FBC Independence Podcast

Building on our study of Spiritual Gifts, how do we actually put them into action? In this message, we begin a new series on Discovering Your Ministry by looking at Colossians 4:7-10. Through the personal examples of those working alongside the Apostle Paul, we see how different gifts manifest in everyday service to grow the body of Christ.

 

Key Highlights:

Tychicus (The Encourager): Demonstrating the gift of encouragement by stimulating faith, encouraging others to do what is good, and helping meet daily needs (Colossians 4:7-8).

 

Onesimus (The Servant): Showing a heart of service by taking a genuine interest in the welfare of others and seeking to serve Christ by serving those around them (Colossians 4:9).

 

Aristarchus (The Mercy Giver): Embodying compassion by supporting, comforting, and standing with those in distress and extreme poverty (Colossians 4:10).

 

Mark / John Mark (The Evangelist): Proving that even when we stumble, get discouraged, or face setbacks, God offers restoration, redemption, and a renewed call to ministry (Colossians 4:10).

 

Your spiritual gift never changes, but God uses different ministries and seasons to work through you. Whether you are seeking to step into your calling or feeling discouraged and needing restoration, God has a unique place for you in His church!

 

💰 Give Online: Your contributions make our ministries possible. Give here: https://firstbaptistofindependence.aware3.net/give/

 

📲 Download our App: Stay up to date on all things FBC. https://a3a.me/firstbaptistofindependence

 

👍 Like our Page: Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/1stBaptist/

 

📍 Visit Us: Join us every Sunday at 10:30 AM, 500 W. Truman Road, Independence, MO

 

Thank you for listening. We will see you next week!

Each of us forms one body in Christ, yet God has given us distinct gifts according to His grace. Today, we continue our series on Spiritual Gifts by focusing on two essential motivations within the church: Leadership and Mercy.

Using the biblical examples of Nehemiah and the Apostle John, we break down what these gifts look like in practice, their characteristics, how they can be misused, and how Jesus ultimately modeled both for us.

Key Scriptures:

• Romans 12:4–8

• 1 Corinthians 12:1 & 1 Peter 4:10

• Nehemiah 1–4

• 1 John 4, 3 John, John 11 & 13

Get Involved:

• 🤝 Partner With Us Online: Support our ministry financially at https://firstbaptistofindependence.aware3.net/give/

• 📍 Worship With Us In Person: We'd love to meet you! We worship at 10:30 every Sunday at 500 W. Truman Rd, Independence, MO

• ✉️ Questions or Prayer Requests? Reach out to us at fbcindepmo@gmail.com

In this episode, we continue our series "God Is Up To Something!" by diving into the transition from the earthly ministry of Jesus to the birth of the early church. We explore why Jesus told His disciples it was actually to their advantage that He leave so that the Holy Spirit could come.

What We Cover:

• The Promise of Power: Understanding Acts 1:8 and how the Holy Spirit empowers believers to be witnesses from their local neighborhoods to the ends of the earth.
• The Spirit’s Identity: How the Holy Spirit is God in Spirit form, fulfilling Jesus' promise to be with us always.
• Practical Help: A look at the five ways the Spirit assists us today: in prayer, as a guide, in witnessing, as a comfort, and as the sustainer of life. 
• The Spirit’s Work in the World: Exploring the "legal" work of the Spirit in convicting the world regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment.

 

The same power that launched the early church is available to you today. Join us as we learn how to walk in the leading of the Holy Spirit and fulfill our unique calling in this generation.

The best way you can support our ministry is by sharing this podcast with your friends and family!

 

💰 Give Online: Your contributions make our ministries possible. Give here

📲 Download our App: Stay up to date on all things FBC.Download the App

 

👍 Like our Page: Follow us on Facebook

 

📍 Visit Us: Join us every Sunday at 10:30 AM, 500 W. Truman Road, Independence, MO

 

Thank you for listening. We will see you next week!

In this episode, we continue our series "God Is Up To Something!" by diving into the transition from the earthly ministry of Jesus to the birth of the early church. We explore why Jesus told His disciples it was actually to their advantage that He leave so that the Holy Spirit could come.

 

What We Cover:

• The Promise of Power: Understanding Acts 1:8 and how the Holy Spirit empowers believers to be witnesses from their local neighborhoods to the ends of the earth.

   

• The Spirit’s Identity: How the Holy Spirit is God in Spirit form, fulfilling Jesus' promise to be with us always.

   

• Practical Help: A look at the five ways the Spirit assists us today: in prayer, as a guide, in witnessing, as a comfort, and as the sustainer of life.

   

• The Spirit’s Work in the World: Exploring the "legal" work of the Spirit in convicting the world regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment.

   

The same power that launched the early church is available to you today. Join us as we learn how to walk in the leading of the Holy Spirit and fulfill our unique calling in this generation.

Feeling like life is a whirlwind? The early disciples felt the same way in Acts 1. The answer isn't a new plan; it’s a new perspective. God is up to something! Stop trying to be His consultant and start living in His Kingdom today. #Acts #WhatNow #KingdomLiving

 

The best way you can support our ministry is by sharing this podcast with your friends and family!

 

💰 Give Online: Your contributions make our ministries possible. Give here

📲 Download our App: Stay up to date on all things FBC.Download the App

 

👍 Like our Page: Follow us on Facebook

 

📍 Visit Us: Join us every Sunday at 10:30 AM, 500 W. Truman Road, Independence, MO

 

Thank you for watching. We will see you next week!

Easter is the ultimate reminder that change doesn't mean "the end." Because Jesus is alive, our hope is renewed and our future is bright. David Scott concludes our series with a powerful look at the Resurrection, proving that with a living Christ, every ending is just a new beginning.

 

The best way you can support our ministry is by sharing this podcast with your friends and family!

 

💰 Give Online: Your contributions make our ministries possible. Give here

📲 Download our App: Stay up to date on all things FBC.Download the App

 

👍 Like our Page: Follow us on Facebook

 

📍 Visit Us: Join us every Sunday at 10:30 AM, 500 W. Truman Road, Independence, MO

 

Thank you for watching. We will see you next week!

What keeps a church standing when the faces on stage change? It isn’t a personality—it’s a Foundation. This week, Mr. Dave walks us through why our church remains "firmly planted" because it is built on the only Cornerstone that matters: Jesus Christ.

 

Text: Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Corinthians 3:11

 

The best way you can support our ministry is by sharing this podcast with your friends and family!

 

💰 Give Online: Your contributions make our ministries possible. Give here

📲 Download our App: Stay up to date on all things FBC.Download the App

 

👍 Like our Page: Follow us on Facebook

 

📍 Visit Us: Join us every Sunday at 10:30 AM, 500 W. Truman Road, Independence, MO

 

Thank you for watching. We will see you next week!

In the wake of leadership change, it’s easy to feel uncertain about the future. In this first installment of our "Unchanging Christ" series, David Scott explores the comforting truth of Psalm 23 and John 10: The Good Shepherd is still leading, still protecting, and still present.

The best way you can support our ministry is by sharing this podcast with your friends and family!

 

💰 Give Online: Your contributions make our ministries possible. Give here

📲 Download our App: Stay up to date on all things FBC.Download the App

 

👍 Like our Page: Follow us on Facebook

 

📍 Visit Us: Join us every Sunday at 10:30 AM, 500 W. Truman Road, Independence, MO

 

Thank you for watching. We will see you next week!

Throughout my formal ‘preacher’ education, I was privileged to take all sorts of classes; biblical studies, histories of various churches and groups, and, especially interesting, were the classes that dealt with the ethical situations one might encounter in the ministry.  These helped this young minister greatly, of course, but my classes did not prepare me for everything.

           

About 15 years into my ministry, I was called into the hospital Emergency Room; one of my members, a man named Wilbur,  had had a massive stroke, and it was obvious he was not long for this world.  His wife was there, and we talked for some time.  Finally, it was about time for me to leave, and I asked his wife, Imo, if we could pray together.  She said, “Of course,” and I asked her, “Imo, how would you like for me to pray?”  We both knew the grim reality of Wilbur’s situation.  She pondered for a few seconds, and finally she grabbed my hand, and said, “Could you pray that God would take him soon?  He’s gone, so there’s no point in asking for anything else.”  I was relieved, of course, but a little taken aback, because no one had ever asked that of me before.  We prayed as she requested; I gave her a brief hug and went home for the evening.  I got a call from her just a couple of hours later, and she informed me that her husband of over 70 years had gone to be with Jesus.

           

I’ve thought of that conversation often over the years.  I am often asked to pray that God will heal or protect one in a crisis; I have also heard people insist on prayers for a miracle, because “it’s never too late.” I understand the hope people may have when they face the loss of a loved one. Still, I appreciated Imo’s realistic view of the situation.  She had not lost hope, but she did realize that Wilbur’s life was over.  We prayed that evening in hope: not the hope of physical healing, but the hope grounded in the resurrection of Jesus.  In Christ, Wilbur’s death was a release from the burden of a broken body.  In Christ, his death was an acceptance of God’s care for her husband.  And, in Christ, we moved on in the hope that we would be united with him sometime far in the future, as the old song says, “In the sweet by and by.”  God spoke to me that night and reminded me to accept in my heart what I knew in my head: God was always working and could bring a work of comfort and grace, even in the most difficult of times. 

           

God often speaks to us, through his written Word, and through the words of preachers and teachers.  And, just as powerfully, he can speak through the experiences of our lives, as we trust in him, and hear the truth of God’s love and grace.

     

Throughout the scriptures, we hear these kinds of things if we listen; we must only hear His Word.  So, Paul teaches the young pastor Timothy, “I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom 2 preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine. Still, wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires.  II Timothy 4:1-3

 

God speaks; we must always listen.   Be still, and pay attention!

 

The best way you can support our ministry is by sharing this podcast with your friends and family!

 

💰 Give Online: Your contributions make our ministries possible. Give here

📲 Download our App: Stay up to date on all things FBC.Download the App

 

👍 Like our Page: Follow us on Facebook

 

📍 Visit Us: Join us every Sunday at 10:30 AM, 500 W. Truman Road, Independence, MO

 

Thank you for watching. We will see you next week!

Several years ago, I had purchased an old pickup with engine problems; the plan was to do a quick repair and sell it, and make some profit.  I read a few articles about the process, and a couple mentioned a ‘trick’ that would save me quite a bit of time when replacing an internal engine part.  Thinking I understood what the article meant and confident I could figure it out if I needed to, I jumped in and started disassembling the motor. When I got to the part where I planned to use the ‘trick’ mentioned in the article, though, I was stumped.  It could not work!  The parts were worn,  everything was dirty and oily, and my old fingers simply couldn’t make things work.  I re-read the articles, and even pulled out the factory manual for help – nothing helped!  Finally, I turned to YouTube, an online video site, and punched in a title that I thought would help.  It took a few minutes to find the right video, and I finally found one that discussed the ‘trick’ I was looking to use.  The mechanic's voice-over made it seem really simple. After he got the light and the camera, he performed the trick – it was an amazing feat!  Just like the article said, when you got your fingers in the right place and applied just the right pressure, you could disassemble part of the engine almost instantly, without any tools. 

           

I couldn’t learn what I needed from just hearing about it – I needed to see it with my own eyes, and once I did, it worked well.  Amazing!

           

The Apostle Palu knew nothing about working on an old truck motor. Still, he did understand the importance of a ‘picture’ or example of doing something, so that others might learn.

 

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul taught the early Christians how to live like Jesus.  He put things into his own words, and then, to make sure they ‘got it,’ he pointed to the example of Jesus:  not what He said, but what He did.  Here is the way Paul taught the early church how to live: 

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, being

 in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form

Of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being

 found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became

 obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:5-8

 

Do you see what Paul did?  He did not repeat the words of Jesus in this section; he merely reminded readers of how Jesus lived and how he put his faith in God into action.  That was Paul’s teaching method!

 

Jesus’ actions taught us: 1) Understand your ‘place’ in the Church.  A believer is “in Christ,” with all the potential for Spiritual gifts and usefulness to God.  2)  We must understand our ‘place’ in the church as a humble servant of God.  The point of our faithfulness is to proclaim the Gospel, minister to others in the name of Christ, and glorify Him.  Finally, 3) True faith leads one to obedience to the leadership of the Spirit and submission to God’s Word.  We are to seek and find God’s will for us in any given situation, and prayerfully submit.  That is God’s eternal plan!

 

Let me challenge you to learn from the actions of Jesus and learn to do more than just talk about your faith.  Put it to work!

 

The best way you can support our ministry is by sharing this video with your friends and family!

 

💰 Give Online: Your contributions make our ministries possible. Give here

📲 Download our App: Stay up to date on all things FBC.Download the App

 

👍 Like our Page: Follow us on Facebook

 

📍 Visit Us: Join us every Sunday at 10:30 AM, 500 W. Truman Road, Independence, MO

 

Thank you for watching. We will see you next week!