest speaker at two regular services of
Wayside Full Gospel Church that took place on Sunday morning, May 20,
and on Thursday evening, May 24. Sheila and I drove to Florida and
spent the week there. Below are some pictures from both of these
services."
Singing at Christ Covenant Full Gospel Church, Seymour, TN
"After Sheila and I visited this church one Sunday, Pastor Gary Crisp
called and invited us to return and sing at a special service on July 29
during which his son would be ordained as a deacon. We considered this
invitation to be an opportunity to perform volunteer work for
Spirit and Truth Ministries, so Sheila and I attended as representing
the Spirit and Truth Singers. Our friends
Doug and Marinda Magoon went and sang with us, and Marinda also sang
solo. All four of us were happy to see an acquaintance there we knew
from Bible Fellowship, Jim Tucker. He was one of three guest speakers,
and he is shown below standing behind the podium. In the last picture,
Sheila and I are posing with the pastor."
Speaking at Free Pentecostal Church in Harriman, TN
"On August 5, 2007, almost seventeen years since my
ordination service,
Ruby Lea and I visited our church family at Free Pentecostal.
During the congregational singing, I got to play guitar again with
the man who taught me, Billy Gann, and with his grandson who is now
also learning to play.
Pastor York asked me to participate in
the prayer service, and I asked the elders to pray for me as well.
I preached a short sermon from
II Corinthians 3:1-2.
It was a very joyful reunion.
Before the service began, I asked Brother Gann if I could play
guitar with him. With a bit of a smirk on his face, he looked at
me and said 'You know, the sign outside still says Free on it.'
It was a happy, silly moment that I'll not soon forget."
Assisting with Praise & Worship at Journey Church of Seymour, TN
During the months of August and September, Sheila and I attended a
very newly-established church not far from our home called
Journey Church
of Seymour.
The pastor and his wife were in the process of moving to Seymour from
Rome, Georgia, so they were unable to attend the mid-week services when
we began visiting. Also, the church did not have an established
Praise & Worship band in the beginning. During the time we
attended, I had the privilege of being able to help with singing and by
adding acoustic guitar as an instrument. Before long, however, the Lord
sent other musicians to fill the void, and God called us to be elsewhere.
In the first picture below, I am standing with all of the members of the
full worship team as it was on the last Sunday morning in September
(our final service). The second picture is of
Pastor Tony and Donna Howard.
Enrolled at Johnson Bible College
"Beginning in the Autumn of 2006 and continuing through the
Spring of 2007, the Lord began to deal strongly with my heart.
He did not speak any discernable message to me at the time,
but I knew without any shadow of doubt that something was
about to change in my life, and it was imperative that I
make some step forward. However, I was uncertain about the
direction that the Lord wanted me to go.
One day, Sheila and I met with another couple who has played a significant
role in our lives for many years. I felt that I needed to share with them
some of the things that God had shown me. Also, I hoped that through them
God would reveal something more to me about the direction we should go.
They encouraged me to consider enrolling as a student at
Johnson Bible College.
After some prayer and consideration, I signed up for my first class,
Basic Expository Preaching, which I completed in the Fall 2007 semester.
This picture of me on campus was taken in 2009."
Preaching at Bible Fellowship, Seymour, TN
"For the Basic Expository Preaching course at Johnson Bible
College, I was required to preach a sermon and submit a
video recording
for a grade. I prepared a sermon titled 'Jesus Our High Priest'
(based primarily on the passage
Hebrews 4:14-5:10) and
delivered it at Bible Fellowship on Sunday, November 25, 2007. After
an opening story, I stepped out of the room to put on sandals and a prayer
shawl. For the rest of the sermon, I played the role of 'Abner ben David',
a fictional character based on the young man who received his sight at
the hands of Jesus and was who excommunicated (cast out) by the Jewish
priests for being a disciple of Jesus
(John 9:1-38).
The congregation took a journey back in time to a secret meeting of
first-century Christians, and the sermon was told from the perspective
of his first-hand accounts. I received an 'A' for the course, but the
instructor was puzzled by my use of theatrics in the presentation.
Apparently, there is some other preaching course offered at Johnson
Bible College where the theatrics come into play. I just did it this
way because theatrics are a part of my preaching style,
showing up in my sermons
once in a while.
Here is a picture of the label for the DVD that I submitted for
grading."
"Near the end of year 2007, just as I was finishing up my first
class at Johnson Bible College, God spoke to me in a way so clear and
unmistakable like He had not done since I received my
call to preach
in 1988. Without hearing any audible voice, I knew the
exact words God was speaking to me. His exact words to me were,
'Very soon, you will be pastoring.' I did not know with
certainty exactly what God planned to do or the time frame in which He
would accomplish what He had spoken, but His speaking to me reaffirmed
every day afterwards that He was in control of my situation (deep inside,
the desire developed within me to plant a new church). I did
not speak openly outside my family about my new call to be a pastor
until 2009 when I was ministering again at Wayside Full Gospel Church
in Florida."
"In 2008, Sheila and I said our final farewells to Bible Fellowship
and began searching together for a new home church to attend while I
completed my studies at Johnson Bible College. We visited many churches
of different types in Knox, Blount, and Sevier Counties. Our search led to
Pathways Church
in Sevierville, Tennessee. By the end of the year, we reached a decision
that we would attend this church until God brought it about that I would
begin pastoring.
These pictures are taken from a video that was recorded on May 17,
2009. We arrived at church very early on a Sunday morning so that I
could practice a song that I would sing the following week during the
Saturday night service and two Sunday morning services."
|
|
Practice for Solo
"Only Your Mercy"
WMV Video - 3,858 Kb
Click to Watch
|
Preaching at Wayside Full Gospel Church, Cocoa, FL
"These pictures were taken on Sunday, January 18 during a trip that
my friend Doug Magoon and I made to Central Florida. The choir sang a song
called 'In His Time' that I had not heard before prior to this service.
The song touched me deeply, and I could feel the Lord's presence very
strongly during the opening part of the service. I chose this opportunity
to make the first public announcement about how God
changed my calling
from preacher to pastor.
I preached a sermon called the
Stairway of Ahaz
out of
2 Kings 20:1-11.
and
Isaiah 38:1-8.
This is the place where the Bible records a miracle God performed by
making the shadow of a sundial travel backwards. For an illustration,
I shined a flashlight on the ceiling to demonstrate how the sun must
have reversed its course in the sky for this to happen.
Ahaz was an evil king who died fourteen years before the events
described in 2 Kings chapter 20.
The sundial was a relic of his time and a reminder of his sinful ways.
The sermon concluded in
James 1:11-15
with a call to put away things from our past that could tempt us to go
back to former sins."
Singing at Rocky Branch Independent Holiness Church of God, Walland, TN
"As a volunteer with Spirit and Truth Ministries, my mother and
I were invited many times to the Rocky Branch Independent Holiness
Church of God
during the 1990s
to sing gospel music. Out of the blue,
the pastor, Robert Jennings, called me and asked us to return to their
church. As a sort of reunion for the Spirit and Truth Singers, we
went and performed on July 11, 2009, when these pictures were taken.
My mother made the trip from Kingston, Tennesse to join me for this
event."
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[1994]
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[1998]
[1999]
[2000]
[2001]
[2002]
[2003]
[2004]
[2005]
[2006]
[2007]
[2008]
[2009]
[2010]
[2011]
[2012]
Spirit and Truth Ministries /
contact@spirit-and-truth.net