First Baptist Blowing Rock

Many of you visited relatives over the thanksgiving holidays; some of you even spent the night with them in their home. Did you feel welcomed and at home or did you feel like you were crashing their party or cramping their style? Most of us have experienced the difference between a house (some place to stay - roof over your head) and a home (a place where you feel safe, welcomed and like family) but what we don't realize is that the Holy Spirit can tell the difference in our hearts. While the Holy Spirit comes to live in us at conversion, how we treat Him determines whether he just has a place to stay or a home. Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:17 that when He has a place to "dwell" or a home in our hearts; his power reaches in and through us to touch every area of our lives. Join us to discover the difference between a heart that is just a house and a heart that is a home. From Ephesians 3:14-17. Thank you for listening to our podcast and we would love for you to subscribe to our page and share wi

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

Sometimes the hardest part of forgiving is forgetting. Even after we have moved on from something or someone, the memories still hold us captive and can rob us of our joy and intimacy with God. How can you stop allowing memories from your past from hindering your future? We can learn a lot from Joseph and his life's story in Genesis. How does what Joseph named his firstborn son help us learn to forget? Join us for this timely word that interrupted our Ephesians series - it may be just for you. Genesis 41:52-53.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

Have you ever wished that God would give you some insight into what lies ahead in life? Maybe just a clue about our relationships, or our job future, or even our health? Wouldn't it be awesome to know what was going to happen tomorrow or the next day? The Apostle Paul reminds us that there is a reason we don't have that ability; a reason why our future can seem mysterious and unknown and it is called TODAY. "Today is the day that the Lord has made! let us rejoice and be glad in IT". Life is mysterious for a purpose. Join us as we continue our series from Ephesians by starting Chapter 3 and taking a lesson from Paul on making the most out of the mystery. 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

Have you ever felt like you did not belong? Like you did not fit in? Ever walked into a room and everyone stopped talking? All of us have been on the outside looking in at one time or another but the Apostle Paul explains that for God's children that is no longer a reality! We belong! We are now a part of a family that we don't have to try to impress or be something we are not to get accepted - Listen and find out how God provides for you a family that fits. It could make all the difference in the world! 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 all have walls in our lives; barriers that we create to either keep people out, or to help keep parts of us in. We build them in our marriages and our relationship, we build them at work and in our community; we even build them at church! The Bible is pretty clear that Jesus came to break down barriers and walls. He destroyed the wall that separated man from God but he also destroyed any reason for us to have barriers or walls between us and others in our lives. Walls keep us from being honest and genuine but they also keep us from intimacy with God and others. Listen as Paul describes the dangers of walls and how we can tear them down piece by piece. From Ephesians 2:11-22Thank 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 tried your best at something and it was still not good enough? Maybe at a job or in a relationship or trying to make a life change? You give it everything you have and yet you still feel inadequate? The good news is that the first step in overcoming your inadequacies is recognizing that you have them - recognizing that for some things in life and in certain circumstances; your best will never be enough. That doesn't sound like good news does it. I doubt it would make the title of a "self help" book but Paul explains in Ephesians 2 that it is at that very moment that the "not so good news" becomes "Great"! It all revolves around a little word that is talked about and sung about almost every week in churches around the world and yet we still struggle to understand it; Grace. Listen and learn how Grace can change even the worst of your circumstances and situations and make your "not good enough's, more than sufficient! Thank you for listening to our po

What is the best "before and after" picture that you have ever seen? Was it a weight loss miracle? A makeup makeover? What about a house that someone flipped or a car that was completely overhauled? We love to hear and see "before and after" pictures and stories. They encourage us with potential and hope, but what if someone was doing a "before and after" about your life? What would be the turning point, the moment that your "before" became and "after"? Paul encourages the Church at Ephesus here in Ephesians 2, by pointing out the greatest "before and after" story every told and unbelievably, you and I are a part of it. Listen and discover how God can take a "hot mess of a life", a pretty disturbing "before" and turn it into a beautiful "after", a masterpiece. 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.first

This message from our Harvest Day service tackles the issue of what happened to the Church at Ephesus from the time of Paul's prayer in Chapter one to the conclusions we hear about in Revelation 2. How did they go from redeemed Saints, exploring their inheritance in Christ, to 'loosing their first love"? It remains a problem today in both churches and individuals. We lose our passion and purpose and instead of searching for what happened, we just try harder, add more works and programs and hope it will come back. It is time we found the real solution to what is ailing our powerless churches and purposeless believers - join us for some answers from Paul's simple prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23. 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

What does it really mean to be a "child of God"? Should it make a difference in how I live? worship? interact with others? As a child of God, a "joint -heir" with Jesus, and a part of the family; does that mean I get an inheritance? We have heard hymns and choruses proclaim these themes, probably even sung or said the words ourselves - but what does it really mean? and does it really matter? Join us as we find out just how incredible an inheritance you already have and what it might mean for your future. From Ephesians 1:13-14Thank 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 sing songs and hymns about being "redeemed", we read about it in scripture, and sometimes a Pastor or teacher may throw it out there; but what does it really mean? It is not a common word we use today so for many Christians the real meaning is never fully grasped. Since many fail to understand it, we fail to realize just what the Bible is saying when it calls us "The Redeemed". Join us as we look at Ephesians 1:7-10 as Paul explains the power and promises that come with redemption. True freedom and real forgiveness can be yours. Would you like to experience freedom from your past, from your mistakes, from your regrets? How about a true and lasting forgiveness? Give it a listen.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

There are video clips flooding the internet of a prominent Pastor's wife proclaiming to the church, "We don't come to worship for God - we do it for ourselves - we do it to make us happy and God's greatest desire is for our happiness". Through all the controversy and opinion being thrown around about this quote - what does the Bible say? Here in Ephesians 1, the Apostle Paul clearly proclaims that "it is not about us"! We were created and redeemed for God's glory and God is more concerned with our holiness than our happiness. Join us as we continue our look at Ephesians 1:3-6 and how God's plan of salvation was around long before you or I were ever around yet we "get" to be a part of it. 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 @ 8

When did God decide to send Jesus as a sacrifice for the sins of man and a means for man's salvation? Why did he do it? Was it so we could go to heaven? be forgiven? have a relationship with Him? The answers to these questions take us into the deeper waters of scripture, into some of the central truths of the New Testament and leave many believers breathless. While the answer is simple; the impact it can have on our day to day living is profound. Do you dare wade into the deep end? The discoveries can be life-changing. Join us as we dive into the wonderful truths of Ephesians 1:3-6. 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

The Apostle Paul starts this wonderful letter by reminding Christ followers that not only are they a "totally new creation" but also that they have been given the most incredible blessings available. You don't have to wait for them, your don't have to earn them, you don't have to pray for them; they are already yours! The question is not what more can God give you - the question is what are you doing with all you have already been given? Our need is not to receive something more but to do something more with what He has already given us! Join us as we continue our introduction to this new series and you might be surprised to find out all that you already possess to live an incredible and abundant life. From Ephesians 1:3Thank 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 @

What do you call those that identify themselves as a follower of Jesus Christ? What do you call yourself? "Christian" "Christ Follower" "Sinner saved by Grace" ? Does it really matter? The Apostle Paul thought so and rightly identified the faithful believers in Ephesus as "Saints" . Do you think of yourself as a "Saint"? If not; it could be the reason you find yourself struggling to embrace and claim all of the blessings and promises of God that are yours in Christ Jesus. It could be the reason you find you have a powerless faith. Join us as we kick off our new series from the Book of Ephesians and discover that it is foundational for Christ followers to understand their new identity in Christ. It matters because your identity will influence and direct your destiny! 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 You

What does a healthy looking church look like? What makes it effective? Jesus gives us some hints when he visits the temple and has a run-in with the religious leaders and over turns some tables. Is he still in the table turning business? Join us as we examine Matthew 21 and this famous incident and how it relates to the modern church and each of us as individuals. 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

Church bashing is all the rage - everyone wants to "follow Jesus" just not be a part of the "church". The only problem with that is, following Jesus MAKES you a part of the church - you don't have a choice. The church is the means by which Jesus chose to change and empower the world and trying to "follow Jesus" apart from the church is like being a suited up and talented football player that has no team to join. You can have great uniforms, be the fastest guy around and have incredible skills but if you are not on a team - you will never get in the game! Listen as we discuss how members of a healthy and effective church are very similar to members of a championship sports team. 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

Many church leaders would say that one of the greatest problems they face in the church today is the lack of commitment from the members and those involved. Everyone likes to sign up to help, or shows up for the planning rally or even come to the first meeting but as time goes by; they drop out, wander away or just plain quit. The problem is that the Bible never calls us to give it our "best effort" or "try harder" or even "up our commitment level". Jesus calls those that want to follow him to "complete surrender". The church and Christians don't have a commitment problem, we have a surrender problem. Listen to how Jesus responded to three different guys who were not quite sure how committed they could be to following him. From Luke 9:57-62 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

All you seem to hear about today is how much trouble the church is in. Denominations are shrinking, baptisms down, church attendance slacking off, losing a generation; everyone has an opinion. Online blogs, magazine articles, even whole sermons relegated to listing everything that is wrong about the church; but what about all that is right? This hand wringing and finger pointing about the church being down and out and on it's last legs might come as a shock to the one who calls it His Bride. It's time we start focusing, preaching and talking about what's right about the church and a good place to start is at it's founding. Is the church dying? NOT HARDLY!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

What makes a true servant serve? If it is not for the recognition or the fame, if it is not because they feel guilty or convicted or that they are somehow trying to pay God back; then what is it? Jesus tells us in Matthew 20 that the greatest in his kingdom will be the one who serve others - so what makes a servant tick? Join us for this message as we dissect and examine the heart of the Apostle Paul and learn how each one of us can develop a true heart of a servant. 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