First Baptist Blowing Rock

A Continuation from the message on January 18th, "Moving Forward Together as One". From Ephesians 4:7-10 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

How important is unity in a church? Without it, a church cannot function, grow, serve or be effective. It is so important that as we move into the more practical aspects of Ephesians, Paul prefaces the promises and power of the church on whether or not they are united. A divided church is a dying church and too many churches have allowed disagreements to turn into division and that division turns...

Everyone loves to claim Philippians 4:13, "I can do All things". We see it quoted on Facebook, Twitter feeds, we sing about it, memorize it, even claim it as a Biblical promise. The only problem is that before you can attempt the "I can" you must claim the "I am" (small letters). So many of the Biblical promises and principles that Paul lays out throughout all of his...

Do New Years resolutions ever really work? We all start with the best of intentions and yet so many people never achieve their New year's goals. Why not this year, instead of making new resolutions, we strive to discover what God might want for lives? Could you use more of God's power in your everyday life? in your relationships? your marriage? your church? God's power is directly t...

"God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" These words from the end of Paul's prayer in Ephesians chapter three get passed around, misquoted and posted as a promise on Facebook on a weekly basis. It is used to encourage people that God is always working out something bigger in our lives than we expected, but is He? and is that what this verse promises? The Bibl...

If God has given us everything we need to live and experience an "abundant life" while here on earth; what do I need to do to start experiencing it? In what many call the "heart" of the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul lays out some key principles that allow the Christ follower to move from reading about "biblical truths" to experiencing them in your everyday life....

Many of you visited relatives over the thanksgiving holidays; some of you even spent the night with them in their home. Did you feel welcomed and at home or did you feel like you were crashing their party or cramping their style? Most of us have experienced the difference between a house (some place to stay - roof over your head) and a home (a place where you feel safe, welcomed and like family) b...

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

Sometimes the hardest part of forgiving is forgetting. Even after we have moved on from something or someone, the memories still hold us captive and can rob us of our joy and intimacy with God. How can you stop allowing memories from your past from hindering your future? We can learn a lot from Joseph and his life's story in Genesis. How does what Joseph named his firstborn son help us learn...

Have you ever wished that God would give you some insight into what lies ahead in life? Maybe just a clue about our relationships, or our job future, or even our health? Wouldn't it be awesome to know what was going to happen tomorrow or the next day? The Apostle Paul reminds us that there is a reason we don't have that ability; a reason why our future can seem mysterious and unknown and...

Have you ever felt like you did not belong? Like you did not fit in? Ever walked into a room and everyone stopped talking? All of us have been on the outside looking in at one time or another but the Apostle Paul explains that for God's children that is no longer a reality! We belong! We are now a part of a family that we don't have to try to impress or be something we are not to get acc...

We all have walls in our lives; barriers that we create to either keep people out, or to help keep parts of us in. We build them in our marriages and our relationship, we build them at work and in our community; we even build them at church! The Bible is pretty clear that Jesus came to break down barriers and walls. He destroyed the wall that separated man from God but he also destroyed any reason...

Have you ever tried your best at something and it was still not good enough? Maybe at a job or in a relationship or trying to make a life change? You give it everything you have and yet you still feel inadequate? The good news is that the first step in overcoming your inadequacies is recognizing that you have them - recognizing that for some things in life and in certain circumstances; your best w...

What is the best "before and after" picture that you have ever seen? Was it a weight loss miracle? A makeup makeover? What about a house that someone flipped or a car that was completely overhauled? We love to hear and see "before and after" pictures and stories. They encourage us with potential and hope, but what if someone was doing a "before and after" about your l...

This message from our Harvest Day service tackles the issue of what happened to the Church at Ephesus from the time of Paul's prayer in Chapter one to the conclusions we hear about in Revelation 2. How did they go from redeemed Saints, exploring their inheritance in Christ, to 'loosing their first love"? It remains a problem today in both churches and individuals. We lose our passio...

What does it really mean to be a "child of God"? Should it make a difference in how I live? worship? interact with others? As a child of God, a "joint -heir" with Jesus, and a part of the family; does that mean I get an inheritance? We have heard hymns and choruses proclaim these themes, probably even sung or said the words ourselves - but what does it really mean? and does it...

We sing songs and hymns about being "redeemed", we read about it in scripture, and sometimes a Pastor or teacher may throw it out there; but what does it really mean? It is not a common word we use today so for many Christians the real meaning is never fully grasped. Since many fail to understand it, we fail to realize just what the Bible is saying when it calls us "The Redeemed&quo...

There are video clips flooding the internet of a prominent Pastor's wife proclaiming to the church, "We don't come to worship for God - we do it for ourselves - we do it to make us happy and God's greatest desire is for our happiness". Through all the controversy and opinion being thrown around about this quote - what does the Bible say? Here in Ephesians 1, the Apostle Pa...

When did God decide to send Jesus as a sacrifice for the sins of man and a means for man's salvation? Why did he do it? Was it so we could go to heaven? be forgiven? have a relationship with Him? The answers to these questions take us into the deeper waters of scripture, into some of the central truths of the New Testament and leave many believers breathless. While the answer is simple; the i...

The Apostle Paul starts this wonderful letter by reminding Christ followers that not only are they a "totally new creation" but also that they have been given the most incredible blessings available. You don't have to wait for them, your don't have to earn them, you don't have to pray for them; they are already yours! The question is not what more can God give you - the qu...

What do you call those that identify themselves as a follower of Jesus Christ? What do you call yourself? "Christian" "Christ Follower" "Sinner saved by Grace" ? Does it really matter? The Apostle Paul thought so and rightly identified the faithful believers in Ephesus as "Saints" . Do you think of yourself as a "Saint"? If not; it could be the rea...

What does a healthy looking church look like? What makes it effective? Jesus gives us some hints when he visits the temple and has a run-in with the religious leaders and over turns some tables. Is he still in the table turning business? Join us as we examine Matthew 21 and this famous incident and how it relates to the modern church and each of us as individuals. Thank you for listening to our po...

Church bashing is all the rage - everyone wants to "follow Jesus" just not be a part of the "church". The only problem with that is, following Jesus MAKES you a part of the church - you don't have a choice. The church is the means by which Jesus chose to change and empower the world and trying to "follow Jesus" apart from the church is like being a suited up and...

Many church leaders would say that one of the greatest problems they face in the church today is the lack of commitment from the members and those involved. Everyone likes to sign up to help, or shows up for the planning rally or even come to the first meeting but as time goes by; they drop out, wander away or just plain quit. The problem is that the Bible never calls us to give it our "best...

All you seem to hear about today is how much trouble the church is in. Denominations are shrinking, baptisms down, church attendance slacking off, losing a generation; everyone has an opinion. Online blogs, magazine articles, even whole sermons relegated to listing everything that is wrong about the church; but what about all that is right? This hand wringing and finger pointing about the church b...