What is the Gospel?

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Clark Bunch

“Gospel” is a word we borrowed from New Testament Greek that means good news. The good news of Jesus Christ is that he died to offer salvation. He loved us when we were still in our sins and unlovable. Those who have not heard the gospel or have not yet believed need to hear the gospel and consider its message. Christians need to hear the gospel to keep us on course. Without hearing and sharing the gospel on a regular, ongoing basis we run the risk of turning church into just another activity or social club. We are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The Great Commission along with Acts 1:8 reminds us what we are to be doing, talking the gospel to the whole earth and being witnesses to who Jesus is and what he has done.

I could talk about the gospel all day but there is a new page, in the row of tabs below the banner image, titled What is the Gospel? That article, originally appearing on The Resurgence, outlines the gospel message. The truths we believe from scripture, forming the basis of Christian theology, is laid out in an organized fashion with many scripture references linked to support each point. That page is a permanent addition to our church website. Use it as a reference, a study tool or refer people to it that want to know more about our faith. Churches have all sorts of programs, ministries are designed for different age groups and demographics, and worship is comprised of many activities designed to honor God and stir our spirits. No matter how much we have going on we must never get too far away from the gospel.

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Pentecost

Posted on June 5, 2022 by Clark Bunch

Jesus appeared to numerous disciples and believers over 40 times following the resurrection. At the time of his ascension he told them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise. Last week we read about a promise made; Acts 2 begins with a promise fulfilled.

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Wait for the Promise

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Clark Bunch

We’ve spent the past few weeks looking at the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. This is the last one, from Acts chapter 1. He tells his disciples to remain in Jerusalem, wait for the promise, then when they receive power from the Holy Spirit they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. As he ascending into heaven two men in white robes said he would come back the same way. That is the promise we are waiting for.

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Fish for Breakfast

Posted on May 22, 2022 by Clark Bunch

If you lived on a fishing boat it’s probably not that weird. Jesus continued doing post-resurrection what Jesus always did, providing for people’s physical as well as spiritual needs.

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Church Website Restored

Posted on May 17, 2022 by Clark Bunch

To put it simply, everything is functioning now the way it should. The website is up and running, the email address pastor@unitybaptist.church can send and receive email, if you had problems over the weekend those should be resolved.

The full story is more involved but for anyone interested: the website we share on our promotional products, business cards and so forth is http://www.unitybaptist.church (or just unitybaptist.church). We renew a contract annually for that URL. The actual website is hosted by WordPress. I found plainvilleunitybaptistchurch.wordpress.com to be rather long and complicated. It wouldn’t look good on a bumper sticker. So the simple to use and remember domain does a redirect to the actual website location.

Last summer I lost my wallet. That was the cause of many headaches, I don’t recommend it. I was carrying the church debit card at the time and that had to be replaced in addition to all my personal cards and documents. When it came time for 1&1 Ionos to renew our contract, the old debit card had been cancelled and the transaction did not go through. I didn’t know anything was wrong until Saturday morning when a friend IRL asked about the website.

In the past, the unitybaptist.church domain did a frame redirect. No matter which post or page you went to on the site, the URL address did not change because you were looking at a frame. Since I had to set that up again we went with an http redirect. Now when you type unitybaptist.church you can tell that’s a shortcut to a longer web address. If you want to share the link to a particular sermon, article or page on the website that will work. It is also better for SEO or Search Engine Optimization (which is not a major concern for a non-profit but improving our web presence may help people find us and there is no reason to hide).

If you noticed a problem, it has been corrected. If you used the Facebook page or the RSS feed on The Master’s Table to get here then you probably never notice a problem at all. If you are reading this we’re glad you found us.

Peace and God bless.

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Mystery of Godliness

Posted on May 15, 2022 by Clark Bunch

1 Timothy 3:16 is another text that provides a succinct description of who Jesus is. The mystery aspect will be explained at the end.

Note: Somewhere in the middle of this sermon I get confused by my own notes. I wrote down Romans 6:10-11 and it should have been Romans 8:10-11. I knew what it said but had planned to read a couple of verses to provide context. I resorted to “the Bible says” and that’s not the kind of reference I like to give.

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Jochebed: A Mother’s Day Sermon

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Clark Bunch

Jochebed was the mother of Moses. He had an older brother and sister but Exodus 2 details the events of his birth and his mother’s love. She loved her son and chose to fear and obey God rather than Pharaoh.

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Jesus Interpreted Scripture

Posted on April 24, 2022 by Clark Bunch

The Bible is about Jesus; according to Jesus.

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He Is Risen

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Clark Bunch

An Easter Poem

In the early hours of the morning, 
after the Sabbath had ended, 
a few women walked toward his grave 
to finish matters left unattended. 

They carried spices for anointing, 
to honor custom and tradition.
For he had been quickly laid in the grave
on the day of Preparation. 

So early on Sunday morning, 
even before it was light, 
they approached the tomb of Jesus
to set things back to right. 

The stone, however, was rolled away
and no body lay behind it. 
Was he taken by believers or hid by guards? 
Their concern was how to find him. 

They were startled by an angel,
dressed in white, a splendid vision. 
“Why seek ye the living among the dead?” 
he asked. “He is not here, he is risen.”

Filled with fear and excitement
at what the angel said,
they ran to tell the disciples
that Jesus was not still dead. 

The eleven found the women’s story
understandably hard to believe. 
But Simon Peter ran to the tomb, 
for himself he just had to see. 

The stone was moved, as they said,
and the sheet lay in its place. 
But the napkin was to the side neatly folded,
that had covered Jesus’ face. 

Peter saw the empty tomb,
Jesus’ body was gone for sure. 
That didn’t mean he was alive.
Seeing is one thing; faith required more. 

Mary Magdalene met Jesus, 
and two believers on the road spoke with him. 
Finally the eleven were in a closed room,
When Jesus did not enter but appeared to them. 

It would take time for them to understand
all that Jesus had taught them.
His most important work was on the cross, 
and by his blood he bought them. 

The crucifixion, resurrection,
Great commission and ascension;
it seems like an awful lot
for a few lines of poetry to mention. 

So here’s a thought, perhaps a challenge, 
instead of letting your mind sit idle: 
this story of Jesus and many others
are all right there inside your Bible.

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Firstborn of the Resurrection

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Clark Bunch

There were other people, from the Old and New Testaments, that were dead and restored to life. Jesus is the firstborn of the resurrection. Colossians 1 describes the incarnation and how we are redeemed and reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus.

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