First Baptist Blowing Rock

While John addresses the same themes of Love and Truth that we found in 1st John here in his second letter, he also becomes more direct in how Christians should deal with false teachers and false teaching and not just the kind coming from those within the church. What about how we allow the influences of the world's popular philosophies and worldviews to infiltrate our own thinking, actions a...

In this final message from our series in 1st John we take an overview of the entire book and examine some metrics that John lays out to give an indication whether a Christian is growing spiritually or not. We examine 5 indicators that John points to as behaviors that will be found in the life of any Christian who is growing beyond just the basics of our faith. From 1st John 5:13, Hebrews 5:11-6:1....

In this message we examine the dangerous influence that idols can have on our spiritual growth and relationship with God. We identify some modern-day idols that Christians struggle with and how to overcome them. From 1st John 5:20-21. 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.firstb...

Continued discussion on how to overcome personal sin in our lives, including those secret sins that we think no one knows about. From 1st John 5:16-19 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@firstbaptistblowin...

As John draws his letter to a close, he reminds the church and Christians the importance of accountability within the church and the importance of praying for one another. All of us struggle to overcome sin in our lives and John wants us to make sure we utilize the power of the local faith community in our struggles. From 1st John 5:16-19. Thank you for listening to our podcast and we would love f...

In this message we look at the importance, privilege and power of personal prayer in the lives of Christian. Prayer is the most underused weapon the Christian has available for dealing with the struggles of this life as well as developing a deeper and more intimate relationship with God. From 1st John 5:13-15.  Thank you for listening to our podcast and we would love for you to subscribe to our pa...

John tells us in 1st John 5:13 that the purpose of this letter was so that Christians could have assurance in eternal life. So that we could be confident in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have no doubts about what awaits us when we die. Yet, if you were to ask many in the church "If you were to die today, where would you go" you are likely to heave answers that start...

In the 15th Century, a Christian Monk with the name Johnn of the Cross coined a phrase, "The Dark Night of the Soul" to describe those times in a Christians life when they face such struggle, difficulties and trials that they feel like God has abandoned them. If you live the Christian life long enough, you will probably face a "Dark Night". In today's message we examine th...

With all the changes that are taking place in our nation and culture as we move from our Judeo-Christian values where the traditional family is foundational towards a progressive postmodern, post Christian environment - what is the church and Christian's response supposed to be? Should we wait it out and hope for the best, or maybe disengage and strive to outlast what is happening with hopes...

We live in a culture where the word "love" has been hijacked by many groups and organizations as a means to justify any and all sorts of lifestyles and behaviors. This subjective view of love has, by its overuse, pretty much made the word undefinable. Yet, the Apostle John spends most of his gospel and a good section of his New Testament letters clearly defining love and in our passage f...

As John continues to warn about False Teachers in 1st John 4, he builds on last week's passages on "testing the spirits" and comparing what is being taught about Jesus Christ with scripture, in this week's passages he adds the influence of the Holy Spirit. In this message we discuss how the "power" of the Holy Spirit allows us to overcome the influence of the world ph...

The Apostle John again warns of false teachers and false teachings in our passage for this message. Here he goes a step further than just warning but also gives some practical test to identify a false teacher and how we can know what they are teaching is unscriptural. Listen in to discover some tools we can use to protect ourselves, our families and our churches from these false teachers that seem...

This message continues our look at 1st John 3:19-24 and the issue of doubts. So many struggle with the assurance of their salvation and in this letter, the Apostle John explains how we can find security in our relationship with God. We break down why it is so important to recognize and utilize the privilege we have to approach God with worship and our prayer request as well as what it means to hav...

While most of 1st John is written to differentiate between those who "claim to be believers" or "say they believe" versus true believers in Jesus Christ, it also gives us some "test" to help those who are struggling with doubts about their faith to find some assurance. Most of those tests are taught in general terms like "Walking in the Light", "Love yo...

All of us have defaults, they are what we fall back on when called to react to something unexpected. They are part of our old nature, who we were before we became Christians and if we are not careful, they can hinder our relationship with God and with others. So how do we change those defaults and which ones should be a priority? Join us as we examine the command for Christians to love others and...

One of the debates that plagued the early church and continues through today is the issue of sin and how it affects the life of a Christian.  Early church cults taught that since we are under grace and forgiven, it doesn't matter if we sin, and we should not worry about it - this came to be known as "antinomian" thought and was considered heresy by the early church fathers. Yet, we...

What does the Apostle John mean when he uses the term "child of God" to describe those who are Christ followers? You hear people say we are "all God's children" but is that scriptural? In our passage for this message John unpacks the power, privilege and responsivities that come with that name and how it impacts our personal identity. He is drawn to this discussion through...

This message examines the warning about false teachers that have infiltrated the early church and are causing division and distractions. These "anti-Christ", as John calls them, are dangerous and need to be exposed and confronted.  John gives us 3 ways to expose these false teachers and 3 ways we can protect ourselves from their deception. From 1st John 2: 18-27.  Thank you for listening...

In this message we examine certain "worldly" distractions that can hinder, harm and diminish our personal relationship with God and how to overcome them. From 1st John 2:12-17.  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 .  Co...

A look at how the resurrection of Jesus Christ influences every area of a Christian's life, not just eternity.  We discuss how hopeless the world would be without the empty tomb and a risen savior! From 1st Corinthians 15.  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.firstbaptist...

A message on "Good Friday" and the meaning and message of the Cross. This message examines the deceleration of Jesus on the cross "My God, My God, why has thou Forsaken me?" and how it relates to Psalms 22.  From Matthew 27:45-46, Psalms 22.  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...

How can you tell if someone is a Christian or not? That has been a struggle from the beginning as false teachers and teaching began to invade the church. That is why the Apostle John in 1st John uses phrases like "you may claim" "if you say" as if to indicate that there were a lot of people in those early churches claiming to be followers of Christ but were not.  Since then, ge...

A message on stepping out on faith as individuals and as a church as we move forward striving to reach our region with the message of Jesus Christ. Also, a message of encouragement for anyone who needs to trust in God when making big decisions.  From Numbers 13-14.  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 wee...

We all follow someone - it shows in how we dress, the music we listen to, the television shows we watch, even in some of our attitudes. We even have people today whose sole job it is to gain followers on social media as "influencers". The real questions is where are those people we follow leading us, and how does that affect our relationship with God. In the message today we examine how...

Millions of people watching the Super Bowl likely saw an ad put out by an organization with the goal of introducing or reintroducing people to Jesus - separating him from the politics of today - or at least that was their stated intentions. Sadly, all the ad did was double down on the politics by presenting a Jesus who seems to fit into the politically correct "oppressor/oppressed" narra...