First Baptist Church of Salem, MA

The best definition and evidence of the of the Church is "grace." As we listen to a story today that causes fear in the early Church, we see that God takes seriously the genuineness of our actions done in His Name. But He also abundantly pours out His grace on His Church, empowering and changing them into a beautiful outpost of hope and care for our broken world. Listen in today as we explore the...

There may be nothing more scary for the modern day Christian than the admonition to "share your faith" with others. But when we look at the early Church, particularly at John and Peter in Acts 4, we see a unique flavor of Gospel boldness. It's not a burden, but rather a belief. Listen in as we learn about how to unlock a boldness that is freeing, and not forced. The short answer? Genuine time with...

In today's Scripture, a remarkable event occurs... and it's not the healing of a lame beggar! Rather, "in Jesus' Name" Peter and John bring this man and all the onlookers more than they expected. Listen in today as we see how the power of the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth brings about more than we ever could have dreamed or imagined... even more than eternity. "God is on the move!"

The earliest Church must have looked really strange in the Roman Empire. Selling their houses and meeting together every day? Giving generously to the poor and the outcasts? All this (and more) is what makes the Church unique in the world. Listen in today to learn more about how these earliest believers in Jesus uniquely came together to form a fellowship that would change the world forever.

The story of the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost is both astounding and confounding. What is happening in this unique story in history? Listen in today as we learn how God delights to use His Church for His purposes, by "resting" Himself on the Church.

As the earliest disciples await the coming of the promised Holy Spirit, a clear question emerges - "What now???" It is in this in-between passage - after Jesus' ascension and before the Holy Spirit's coming - that the Church begins to be organized. In this sermon, we learn that the Church can best and most freely witness to a watching world when it is organized under God's clear leading.

"God is on the move!" As we begin a new series in the book of Acts, we see two primary actors emerge: The Holy Spirit and the Church. These are God's two primary agents of action in spreading the gospel of Jesus all around. Today we look at the introduction, and see how the Church is empowered for a specific purpose. Join us on this journey through Acts as we come to understand what the Church is...

What does a Shepherd do with fish? Approaching John 21, we find a beautiful story of the resurrected Jesus encountering His disciples with a reminder and a vision for their lives. Join us for this wrap-up sermon on our month-long missions conference, "All for Jesus" as we see what God has in store for His church going forward into the future.

Jesus' famous encounter with the woman at the well in John 4 is a well known story. This week, Stephanie Clark (Executive Director of Amirah, Inc.) brings this timeless story to life in our modern day by teaching it through the lens of her work of rescuing women from the enslavement of human trafficking in New England. But it also an encouragement to each of us looking for true life and living wat...

What is a King? As Jesus' tomb is found empty, Mark 16 gives us a surprising look into Jesus being crowned as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Journey with us to discover with us how the resurrection of Jesus Christ crowns Him as the One True King.

Sacrifice. On the cross of Calvary, Jesus Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice for humanity. The disgraced become the embraced. Listen in as we see those Jesus embraces while on the cross. Which does your soul identify with on this day?

Sorrow. A word we love to flee from. As we zoom into the Garden of Gethsemane experience of Jesus and His disciples after the Last Supper, we see what makes those around Jesus sorrowful. But then we see Jesus. Jesus is filled with sorrow in His soul. Join us as Jesus shows us the way of sorrow.

Many try to save the world, but only One uniquely can. What makes Jesus uniquely the Savior of the World? In this famous Palm Sunday passage, we walk with Jesus from Jericho, up to Bethany, Bethphage, and the Mount of Olives and ultimately into Jerusalem's temple, and discover how Jesus saves. We look at Jesus' burden, His method, His people, and finally His power.

Money, possession, stuff. Jesus loves to talk about these things, even when (especially when!) they're uncomfortable for modern listeners. When Jesus is confronted by a young man with many possessions, who is looking for eternal answers, Jesus lovingly and graciously chips away at his assumptions and gives him (and the disciples) a surprising answer. Join us as we look at the trick, threat, thrill...

Glory. What is it? Who is it? What happens when you're face-to-face with it? We've rounded the corner and have reached a climactic point in the first part of Mark's Gospel. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus shows the disciples something that will forever change them, their lives, and redemptive history forever. But while all this change takes place, Jesus does not change. He has always been w...

This is the turning point in the gospel of Mark. Jesus begins to unveil to his disciples the identity of the one they've watched heal, teach, and forgive people. Jesus is "the Christ", the long-awaited Savior for the world. But what does His identity teach us, and, more so, what does it show those who take on His identity, "Christian"? Journey with us and Jesus to a place the world sees as a place...

Being exposed is not easy. It can be uncomfortable, embarrassing, or bring shame. Therefore, most of us don't want to naturally go there ourselves. But there is something transcendently powerful about exposure as well. In Mark 7, Jesus begins to show us that there is one place where true, healthy, trusted exposure can take place - before Him. Jesus invites the Pharisees (and us today) to bring our...

What kind of packer are you? Light? Heavy? Unorganized? Rushed? In this sermon, introducing us to the season of Lent on the church calendar, Jesus foreshadows the Great Commission, by sending His first 12 disciples out on a mission journey. But what does He send them with? Without? What does He make sure they don't forget? Listen in and discern what Jesus makes sure we don't forget either.

"Jesus Loves You." What do you think when you hear that? This is such a common thing to hear now that unfortunately the power of this transformative reality has been oftentimes lost. In this sermon, we look at Jesus' radical encounter with a far-away person, and aim to re-discover again for our own soul "how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." (Ephesians 3:18)

How do things grow? For some things, the answer is easy but for other's a profound mystery. In today's message, we look at how Jesus uses two parables to explain how God grows the Kingdom of God. What we discover is that the secret, mysterious, progressive, unlikely nature of God's Kingdom growth actually paints a beautiful reality for us - any faithful life (no matter how small or meager) is used...

Family is at the core of life around the world. That's what makes Jesus' seeming rejection of his brothers and mother in Mark 3 so surprising and shocking. What is Jesus doing? Listen in as we see Jesus, our faithful and true Brother, begin building the new Family - the Church.

Most people would probably say that forgiveness is a noble and good thing. But, like most noble things, it’s also really hard to actually do. In Mark 2, a pretty extraordinary example of forgiveness occurs. A paralyzed man is brought (actually dropped down!) to Jesus. The man is clearly seeking to be healed, but Jesus first gives him something he wasn’t asking for. What’s really going on in this s...

Americans make and receive about 6 billion phone calls each day and constantly communicate with one another through a variety of different technology platforms. But we also live in a polarized world as a direct result of such communication. So in a world full of calls to allegiance, how is Jesus’ call unique? In Jesus’ 6 different encounters in Mark 1:16-45, we discover that Jesus’ call is in a le...

Good News. We all long for it, especially coming off a year in 2020 unlike any other. Jesus comes proclaiming Good News when begins his public ministry (see Mark 1:1-15), but what is he talking about exactly? Are there “strings attached” to the Good News Jesus brings? And is the Good News he brought 2,000 years ago still relevant to us today? What we discover together in this sermon is that when w...