Osborne Baptist Church: Recent Episodes
Osborne Baptist Church
Welcome to the weekly podcast for Osborne Baptist Church in Eden, NC! Our vision is to help people love Jesus and everyone else. Our hope is that these messages will encourage you as you grow in your relationship with Jesus. If you'd like to learn more, visit us at osbornebaptist.com or download our app where you can access tons more content and ways to get connected.
In Mark 5, Jesus heals a woman who has bled for 12 years and he raises a little girl from the dead. At one time or another, sickness and death has impacted all of us. When God delays, what is he trying to teach us?
Today Jason Barrow continues our study of the Gospel Of Mark as we start Chapter 5. Jesus casts a whole army of demons out of a possessed man and shows us that he has compassion for the enslaved as well as authority over darkness.
When trouble come up in our lives, it's easy to wonder if Jesus really cares. This is exactly what the disciples thought when they got caught in a storm in the middle of a lake. They asked Jesus, "Don't you even care that we're going to drown?" (Mark 4:38). We forget that the Lord has promised to be with us wherever we go and that He's sovereign over all the storms of life!
Faithful kingdom citizens believe that a little faith has huge kingdom impact. In Mark 4, Jesus shares a couple parables to tell us what the Kingdom of God is like. So as kingdom citizens, how do we grow spiritually here on earth?
What's the condition of your heart when God's Word is preached? Are you a listener or a hearer? Pastor Steve talks about the Parable of the Sower and how to determine if your heart is one that listens and obeys.
In Mark 3, Jesus encounters conflict from his family. Who's not also experienced this? Pastor Steve has some instruction from the life of Jesus that we can learn from.
Mark 3:7-19 drops us down into a day in the life of Jesus - he's surrounded by crowds of people following him after hearing about all of his miracles. He also then officially appoints the twelve disciples. A simple day in Jesus' life is full of insight into what he considered his ultimate purpose for coming.
Today we have Gary Miracle joining us! Gary's struggles are very obvious to anyone who sees him, so people are quick to want to help him. But how can your church body help you keep your struggles hidden? We hope his personal story of God's faithfulness and kindness encourages you in your walk.
In Mark chapter 3, Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath and a conversation about mercy ensues. How aware am I of the mercy that God regularly shows me?
In Mark 2, Jesus calls himself "Lord of the Sabbath" and draws a line between legalism and grace. When we're tempted to turn our relationship with Jesus into religious obligation, what Jesus has to say about truth and grace can lead us in the right direction - where our relationship with him is full of joy!
Six words forever changed the world: "It is finished" and "He is risen." The resurrection of Jesus happened between those two phrases. Why was it that big of a deal? Today we celebrate Jesus forever conquering sin and death and offering His grace to you and me.
This morning, we remember the Lamb of God as we prepare for Easter. What a Savior He is!
We're in chapter 2 of the Gospel Of Mark and Jesus does something that would've been shocking for the people of that day - he invites a hated tax collector to follow him. Because of his endless grace, Jesus sees things in us that other people can't see and he CHOOSES us despite knowing everything about us.
We're picking up The Gospel Of Mark today - in Mark 2, Jesus has an encounter with a paralyzed man and his friends. Sometimes there are needs that only the King of the universe can meet.
In Mark 1, a leper approaches Jesus and says to him, "If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean." Mark then tells us that Jesus was moved with compassion and said "I am willing... be healed!" Jesus is willing to do what only he can do for us - to show us grace, make us clean, and pay the price we owe.
Ministry is meeting someone else’s need as a representative of Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Steve continues our study of Mark today and will talk about 4 keys to effective ministry that Jesus displays in Mark 1.
Jesus says in Matthew 28 that he has been "given all authority in heaven and on earth" and in Mark 1, he proves his authority through his teaching and through his miracles. Are you living in the truth of Jesus' authority and submitting to him?
We're continuing our study of the Gospel of Mark today! In chapter 1, Jesus calls the disciples. And he's still calling every believer today.
We're starting a brand new teaching series today! For the next few months, Pastor Steve is taking us through the Gospel Of Mark. We're looking forward to focusing on Jesus and the narrative of his life that Mark gives us. Because the GOOD NEWS of Jesus started long before he was born - it's always been a part of God's plan.
Hebrews 10 says that because of the blood of Jesus, we can boldly enter heaven and the presence of God. Jesus took our punishment, forever making us right with the Father. Today we remember the cross and the access to God that we now have all because of Jesus!
Today we have our friend Pastor Quintell Hill joining us as we kick off our Re:Focus event. Question: how do the people of God demonstrate the love of Christ? Quintell will be taking us through John 13 as we look at the example of love that Jesus set for us.
Today, we're wrapping up our Found Faithful study and discussing how to build your life on the right foundation with the right materials.
You get this right? Our lives are not our own and have been given to us. God calls to be faithful and steward well what we do with our hands, hearts, and lives. We can't have faithful hearts without also being a faithful giver, knowing everything we have has been loaned to us. So what does a faithful giver look like?
We're starting a new stewardship series today called Found Faithful. We're called to be faithful with our hands and serve others, because service and love is the clearest way that we show others the love of Jesus.
Merry Christmas OBC! We're worshipping Jesus this morning and celebrating His arrival together here on Christmas Eve. Jesus came into this world as a little baby and changed it forever. How do we respond to our Savior's invitation to follow him?
Have you ever needed God to do something you felt was impossible? In the Gospel of Luke, he tells us how an angel appeared to both Mary and Zechariah, telling them both of impossible things that were about to happen. Hebrews says that our faith pleases God! Pastor Steve breaks down these two angel appearances and shows us how to respond in faith to God.
God keeps His promises! He promised the birth of Jesus through Isaiah the prophet and 700 years later, Jesus was born - fulfilling every prophecy written about him. Because God demonstrated that He keeps His promises, we can trust him when life is confusing. He has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us - and He means it!
We're wrapping up our study, Jesus: I Am, today with Pastor Steve and looking at Jesus, the Light of the World!
Today Pastor Jason Wilson picks up our Jesus: I Am study with John 15. In this chapter, Jesus says that he is the True Vine and commands us to remain in him as he remains in us.
We're continuing our study Jesus: I Am today! Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life - salvation is only available through Him. Do you know Him as your Savior?
Jesus says in John 11: "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying." And then he asks the question of the ages - a question that each one of us need to answer: "Do you believe this?"
Jesus is our Good Shepherd! What a blessing to have not only a shepherd who wants to provide for and protect us, but a GOOD shepherd who knows us and still loves us.
Jesus says in John 6 that He is the Bread Of Life. He is the only one who can satisfy the hunger of our souls. Today we remember His sacrifice on the cross and His body that received our punishment.
In the book of John, Jesus offers seven "I Am" statements to describe who He is. You've probably heard some of them before - like "I am the Bread of Life", "I am the Good Shepherd", "I am the true Vine." But what does Jesus mean when He calls himself those things? Pastor Steve will be unpacking these statements over the next 7 weeks and our hope is that together we grow a deeper understanding and gratitude for our good Shepherd.
Every believer's story is one of being rescued from death, brought back to life, and becoming a new creation with a life full of purpose! Is that your story?
We're continuing our study Who's Your One today. We're looking at the parable of the Kingdom banquet - Jesus commanded us to GO because people's eternity is in the balance!
Luke 15:7 says that heaven rejoices over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God! Imagine all the joy among the angels as all of heaven watches people choose to follow Jesus and make him Lord of their lives. As we pray and consider who our One is - the One person we can reach for Jesus - here are a few things Luke 15 has to say.
We're launching our Who's Your One church-wide emphasis and kicking things off this morning with guest speaker, Todd Unzicker of the NCBSC. What does a multiplying church look like? We're taking a look at the early church in Acts 2 to see how they grew, keeping a laser focus on Jesus Christ.
Today we're wrapping up our study This We Believe and covering our final doctrine: the Church. We are the Bride of Christ! There are so many blessings that come with belonging to a local church and we're called to love the church, serve the church, and keep it a priority until the day that Jesus calls us home and together with him!
Today, we have our good friend, Dr. Samuel Thomas of Hopegivers joining us this morning! We're always so blown away by his stories of God's faithfulness and we hope you're challenged and encouraged to live boldly for Jesus.
In our study This We Believe, we're taking a look at what the Bible says about human beings, how we got here, what our purpose is, and the Savior we're in desperate need of.
We're hopping back into our teaching series This We Believe today. We believe the Bible is the authoritative, inerrant, inspired Word of God... but why? We'll dive into this deeper.
Steve is continuing our This We Believe study and today we're seeing what the Bible has to tell us about the Holy Spirit. You get this, right? Jesus saved us from our sins and then went one step further to give us a Helper! He didn't leave us alone in this broken world. God is so kind and merciful!
We're in week 2 of our series This We Believe and today we're looking at the doctrine of Jesus. John 21:25 says "Jesus also did many other things [besides what's included in this book]. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written." There's so much to who Jesus is, but today we'll tackle a few of the things we believe about Him.
We're kicking off our new series, This We Believe, today! For the next 6 weeks, we'll be taking a look at 6 doctrines of our faith and really understanding what we say we believe.
Today we're starting with God: understanding who He is and what He's like makes us evaluate our lives. What we say we believe about God and how we live our lives in response to who He is makes all the difference.
Adam Philpott, our middle school ministry intern for the summer, joins us this morning as he shares from Matthew 14. We're all guaranteed to go through storms in life. There are a few things we must recognize while going through the storms - most importantly, that Jesus is in control in this storm and has a purpose in it.
What does unity in the church look like? Nik Baughn joins us today to share how God used the church body - using all of its different gifts - to impact his entire childhood and help him discover his calling to ministry. Who is waiting on the other side of your obedience to serve?
We quote this a lot: "Man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart." And we usually mean, "I don't have a lot to bring God, but He knows my heart is good." However, the heart is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) and our hearts are all that really matters to God. The heart is the real you. So how's your heart? How's your heart when no one else is around and you're alone with your thoughts?
Today, our worship pastor, Jason Wilson, dives into James 1:1-4. When trials come our way, we have an opportunity to choose to worship our God because He is worthy of our praise, whether our mood is worshipful or not. We shape our worship around the reality of who God is and not how we're feeling in the current situation. We hope you're encouraged today that "there is wonderful joy ahead" (1 Peter 1:3-7) because of what Jesus has already done for us.
As American believers, we have a debt of gratitude for the country and freedoms the Lord has given us, as well as a burden of responsibility to use our freedoms for expanding God's kingdom and proclaiming his salvation!
How good is good enough? With God, there is no good enough - there's nothing you can do to ever earn your way into heaven. But the GREAT news is that he's already provided a way through Jesus.
Happy Father's Day! Today Pastor Steve discusses what it looks like to be a godly dad who loves Jesus and protects his family.
Our discipleship pastor, Jason Barrow, dives into Mark 8 today. After Jesus heals a blind man, he asks his disciples who they say Jesus is. We can't see who the real Jesus is until we die to ourselves.
Today we're wrapping up our Pre-Decide series. Successful people pre-decide to do consistently what other people do occasionally. You can pre-decide now to put God first, obey Him when it doesn't make sense, and say no to the things that will derail you.
Proverbs 24:3 says "It takes wisdom to have a good family, and it takes understanding to make it strong." Today we'll take a look at how to be a parent that loves unconditionally, corrects without condemning, and honors God through it all.
We're continuing our Pre-Decide series today and discussing lies we believe that lead to unhealthy marriages. Have you ever thought these before? "My spouse needs to change." "It's my spouse's job to make me happy." "My spouse will never hurt me." We're tackling what Scripture has to say about us resembling Jesus to our spouse and following his example of humbly serving each other.
Today in our Pre-Decide series, we're discussing the idea of pre-deciding to live a life that's walked closely with God. Abiding in Jesus doesn't just naturally or accidentally happen - it has to be a posture of our heart that we pre-decide is a priority of ours. We're looking forward to unpacking this some more this morning!
Jesus tells us that the Enemy's purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came to bring abundant life. So if the Enemy is set to draw us into temptation and away from God, how do we prepare to resist him? We'll take a look what Jesus offers to us in our battle.
Today we're starting a brand new teaching series called Pre-Decide - do the decisions you make today affect tomorrow? We think so. And we believe God's Word says a lot about acting wisely and honoring God with our choices.
The author of Psalm 19 marvels at creation and the artistry of the Creator, then he turns to marveling at the instructions in God's Word. He finds joy and insight in the commands and guidance of the Lord. And he ends all of this wonder at creation and awe of God's Word with a sincere, genuine plea for the Lord who created it all to search his heart and find the secret sins that the author has been harboring against God. And he prays that his life would be one that pleases the Lord.
Today, we're here for Jesus and only Jesus! He forever conquered sin through his death and resurrection and we want to worship Him!
Today's a BIG day at OBC! We're moving into a BRAND NEW season of our church and celebrating the very first day in our new worship center! Thank you Lord! And what better way to worship in our room for the first time than by participating in the Lord's Supper and remembering the ultimate sacrifice He made on the cross for us. Jesus, you've been so good to us - from the cross and even today.
Today Pastor Steve is wrapping up the second part of our two-week series, A New Season. Next week, we're moving into our newly expanded worship center and we couldn't be more excited to enter this new season at OBC and see what God does to reach more people for Him.
Today Pastor Steve is talking about entering a new season here at OBC. We're only weeks away from moving back into our newly expanded worship center - can you believe it! What are we going to see God do in this new space? And what is He asking US to do in this new space?
In an age of deception, being intentional about things like thoughtful prayer, Christ-centered relationships, and actively bringing Jesus into every conversation are critical in keeping a church standing strong on the gospel.
In Colossians 3:18-4:1, Paul gives instructions for wives, husbands, and parents that are vital in building a home that stands firm in an age of deception. Today, we'll talk about spiritual leadership, the roles God designed for us, and ultimately living under God's authority.
How would you define yourself? Successful, talented, weird, awkward? Colossians 3:3 says that we died to our current life and our real life is hidden in Christ in God. Because of this, we can live with our identity in Jesus. We'll ask 5 questions today to determine if our identity really is in Jesus. Because once Jesus has changed our hearts, it should be evident all over our lives.
We're continuing our study of Colossians - when Jesus rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into His own kingdom, He changed our nature too! No longer are we slaves to sin or in bad standing with God - he cancelled our sin and forever conquered our enemy. Praise God!
We're taking a look at Colossians 2:6-10 where Paul writes that as believers in Christ, we must continue to follow him and "let your roots grow down into him and let your lives be built on him." So what do we need in order to grow spiritually?
Pastor Steve is back today and he'll continue our study of Colossians. Paul writes in Colossians chapter 2 that he wants the church to be "encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love" and have complete confidence that they understand God's plan in sending Jesus for us. We're looking forward to unpacking this text some more this morning!
Today, our good friend, Dr. Harry Smith, joins us and shares what a relationship with Jesus looks like.
Colossians 1:15-23 is PACKED with a lot of information about who Jesus is. Jesus is the exact reality of God, given to us in a physical form. In Him exists all the majesty, supremacy, and love of a Creator, Lord, and Savior. And He invites us, who were once far from Him and His enemy, to draw close and submit to Him with a surrendered life.
Today we're kicking off a new study through the book of Colossians! Paul writes to the church at Colosse and prays that they would be strengthened by the Lord's glorious power so they would have all the endurance and patience they need. In this message, we look at Colossians 1:1-14 and learn how we can stand strong in our faith with the power, wisdom, and hope our Lord offers.
Today we have Pastor Victor Ochoa from Nuevo Amanecer (New Dawn), our church plant in Costa Rica! We love hearing from Victor as he shares what God's been doing in the lives of the people of Los Chiles!
Happy New Year OBC! Through all the trials and changes coming our way in 2023, one thing will stay the same: the faithfulness of our God and discovering more and more that His grace is sufficient for each trial.
Merry Christmas OBC! We love you and we hope you and your family have a wonderful, warm Christmas! Thank you Jesus for humbling yourself and taking on flesh, to live the life we never could and die in our place. We love you, Lord.
The coming of Jesus fulfilled so many Old Testament prophecies - the Messiah would come to heal the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom, comfort those who weep, and bring good news! Jesus did all of that! And He offers all of this to you this Christmas.
Today Pastor Steve shares about the promises made and the promises kept in the birth of our Savior. Because of Jesus, we know that God keeps his word and can be trusted!
The Christmas season is officially here and today, Jason Wilson, our Worship & Creative Arts Pastor, shares about the purpose of Christmas. At Christmas, we're reminded that although life can feel random and chaotic, there is a plan and a purpose that God is working out. And he proved that years ago in the gift of His Son.
God wants us to know Him and understand who He is! Growing in our understanding of God is something we receive from the Holy Spirit, not something we can achieve all on our own. It takes the Holy Spirit illuminating God's Word to us as we surrender our hearts and desire to know Him more.
As we wrap up our Good Hand Of God series and approach Thanksgiving, we have so much to be thankful for. We have so many blessings from God: things he's provided us with, who He is, what He's put in our hand to give. We're looking forward with grateful hearts to what God plans to do with our building project and the future of OBC!
We're continuing our Good Hand Of God series today as we talk about what a generous heart looks like. God chooses to involve us in what he's doing instead of handling it without our involvement. When he involves us, he makes us aware of the need, then multiplies what we do for our good and His glory! When we get involved with God - through giving or serving - God grows our faith and teaches us to trust him.
We're continuing our Good Hand Of God series today and talking about giving and faith. What does giving with a faithful heart look like?
How do we respond to the evidence of the good hand of God in our church? We believe God is doing a good work here at OBC and it's time for us to "rise up and build" (Nehemiah 2:18 NLT).
Today we're wrapping up our series, Toxic Emotions! Guilt and shame are emotional traps that can rob us of the joy Jesus wants us to have. How do we move past these toxic emotions? Pastor Steve will explain what God's Word has to say.
We're in week 4 of our series Toxic Emotions and today we're discussing worry and anxiety. But there's good news - the apostle Paul writes in Philippians that we can take all of our worries to God and get his peace in exchange. We're looking forward to unpacking this idea more this morning!
Proverbs 14:30 says, "A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot." Envy can ruin our lives and keep us trapped in comparing ourselves to others. But God wants us to find contentment with what He's given us. Because contentment is the ultimate cure for envy.
We're continuing our Toxic Emotions series today and discussing how to handle anger. God through Jesus has forgiven us and we're called to exchange our angry spirit for one of kindness, gentleness, and forgiveness towards each other. We hope today's message is helpful with something we all struggle with!
We're kicking off a brand new series today called Toxic Emotions! Fear (and other emotions like it) have a way of trapping our minds and holding us captive. But you don't have to live like this! Pastor Steve talks about the real hope that Jesus gives us to overcome our emotions.
We're looking forward to hearing from our good friend, Dr. Sam Thomas, of Hopegivers International! We hope that through learning what God's doing in Dr. Thomas' life and around the world, that you would be challenged and encouraged in your walk with the Lord.
Pastor Steve is wrapping up our teaching series, Be The Church! Over the last few weeks, we've covered our church strategy as we've talked about how we can help people love Jesus and everyone else by practicing spiritual disciplines and being connected in a group. Today we're looking at the last component which involves worshiping and taking the Gospel to the people around us!
We're continuing our study Be The Church and talking about the WE component of our church strategy. We believe that building authentic relationships with others is a must to grow in loving Jesus and everyone else.
Today, we're continuing to talk about how spiritual disciplines shape us into the image of Jesus as we continue our Be The Church series!
Without spiritual discipline, our flesh will rob us of the life God wants us to have and we become slaves to every impulse. Today we're talking about our I-WE-HE strategy as a church and 2 spiritual disciplines that allow God to use us for his church: bible study and prayer.
Pastor Steve is back as we jump into a brand new series: BE THE CHURCH. What does it look like for OBC to be the church? We'll be diving into what Colossians 2 shows us.
God has given us the blessing of belonging to a local church and we believe that church matters! David Tuck shares how God used the local church in his life and challenges us to invest in our local church for God's kingdom.
Pastor Jason Barrow joins us this morning as he shares from Psalm 45. Our hearts crave a king - just look at the people or possessions we worship. Maybe what you've been looking for all along is the one true King who wants to invite you into his royal family, a family with a purpose.
Occasionally something happens in the church that requires us to talk about it and search Scripture for wisdom and guidance. Today is one of those days. We all have a sin nature and we are all vulnerable to any kind of sin. But praise the Lord, God has given us the Holy Spirit within us when we're tempted.
Today we're hearing from our Thrive Young Adult Ministry director, Darren Hudson. In your Christian walk, do you ever find yourself wondering about the balance between grace and our own works? Darren will be tackling that today as he talks about faith, grace, and remembering our salvation.
Today, we're hearing from our Switch middle school pastor, Ryan Murphy! We all have doubts, but guess what - our doubts don't make our God love us any less or disqualify our faith. We hope today is encouraging to you, whether you're struggling with doubts or not right now.
Independence Day is all about freedom, but we hope you'll take a moment with all of the cookouts, picnics, and fireworks to remember the true, eternal freedom that Jesus Christ gave when He laid down His life for us. We're so blessed to live in a country where we can freely worship Him today.
Today, Pastor Steve tackles the Supreme Court's historic ruling on the abortion issue in our country. The core question at the heart of this issue is "Is this life?" How you answer that question has everything to do with what is right and what is wrong with abortion. Jesus is all about offering life. Now the church has a responsibility to respond, so what do we do?
Being a dad comes with a lot of responsibilities. There are a few things dads need FROM their family and a few things they need to GIVE to their family when it comes to being an authentic dad!
Today we're hearing from Jason Wilson, our worship pastor, as he wraps up our study in Acts. We're at the end of the book of Acts, but the Holy Spirit is still just as much at work in the church today, carrying out God's plan until He calls us home.
Pastor Steve is continuing our study in Acts and Paul's shipwreck experience - shipwrecked seasons in our lives are often perfect opportunities to show people Jesus. We come into contact with individuals that we never would've without the wreck. Are you taking advantage of these interactions to share your Jesus story?
We're continuing our study in Acts. Does life ever feel like a shipwreck? Scripture gives us a few characteristics of God that we can hold onto when life feels out of control.
We're in Acts 26 and the Apostle Paul stands on trial for preaching about Jesus and gets to share his Jesus story with important leaders in that time. Paul writes that he's "not ashamed of this Good News about Christ" and he boldly shares his Jesus story. Who is God calling you to share your story with?
Some days life is just hard and it can seem like God doesn't listen and everyone is against you. We're continuing our study in Acts today and this is exactly where Paul finds himself. If this is how you're feeling today, we pray that you're reminded of God's sovereign plan and His love for you during this message.
Pastor Kevin Bedard picks up our study in Acts as we look at Paul in prison. It's easy to believe when God's hand is slow that He's not present. God always works more slowly than we do, but we can trust that He is still loving, sovereign, and in complete control.
Today in Acts, we'll see that when we faithfully trust God's plan for our lives (even through the hard times) God protects us and teaches us in ways we could've never experienced otherwise.
Facing opposition is tough, but we get to decide how we're going to respond when opposition comes our way. Our flesh is powerful and is constantly trying to convince us that our own discernment and desires are more important than how God's Word tells us to respond. God is faithful and this may just be an opportunity for you to allow your life to reflect the Gospel.
Jesus is alive and that changes EVERYTHING! We pray today that you're reminded of the real hope we have in the fact that Jesus forever conquered sin and death. He loves you!
Today we're remembering the cross and the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. Jesus declared "It is finished!" from the cross, but what was finished? And how do we respond? We pray that through this message you're reminded that God really loves you, wants to draw close to you, and has given us life through His Son, Jesus.
We're continuing our study in the book of Acts today. We're in Acts 22 where Paul addresses a crowd and shares his story of how Jesus changed his life. There's power in your Gospel story and Jesus wants to use your story in the lives of the people around you!
It's easy to have a critical heart. And sometimes other people's criticism lands on us. Opposition almost always gives us a Gospel opportunity. Will we choose to look for an opportunity to respond as a child of God or give into the flesh when we face opposition and criticism.
What does courageous conviction in our faith look like and why does it matter? Sometimes good things from God such as relationships, possessions, pleasure, or success can become masters in our lives. But only one thing will last forever.
"Let the message about Jesus Christ in all its richness fill your lives." (Colossians 3:16) We want to be an effective church for the gospel of Jesus Christ. But becoming useful for God's kingdom work in this world requires that we understand a few things.
We're jumping back into our study of Acts today. It can be really painful and confusing when God suddenly changes a plan you were working on. Whether it's a relationship you wanted to work out or dreams you hoped for or a job opportunity, God has a reason when He takes you in a different direction and how we respond and view the change means everything.
We're wrapping up our Under Construction series with today's message. God is building an everlasting kingdom and it all began at the cross.
"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?" (Luke 14:28 ESV) Building your life on Jesus will cost you something, but it is absolutely worth the price. Are you prepared to count the cost?
We're building on God's plan, but building a life that lasts requires that we understand a few things. As with any project, the quality of the material we build with determines the value of what we're building. What are you building your life with?
When we build on God's plan, we build on the perfect cornerstone - Jesus Christ. Because Jesus is our cornerstone, we live with a new identity. Only a life built on Jesus will withstand the storms of life that come our way.
At OBC, we're in the middle of a building project, but God has always been constructing something eternal in the hearts of his people. Like any good building plan, His plan requires having the right foundation, the right building materials, and counting the cost. Only the things God builds last forever, so are you on his plan?