Welcome to First Baptist
Sunday School at 9:00am
Worship Service at 10:15am
Messages
Tuesday: Clashing With Foes
Tuesday of Holy Week reveals intense confrontations between Jesus and Jerusalem’s religious establishment. The chief priests, scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and elders felt threatened by Jesus’ growing popularity, especially after raising Lazarus from the dead. They challenged His authority and tried to trap Him with three questions about taxes, marriage, and the greatest commandment. Jesus answered with divine wisdom, then exposed their hollow performance and love of human applause. He contrasted their self-serving motivations with a poor widow who gave sacrificially…
Monday: Turning the Tables
Jesus’ dramatic actions in the temple weren’t about corrupt business practices—they were about a broken religious system that had become spiritually unfruitful. The temple was supposed to be a house of prayer for all nations, but it had become exclusive and ritualistic. Jesus wasn’t trying to reform the old system; he was declaring it finished and replacing it with himself as the new temple. Through Christ, we now have direct access to God without religious barriers. God desires sincere hearts…
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday reveals three distinct responses to Jesus that still exist today. The crowd correctly identified Jesus as the promised Messiah but wanted him to be a political king who would restore Israel’s former glory. The Pharisees completely rejected Jesus because he threatened their power and authority. Only Jesus himself understood the true purpose of this moment – that he came not for political liberation but to offer spiritual freedom from sin and death. This pivotal event challenges us to…
Blog Posts
The Question Behind the Performance
A Holy Week Reflection | Countdown to Calvary We all have a system. Maybe it’s attending church a few times a month. Maybe it’s serving on a team, or giving generously, or knowing your Bible well. These are good things — genuinely good things. But Jesus has a way of looking past the action to the motivation underneath, and that’s where things get uncomfortable. This week in our Countdown to Calvary series, we followed Jesus through a relentless Tuesday of conflict with…
Condemned or Cleansed? Letting Go of What No Longer Works
Scripture: Mark 11:17 “Is it not written, my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of robbers.” Jesus didn’t walk into the temple to fix it. He walked in to condemn it. That’s a hard thing to sit with. The temple had been the center of Jewish worship for generations. People had given their lives to maintain it, protect it, and build it up. Herod had been constructing this massive structure…
Revolutionary Expectations
The crowd went wild when Jesus entered Jerusalem. They waved palm branches – not just any branches, but symbols loaded with political meaning. These same branches had been used during the Maccabean Revolt as flags of independence and revolution. The people were essentially declaring Jesus their revolutionary leader, expecting him to overthrow Roman rule and restore Israel’s political glory. They shouted “Hosanna!” which literally means “save us!” But they were thinking of salvation from taxes, oppression, and foreign rule. Jesus…
Location Details
205 S. Grand St. Chariton, Iowa 50049
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Sunday School at 9:00 am
Sunday Service at 10:15 am