First Baptist Blowing Rock

We continue our Sermon Series examining "who we are" as a church and "what we believe" by looking at what has become the most recognizable Baptist distinctive; Religious Freedom! Since soon after the reformation, Baptist have fought and died for the principle that true worship and true obedience to God can only come through the practice of free will. In this message we examine...

This week we examine Genesis 15-25 while stopping to examine the meaning and purpose of the Covenant that God makes with Abram. We explain the significance and similarities between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. We also examine the identity of the person described as "The Angel of the Lord" all throughout the early Old Testament and how his identity can change the way we read the...

This sessions looks at the setting and background for Abram's journey to the "promise land" in Canaan. It would be helpful if you have a Map to follow the early part of the discussion. In most Bibles, you will find a Map in the back that shows the "World of the Patriarchs". This is the map we use for the discussion. We will also discuss Genesis 12-15 and Abram's journ...

We continue our study of what makes us a Baptist church and what we believe by looking at the Baptist distinctive of "Soul Competency" or "Soul Liberty". While those terms may not be familiar to many Christians, they are rooted in the idea that every person is created in the image of God and therefore accountable for their own actions and the consequences of those actions befor...

We continue our examination of "who we are and what we believe" as Christians and the Church by examining what it means to be "Baptist". This message looks at the Baptist principle of "The priesthood of believers" and examines how it evolved from the reformation principle of "Solus Christus" and it's effects on our ecclesiology, or how we govern and min...

As we continue our new series "This is Us" by examining what we believe and why we believe it; we take a look at some of the key principles of what it means to be a "Baptist church". This week we examine the principle of Biblical Authority or what Martin Luther called, "Sola Scriptura" - Scripture Alone! Not only will we look at some key Bible passages that shed some...

We examine Abram's spiritual and physical journeys as he encounters God and moves his family to Canaan. A look at the original Covenant that God made with Abram and Abram's religious background. We also examine Abram's encounters in Canaan and Egypt. 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 week...

An introduction to our series "This is Us" by examining the name "Baptist" and where it came from and what it means. We examine the issue of baptism by immersion, its history and why it is so important in a Baptist church. This new series will be examining what we believe as a Baptist church and why it is important as well as the history and heritage of our church as it relates...

Jesus tells the disciples in John 4 to "Open their eyes to the fields ripe for Harvest" after they seemingly missed an opportunity to share with the Samaritan women at the well. Has the church today fallen into the same trap of missed opportunities? Have we spent so much time focused on ourselves and our own spiritual growth and maturity that we have lost sight of our task? Do we even se...

In our new Wednesday night study we are looking at the Bible and its setting and context as it impacts all of History. This introduction looks at Genesis and the Creation story. 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 a...

Is the Church more concerned with it's own survival over advancing the Kingdom of God? Have we lost our passion for sharing our faith? Have we emphasized spiritual growth at the expense of evangelism? Have we lost our sense of urgency? Join us as we discover how to regain a "fierce urgency of now" when it comes to sharing with others what is supposed to be the most important thing i...

Psalms 46 has been used as a great source of strength and encouragement to those facing trials and struggles, but what if it was more than a source of comfort but rather a place to find confidence? The Psalmist encourages us to "Know" or "experience" God in a very real and tangible way in our everyday lives but this first requires that we "Be Still". What might that l...

When does Christmas end? Is it on December 26th? Or maybe it is on January 7th, the end of the 12 days of Christmas and the celebration of the arrival of the Magi in many churches? While we debate and discuss how the beginning of the season keeps getting pushed back early and earlier into November, but what about its end date? Is it when we finish unwrapping that last present, or when the relative...

When you read in 2nd Corinthians 11:21-29 as Paul describes some of the things he endured and overcame while sharing the gospel, you can't help but thinking "dangerous". But why would this simple, old theologian be in danger or even dangerous to those around him? It wasn't who he was that made him dangerous, but rather his message. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:18 that the m...

In spite of what we see in our traditional nativity scenes, we don't know how many Magi/Wise Men there actually were, we don't even know when they arrived on the scene or where they really came from; so what role do they play in the story? Join us as we examine the purpose and message of the Wise Men and how their arrival brings both the Old Testament and the Death of Jesus Christ into t...

It seems like you can't watch the news or get online without being overwhelmed with acts of "Evil" happening all around the world; church shootings, hunger and homelessness, marriages and homes dissolving and hate filled protest. We have a tendency to want to ask why? what happens that causes these events or these acts? The answer is simple; we live in an evil and fallen world and t...

The Apostle Paul warns us that if we claim to be followers of Christ, people will be watching us and for many people, the only definition of Christianity they will see is what they observe from your life. He tells us to be careful and strive to always do what is "right". So what does doing what is "right" mean, and what might that look like in our everyday lives? In Romans 12:1...

As the Apostle Paul continues to paint a picture of how the followers of Christ are supposed to live from Romans 12, he moves from our relationship with a specific group of people in verses 14-16, to a more general audience in verse 17. While at first glance it may seem to be just a simple instruction to "always do what is right" but when you examine the context and his word choices from...

We continue looking at character traits that will help or hinder our ability to put into practice "Blessing those who persecute us, bless and do not curse" from Romans 12:14. Much like stretching before you run or exercise; the Apostle Paul gives us some traits that will help stretch us spiritually and soften our hearts to get us to the point that we can learn to bless those difficult pe...

We were blessed to host Pastor Mark Brumbelow and his wife Cherry from Grace Baptist Church in Brazoria Texas to share how God has used their small rural church to do some incredible things with Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. In 2015 their church of 40 members collected 5321 shoeboxes! Their goal this year was 6975 to bring their 3 year total to 15,000 shoeboxes which is an incredible amount...

As a follow up to last weeks sermon from Romans 12:14 where Paul commands Christ followers to "Bless those who persecute us, bless and no curse". Knowing that this command goes against our human nature and can be so difficult to live out; Paul follows up in verses 15-16 with some practical examples of how we might prepare our hearts to be able to bless those who have persecuted us, betra...

All of us have people in our lives who have hurt us; some intentionally, some by accident and some never even realize the pain they have caused. We have people in our lives who betray us, who bully us, who lie about us to get ahead. People who make fun of us, who talk behind our back, who spread rumors about us - just plain old fashion "Mean People". In response to these people, we spend...

Terms like "authentic" and "community" have become the new Christian buzzwords. You find them in purpose statements, on church signs, on our logos and in our orders of worship; but do we even know what they mean? Are we advertising something that we are not providing or even producing? Have they simply become cliché's to an outside world who finds more community at their l...

How do we define love? How do we define how we are supposed to love others? Sure we can describe what love looks like, or it's attributes or characteristics but can we define it? What about God's love? If Christ followers are supposed to "love others the way God does, or the way God loves us", what does that mean? The problem with coming up to an answer for that question is eve...

How do we determine if we are a healthy and growing Christian? How do we determine if our church is "healthy"? Some would point to external factors; size, attendance, programs, growth - others might look at the past and determine progress made - but do those really reveal health? For years we determined a person's health by looking at their weight and height then finding on a chart...