We are a community of people dedicated to follow Jesus in all that we do. If you’re looking for a church committed to loving God, loving each other, teaching his word, and worshiping him, then we invite you to come join us at any of our worship gatherings and activities for adults, youth, and children (see our About page and Activities page). Also, if you’re looking to learn more about Jesus and what it means to be his follower, I would love the chance to talk with you (also, see our About page for contact information, or see our Follow Jesus page).
Check out our site, read the blog posts below for news updates and devotional posts, and check out one of our worship gatherings!
~ Pastor Mike
Sunday Morning Schedule
9:45am ~ Small Groups / Sunday School
10:45 am ~ Worship Gathering
This morning, we’ll continue our God and Money series by taking a look at what the Bible says about how we are to be wise and plan well when it comes to our finances. This evening, we’ll join with other Osage River Baptist churches at Kamp Keirsey for the annual camp picnic. We hope to see you there!
Schedule
@945 Small Groups / Sunday School for all ages
@1045 Worship Gathering
@230pm Adrian Manor nursing home service
@5pm Camp Picnic at Kamp Keirsey
Sermon Notes Plan Well ~ Various Scriptures
The sermon in one sentence: Wisely consider your finances in order to maximize your involvement in God’s purposes, because you belong to Jesus and everything you have is his.
Those who are wise “will count the costs” (Luke 14:27-33)
Jesus uses realities of money to illustrate the point: He is worth following and everything we have belongs to him
Therefore we should use our wealth to honor God
Four main purposes of money to help us love others well according to God’s will:
To provide for you and your family (1 Timothy 5:8)
To give help to those in need (Matthew 6:2)
To support the spread of the gospel (Philippians 4:10-19)
To enjoy life with family and friends (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10)
Three aspects of planning well in order to maximize your involvement in God’s purposes:
This morning we’ll kickoff our new Sunday School / Small Groups year with doughnuts and coffee in the gym at 930 before classes begin at 945. Then during our worship gathering, we’ll begin our God and Money series with a look at 1 Timothy 6:6-10, learning how to stay focused with a proper perspective on wealth. Then on Sunday evening, we’ll conclude our Follow Me video study. We hope to see you there!
Schedule
@930 Sunday School Kickoff in gym
@945 Small Groups / Sunday School for all ages
@1045 Worship Gathering
@6pm Follow Me video study in youth room
Sermon Notes Stay Focused ~ 1 Timothy 6:6-10
The sermon in one sentence: Stay focused by remembering that wealth is temporary but godliness brings eternal gain.
Godliness provides the best gain, so pursue godliness with more passion than you pursue wealth (6:6, 9-10)
There is only a small amount that you need for life, so enjoy what you have and be content with the basics (6:6, 8)
Wealth is only temporary, so be wise with your wealth and don’t waste it by hoarding it (6:7)
This morning on this holiday weekend, we’ll take a look John 10 and the topic of the assurance of our salvation. Next week, we start a new 4-week series on personal finance called “God and Money.” We hope to see you there! There will be no evening activities at the church tonight with the holiday.
Schedule
@945 Small Groups / Sunday School for all ages
@1045 Worship Gathering
**No Evening Study
Sermon Notes The Assurance of Salvation ~ John 10:1-30
The sermon in one sentence: Our salvation rests assured in Jesus; if we have a relationship with Jesus, then we can have assurance of salvation.
Our salvation is permanent
Jesus is the means and the keeper of our salvation
Our salvation rests assured in Jesus
How to know if you have salvation
You are trusting in Jesus as Savior and King
You have a relationship with Jesus
You are experiencing spiritual growth
Songs for Worship I Know Whom I Have Believed I Will Glory in My Redeemer Now I Belong to Jesus Higher Ground Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)
In this devotional series, we’re taking a look at Matthew 24 & 25 to see what Jesus teaches us about his return and the end of the current age of history. Today, we’ll conclude with Matthew 25:31-46.
In Matthew 25, Jesus concluded his teaching about his return with a picture of final judgment. Final judgment is the last event of the current age of history, before eternity kicks off with the re-creation and perfection of the heavens and earth. Of this event, Jesus says,
“All the nations will be gathered before [the Son of Man], and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'” (25:32-34)
Jesus’ mention of “all the nations” indicates that though he was a Jew and the expected Messiah of the Israelites, that neither the salvation he offers nor the judgment he carries out is exclusively for the Jews. In the Old Testament, God chose the Jews as his people to bring forth a King who would be King over all peoples. So, rightly, all will stand before Jesus at judgment.
During judgment there is a separation of people that Jesus compares to the separation of sheep and goats. Shepherding terminology is used much throughout the Bible, and sheep often stand as a metaphor for God’s people and goats as those who continue in their sin and rebellion against God. The sheep are blessed and welcomed into the joys of eternity; whereas later, the goats are cursed and sent “into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angles” (25:41). This showing the wrath of God that burns against sin.
So, what does Jesus say marks the difference between the sheep and goats? Of the sheep, he says, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me” (25:35-36).
This prompts the people to ask, “When did we do these things?” With the King replying, “Whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (25:37-40). The goats, however, are described as those who did not help take care of others.
Here we find an example of what James would label as faith and works. Faith without works is dead, James wrote. His point being that a true faith in God through Jesus, a faith that is trusting in him for the love of God and the forgiveness of sins, is a faith that also manifests itself in good works, specifically works that show a great love for others.
Love is at the heart of the Christian faith. We experience God’s love and that love compels us to love others. We still might do some socially good deeds like those described without faith, but the deeds themselves won’t save us. We need faith. (See: Isaiah 64:6 and Ephesians 2:8-10). But then, a person with faith will live out that faith in a way that makes a positive impact on others. Saving faith always leads to doing good. And as we do to others, it is as if we have done for Jesus.
So, as we long for Jesus’ return, let us live out our faith, seeking to meet people’s needs as we wait to enter the perfect joy of eternity.
This Sunday we’ll conclude our The Art of Prayer and Fasting series by considering Matthew 6 and what it says about how we can fast in a God-honoring way. Then on Sunday Evening, we’ll continue our Follow Me video study by David Platt. We hope to see you there!
Schedule
@945 Small Groups / Sunday School for all ages
@1045 Worship Gathering
@6pm Follow Me study in youth room
Sermon Notes The Art of Fasting Well ~ Matthew 6:1, 16-18
The sermon in one sentence: To fast well, maintain an attitude, reasons, and a method to achieve a spiritual end for the glory of God.
Attitude: Fast to Honor God, not to impress people
See fasting as a practice of righteousness (6:1)
Keep your fast mainly between you and God (6:16-18)
Fast as an act of joy (6:16-18)
Purpose: Fast to draw closer to God and/or to serve others in their time of need
Fasting in a time in which we become more aware of our dependence on God
Good reasons to fast: Focused time in prayer, focused time in the Word, spiritual growth, caring for the disadvantaged
Method: Fast with a plan to achieve your purpose
Fasting is an expectation of the Christian’s life, but particulars are not biblically mandated (Matthew 6:16)
Some helps to fast well:
Decide how long your fast will be
Decide what to fast from
Consider health concerns and speak with your doctor
Songs for Worship Let There Be Praise Rejoice in the Lord, Always I Stand Amazed As the Deer Speak, O Lord Satisfied
This Sunday we’ll transition from prayer to fasting in our “The Art of Prayer and Fasting” sermon series; we’ll take a look at various scripture passages and see what they teach us about fasting. Then on Sunday night, we’ll continue our video study Follow Me. We hope to see you there!
Schedule
@945 Small Groups / Sunday School for all ages
@1045 Worship Gathering
@2pm Evangelism and Missions Team Meeting in gym
@6pm “Follow Me” video study
Sermon Notes Learning to Fast ~ Various Scriptures
The sermon in one sentence: Fasting helps to deepen our dependence on God and opens opportunity for extended time in prayer, scripture, and helping others in their time of need.
We fast because we have been made righteous by God, not to be made righteous by God (Isaiah 58:1-5)
We fast to remind us that we are not yet physically present with Jesus (Mark 2:18-22)
We fast in order to spend extended time in prayer (Acts 13:1-3)
We fast in order to spend extended time in God’s word (Luke 4:4)
We fast in order to help care for the disadvantaged (Isaiah 58:6-10)
Songs for Worship In Christ Alone Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing Hungry Beautiful One Take My Life and Let it Be
In this devotional series, we’re taking a look at Matthew 24 & 25 to see what Jesus teaches us about his return and the end of the current age of history. Today, we’ll consider Matthew 25:14-30.
Matthew 25 records Jesus telling three parables about his return. The first in 25:1-13 reiterates the truths at the end of chapter 24–we don’t know when Jesus is going to return, but we should live each day prepared, seeking to do his will while we still have breath on this earth.
Then in 25:14-30, we come across what is often called “the parable of the talents,” which tends to be quite familiar to followers of Jesus. Jesus told the story of a rich and powerful man who had three servants. To each he gave various talents, a measure of money in which one talent was worth about 20 years wages of the common laborer. The man then went on a journey to return at a later time.
Two servants took what they were given and earned more back for the master. The last servant, however, hid the talent in a hole in the ground and did nothing with it. When the master returned he called the servants to himself and found out what they had done.
The first two received high praise: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!” (25:21, 23).
The third servant did not fare well. He was called evil and lazy and he was stripped of all he had and tossed into the “outer darkness.”
The point of the story expands on the idea that Jesus will return and we won’t know when. The emphasis here, however, is the faithfulness we show in the meantime.
God gives a variety of “talents” to each of us. These may include our experiences, education, money, influence, time, etc. These are resources that God has given us to use in the world to love him supremely and love others deeply. The question is: What do we do with them?
A follower of Jesus will see his or her life and the things of life as an opportunity. This opportunity isn’t to make a name for ourselves but to magnify the fame of Jesus. It is an opportunity to tell the story of the great love he showed us in dying for our sins, and to tell the story of the great hope and joy we can have trusting in his return. It is also an opportunity to look around at the various needs others around us have and figure out ways to meet them as tangible demonstrations of God’s love.
Living our lives in such a way, trusting in Jesus and loving others as he has loved us, will lead us to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
