First Baptist Church of Jackson, Michigan - Sermons

Have you ever turned your back on someone? Has someone turned their back on you? This week we’re examining stories of those who let their friends, families, and faith down by disassociation, and what it looks like to come back from denial. There’s hope for restoration! The season of Easter is a season of restoration. Jesus was restored to life and vindicated against his accusers. In Easter’s resur...

It’s natural to doubt. If we didn’t doubt, we’d end up believing all sorts of misinformation and lies. But sometimes doubt leads to unbelief, and unbelief keeps us from good news. Is there a place for doubt in faith? The season of Easter is a season of restoration. Jesus was restored to life and vindicated against his accusers. In Easter’s resurrection, we are restored too. The hopeless are restor...

Jesus was raised, what's left to say? Sometimes we visualize Jesus' resurrection as the victory celebration and that all the work was finished. In some ways that's true, but it's not the whole story. God's restoration work continues. There is much that is unfinished that needs healing. Jesus is leading the greatest comeback of all time, a return to our divine purpose, rest, and life.   ...

Celebrate Easter hope with us! After a difficult year, join us in celebrating the mystery of resurrection amidst death, the mystery of hope amidst despair, the mystery of life amidst death. The Easter message invites us to reflect on that hope which defies simple words. Let us hope that life might lift us up together. Christians throughout history have longed to follow Jesus more faithfully and no...

God’s transformative power creates a world that is more beautiful, loving, and good. Despite this, we often respond poorly to God’s transforming presence. For Palm Sunday, we reflect on Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem to polar responses. Some cheered. Others Sneered. How might we respond today? The scripture readings are from Matthew 21:6-10 and 26:57-68. Christians throughout history have longed to f...

This week’s sermon text is filled with the unusual. Jesus is accused of illicit magic. The ruler of demons is identified as Beelzebul. Jesus acknowledges the work of Pharisaic exorcists. And that’s just the backdrop for our continued conversation about the use of God’s name. While the usual Gospel tension is with Jesus being wrongfully accused of blasphemy, this week, we explore Jesus accusing his...

This week's sermon comes from our special guest, Jamin Bradley. Jamin is the pastor at 1208 Greenwood, which hosts a dinner church, nerd church, and more. Pastor Jamin uses Genesis 1:26-27 as a launching point to talk about what it means to bear the image of God in the world as opposed to the images of idols. In our series, "In God's Name," we examine the ways we describe God and God’s actions in...

In a world tempted to hate and ostracize, forgiveness can be scandalous. Jesus forgave a man’s sins and what was the response? Some in the room thought forgiveness was blasphemy. This week, we are exploring the radical forgiveness. Christians throughout history have longed to follow Jesus more faithfully and not settle for a popular, cultural Christianity. This Lenten season, our sermon series, “I...

Sermon preached by Pastor Dallas Flippin at the First Baptist Church of Jackson, MI on Sunday, February 28, 2021.   In a world where people invoke God’s name for all sorts of causes, inevitably God’s name is invoked on the side of injustice, violence, and lies. Have you witnessed the disrespect of God’s name? How do you talk about it? This week, we read from 1 Samuel 3 and the story of Samuel...

Blasphemy isn’t just a kind of profanity. We’re accustomed to people cursing God’s name, but this week we reflect on the times we blaspheme God in times of blessing. As we read Nehemiah’s summary of the liberated Hebrew people wandering in the wilderness, we’ll reflect on how quickly people people turn to blaspheme God in unexpected ways. Christians throughout history have longed to follow Jesus m...

Christians throughout history have longed to follow Jesus more faithfully and not settle for a popular, cultural Christianity. This Lenten season, our sermon series, “In God’s Name,” examines the ways we describe God and God’s actions in the world. By Good Friday, Jesus will be charged with blasphemy for announcing and living out God’s liberation for the world. As we faithfully follow God, we shou...

We’re often afraid to try and restore broken relationships with our coworkers, neighbors, friends, and family. When we avoid our broken relationships, we also avoid glimpses at the divine embrace, where God brings healing and hope. This week, we read about the moment Esau and Jacob meet each other 20 years after their relationship was broken by deception. Join us as we listen for how God calls us...

Are you looking for healing in a relationship in your life? Join us this week as we continue to learn about good and bad paths towards reconciliation in the story of Esau and Jacob. The sermon text focuses on Genesis 32:22-32. The sermon is preached on Sunday, February 7, 2021. In the series, “Sibling Rivalry,” we are studying the stories of Esau and Jacob to understand both the challenges and hop...

There are pivotal moments that shape a relationship for better or worse. In Genesis 27, Jacob’s deception fractured his relationship with his brother and changed the the next two decades of their lives. Join us as we contemplate the urgency of faithful living and the gravity of unfaithfulness. This week’s message is titled, “The Point of No Return,” and is the second message of our series, “Siblin...

Today's sermon is the start of a new sermon series, “Sibling Rivalry.” In a world of broken and dysfunctional relationships, we look to Esau and Jacob for understanding how problems emerge and for what seeing God in the midst reconciliation can look like.   In the series, we will examine the real challenges of relationships, not the cheap artificial unity talk that makes reconciliation sound...

This week we welcome the Executive Minister of the American Baptist Churches of Michigan, Rev. Brian Johnson. Rev. Johnson is preaching from John 2:1-11 with a sermon titled, “The Miracle of Transformation.” Learn more about the First Baptist Church of Jackson, MI at fbjxn.org .

January 10 is the first Sunday after Epiphany, where we celebrate the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry with his baptism. John the Baptist preached uncomfortable truths about the injustices of his time and called for repentance. As we recover from the trauma that occurred at the U.S. Capitol building this week, we are invited to look at the uncomfortable truths about ourselves and examine where...

Christmas isn’t over. Christmas is actually a church season, not just a single day. This Sunday we read from John 1:10-14 about how we too often respond negatively to God’s light in the world. As the Christmas season nears an end, let us choose to cultivate a habit of saying yes to God’s surprising work in our life. Sermon preached by Pastor Dallas Flippin on Sunday, January 3, 2021. Learn more ab...

Sermon preached by guest speaker, Dr. David Gushee, on Sunday, December 27, 2020. Dr. David Gushee is the Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University (Macon, GA). Dr. Gushee is the elected Past-President of both the American Academy of Religion and Society of Christian Ethics. He is author and/or editor of 25 books and over 150 book chapters, journal articles, and r...

When things are difficult, there is a temptation to abandon ship. In a year of isolation, we look to Christmas for the reminder of God’s presence in our midst. Even more, God calls on us to be faithful to God and to each other, companions on our shared spiritual journey. This week, we learn from the Gospel of Matthew about faithfulness as we read about how Joseph chose to remain faithful in the fa...

We too often read the Bible in a monotone manner, missing the dynamics of the story. We miss the painful low moments of grief. We miss the jubilant shouts of praise. This week, we are learning from the poetic and musical responses to the original Christmas story. People respond differently to Christmas, both in the past and today. What is it to embrace the unexpected movement of God with language...

In Matthew's first chapter of the gospel, he shares the family story of Jesus. It’s a long family story with highs and lows. While we often want to hide our family secrets, Matthew unveils them before we even meet Jesus. Join us for our second week of our series, An Unexpected Christmas! Advent is a season of anticipation for the light that emerges in the darkness. We anticipate hope in the midst...

In Advent, we anticipate light emerging in the darkness. We admit that there are prayers that we don't trust will ever become realized. Reading from Luke 1:5-20, we are invited to encounter unexpected answered prayers. Join us for the first week of our sermon series, An Unexpected Christmas. Advent is a season of anticipation for the light that emerges in the darkness. We anticipate hope in the mi...

God’s kingdom is always more expansive than we assume. In the final week of our series, The Kin-dom of God, we talk about our relationship with animals and the world around us. Pastor Dallas preaches from Genesis 9:8-17. The Kin-dom of God. No, it’s not a typo. The Gospels frequently have to explain that the kingdom of God is like because we can’t see past our own political expectations. In this s...

In a world where people want to be seen as winners, get the promotion to be the boss, and have power over their peers, God invites us into a different type of leadership. Join us for worship this Sunday as Pastor Dallas preaches from Mark 10:35-45. This week we continue our series, The Kin-dom of God. No, it’s not a typo. The Gospels frequently have to explain that the kingdom of God is like becau...