Sermons from Ocean State Baptist Church: Recent Episodes
Ocean State Baptist Church
Should We Submit to Government?
Many would say that followers of Jesus in America are known more by their politics then by their love. It was Jesus who said it was sincere love that would identify a true disciple and nowhere does He add "...and also by your political affiliation, actions and ideals." (John 13:35)
The investigation this week in our First Peter series looks at this question of submitting to the government and what it means for a disciple of Jesus.
In the end, the question really isn't "should we submit to government?" It is largely something else.
Join us and find out what the Christian Scripture has to say about this.
Robert Frost wrote in one of his popular poems, "...nothing gold can stay." 1 Peter 1:23-25 says the same: Nothing remains. Whoa, that doesn't sound like an encouraging message to start a post with nor for a sermon on Sunday! But isn't it true? Everything is caught in the flux of time moving forward and nothing will ultimately remain. So how do we deal with that? Ignore it? Pretend it isn't true? Fill up on the temporary stuff even more because life is just a fleeting moment, a blip? The Apostle Peter tells us, "yes, nothing will remain.... but here is what will go on." Our attention should go there and we ought to consider it.
Why do those Christians make such a big deal about the Bible? Well, it is believed that the Message of Scripture is the catalyst for life change and transformation—from our salvation start in Jesus to our continual spiritual formation as followers of Jesus, the Sacred Writings are central. We start with the Word, and we walk with the Word. The Word of God is to be the Voice of the Christian Community, and the ultimate guide for life change in love and Christlikeness. What place does the Word of God have in your life this morning? Join us as we look at the next portion of the letter of Peter in the New Testament.
I need to put this out there but the idea that if you are good enough, religious enough, and moral enough that you might get to heaven after you die is not one found in Christian teachings. Not at all. Of course, religion teaches this idea, and some Christian groups teach this idea and of course many people hold to this kind of idea in their life. However, the first Christians and the New Testament itself doesn’t teach this at all by a long shot. Scripture actually teaches that redemption in Jesus isn’t something you can ever earn, pay for or muster up or achieve by your own moral goodness. If that were the case Jesus death is quite useless. There is a great difference between Religion and Redemption. Find out what the Apostle Peter said about this in his letter this Sunday morning as we continue traveling Peter’s writings in the New Testament at Ocean State.
“If you are a Christian, go ahead and chuck your brains at the door before getting into the pew.”
Is this true? Does Christian spirituality require ignorance and should an attack be made by Christians on using the mind?
Sadly, many outside of the faith might believe this sentiment and even worse, there are many Christians who might give them reason to think so.
But the New Testament Scripture doesn’t call for those seeking Christ and the Christian life to muzzle the mind. Actually, in order to live a virtuous life and thoughtful Christian life one must engage the life of the mind.
Scripture calls for followers of Jesus to engage the life of their mind in order to live a virtuous life, an imaginative life and a theologically thoughtful life.
What is Baptism? Why do we sink people in water? Is this just some tradition we came up with? Take the plunge with us into this teaching and find out why we baptize and what exactly is the meaning behind this ancient practice that was given to us by Jesus Himself.
Join us as we listen to the letter of 1st Peter where we can gain practical insight into refreshing our faith. Have you stopped searching? questioning? serving? learning? There is hope found in the rhythm of the prophets and angels. Come check it out.
As we celebrate Father’s Day this year we want to consider what it means to be a father figure or a mentor based on Moses’ own experiences with his father-in-law: Jethro. In Exodus 18:1-27 we see that Jethro is not a leader who served, but a true servant, who happened to lead. Join us today as we explore what it means to be Jethro.
The Bible text makes it clear in 2 Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1 that the church must not be bound together with the fallen world-system's ideals, values, behaviors and agendas.
We apologize for only offering an audio recording of this week's service. There were major technical issues with our production computer. We were able to do an audio recording but it has a voice periodically telling what software we were using to make the recording. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and want to assure you that we have remedied the situation and appreciate your understanding.