East Tenth Street Church: Recent Episodes
East Tenth Street Church
Welcome to the weekly audio podcast for East Tenth Street Christian Church in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. Our goal is to exalt Jesus and encourage one another. We hope these messages help you grow in faith and love. Visit us at easttenth.org.
We walk through Luke 9:1-17 again and notice another key truth about God and the way he works.
Nominations for our 2022 Leadership began this Sunday. We, therefore, paused our current series through 1 Peter to do an overview of elders and deacons in the New Testament.
We continue our sermon series, “First Peter”—with a special guest appearance from Donna Jean Wheeler.
We finish our series, “Justice: Lessons from the Gospel of Luke.” In this message we explore how we define justice and racism and what it means for our ordinary lives now.
We continue our series, “Justice: Lessons from the Gospel of Luke.” In this message we explore the how justice involves helping people with their physical needs and protecting the most vulnerable, especially born and unborn children. We're also joined at the end of the sermon by a special guest who is working to do justice in her town.
We continue our series, “Justice: Lessons from the Gospel of Luke.” In this message we explore the topic of state authority, policing, and the just use of power.
We start our new series, “Justice: Lessons from the Gospel of Luke.” In this message we explore the difficult issue of critical theory, including critical race theory, and examine how it lines up with biblical justice and the gospel.
Josh Bueno, youth minister at First Christian Church in Roanoke Rapids, NC, brings the message this morning
We finish our series, The First Sermons: A Study in the Book of Acts. Join us next week as we begin a new series, “Sing Your Story: A Study of Psalms 104-106.”
We again look at the second half of Peter’s sermon in Acts 3. Not only is Peter emphasizing the importance of Jesus’ resurrection and the promise of restoration, he’s calling for a decision: repent, turn to God, and find salvation in Jesus alone. The application for today involves an expansion of how we understand Jesus in real life terms.
Peter builds to a crescendo in the last half of his sermon and declares that heaven has received Jesus until the time when God restores all things. Peter is saying that Jesus’ resurrection has launched the beginning of the new creation now, and it points to the final day when all things will be made right. This reality can change everything, especially our perspective in a world full of suffering.
In the front part of Peter’s sermon in Acts 3, he tells the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is the one thing that he repeats every time he preaches: Jesus died and rose again. Although it’s a well-known story, it’s still as relevant today as it was when Peter first preached it two thousand years ago.
Peter heals a lame man in the Temple in Jerusalem before preaching his next sermon, recorded in Acts 3. There was nothing random about this miracle. It sets the stage for the rest of Peter’s sermon, and it tells us a lot about our future destiny with Jesus in the new creation.
After Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, many were cut to the heart and cried out, “What should we do?” Peter tells them to repent and be baptized. This is the pattern we see in the New Testament. The good news of Jesus is preached and people respond by being immersed in water. This is just as relevant today as it was on that day that Peter preached the first sermon.
In the final part of Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 he describes Jesus’s ascension into heaven. Quoting Psalm 110, he shows that the Messiah is not just David’s son but also the Lord who shares God’s throne as God Himself. Jesus is the rightful king of the world! This brings us to the quest we all have to ask: Who is my king?
When Peter quotes Psalm 16 to explain the resurrection of Christ, he’s demonstrating that Jesus is at the center of Israel’s story. All of God’s promises in the Old Testament are fulfilled in him. When we share in Jesus’ resurrected life, we share in all the promises written there.
In the next section of Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 he tells the people that they killed Jesus, but God raised him from the dead. He doesn’t say why Jesus died, but simply that he was killed and rose again. This simple story highlights the depth of sin in the human heart. When humans killed Jesus, sin and evil reached its peak. Jesus let human rebellion do its worst. But God’s power was stronger, and raised his Son from the dead. This has direct application for our lives now.
There’s temptation to think of Jesus as someone we talk about only in church, someone who lives up there, far off in heaven—abstract and distant. But in the next section of Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, he highlights the fact that Jesus lived a real human life in the power of God. This has direct application for us right where we are.
When Peter quotes from the Old Testament prophet Joel in the front part of his sermon in Acts 2, he proclaims Jesus is at the center of the story of Israel and the world. That reality is still true today—he’s at the center. In him everything will be made right. Yet we must keep him at the center of our line of sight, although other things may try to get in the way.
We begin with the first sermon in Acts 2, where Peter starts his sermon by explaining that the presence and power of God is being manifested in that moment in Jerusalem. There is wind, fire, and the speaking of different languages. All of this reveals how important the story of Jesus is. His story is the story that brings salvation to the world.This causes us to consider what story is actually shaping us in everyday life.
This week we introduce our new sermon series. The First Sermons were those first messages preached by the apostles that motivated people to come to Jesus. They’re recorded in the book of Acts and they tell the saving story of Jesus. We still need that story today to motivate us to move closer to him.
We look back at 2020 by highlighting two themes that emerged repeatedly throughout the year: remembering who we are and remembering our destiny. These two themes help prepare us for a new year.
In Luke 2 we read about Simeon and Anna who prayed for years that God would rescue his people. When they saw baby Jesus in the Temple, they saw God’s answer to their prayers. God was with them. But God wasn’t just with them on that day. He had been with them during all their years of waiting. This reminds us that God is not a microwave, and he is often writing a different story for us even in our struggles.
When the angel appears to the shepherds at night, he says he brings good news that will cause great joy. That is an odd thing to say to a group of men who are living in a land oppressed by Rome. But that’s the story God is writing. He’s bringing joy into a dark world. Christmas reminds us that no matter how dark things get, God is writing a different story, weaving joy into the world through Jesus his Son.
Christmas is a time when we remember that God is often writing a different story that is more important than anything we read in the headlines. This is definitely true with the birth of Jesus. Caesar’s census wasn’t the biggest story in the Roman empire. The biggest story was happening in a manger as the Son of God was born. God is still in the business of writing a different story inside of us that changes everything, from how we read the news to how we love our neighbors.
In our world today, we’re tempted to think God cares only about the big stuff, or he only lives in a church building, or it’s only the big news stories that matter. Christmas tells us a different story. It teaches us that God is with us where we are. His Son came into the world as a baby and dwelled among us, right where we live in flesh and bone. God is with us in our ordinary lives, with all the pain, joy, boredom, and frustrations that fill each day.
This week we look at snapshots of God’s generosity. The Bible begins with a picture of God giving life to the world and sharing his image with human beings. It didn’t take long, however, for humans to reject God’s generosity. They tried to take and hoard his good gifts. But God never gave up on them. His generosity overflowed to the point that he gave his Son to die for the sins of the world.
This week we again open the Bible like a photo album and look at different snapshots of generosity. This time we’re looking in Luke, where we see pictures of unexpected people having unexpected encounters with Jesus, which result in unexpected generosity. We discover that this pattern didn’t just happen back then, but is still happening now.
We begin a three-week series where we open the Bible like a photo album and look at different snapshots of generosity. This week we open to the book of Acts and consider three pictures of the early church. What we see has a lot to teach us about generosity, God’s Spirit, and his grace; it also has application for us today.
In the last section of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he writes one of his most famous statements about doing all things through Christ who gives him strength. When we read this verse in context, we find that God doesn’t just strengthen Paul in Christ through some isolated, mystical, other-worldly experience. He uses other Christians, like the Philippians, to supply Paul’s needs in order to strengthen him. This has application for today, because God is still in the business of using cross-formed people—friends and loved ones—as channels of Christ’s comfort and help.
Right thinking is essential for living a cross-formed life. Paul repeatedly tells the Philippians to think rightly. In our passage today, he makes this point clearer than anywhere else. The application for us challenges every part of our everyday lives.
After Paul describes his deep hope in Jesus, he urges the Philippians to be like him. This means staying away from enemies of the cross and staying close to those who walk in the way of Jesus. This is a call to them and to us today to remember our identity and destiny.
Paul had the one of best Jewish pedigrees a person could have. He had all the right marks, but none of them made him right with God his creator. There was only one mark that really mattered and that was faith in the crucified Messiah. Paul strained toward his goal of having Jesus and the cross at the center of his life. His example has direct application for us today.
As we celebrate 73 years as a church, we consider the stability and consistency we have experienced in the midst of many cultural, social, and political changes. Two images come to mind: one of a man building on a rock foundation and the other of a tree planted by streams of water. Both have application for us as a church and as individuals.
Paul wants the Philippians to stand firm and united, living unselfish lives, shining like lights in a dark world. But to do this they need to fix their minds on Jesus and the cross. This is hard to do if you don’t have help. Paul uses himself, Timothy, and Epaphroditus, as examples of how to live Cross-Formed lives. This has direct application for us today.
Paul saw each piece of his life stamped with Jesus. Whether it was his current reality of prison or his future uncertainties about death, his life was defined by Christ and his cross. His example gives us a framework for living Cross-Formed lives today.
In Philippians 1:1-11 we see that when a person presses the cross of Christ into the center of their lives, their relationships change. They gain a new family—a family of people who are living cross-formed lives and abounding in love.
Jesus lived a cross-formed life. The cross was pressed into his life, and with it he changed the world. His followers must do the same and press cross into their lives so they can look like Jesus. This is what the Apostle Paul teaches the early Christians at Philippi. He urges them to press the cross so deeply into their hearts and minds that they know Jesus above everything else and experience the joy and peace that come from him alone.
When Jesus’s body was placed in the tomb, Everything looked hopeless. But after three days, a group of unexpected women showed up at the grave and discovered he wasn’t there. He was risen! Everything in the world now hinges on that fact.
Karson and Finley shared with us at the 9:45am service. Ryland shared with us at the 11am. Both sermons turned our attention to Jesus and the kingdom of God.
The early Christians told a fundamentally different story about the world and its king. They declared Jesus, not Caesar, as the true Son of God, the king of the world. The story of his crucifixion forces us today to evaluate where our allegiance lies: with the crucified one or someone else?
The story of Jesus on trial before Pilate and the release of a criminal named Barabbas highlight Jesus’s role as the Servant-King of the world. He is the suffering servant who gives his life as a ransom for many. His love changes our story, if we let it.
At his trial, for the first time, Jesus reveals that he is the Messiah and God will vindicate him. Up until now he has not allowed himself or others to openly declare this truth. But here in the middle of his suffering, Jesus reveals himself fully. He bursts with the light of who he is in the middle of darkness. This has application for us because suffering is often the place where God shows himself most fully.
In the events that follow the Last Supper, everyone abandons Jesus. But in the middle of it all, Jesus remains faithful to his Father in heaven and to his mission to rescue humans from the kingdom of darkness. It was love that motivated him to stay faithful. That has application for us today because he still loves us, even in our struggles.
When Jesus celebrates the Passover meal with his disciples and breaks the bread, pours the drink, and says the cup is the blood of the covenant, he is declaring the final exodus. He is fulfilling the story of Israel and leading humanity out of exile through his death and resurrection. This story becomes the story of all those who follow Jesus.
The story of the unnamed woman who anoints Jesus with oil reveals that those who are weak and marginalized are often the ones who receive the kingdom of God with humility. The proud cannot enter. The story also highlights Jesus's humility, which points us to the cross. All of this has application for our lives.
Ever since Jesus turned over tables and drove out money-changers from the Temple in Mark 11, the disciples have been wondering when Jesus would finish the job. When would he purify the Temple, remove God’s enemies, and vindicate Israel? Jesus gives an answer in Mark 13 that is full of Old Testament imagery and very practical.
Jews in the first century believed that the coming Messiah would be a king from the line of David. What they didn’t anticipate was that the Messiah would embody Israel’s God on earth. Jesus was the fullness of God in bodily form, and he revealed that the nature of God is love and humility. The way to life is the way of the cross, not pride or selfishness.
Mark weaves together three scenes to highlight a core truth about Jesus and the kingdom of God. The application will vary for each person but the goal is the same: love God and others.
The Jewish leaders question Jesus about his authority but he doesn’t answer them directly. Instead he asks them a question about John the Baptist and tells them a parable. What we learn is that Jesus is God’s ultimate sign, his fullest revelation. Everything hinges on where a person stands with Jesus. This has application for us globally and personally.
Jesus curses a fig tree, clears the Temple of money changers, and teaches his disciples about prayer, faith, and forgiveness. These events are related to one another and give us a vision for the Kingdom of God that includes justice, peace, and diversity.
During Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, people believed it was time for God to finally bring salvation to Jerusalem. But instead of inaugurating the great day of the Lord, Jesus did something very different. The people were left wondering, what do you do when things don’t go as expected. That’s a question that has application for our lives too.
The story of Bartimaeus receiving his sight is part of a larger picture Mark is painting to show the difference between faith and spiritual blindness. The reason the disciples can’t see what a blind man can see has application for us today.
Walking with wisdom involves making decisions with the end in mind. Each of us must ask this question: What is the goal of my life? If our goal is all about ourselves then we’ll become the kind of people who are self-consumed and shallow. But if we want Jesus and his life, then we will intentionally arrange our daily lives to put him first. This will result in a life full of joy, peace, and love.
In the last chapter of the Book of Proverbs we get a vision of wisdom through a poem about a virtuous wife and mother. This week we learn that walking in wisdom involves developing gratitude for our mothers.
Wise people walk with a constant readiness to learn. Although it’s hard to admit, some of life’s most important lessons come in difficult circumstances. Suffering can be some of the best soil for growing wisdom. If we’re willing to learn, God will use our pain and frustrations to mold us into the kind of people who walk with joy in all circumstances.
Walking with wisdom has a lot to do with how we talk. We can become the kind of people who naturally speak life-giving words, even in stressful times.
When times are difficult we are prone to think that taking and hoarding are the best ways to protect ourselves. But the way of Jesus trains us to live with a generous spirit, looking for ways to give to those in need.
Walking with wisdom at Easter is about changing our perception and seeing things the way they really are under God’s care. The struggles in our world will not last because the new creation has broken into our world through Jesus.
There’s a lot to worry in our world, and there’s no magic formula for getting rid of our anxieties. But there is a way of wisdom that can help us. It has a lot to do with trust, birds, flowers, and the kingdom of God.
If we’re going to be people who walk with wisdom in these difficult times, we need to be the kind of people who elevate Jesus and value him above all. Practically we must give him more of our attention and practice doing what he teaches us. This is the way to walk with less worry and more wisdom in real life.
We all want to be the kind of people who are happy even in the eye of a storm, but it takes walking with wisdom to do this. This new sermon series will help us do just that: walk with wisdom in difficult times. We begin with the book of James where we discover a connection between trials and wisdom that has application for our lives now.
For the third time Jesus predicts his death and resurrection, but this time he expands his explanation to include new images and metaphors. His teaching had application for his students then and it has application for us now.
When Jesus told the wealthy man to sell everything he had, he was doing more than teaching about money. He was breaking the boxes people put him in; he was turning the values of this world upside down; and he was focusing on the renovation of the human heart. The application for us has everything to do with doing the next right thing and trusting God with the outcome.
This week we consider a sensitive passage and discover it’s about a lot more than we might have originally thought. Mark continues to develop the theme of humility, that the kingdom of God is open to the humble but closed to the proud. In this context, Jesus’ teaching on marriage, divorce, and remarriage is more about the heart and inner transformation than it is about establishing a legalistic rulebook for Christians to follow.
From a cup of water to a millstone to salt to cutting off body parts, Jesus teaches his disciples an important truth about the kingdom of God. And it has application for us today.
This week we return to a passage we walked through five months ago. It’s a message we still need. When Jairus came to the edge of hopelessness, Jesus invited him to fear not and believe. What he did next made all the difference, and it can for us too.
The disciples had a hard time understanding why Jesus had to suffer, die, and come back to life. Their lack of understanding has a lot to teach us about our own lives, especially how we help others.
Jesus met a dad who struggled with his faith. What we learn is that the kingdom of God is not opposed to doubt. It’s opposed to rebellion and pride.
When the veil is pulled back and we discover the way things really are in this world, we don’t find a magic political formula or a super-power medicine that cures all diseases or an economic theory to make us rich. What we find is a person: Jesus!
Jesus told his apprentices that he had to suffer and die; then he would rise again. He also told them that if they wanted to be like him they would have to pick up their cross. The way to true life may not look like what we expect.
God moves in unexpected ways and reveals himself to unexpected people. This happens not only in the ministry of Jesus but also in the Christmas story. We might be surprised by the application for our lives.
Mark highlights the growing conflict between the abundance and compassion of the kingdom of God with the violence and pride of the kingdoms of this world. This conflict is woven even into the Christmas story.
This passage shows us that God is present in the mess of our real lives. But does God want to be present in our mess, or does he just deal with it because he has to? The story of the Bible answers this question, and it teaches a lot more about what "God with us" means.
The healing of a deaf and mute man doesn’t just have something to teach us about Jesus; it also has something to teach us about what it means to celebrate “God with us” this Christmas. It’s an application that affects how we live our real lives this season.
The Corinthians might have had the best intentions to be generous, but they needed accountability. They needed Titus to help them reach their goal. Generosity needs accountability. This has application for our real lives.
Paul doesn’t demand Christians to give back to God a specific amount or percentage of income. He goes beyond all that and calls Christians to give from the overflow of their position in the kingdom of God. For one church that was “beyond their ability.”
When people change their life and turn to God, their relationship to the material world, especially money, also changes. God’s amazing grace doesn’t just get you to heaven; it gets you to generosity.
This week we’re looking at Mark chapter 7:24-30 where Jesus healed a woman’s daughter from an impure spirit.
This story has an unexpected twist, because the woman who asked Jesus for help was not a Jew. She lived in Tyre, far outside of Galilee. Very few people would’ve expected to find in that area a non-Jewish woman full of faith. This story reveals a theme that has been developing in the Gospel of Mark: Unexpected people understood Jesus the most.
Early in the gospel, for example, we’re told about an outcast, a man with leprosy, who said to Jesus, “you can make me clean.” An outcast isn’t the kind of person we expect to be full of faith.
Ironically, it was Jesus’ family, hometown, and disciples, as well as the elite religious leaders, who most often misunderstood or mistrusted Jesus.
This has application for us: God still shows up in unexpected places and people. God shows up in day-to-day interruptions, conversations with annoying people, and a cancer diagnosis. He can show up and teach us something when we get cut off in the grocery line or frustrated with our boss at work.
But we’re never in danger more of misunderstanding and mistrusting God than when we think we have him all figured out.
Let’s take this next step to help us change: Look for God in the unexpected.
Be ready to find him when you get frustrated, get interrupted, stand in a long line, or have your coffee order messed up. We don’t expect God in those moments, but he is there; you just have to look for him.
We explore Jesus’ teaching about the walls we put up that block the flow of our love to God and others. It’s the story of God’s commands vs. human rules.
We journey into the story of the feeding of the five thousand. Our next step is to surprise someone with generosity and watch God multiply it.
On this special Homecoming Sunday, we draw lessons from 1 Thessalonians 1. We celebrate the good fruit God has already produced in us and set our eyes on the future where he will produce even more.
The unjust death of John the Baptist foreshadows the crucifixion of Jesus and tips us off that the way to true life is not through a castle but a cross. This has deep application for our lives. Join us as we continue our series through The Gospel of Mark.
When Jesus sent out his disciples two by two he was building their faith through on-the-job training. What does this teach us about how we go and share the gospel? A lot! Join us as we continue our series through The Gospel of Mark.
Jesus offended people in his hometown when he didn’t fit into the box they made for him. We can be tempted to put him into a box too. But this doesn’t work. There’s a better way to live. Join us as we continue through The Gospel of Mark.
When Jairus came to the edge of hopelessness, Jesus invited him to fear not and believe. What he did next made all the difference, and it can for us too. Join us as we continue our series through The Gospel of Mark.
We all come to the edge of hopelessness at some point in our lives, much like Jairus and the woman who suffered years of bleeding in today’s passage. The story of these two people gives us hope and teaches us a lot about God and his kingdom. Join us as we continue our series through The Gospel of Mark.
For our Youth Sunday, Mikaela Chambers, a high school senior, brought a challenging and inspiring message for the youth and adults. We should never underestimate the importance of teaching the next generation how to follow Jesus.
The story of the man possessed by thousands of demons reveals the great power of the kingdom of darkness, but it also points to the larger story between light and darkness that culminated on the cross. This larger story of God’s victory can also be our story. Join us as we continue our series through The Gospel of Mark.
Jesus shocked the disciples when he calmed a mighty storm. He challenged their assumptions and left them saying, “Wait a minute! Who is this?” We need a similar experience in our day. Join us as we continue our series through The Gospel of Mark.
Jesus used two parables about seeds to explain the kingdom of God. What he taught has application for our lives as we live in a world that runs on pride. Join us as we continue our series through The Gospel of Mark.
Jesus’ disciples were tempted to think too highly of themselves, believing the kingdom of God was just for them. Jesus warned them against such pride and called them to humility. He does the same for us today. Join us as we continue our series through The Gospel of Mark.
We take a week off from our series through The Gospel of Mark to explore God's love. Terry Wheeler, one of our elders, studies John 3:16 from a unique angle.
Jesus taught in parables for a particular purpose and he used the Parable of the Sower to explain how the Kingdom of God works. It has application for our lives. Join us as we continue our series through The Gospel of Mark.
People tried to put Jesus in nice, neat boxes in order to control or eliminate him. We still struggle with the same thing today. How did Jesus respond? How do we respond? Join us as we continue our series through The Gospel of Mark.
Jesus used the slow process of training apprentices to spread the message of his kingdom. He continues to use this process today. Join us as we continue our series through the Gospel of Mark.
What are the consequences of holding too tightly to the letter of the law while ignoring the spirit of the law? Could we miss Jesus? Could we miss God's heart for people?
We look at three paradigm shifts that Jesus brought to earth. It's not the best & brightest; the righteous & well-off; rigid rules & rituals. It's the corrupt & ignored; the dirty & unworthy; a relationship.
We consider the tendency to love miracles so much that we miss the Messiah, and the temptation to love the spectacle of his healings while overlooking the substance of his message.
When Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God was near, it was a declaration of war against Satan and a declaration of hope to those trapped under his rule. It is a proclamation that still matters today.
Join us as we start a new series through the Gospel of Mark learning from and walking with Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God.
Joel and his wife Rachel serve with CMF International on the church catalyst team in Turkana, Kenya. They use Joel’s passion for youth and discipleship and Rachel’s interest in providing for people’s physical and spiritual needs in their ministry. They partner with a network of Kenyan churches in leadership development, discipleship training, curriculum development, and community health education.
The happy person described in Psalm 1 is the person who eats God’s Word daily. They eat a steady diet of God’s nutrient-rich, protein-packed Word! (Mothers play a part in teaching us how to do this too—Happy Mother's Day!)
The kind of life we live each day is a product of the habits we have formed in our minds and bodies. As Christians, we carry the muscle memory of sin in our bodies, but by grace and training we can live differently in the kingdom of God.
We continue our series casting a vision for what it means to become a Psalm 1 church. This week we consider the long view, keeping our eyes focused on our eternal destinies.
We continue to explore the vision God has for us as a church and as Christians. This week we ask, How do we become the kind of people who are planted by streams of water?
What if we didn't start by asking what God wants us to do, but rather asked who God wants us to be. This week we launch a multi-week series exploring a vision for who God wants us to be as individuals and as a local church.