Returning to Romans
This week we return to our verse-by-verse study of Romans. Understanding Romans is essential to our Christian life, and the truths we find in Romans are essential to us becoming true Christians. ...
Keep ReadingToday, Easter Sunday, we celebrated the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. 'He is Risen!' is the most incredible and important declaration in human history. Jesus' resurrection changes everything. Because He rose from the grave, all of the claims He made are true and He is worthy of our absolute love and devotion and obedience.
Because Jesus rose from the grave, the idea of our faith being a 'Christmas and Easter' only faith is nonsensical as is the idea of being a 'Sunday only' Christian. If we belong to Him, we belong to Him every hour of every day and we give Him our best-not our leftovers.
Because He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and because He is the Head of the Church, died for the Church, loves His Church, we do as well. It is in the context of the church, in community, where we learn and grow together, help each other become more like Christ, encourage each other and challenge each other to grow. We learn to love one another, to be patient with one another, to forgive one another, to persevere with one another. We build each other up. We are on mission together. That is Christ's intent for His people and His Church.
While it is true that we can worship Christ anywhere, it is equally true that we are saved into community and there are certain things that can only happen in terrms of our growth, in a corporate context. Much of the growth He desires for us cannot take place in any other context than in the community of believers, the Church.
Today we celebrated the resurrection, as we should, as is fitting! May we never grow dull and complacent as we consider the incredible reality: Jesus Christ, God the Son, took on flesh, dwelt among us, willingly laid down His life as a ransom for many, was crucified, paid the penalty for our sins, died, was buried and three days later rose from the grave!
But, even as we celebrate today, we must remember something very important: now the real work begins. When we look at the Gospels, after Jesus has shown Himself as the Risen Savior to His disciples, He does something very important: He commissions them (as He has us) to make disciples of all people. We are not to keep this incredible news of the Risen Savior to ourselves! Too much is at stake. Everything is at stake.
So, as a church as we look to the next few months, we ask the Lord to grant us the grace, wisdom and strength needed to pesevere, to lean into the things He has for us, to press forward to the calling He has for us individually and as a congregation. As we saw today in our sanctuary, a sanctuary that was for all practical purposes in overflow condition, we cannot reach more people if we do not move to a second service and Bible study. We have already begun taking first steps toward that. We are in process.
For the sake of the King and His Kingdom, let us stay in prayer, stay focused and move forward in faith! The Love of the Risen King compels us!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Kevin
March 14, 2017 by Dr. Kevin Prather
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April 7, 2024 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: The gospel, Jesus Christ, Truth, Christianity, God, Holy Spirit, Salvation, Romans, Doctrines, Systematic Theology, Verse-by-Verse Study, Christian Living
This week we return to our verse-by-verse study of Romans. Understanding Romans is essential to our Christian life, and the truths we find in Romans are essential to us becoming true Christians. ...
Keep ReadingMarch 20, 2024 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Stonebridge Baptist Church, Good Friday, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Easter, Jesus, God, Holy Spirit, palm sunday, Holy Week, Resurrection Sunday, Jesus' Mission, Responding to Jesus
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Keep ReadingJanuary 8, 2024 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Church, Love, Priorities, Jesus, Christianity, God, Holy Spirit, Christian Life, Making Disciples, Focus, Loving God, Loving Neighbors, Glory of God
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Keep ReadingDecember 21, 2023 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Worship, Life, Jesus, God, Holy Spirit, Christmas, Busyness, Quiet
Christmas is an incredible opportunity for us to slow down and reflect on God's amazing love, grace and mercy toward us in the gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who entered into our human condition to pay our sin debt so that we could become sons and daughters of the Living God. The culture (and our misguided priorities) encourage us to live life at a million miles a...
Keep ReadingDecember 12, 2023 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Stonebridge Baptist Church, Jesus, God, Holy Spirit, Hope, Christmas, Incarnation, Peace, Pain, Suffering, Joy, Evil
Followers of Jesus can rejoice and must rejoice this Christmas Season as we celebrate the remarkable, immeasurably costly, gracious and loving gift of God the Son to us, the babe in the manger who came to save us from our sins and to lead us from darkness to light. The world may be a dark place, and, getting darker, but Christians, because of Jesus Christ, can and must sin...
Keep ReadingOctober 18, 2023 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Evil, Suffering, God's Sovereignty, God's Goodness, Israel, Hamas, terrorism, Murder, Man's Inhumanity to Man, war, Theodicy,
God is both Sovereign and Good. We live in a fallen world where sin has negatively impacted everything. Humans are also sinners by nature because of the Fall. Because of sin, evil exists. Even as Christians await on Christ's return, for that time when there will be a new heaven and new earth, we still groan (as does creation itself) because of sin. It is normal for people ...
Keep ReadingOctober 9, 2023 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Word of God, Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, prayer, evil and suffering, terrorism, war, Palestine, God's Sovereignty, The gospel
Watching the events unfold in Israel is heartbreaking. How are we to respond and how are we to pray as Christians?...
Keep ReadingOctober 9, 2023 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Gospel, Stonebridge Baptist Church, Church, Evangelism, Jesus, God, Holy Spirit, Power of Gospel, Authority of God's Word, Power of God's Word, Multi-Generational, Multi-Ethnic, we are 'one, ' in Christ Jesus. Salt and light. Christ's ambassadors, God's Glory Alone
It is a tremendous blessing to see the power of the gospel transforming lives! We are so very thankful for what the Lord is doing in our church! We have an opportunity to show our communities the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ....
Keep ReadingJuly 15, 2023 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Children, Church, Faith, Love, Jesus, God, Community, Holy Spirit, Hope, Family, Parents, Isolation, Life Transformation, Husbands, Wives, Oneness with God, Impacting Your Community, Hope and Love
Family Week is a wonderful opportunity to grow in your walk with Jesus Christ, to strengthen your marriage, and, your family. Family Week is for the entire community. Don't miss the blessing. Register for Family Week 2023, which runs July 30-August 2. ...
Keep ReadingMay 22, 2023 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Youth, Children, Gospel, Stonebridge Baptist Church, Grace, Love, Mission, Jesus, God, Holy Spirit, Communities, Word of God, Scriptures, Families, Future, Unity, Life Transformation, Church Expansion
The Lord has been (and is doing) wonderful things in the life o our church! What a blessing it is to be at Stonebridge Baptist Church! As we move forward now with next steps in our facility, seeking His will for this body, we must stay focused above all on Him, on the mission He has for us, and commit all things to Him for His glory...
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