First Baptist Blowing Rock

One of the main teachings of the early church was the return of Jesus Christ to bring his followers to Heaven. In Thessalonica, when some early converts were passing away, other believers became concerned that since they missed the return of Christ then maybe they would miss Heaven. In the passage we look at in this message, Paul uses this opportunity to clarify what we believe concerning death and how it relates to the return of C...

We continue studying the Apostle Paul's teaching on how we can live a life that is "pleasing to God". We have already learned that God's will for our life is to be "sanctified" or living our life pursuing holiness and now he continues by laying out some other important principles we should be pursuing or using our "ambition" towards. Our character and integrity matters as part of our witness and that includes how we treat one anoth...

As the Apostle Paul encourages the Thessalonians Christians to pursue Holiness and Sanctification in their lives, he contrast that with living a life of sexual immorality which he identifies with pagan behavior. Why would he single out this one sin or struggle over all of the others as a danger to holiness? What does he mean by "sexual immorality" and what does that term mean in our modern context? In this message we examine why se...

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of our Declaration of Independence we examine the roots and background of our founding as a nation and why that still matters to Christians and the church in 2026. What are our responsibilities and obligations to uphold, treasure, share and pass along these founding principles and values to the next generation and how can we most effetely do that? The hope for our nation is not a...

What does Peter mean when he quotes Leviticus in saying, "Be Holy for I am Holy"? Is it something that God does for us, or something we do for ourselves? In our passage from Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul says that it is God's will that we all be sanctified and that living Holy lives pleases God but what does that look like in a practical sense ? In this message we answer all of those questions and more, clearing up any confusion ...

The Apostle Paul was a wonderful encourager to all of those who supported and benefited from his ministry and message and nowhere is that more evident than in his letter to the churches. Since Thessalonians is one of his first letters, it reveals why and how he saw encouragement to be a natural outflow of a Spirit filled and transformed heart. Join us to discover how we can become encouragers and why it is such a vital part of our ...

How do we respond when its seems like everything we try to do, or feel like God is leading us to do, meets a brick wall? In our message today we will examine how the Apostle Paul dealt with Satan when he blocked him from gong back to visit the young believers at Thessalonika. Too many times we simply give up when the obstacles we face might be there to help us develop and grow in our faith and relationship with God. We examine why ...

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus encourages Christians to "store up treasures in heaven" as opposed to storing them up on earth. What are these treasures and how can we store them up? Why does it matter if we are already in Heaven? You might have heard someone talk about getting a "crown" in heaven, or even a jewell in their heavenly crown - are those the same things as what Jesus was talking about? In this message from 1st Thessa...

The Apostle Paul is encouraging the young Christians at Thessaloniki as they face opposition and even persecution for their faith. Through this encouragement he makes some profound statements of truth about the message he has been preaching when he was among them. He declares that the gospel is not something put together by men or based on worldly philosophy but rather the actual voice of God. This simple, yet profound statement is...

As we celebrate mothers, I wanted to look at a mother from the gospels who gets a bad rap from many readers and see if we could not redeem her reputation. Join us as we look at the mom of James and John and her encounter with Jesus that reveals her heart and passion for her boys and a lesson for all mothers. 

From Matthew 20:20-24

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What does it really mean to be a part of a church family? Why do we even call it a family, and who gets to be a part of it? Are their requirements and expectations? In this message we look as the Apostle Paul shares his heart with the Thessalonians about his passion for serving them and what he expects from them. In doing so, we catch a glimpse of what it means to be a part of God's family and how that translates to the local churc...

     All of us have hopes, dreams and goals for our children and grandchildren; be a good person, be successful, do well in school, make and have friends. As they get older those goals grow more specific; get into a certain college, choose a career, be a success in athletics. All worthy and valuable goals; but what about spiritual goals? Most people never think about it in those terms and we can see the results in ou...

All of us struggle with peer pressure or seeking the approval of others. It is part of our human nature - we want people to like us. What happens when that "want" becomes a "need" that we use as validation and identity? What happens when our desire to please others interferes with our desire to please and serve God? In our study from Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul deals with the dangers of what he calls "fearing people more than f...

When you look at the Apostle Paul's initial visit to Macedonia on his Second Missionary Journey it might be easy to label his efforts a failure. He was whipped, beaten and jailed in his first town Philippi. He was forced into hiding and snuck out of town in the middle of the night in Thessaloniki. He had to flee Berea in front of another angry mob and ended up in Athens. Might seem like a failed effort, but Paul address's this "fai...

As we celebrate Easter, we discuss what "Silent Saturday" must have been like for those early followers of Jesus. Imagine the pain, struggle, suffering and utter hopelessness that must have filled their hearts after watching Jesus be tortured and killed on the Cross. We tend to look back at Saturday through the lens of Sunday and the resurrection, we know how the story ends - but they did not. The Apostle Paul writes in 1st Corinth...

This is the message Pastor Rusty gave to prepare for Communion on Palm Sunday 2026. It includes the presentation of the bread and drink. From 2nd Samuel 9:1-13.

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In 1st Thessalonians 1:7 the Apostle Paul calls the Thessalonica Church a "model" church. As a new church with recent converts, what were they doing that led him to describe them this way and what does "model" mean? This message unpacks not only the term but the characteristics that made them an example for others to follow. The challenge for us as individual Christians and as the Church is are we modeling the same thing to those a...

In this introduction to our new sermon series from 1st and 2nd Thessalonians we look at the context of the Apostle Paul's visit to Thessaloniki from Acts 17 and how that relates to the letter. As one of the oldest books in the New Testament, and Paul's first letter to any church, we can see the building pattern and themes that will be prevalent in all of his letters. As he encourages and commends the church in his introduction, he ...

This is the short Pastoral Prayer time before the message "Three Dangers Facing the Church in 2026" where Pastor Rusty sets the stage for the message but also offers a warning about judgement that could befall the American Church if we do not get serious about contending for the faith. From Matthew 11:20-24.

Please listen to the following podcast to get the full understanding of this message. 

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