This is a very challenging passage. How do we respond to our leaders when they promote immoral things and even use our tax dollars to pay for things that we don’t approve of? As Christians who stand for the truth of God’s word, we must not be surprised by the resistance and even persecution from the world around us. In 1 Peter, the apostle is writi…

There is power in personal testimony. Doctrine and theology are extremely important, but people are drawn to the reality of God’s supernatural activity in the world (see 1 Corinthians 2:4-5). This past Sunday we remembered the Lord’s supper as a testimony, we heard a powerful testimony of healing, and we witnessed someone testifying to their salvat…

Identity is a complex thing. We identify ourselves by many different criteria, none of which fully explains who we are. If you are a Christian, you have an identity that is supremely more important than any other title or identifier. As we saw in 1 Peter 2:1-3, these new believers were maturing through suffering. Suffering can produce spiritual mat…

If you have lived for any length of time, you have realized by now that life can be unfair. Sometimes we get attacked, violated, and humiliated, even by those we trusted and befriended. Psalm 35 is a prayer of David crying out for vindication and relief from his attackers. Maybe you can identify with David today; perhaps you are experiencing injust…

Christians, like babies, are expected to grow. When one is born again, there is an expectation that the young believer will grow into spiritual maturity. Satan and his demons have many weapons that they use to prevent a new believer from becoming all that God has called them to be. One of these tools is complacency, settling for the status quo and …

Whenever I can offer Bibles at outreach events or to people on the streets, people eagerly jump at the chance to have the Word of God in their own hands. They have a hunger for this book that is supernatural. But yet in the church, where we proclaim the Word and stand on it as a pillar of the church, the Bible seems to be less valued, or at least l…

Have you considered how much time you waste in a day? In today’s passage, the apostle Peter reminds us that we are judged impartially by God, ransomed from futility, and set apart for God’s glory. Judged Impartially Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:17, “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselv…

It has been said that the theme of 1 Peter is, “The Christian’s hope in times of trial”. In the first section of chapter 1, Peter emphasized walking in hope; but now his emphasis is walking in holiness (see 1 John 3:3). 1 Peter 1:13 reads, “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that wil…

Jesus is alive! Throughout the pages of the Bible, we see prophecies and their fulfillment hundreds of years apart. Notice that when Jesus revealed himself to his disciples, he referred to the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms containing information about himself (see Luke 24:44). The entire Bible points to Jesus (see Isaiah 53 and Psalm 2…

Sight is one of our most valuable senses, but there is a blindness that is worse than physical blindness: spiritual blindness. Physical blindness, even though it could affect one’s entire lifetime, is not as bad as spiritual blindness that can lead to an eternity separated from God. This week we remember Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rode into Jerusal…

How does God heal when we feel betrayed? How does He heal Peter who betrayed Him? This is a sermon on the effects of betrayal trauma and how it has come up in our own community at large and what it is and how God might want to heal it in our lives. Video played at end of sermon by Common Hymnal called "He has Time" from YouTube: https://www.youtube…

Recently I had the privilege of traveling with a team of missionaries to South Africa, taking the Gospel message to the public schools. The message was powerfully received and changed thousands of lives. The Gospel is incredibly powerful and yet seemingly simple to proclaim. The Apostle Peter, writing to exiled Jewish believers, wrote the book of 1…

Pastor Athol Barnes 1 Peter 1:1-9 https://gpchurch.us/Grace Point Baptist Church

Athol and Adam Report Back TX and South Roots Outreach to South Africa 2024 https://gpchurch.us/Grace Point Baptist Church

When Jesus Spits... Teacher Eric Spady 2.11.2024 https://gpchurch.us/Grace Point Baptist Church

In Luke 18, Jesus was walking with his disciples heading to Jerusalem, teaching them as he went. In the first section of chapter 18, Jesus tells them a parable to teach them about prayer, encouraging them in verse 1 to, “…always pray and not lose heart.” To pray is like breathing for a Christian, it is essential for our life. Without prayer, we wil…

In this day, when there is so much attacking the truth and the enemy is ravaging families inside and outside the church, we need to get serious about prayer. It is our primary source of power. It is an invitation from the Lord. We have an invitation from the Lord to come into His presence. He invites us to bring our praise, thanksgiving, confession…

Pastor Athol Barnes Don’t we all desire to live a life of eternal impact and to finish well for the glory of God? Ultimately only God defines our impact; as a result, a life of impact for God must come out of a life of intimacy with God. Sadly, so many people who start out well in life don’t finish well. So how do we finish life well? The Apostle P…

1: Fellowship with Jesus In his time on the earth, Jesus trained twelve men to go out and train others. He was equipping and sending them. He started by building a close relationship with them. In our busy culture, we wrestle with this. In our minds, busyness equals effectiveness, but that is not the way of the Kingdom of God. Fellowship comes befo…

Grace Point Baptist Church

A sermon by Travis Hamm delivered at Grace Point Baptist Church on 12.31.2023 https://gpchurch.us/Grace Point Baptist Church

The waiting is over! It’s Christmas. Two thousand years ago, the nation of Israel had been waiting for the Messiah for hundreds of years. The waiting was over, the Messiah was born. Living in the church age we miss the significance of what it meant to wait for Jesus. For us it is a historical fact. But when Jesus did arrive, many people missed him.…

Do you like waiting? Waiting can often be painful, in fact, some of the greatest pain we face in life is because we are waiting. Waiting for dreams to be fulfilled, waiting for God to break through and answer our prayers. But God is never in a rush, He is always on time, and we struggle with that. Maybe you are in a season of waiting, and it seems …

As we celebrate this Christmas season, we celebrate our savior who took on flesh to free us from sin. But more than freeing us from the bonds of sin, Jesus also came to bring healing and restoration. Healing for the sick, the broken hearted, and the abused. God sent His son to provide a way for sinners to be forgiven and for those who have been sin…

Do you remember a time in your life when God felt distant. A season when you were tempted to wonder if God was even concerned about the things that you were struggling with. Maybe you are there right now. The Bible frequently deals with the theme of God’s perceived absence. Many times, in the Bible, people wondered if God’s promises to them were st…

Several years ago, I read a book that really challenged me regarding experiencing joy in life. According to the author, Andy Andrews, a grateful spirit is a powerful deterrent against self-pity, writing, “the seeds of depression cannot take root in a grateful heart.” Often, we find ourselves complaining about seemingly mundane aspects of life when …