Sneedville native and pastor Tommy Wallen, who’s perhaps best known as the father of country hitmaker Morgan Wallen, has returned with another installment of his weekly Sunday Seven sermon on his son’s Sirius XM channel.
This time around, Tommy came prepared with more than seven minutes of scripture, bringing some eye-opening statistics along with him. Marking the ninth episode of his recurring Sunday show, this past August 16, Tommy set out to help listeners understand “the Importance of Studying God’s Word.”
Building off of last week’s episode, which unpacked the reasoning behind God’s creation, Tommy took a pause to explain why reading the Bible is so crucial to faith. And yes— we’re still exploring the first book of Genesis as he continues to keep his sermons on an introductory level.
The Tennessee father of four started his message out with the help of a study from the American Bible Society and Lifeway Research, showcasing the optimal number of times a week a person should be sticking their head in their bible.
Tommy lays out that when reading your bible 1-2 times a week, there’s on average “zero percent measurable behavioral change,” which is “statistically identical to someone who never reads the bible.” Unfortunately, it takes more than just cracking up the bedside dust collector just three times a week too, as that only creates a “tiny bump in inner awareness but it is not strong enough to trigger significant lasting changes in daily choices.”
He then states that reading the bible four or more times a week engages the ‘power of four,’ which includes reducing isolation, noting that “feelings of loneliness decrease by 30%.” We also have better emotional control: “anger issues drop by 32% and interpersonal bitterness drops by 40%.”
Once riddled by his own battles with drugs and alcohol, the now sober follower of Christ then adds on, “Curbing dependencies, incidents of alcoholism drop by 57% and viewing pornography follows by roughly 60%.” On a positive note, the influx of reading Scripture also increases the likelihood someone will share the word of God with others by over 200%, and 407% more likely to memorize Scripture (which that one’s kinda a no-brainer).
Tommy spends the rest of the episode pointing to verses in Scripture that uphold this idea and why it’s important to continue to pass down the word to future generations. Of course, above all, he emphasizes, “Jesus isn’t one of many ways to God; he is the only way to God. And not only that— he is God.”
Wrapping up his short segment by encouraging listeners to put some wear and tear on the good book, he promises to return next week by jumping into Genesis Chapter 2.
To tune into the whole episode and his previous week’s sermons, check out the full clips now streaming on the SiriusXM App. You can also catch Tommy’s upcoming shows on Wallen’s Channel 64, airing live at 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm ET on the app and in car radios every Sunday.