First Baptist Church of Jackson, Michigan - Sermons

Today’s Message: Palm Sunday People have a lot of names for us – some good, some bad. Navigating both criticism and mistaken praise is difficult when doing so alone. Worshiping in community enables us to rest in God’s presence – a sanctuary where we are called children of God. Join us this Palm Sunday as we reflect on the transforming power of regularly approaching God together. Series: The Force...

Today’s Message: Choosing Gratitude Gratitude is a powerful force that can transform our lives and relationships. Join us this Sunday to discover how being grateful for the blessings of life can lead us to respond in love. Series: The Force of Habit It’s vital in faith to break out of your routines and to follow God into something bigger. But it’s also true that God speaks to us through the rhythm...

Today’s Message: Advocating for Others Looking to strengthen your spiritual life? Join us for an inspiring sermon by our interim worship leader, Steven, on making a habit of praying for others. Drawing from Luke 22, where Jesus prays for Peter’s faith to not fail, Steven will challenge us to be mindful of those around us and pray for their well-being. Don’t miss out on this powerful message of com...

Today’s Message: Active Listening Join us for a transformative message on the power of listening. In a world where noise often drowns out God’s loving voice, let’s take a moment to pause, reflect, and listen. Discover how being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger can bring us closer to God and each other. Series: The Force of Habit It’s vital in faith to break out of your routines an...

Today’s Message: Reading with Jesus Are you looking to deepen your spiritual journey through reading the Bible? Join us this Sunday as we explore Jesus’ transfiguration and discover the importance of reading the Bible through the lens of Christ. Learn how to approach scripture with faith and engage with it as a daily part of your spiritual life. Don’t miss out on this transformative message! Serie...

Today’s Message: Hold Fast to Your Dreams Do you feel like giving up on your dreams? Jesus faced similar struggles during his 40-day fast in the wilderness. Join us for a sermon that will inspire you to hold on to your God-given aspirations and overcome temptations that come your way. Series: The Force of Habit It’s vital in faith to break out of your routines and to follow God into something bigg...

Today’s Message: The Musical Battle Does drama exhaust you? When you’re faced with toxic environments it’s easy to become toxic too. This week, we’re reading an out of the box story about the time God told Israel’s army to not enter a battle and instead to put the musicians in the front lines of the battle. Join us as we reflect on God’s wisdom for times of conflict. Series: Out of the Box Do you...

Today’s Message: Shrinking and Growing It’s always tough to lose your supporters, your allies, you teammates, your friends. If you combine shrinking support with feeling inadequate, it becomes really difficult to overcome the challenges in front of us. In the Book of Judges, God had some strange advice to Gideon which might just empower you to face your fears. Join us as we examine how to face the...

Today’s Message: Seeing Beneath the Surface Have you ever felt overlooked? People are prone to put labels on each other. Some are seen as smart, as cool, as flaky, or as loyal. The labels we use sometimes leave people overlooked. Samuel once went looking for a new king – and found some candidates who looked the part. But then something unexpected happened. Join us this week as we help people get o...

Today’s Message: What Are You Saying, Jesus? Do you ever wish it was easier to know what God wants from you? The Bible isn't simply a straightforward book of commands and theological statements. Instead, the Bible is filled with so many stories. Not only that, but Jesus also told a lot of parables. Join us as we explore what parables can tell us about faith and following God in a messy world. Seri...

Today’s Message: The Power of Letting Go How can I learn to let go of what I thought was my calling and embrace a new path? This week we’re talking about one of the more dramatic transformations in the bible – the story of Ezekiel. Ezekiel had trained his whole life to be a priest, but his temple would be destroyed. Join us as we discuss the awesome power and possibility that comes after faithfull...

Series: Out of the Box Do you ever feel stuck? Maybe the cycle of exhaustion, or loneliness, or emptiness keeps holding you down. We imagine we know how the world works, and how our story works, but too often our lives are bogged down because we can’t imagine a better possibility for ourselves. In this sermon series, we’re examining stories of God calling people to think outside the box and live i...

We are excited to welcome this week’s guest speaker, Dutch Dockter, who is the Senior Pastor at Mason Community Church. This week, Dutch walks us through the story of Joshua and how to live boldly trusting God. Sermon preached by Dutch Dockter, on Sunday, January 8, 2023 at the First Baptist Church of Jackson, MI. Connect with FBC JXN Learn more about FBCJXN at https://fbcjxn.org . Follow us on Fa...

This week, we're blessed to have Steven Owsley guest preach for us on Matthew 2:1-12. Like the Magi, you have an opportunity to be faithful and enter into new beginnings. Sermon preached by Steven Owsley, on Sunday, January 1, 2023 at the First Baptist Church of Jackson, MI. Connect with FBC JXN Learn more about FBCJXN at https://fbcjxn.org . Follow us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/fbcjxn ....

Today's Message: Grace in a Brutal World Today's message is about what grace looks like in a universe that can appear brutal. Series: Cosmic Christmas In an expanding universe, what is it to proclaim God’s presence among us? In our sermon series, Cosmic Christmas, we’re taking a journey through the beginning of John’s Gospel, which begins not with a Bethlehem birth story, but with the creation of...

Today's Message: God's Christmas Presence Space is ENORMOUS. And yet John writes that God dwelt among us. As Christmas approaches, we'll discuss how God's presence makes all the difference. Series: Cosmic Christmas In an expanding universe, what is it to proclaim God’s presence among us? In our sermon series, Cosmic Christmas, we’re taking a journey through the beginning of John’s Gospel, which be...

This Week: The Cosmic Children of God Every person is made up of over 20,000 genes stored in trillions of cells.  And yet, we’re more than our genetic code. Today, we’re talking about what it means to be children of God. As we reflect on our place in the universe, we celebrate human diversity and what it means to flourish as God created us. Series: Cosmic Christmas In an expanding universe, w...

This Week: Does God Need My Belief? Sometimes churches can give off the notion that your knowledge and beliefs are the most important part of your identity. We spend a lot of time worried about whether everyone believes the same thing and whether we can tolerate others who don’t. The opening of the Gospel of John, however, portrays God as accepting and persistent despite the unbelief of God’s crea...

This Week: Are We Headed for Doomsday? Is the world about to end? That’s a question people across history have all wondered. This week we examine why people are so prone to expect the end of the world. Join us as we look to Christmas for a better way of looking at the future. Series: Cosmic Christmas In an expanding universe, what is it to proclaim God’s presence among us? In our sermon series, Co...

This Week: The Time Lord The Gospel of John begins Jesus’ story, not with his birth, but with the birth of all creation. Starting “in the beginning,” John echoes the language of Genesis and ties the story of Jesus with the cosmic story of the universe. Knowing what we do now about the variability of time, what are the implications of our new understandings of time for our faith today? Join us for...

This Week: What Does It Cost? How much do you think satisfaction costs? The prophet Isaiah writes a beautiful vision of a future where needs and desires are met without any money exchanging hands. What would it look like to be satisfied without money? Join us as we explore being satisfied no matter the size of our bank accounts. Series: Satisfied In a world always lusting for the next better thing...

This Week: Is There Enough? What do you do when you're worried about if there will be enough? Is there enough food on my table? Is there enough money in my account? Is there enough time to get my tasks done? There's a temptation to turn inward when we're worried if there's enough. This week, we read the story of a prophet and a widow struggling through a famine. The prophet's advice runs contrary...

This Week: What Am I Searching For? If we ever have a chance to be satisfied, we have to first know what we’re looking for. Today, we’re reading a story about crowds who were unhappy with the way Jesus lived his life. Series: Satisfied In a world always lusting for the next better thing, we’re taking time to reflect on what it means to be satisfied. There’s nothing wrong with longing for a better...

This Week: How to Season Your Life Have you ever wondered if it was the right time to have an important talk? Maybe it can wait until later. Or maybe the moment has passed you by. This week, we’re reading Paul’s advice for how to know when to speak. Series: How to Love Your Neighbor in a Divided World Is it possible to be a loving person in our polarized cutthroat world? Every action, every word,...

This Week: What is Inclusive Peer Pressure Peer pressure isn’t just a thing for kids. We’re peer pressured to wear certain clothes or buy certain phones. We’re also peer pressured to exclude certain people. This week, the apostle Paul tells us about an awkward party he had with Peter – and how Paul dealt with the peer pressure. Series: How to Love Your Neighbor in a Divided World Is it possible to...