First Baptist Blowing Rock

In our passage from 1st Corinthians 2; the Apostle Paul continues to explain God's wisdom versus the wisdom of men and now he introduces the role that the Holy Spirit plays in illuminating God's wisdom for Christ follower. In this message, we give an overview of the Holy Spirit's role in the life of Christians with an emphasis on how he brings scripture to life. Through the power of...

What makes an effctive witness? What makes an effective Sermon?  Why was the Apostle Paul's message so powerful that we continue to study and follow his example today? In this passage from 1 Corinthians we can gain some insight into how Paul was able to release the power of God's wisdom and message through his life and testimony as well as discovering how we can do the same in our own ch...

As the Apostle Paul continues to explain the differences between the wisdom of the world and God's wisdom in his 1st Letter to the Corinthian Church; today's message finds him listing several examples that prove that divide. Using paradoxical language, he describes the types of people that God uses to further his kingdom; the types of people that He calls to serve, to minister, to teach...

Paul continues his discussion on the divisive nature of the Cross and all that the Cross represents by taking his assertion from last weeks message that "there are only two true responses when we are confronted by what Christ accomplished on the Cross" and suggest their are two main reasons people reject the "Message of the Cross". Have you ever wondered why people reject Chris...

As the Apostle Paul continues to confront the divisions in the Church at Corinth over personalities and preferences, he moves into the issue of philosophical differences. Just as last week we examined how the Cross is the foundation for unity within the church, this week we look at the "flip side" and how the Cross can be divisive outside of the church and when it comes to world philosop...

When the Apostle Paul begins to confront the problems and issues plaguing the Corinthian church, he starts with addressing the power struggles and division that is tearing the church apart. As many churches today continue to be torn apart over issues of personality, programs and power; Paul's words still ring true. If division and quarreling is left unchecked it can destroy a church body, a c...

There were over 80 prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the birth of the Messiah; very specific prophecies, and yet many of the very people who had spent their lives studying those prophecies missed his arrival. The odds of one person fulfilling all 80 of those prophecies are 1 in one hundred quadrillion (1 with 17 "0"'s) yet Jesus Christ fulfilled them all. In this message, w...

We begin a new series examining the Apostle Paul's first letter to the Church at Corinth that we are calling "The Struggle is Real". In this series we hope to address many of the struggles that Christians face trying to live out and apply Biblical principles and truth to their everyday lives. This message is an introduction to the series and examines the history and problems facing...

Part 2 of our Real Christmas Story series that examines the Biblical Christmas story through the lens of the popular movie and television show "A Christmas Story". This week we discuss Ralphie's dad and all the trials and tribulations he faces in the movie and how that related to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus Christ. Joseph is a character who usually gets pushed to the sides o...

We kick off our new series that uses the popular Christmas Movie "A Christmas Story" as a jumping off place to discover some important elements of the Real Christmas Story that tend to get overlocked. As we discuss Ralphie and his Christmas experience in the 1950's and his pursuit of a Red Ryder B-B gun, we will take a closer look at several scenes and storylines from the movie and...

  Every year it seems like the Christmas Season starts earlier and earlier and as Thanksgiving bleeds into Christmas, it might be beneficial for each of us to take a moment, hit the pause button, and examine our hearts. While we like to bemoan the commercialization and secularization of Christmas, those issues are not the heart of the problem - the problem just might be our hearts! This week betwe...

We finish up our study on developing a Thankful heart and grateful spirit by looking at the benefits and blessings that are unlocked when we express gratitude. We look at an encounter that Jesus had with 10 men struck with leprosy to unpack the difference between feeling thankful and being thankful and why it matters. We also suggest some practical ways we can express our gratitude to those around...

As we continue our series on developing a grateful and thankful spirit during this season of Thanksgiving, this message examines what is at the core or foundation of true gratitude. Why do we sometimes struggle with being thankful for what we have been blessed with and how do we overcome the barriers to a grateful heart like envy, greed and lack of faith? Join us as we examine what the Apostle Pau...

For those who have grown up in the church or around the church, you might be unaware of how strange some of the most commonly used phrases sound to those outside of the church. We have a tendency to speak "Christianeze" and cling to our own terminology and catch phrases that might not be communicating what we hope. Think about some of these phrases like; "hedge of protection" &...

As the average age of a majority of church congregations in the United States continues to rise, it is understandable that the same is true for church leadership. The average age of Senior Pastors in the US is in the mid 50's, our foreign missionaries average is in the mid 50's, even our deacons, elders, Sunday school teachers and committee membership is around the mid 50's. While t...

Have you ever thought about why we gather together on Sunday mornings for church, or corporate worship? Not the theological reasons; it is pretty clear in the Bible that the local faith community is the main avenue for individual Christians to grow and serve and it is the main means by which God accomplishes his purposes here on earth. I am talking about your own personal reasons. Why do you &quot...

Have you ever wondered why churches spend between half of even a third of their worship services in song? If you look back over the last 30 years in the history of the American church, the greatest place of contention, disruption, disunity and spiritual warfare has revolved around that portion of our worship services where we sing. We have fought over how we sing, what we sing, and even the instru...

Have you ever considered your legacy? What will people think about you when you are gone, or will they even think about you? What about 50 years from now, or 75? When you think of the great examples of those who were faithful to God in the Bible it is easy to come up with the names like Moses, Gideon, Joshua, David, Nehemiah, Elijah; but the vast majority of people whose legacy we follow are unnam...

When you mention Satan in Christian circles you will find that many Christ followers fall into one of two extreme positions; they are either obsessed with spiritual warfare and see the devil in everything, or they downplay or ignore that he is even real, with many picturing him as some cartoon with a pointy tail and horns. The Bible is very clear that both of those extremes are dangerous and the A...

How do we determine our worth? Is it our income? our talent? our abilities? For the Christ follower our value or worth should not be defined by who we are, or what we can do, or have done but rather "whose" we are. From our story in Nehemiah we discover that the Israelites used the old broken and burned bricks from the destroyed wall to rebuild the new wall. They literally redeemed those...

Thank you for listening to our podcast and we would love for you to subscribe to our page and share with others.  Join us for our weekly worship online at www.firstbaptistblowingrock.com or our Youtube page .  Contact us at office@firstbaptistblowingrock.com or by phone @ 828-295-7715

In Nehemiah chapter 6 we discover that Nehemiah has seen his dream/vision become a reality. The walls of Jerusalem are complete and in record time. In Chapter 7 we learn that after completing the task, the people go back to their villages, jobs and normal routines, yet something is still not right. They had their security, life was returning to normal, but something was still missing. In Chapter 8...

We continue our examination of Strongholds that exist in the lives of Christ followers and that have been institutionalized in the church. Strongholds are "beliefs, ideas, pretext or principles" that are contrary to the Word of God. These are ideas we have allowed to take root in our hearts and minds that keep us from fulfilling God's call on our lives and distort our mission and me...

In 2nd Corinthians 10:3-5, the Apostle Paul uses the term "Stronghold" to describe thoughts, pretext, reasonings and even beliefs that can take root in our hearts and minds that are contrary to scripture. These "strongholds" can be both conscious or subconscious. Many times we do not even realize that they have taken root until they are exposed by the truth of the Word of God a...

Everyone of us has faced discouragement; things don't turn out the way we had planned, not moving as fast as we had hoped, everyone is not supportive - we have all been there. But if we are not careful, simple discouragement can lead us into a pit of despair where we can lose hope, joy and even our faith. By revisiting our story from Nehemiah, this message examines and identifies several fact...