Embrace These Truths, Part One
It is imperative that we, as Christians, know the Word of God so we might walk in Truth and not be deceived by lies....
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
Jesus made amazing claims about Himself. There are only so many options when it comes to these claims. Jesus was either a legend, a liar, a lunatic or He was who He claimed to be, and if He was and is who He claimed to be, we must respond to Him. ...
March 3, 2017 by Dr. Kevin Prather
Our God is simply amazing! Pray for His will and he will open doors....
January 1, 2017 by Dr. Kevin Prather
There is so very much to be thankful for! We journeyed far in 2016, and we have more to look forward to in 2017....
January 9, 2025 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Faith, Mission, Truth, Purpose, Jesus, Christianity, Lies, God, Holy Spirit, Scripture, Trials, Joy, God's Word, God's Sovereignty, Testing, Distortions, Hardship, God's Faithfulness
It is imperative that we, as Christians, know the Word of God so we might walk in Truth and not be deceived by lies....
Keep ReadingOctober 31, 2024 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Church, Jesus, God, Holy Spirit, Scripture, Stewardship, Government, Elections, Policies, Opportunity
God has given us a stewardship opportunity in that we have the amazing gift of being able to vote for our elected officials, and in doing that, vote for the policies that will shape the future of the culture. ...
Keep ReadingJune 5, 2024 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Church, Love, Jesus, Culture, God, Holy Spirit, Scripture, Salt and Light, Christians, Truth in Love, Perseverance, Lostness, Ambassadors
Christians must not and cannot retreat from the culture, no matter how dark the days may be....
Keep ReadingSeptember 13, 2022 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Stonebridge Baptist Church, Church, Love, Truth, Jesus, prayer, God, Holy Spirit, Renewal, Scripture, God's Word, Refining, Pruning, God's Goodness, Unity, Reviving, God's Greatness, Life Transformation, The Work of God
What an amazing work the Lord is doing in our church! We must stay in prayer, in the Word, and praise and thank God for who He is, what He is doing, and continue to seek Him as we walk by faith. God is moving in our church!...
Keep ReadingDecember 28, 2021 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Stonebridge Baptist Church, Church, Grace, Love, Truth, Jesus, Christianity, God, Spiritual Maturity, Holy Spirit, Scripture, Growth, 2022, New Year Sermon Series
Many people struggled the past two years with their faith and in their personal lives. As we enter into 2022, these things are necessary if we are to grow spiritually on an individual, familial and church level. ...
Keep ReadingAugust 16, 2021 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Category: Pastor's Blog | Tags: Love, Truth, Evangelism, prayer, Christianity, Culture, DIscipleship, Lies, Boldness, Scripture, Following Jesus, Transformation, Courage, Do Not Conform
As the culture continues to buy and sell lies, and to demand conformity to the lies, Christians must be a people who walk in Truth, even if it is costly. ...
Keep ReadingApril 10, 2021 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Tags: Church, Jesus, Christianity, Culture, God, Holy Spirit, Scripture, Secularism, Bible, Christians, Culture. Spiritual Warfare, Cultural Storm, Woke Ideology, Intersectionality, Critical Race Theory, New Atheism, Queer Theory, Cultural Shifts, Spiritual perseverance
The coming cultural storm is ultimately a spiritual storm. Christians in America have not seen anything like it in our history. Are you prepared? How are we to live and what do we need to do?...
Keep ReadingJuly 14, 2020 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Tags: Christianity, Christ, Following Jesus, Culture, Cancel Culture, Anger, Christian Courage, Faith, Hope, Love, God, Jesus, Church, Holy Spirit, Scripture, God's Word,
Our culture is experiencing a war of ideas unlike anything most of us have seen in our lifetime. There is much darkness and anger in the culture. As the Cancel Culture expands, will Christians stand in faith or compromise?...
Keep ReadingOctober 16, 2019 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Tags: Gospel, Church, Jesus, prayer, God, Holy Spirit, Scripture, Secularism, Pietro Ciavarella, Florence, Italy, Firenza, Witness, God's Word, Engaging Culture, Persevering
America is rapidly sliding into secularism. Many in the American evangelical church are worried, scared or confused. Others still have no idea as to the severity of the storm that is already making landfall. I am thankful to call Pastor/Professor Pietro Ciavarella my friend and brother in Christ. Pietro pastors in Firenza (Florence), Italy, birthplace of the Renaissanc...
Keep ReadingOctober 5, 2018 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Tags: God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, prayer, Preaching, Teaching, Scripture, Evangelism, DIscipleship, Doctrine, Theology, Church, Community Transformation
As our culture rapidly changes and moves toward a new type of Dark Age, evangelical Christians in America must have a compelling vision for not only preserving the faith, but advancing the kingdom despite increasing hostility and opposition. ...
Keep ReadingOctober 3, 2018 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Tags: Christ, Culture, God, Holy Spirit, Bible, Scripture, Word of God, prayer, Worship, Community, Teaching, Learning, Mission, DIscipleship
The way forward in this new 'Dark Age' is to return to the ancient paths....
Keep ReadingFebruary 19, 2018 by Dr. Kevin Prather | Tags: Stonebridge Baptist Church, Jesus, God, Holy Spirit, Gospel, Revival, Revivalism, Church, prayer, Scripture, Humility, Mission, Kingdom of God
Our churches need revival. God is working in our church. We must not confuse praying for authentic revival with revivalism. ...
Keep Reading