It is a special Christmas Eve service at First Baptist. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”...
Wouldn’t it be great if we all could get along? I don’t mean just “not hit others,” I mean truly get along: accept each other, disagree agreeably, and care for each other regardless of the differences. Our best efforts tend to fail; it seems like it might take an ‘act of God’ for it to happen! Surprisingly, God has acted to bring this about! If you were asked what you wanted for Christmas, and you said, “I just want everyone to get along,” it might interest you to know that is one of the things ...
It’s good being loved, and connecting with those that love us. Most of us want and need this; without those connections, we feel alone and isolated, even incomplete. That need for connection also extends to our relationship with God. Humans need to feel like God loves them and is with them – that’s the purpose of almost all religious practices and beliefs! In our passage we can see the ways in which God met this need for a connection with Him through the birth of His Son, Jesus: Matthew 1:18-25 ...
A special Sunday service - The Hanging of the Greens. Listen along as the members of First Baptist share the background and scripture surrounding some of our favorite Christmas Decorations. We'd love to have you join us every Sunday at 500 West Truman Road in Independence. Sunday School starts at 9:00AM, Fellowship at 10:00, and Sunday Service at 10:30. If you would like to contribute to our ministry, you can do so by clicking here ....
Turkey Day – Yeah! We are thankful; but Not everyone is thankful: My wife tells the story of dealing with an ungrateful parent at the local high school, where she worked as counselor’s secretary. There was a program for helping needy families for the holidays, and all were given a turkey – large and frozen. The woman was angry, as she wanted the meal prepared for her – not a “blankety-blank frozen bird!” To add insult to injury after school that day my wife and the school counselor were standing...
Bob Springate of the Missouri Baptist Childrens Home was the guest speaker. Since 1886 Missouri Baptist Children’s Home has served God by offering Hope and Restoration to children and families who desperately need both. Through our affiliate corporations, MBCH provides a variety of residential and community-based services throughout the state of Missouri. As you explore all that Missouri Baptist Children’s Home has to offer, we invite you to look for ways that you can become a partner in providi...
Families are great, aren’t they? There is nothing more enjoyable or more precious to me than getting together with my family – eating, laughing, and watching the grandkids – it truly is, as one Grandma told me, “pure joy!” Families are an essential part of our lives – and the more we understand about human development, the more we realize that when we mess with family structures, we often do great damage to people! Let’s imagine Jesus talking to a family leader on a bench – a mother or father, o...
A survey of Ezra Have you ever built, or made something? Sometimes, for a whole host of reasons our hard work, and effort ends up ruined, broken, or completely destroyed. My boys love playing with legos. When my oldest son, Eli was first introduced to them I had to help him a lot. Ben who is 2 years younger was not ready to build things with legos yet. As a result, if Eli, and I left out any of our creations, Ben would play with them, utterly destroying them. As a result, we would rebuild even b...
The lives of entertainers have always been the stuff of magazine articles, haven’t they? Multiple affairs and marriages, alcohol use and abuse, drug parties, emotional roller coasters, and of course children who tend to perpetuate the cycle of dysfunction. Not all entertainers live this way – some are quite normal – but so many have lives that can only be graciously described as “train wrecks.” What would Jesus say to an entertainer today, if He were to watch a few episodes of Entertainment Toni...
One of the hardest working groups of people in our culture are teachers, and community servants. Some are in schools, others are in churches. They teach a variety of subjects in a number of different situations, and deal with people from every walk of life. Alongside them are public servants – some work in offices, others pick up trash or help our culture maintain law and order, others coming to the aid of those in need. Teachers, and servants: If Jesus were to talk to one of these people, what ...
Have you, or someone you know ever been in a situation where we were overthinking a situation? It's easy to do, and can happen for so many reasons. It may be financial issues, conflicts in a relationship, or problems with a job. Maybe all three!?! No matter the reason, we can get ourselves in trouble when we overthink a situation. This can be especially dangerous in positions of great responsibility, and authority. It's not hard to recall moments like these with our boss, or in politics, and of ...
Have you ever heard someone use the phrase, “We’re going to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting?” It usually means someone is in trouble, and they’re going to get an earful – in judgment, punishment, and correction from someone! But what if. . . what if people really could have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting – where they sat down and allowed Jesus to talk, and really listened – do you think that would change anything? Today we begin a series dealing with that very issue – of different people in different ...
What in the world is a “steward,” anyway? How many times have you used that word in a sentence, or heard someone else use it? While some of us may have grown up in a time when that term was commonly used, more than the likely the younger ones hear have seldom, if ever, heard it used. Interestingly, the scripture use the term “steward” often, and always in the context of the way believers are to approach their daily lives. Today we will look at 2 different passages in I Corinthians 4 and I Peter ...
When we consider the issue of God’s purposes for the Church, we need to keep in mind our very real need for encouragement and support from other Christians – what is often called “fellowship.” When Paul wrote his letter to the Roman church, they did not yet fully understood the way those in the faith were to love and support each other. This passage was one of many passages in scripture that teaches us of the way Christians in the Church were to connect. Our passage today is Romans 12:9-13 We’ve...
Please keep Rev Kev and his family in your thoughts and prayers. HIs mother passed away Saturday evening. Russell Peirce delivers an impassioned sermon entitled The Kingdom is in your Midst. He references Luke 17:20-21 If you will be in the Independence Square area for Santa Cali Got Labor Day weekend, please consider parking with us. All funds raised go to support our Children's and Youth Ministries as well as our Benevolence Funds to help families in need. You can also contribute financially t...
The word “worship” means one thing, and it’s very simple: Going to a church service - Right? That’s sometimes the extent of peoples’ understanding of what worship is. In the last few years it has been slightly modified by some: You might even hear people refer to the musical part of a service is the “Worship,” and there’s everything else. We even call our Music leaders “worship leaders,” because of this. These and other examples show a real misunderstanding of what God considers “worship.” The s...
I recently hear someone say to a family member, “How am I supposed to know if no-one tells me?” That’s a good point, isn’t it? It applies to so many situations – even in the area of faith! If someone is never told about Jesus, how can they know and follow Him? This is exactly the truth behind what the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Christians in Colossae. In today's episode we reference Colossians 4:2-6 This passage shows us that: Evangelism is God’s plan for drawing people into the fai...
Why do we have “The Church?” Is it just religion, or is there more to it than that? If we understand that The Church is nothing more, and nothing less, than God’s people, then we can gain a good understanding of why we have The Church, and what the purpose of The Church really is. Even though The Church is a New Testament concept, established in the time of Jesus, the Old Testament stories can help us gain a sense of God’s purposes for His People. Our Bible Passage comes from Jeremiah 29:4-14 wh...
It was Vacation Bible School Week at the Church this week. The theme was Old School and the building was brimming with energy from all the kids all week! When something is “old school,” we understand it to be a positive thing – it means that whatever we’re talking about might seem to be a little “old fashioned,” but it is as good, or better, than anything else that has come along! That’s what we talked about this week with our children – we talked about the way that the Gospel is “old school,” b...
The Church was and is a great idea – unless we mess with it. “The Church” it is not a place or a building, it is us! We are formed by God, to serve. Have you ever begun a task or project that was pure and simple, but before long it had been tweaked and changed to the point that it barely resembled the original goal? It’s called “Mission Creep,” and it can affect projects, companies, and even those in the Church. Satan tempted Jesus to fall for the temptation of “mission creep” in the way that He...
It's a special 4th of July Message as Rev Kev has returned from vacation and is ready to talk about how if we allow God into our lives, He will bless us. That goes for our Nation too! It may not be politically correct to say this in our culture today – but we have been blessed by Almighty God! Today we gather and worship, just as we do every Sunday of every week of every year. We gather to worship a God who has worked to bring us salvation, forgiveness of sins, the ability to live a life with jo...
Rev Kev is on a well deserved vacation, but nothing to worry the congregation was left in the very capable hands of Russell Peirce. Listen along as Russell discuss how Christians are often faced with the important decision to Flee, Freeze, or Fight. He also draw parallels in how Jesus responded when he was put in these same situations.
One of the greatest challenges to Christians of every era is the resistance to godly faith that exists everywhere. A pagan culture or belief system is one that is not focused on Christian teachings, Jesus, and the Bible. Many cultures do not practice Christianity but accept its teachings as good and moral, where some cultures actively resist some/all biblical teachings, particularly those re: Jesus. The challenge for Christians is:1) to be strong in their faith and not compromise on essential te...
Over the last few weeks we’ve looked as some of the challenges to our faith – the assertions of science, skepticism over miracles, etc. But one of the most drastic and devastating challenges to our faith comes from within – it is a faith that is weak and impure that is vulnerable to attack.
What happens when you die?” is a huge question for most people. Today, Kevin discusses how Jesus guides us as we deal with those that would challenge our Christian beliefs regarding eternity. He mentions two major ideas; the first is the person of God: God is the righteous and discerning judge The issue of eternal destinations is an important part of our faith
The scriptures encourage faith in the miraculous, and challenge the modern mind. Over time we have become a little suspicious when we hear the word miracle. We understand many things of nature now that were once considered miracles, and Doctors everyday do what was once considered “miraculous.” Due to these realizations some Christians may feel threatened or intimidated, or even embarrassed, because of their belief in miracles.
We all wonder why bad things happen to good people. Even people of faith are challenged by the cruelty of life on Earth. We believe in an all-giving and loving God; at the same time we live in a world where terrible things happen. From non-Christian perspective, Words of a loving and caring God who doesn’t stop all evil and disease seems to be a good reason to reject any notion of a caring and all-powerful God.
The God of all truth is the God of all scientific truth. Scientific truth will ultimately lead a follower of Christ into a deeper faith and trust in Him Accompanying scripture II Peter 3:3-9
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. For You light my lamp; the Lord my God illumines my darkness. The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? Psalms 119:105, 130; 18:27-29; 27:1
