First Baptist Blowing Rock

  Every year it seems like the Christmas Season starts earlier and earlier and as Thanksgiving bleeds into Christmas, it might be beneficial for each of us to take a moment, hit the pause button, and examine our hearts. While we like to bemoan the commercialization and secularization of Christmas, those issues are not the heart of the problem - the problem just might be our hearts! This week between Thanksgiving and the start of Advent gives us a great opportunity to examine our hearts and make sure we have the right foundation and motivation to start the Holidays off right. Join us as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ. From Matthew 6:22-24;33. 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@firstbaptistblowingrock.com or by phone @ 828-295-7715

We finish up our study on developing a Thankful heart and grateful spirit by looking at the benefits and blessings that are unlocked when we express gratitude. We look at an encounter that Jesus had with 10 men struck with leprosy to unpack the difference between feeling thankful and being thankful and why it matters. We also suggest some practical ways we can express our gratitude to those around us during the holiday season. From Luke 17:10-19Thank 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@firstbaptistblowingrock.com or by phone @ 828-295-7715

As we continue our series on developing a grateful and thankful spirit during this season of Thanksgiving, this message examines what is at the core or foundation of true gratitude. Why do we sometimes struggle with being thankful for what we have been blessed with and how do we overcome the barriers to a grateful heart like envy, greed and lack of faith? Join us as we examine what the Apostle Paul calls "the secret" of gratitude and how we can learn to apply this "secret" to our own lives. From Philippians 4:10-13.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@firstbaptistblowingrock.com or by phone @ 828-295-7715

For those who have grown up in the church or around the church, you might be unaware of how strange some of the most commonly used phrases sound to those outside of the church. We have a tendency to speak "Christianeze" and cling to our own terminology and catch phrases that might not be communicating what we hope. Think about some of these phrases like; "hedge of protection" "whole armor of God" "Traveling Mercies" "unspoken prayer request" "washed in the blood" "speaking in tongues" and even "born again". If we have to take time to further explain what a term means we might be better off using a different term or phrase. One of the most popular phrases in "christianeze" today is "Blessed and highly favored" and if you have been around Christ followers for any length of time you have probably heard it expressed. There is nothing wrong with the phrase, it comes straight from the Angel Gabriel's lips to Mar

As the average age of a majority of church congregations in the United States continues to rise, it is understandable that the same is true for church leadership. The average age of Senior Pastors in the US is in the mid 50's, our foreign missionaries average is in the mid 50's, even our deacons, elders, Sunday school teachers and committee membership is around the mid 50's. While there is nothing wrong with people in the mid 50's or even older, it stands to reason that as the average age continues to rise and with the current trend of younger people dropping out of church; what is going to happen in 15 years? Will we have difficulty finding missionaries to step in and take the mantle from those who have served faithfully? Will churches have difficulties finding a Pastor? Will we see a shortage of leadership within our congregations? If that happens, how will it effect the spread of the gospel around the world or even in our own backyards? CK Chesterton once said, "Christianity is onl

Have you ever thought about why we gather together on Sunday mornings for church, or corporate worship? Not the theological reasons; it is pretty clear in the Bible that the local faith community is the main avenue for individual Christians to grow and serve and it is the main means by which God accomplishes his purposes here on earth. I am talking about your own personal reasons. Why do you "go to church"? out of habit? routine? obligation? because you think it is expected of you? Building on last week's message of "Why we sing" this message strives to answer in a practical and Biblical manner, "why we gather together" in worship and by doing so, hopefully give us some insight into why church attendance continues to decline across America. From Psalms 100.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 o

Have you ever wondered why churches spend between half of even a third of their worship services in song? If you look back over the last 30 years in the history of the American church, the greatest place of contention, disruption, disunity and spiritual warfare has revolved around that portion of our worship services where we sing. We have fought over how we sing, what we sing, and even the instruments we use when we sing and churches continue to split, become spiritually neutered and rendered powerless in the process. For the enemy to attack this portion of our worship service's with such ferocity, it must be pretty important. Listen in the discover "Why we sing". From Nehemiah 12, John 4:21-24Thank 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@firstbaptistblowingrock.com or by phone @ 828-295-7715

Have you ever considered your legacy? What will people think about you when you are gone, or will they even think about you? What about 50 years from now, or 75? When you think of the great examples of those who were faithful to God in the Bible it is easy to come up with the names like Moses, Gideon, Joshua, David, Nehemiah, Elijah; but the vast majority of people whose legacy we follow are unnamed and really unknown. They served God, remained faithful and sought to do his will; yet to our history they seemed to have been forgotten. But God's point of view is much different than our recorded history. To God, each of those faithful forgotten were valued treasures, remembered and rewarded for their service and faithfulness. What a great encouragement for many of us today who can get discouraged or feel like we are all alone, or even underappreciated. Join us as we look at Nehemiah 11 and gain some encouragement to press on. Thank you for listening to our podcast and we would love for you to subscribe to o

When you mention Satan in Christian circles you will find that many Christ followers fall into one of two extreme positions; they are either obsessed with spiritual warfare and see the devil in everything, or they downplay or ignore that he is even real, with many picturing him as some cartoon with a pointy tail and horns. The Bible is very clear that both of those extremes are dangerous and the Apostle Peter warns us in 2 Peter 5 that we must always be alert as "the enemy" or Satan would love to "devour" all we hold dear. Jesus warns in the Gospel of John that not only is Satan a liar, but he seeks to steal, kill and destroy our relationship with God, our peace, our joy and our purpose. We must take him serious because one of his greatest tools of disruption are the people we encounter in our everyday lives. This message examines and identifies how the enemy will use other people to attack, undermine, intimidate and isolate us whenever we strive to be obedient to God's word and apply

How do we determine our worth? Is it our income? our talent? our abilities? For the Christ follower our value or worth should not be defined by who we are, or what we can do, or have done but rather "whose" we are. From our story in Nehemiah we discover that the Israelites used the old broken and burned bricks from the destroyed wall to rebuild the new wall. They literally redeemed those bricks that had laid around for 170 years and which most people had considered worthless and gave them value. They formed the foundation of all that was new. God does the same thing for each of us. Even at our worst, God never stopped seeing our worth and value to Him - we just needed to be redeemed. Join us as we discover the beauty and joy of redemption and how valuable each of us really are to God. From Nehemiah 4:1-2, Nehemiah 6:15-16.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.firstbaptistblowingroc

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@firstbaptistblowingrock.com or by phone @ 828-295-7715

In Nehemiah chapter 6 we discover that Nehemiah has seen his dream/vision become a reality. The walls of Jerusalem are complete and in record time. In Chapter 7 we learn that after completing the task, the people go back to their villages, jobs and normal routines, yet something is still not right. They had their security, life was returning to normal, but something was still missing. In Chapter 8 as they gather back in Jerusalem to celebrate "Rosh Hashana", the Jewish new year, they are confronted with the reality that what is missing and has been missing for 170 years is their relationship with God. Join us as we examine how our appetites and desires dictate our decision making and "what we are hungry for" is always revealed by our actions. In the message, we discuss the growing threat of a "Spiritual Anorexia" in the church and in many Christ followers lives as we are in danger of losing our spiritual hunger for the power and presence of God. How does it happen? How can you ge

We continue our examination of Strongholds that exist in the lives of Christ followers and that have been institutionalized in the church. Strongholds are "beliefs, ideas, pretext or principles" that are contrary to the Word of God. These are ideas we have allowed to take root in our hearts and minds that keep us from fulfilling God's call on our lives and distort our mission and message. This week we examine and explain the stronghold of "Americanized Cultural Christianity". A homogenized view of what it means to be a Christ follower that circumvents scripture and replaces it with the American dream. We examine what Jesus expects out of those who follow Him compared to what we hear from most American Christians. We also examine the offshoot stronghold of "Christian Nationalism" that is beginning to take root in many churches and communities in America and how it loses sight of where our true hope and allegiance lies. From the three parable of Matthew 25, 2nd Corinthians 10:

In 2nd Corinthians 10:3-5, the Apostle Paul uses the term "Stronghold" to describe thoughts, pretext, reasonings and even beliefs that can take root in our hearts and minds that are contrary to scripture. These "strongholds" can be both conscious or subconscious. Many times we do not even realize that they have taken root until they are exposed by the truth of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. These "strongholds" influence our thought patterns, our presuppositions, our prejudices, our philosophies and even our worldviews and while they might seem innocent, many are unbiblical and can not only hinder our spiritual growth, they can also distort the message of the gospel we are called to proclaim. These same strongholds, over time, can become institutionalized in the church and keep a local faith community from fulfilling its mission. This morning we examine how Nehemiah dealt with a potential stronghold in Nehemiah 13 as well as identifying 4 strongholds that can be found in man

Everyone of us has faced discouragement; things don't turn out the way we had planned, not moving as fast as we had hoped, everyone is not supportive - we have all been there. But if we are not careful, simple discouragement can lead us into a pit of despair where we can lose hope, joy and even our faith. By revisiting our story from Nehemiah, this message examines and identifies several factors that can lead us into discouragement and despair. We then look at how Nehemiah dealt with discouragement and discover some spiritual solutions to not only guard against it, but to also help those who find themselves on the verge of despair. From Nehemiah 4:10-12, Psalms 40:1-3.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@firstbaptistblowingrock.com or by phone @ 828-295-7715

As we celebrate our nations independence, this week we examine some of the reasons that drove the 13 colonies to choose independence and whether or not we have achieved those goals. We examine how that relates to the church in the areas of religious liberty and freedom and ask the question; is their anything today that we really feel is worth fighting for? Join us for a call to the church for a Spiritual Revolution and Revival that declares not our independence but rather our total dependence on the one who created, saves and leads us. From 2 Samuel 23:11-12. 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@firstbaptistblowingrock.com or by phone @ 828-295-7715

Nehemiah gathered forty four diverse groups of people and put them to work rebuilding a mile and a half wall that used to encircle the city of Jerusalem. People from all types of backgrounds and walks of life, people with no real training in construction, and under constant threats of attack; he led them to build. In 52 days, less than 2 months, they had completed the wall to a height of 8 feet or half of its original height. For 170 years the walls had been nothing more than rubble that people walked over and ignored and then this stranger with a vision had called them together to accomplish the impossible and he did it in less time than it takes most churches to put a committee together. How? How did this seemingly impossible task become a reality in such a short amount of time? Join us to find out the secret for witnessing the impossible become reality and along the way you might just discover the keys to moving forward with your own God given dream. From Nehemiah 3 Thank you for listening to our podcast a

It is all to common to find Christians and Churches pursue a God given dream or vision, only to find it turn into a nightmare along the journey. From losing sight of our true purpose to allowing opposition or distractions to get us sidetracked; History is littered with the stories of how well intentioned people and churches go from moving forward to falling by the wayside. In this message, we examine the many detours and dangers that Nehemiah faced as he pursued his vision. Sometimes it is even the most well intentioned thoughts and ideas that can turn our dreams into nightmares. This is a great warning for anyone who is willing to boldly step out on faith and trust God to see the "what could be" become a reality. From Nehemiah 5:14-19.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@firstbaptistblowingrock.com or by phone

As we continue our discussion on following our God given dreams and visions, this morning we discuss how we can recognize when God is opening a door, or providing a means for our dreams to become reality. So many churches and Christians become focused on God working in the same way He has worked in the past, that we miss all of the new opportunities and open doors right in front of us. We examine how God provided for Nehemiah thought the most unexpected place as he pursued his dream. We also discuss the opposition and conflicts you will face once you begin to go through the open doors that God provides. Join us for an encouraging look at how you can identify when, where and how God is working all around you to provide a means for you to fulfill your God given dream. From Nehemiah 2:1-9Thank 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@

When God gives us a vision or dream for anything; our families, our future, a career, a ministry opportunity; there is always a tension between the way things are and the way things can be, or should be. It is in this tension between the two where most of us spend our time. We know what could be, we might even know how to see it become a reality, but waiting on God's timing and for God to open a door that will allow us to move forward is one of the hardest parts of following a dream. We hate waiting and instead of being patient, many times, we end up forcing the issue or taking matters into our own hands and making a mess of it. This morning we will examine Nehemiah's life and journey and how he handled waiting for God to provide an "open door" for his dream to become a reality and what he did in the meantime. If you feel like God has you in a "holding pattern" as you strive to move from where you are to where you want to be, or even where you should be; this message is for you.