Mt Pleasant Podcast

Jesus encountered many people during His time on earth, but there was one lady who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. She had a sick daughter and begged Jesus to help her. Jesus hesitated. Why? Join us as we see “The Faith of a Broken-Down Woman.” You’ll be strengthened in your faith as you see what determined faith looks like.

When we think of something that’s dirty, we think of something we can touch or eat that might make us dirty or harm us, but Jesus says that what defiles a person isn’t something that’s outside them. Rather, it comes from inside! Join us as we see “What Defiles a Person.”

The Jewish religious leaders became the enemy of Jesus because He was attacking their traditions and “the way they’d always done it.” It’s like changing the color of the carpet in the church…that’s probably not going to make everyone happy. Join us as we see how “Jesus Blows Up Twisted Traditions,” and why truly following and worshiping Him comes from the heart and not from ritual.

One of the most well-known miracles of Jesus is the account of Him walking on water. In fact, all four Gospels record this miracle. It’s that significant. Why? Join us as we see the significance of when: “Jesus Walks on Water.” You will be encouraged and inspired!

We all know the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. It is a miraculous account for sure! Jesus made enough bread and fish out of a boy’s meal to feed thousands. But is there more to the story? Yes! It’s an account of faith and trust for the Apostles, and for us! Join us as we see the feeding of the 5,000 from a perspective of trust and faith in our Savior.

What a sad, twisted story! John the Baptist was killed because of pure spite and hatred. His death is another example that faith in Jesus doesn’t mean our lives will be easy. However, Jesus is faithful, and what Satan may seek for harm can be turned to good. Join us as we see the hand of God in John’s murder and see how tragedy can lead to triumph.

Jesus trained The Twelve (the Apostles) for about a year before He sent them out two by two to share His message. His instructions to them before they leave seem strange: take no extra clothes, money or food. How will they survive? The ministry has now shifted for The Twelve to total faith and trust. Join us as we’ll see that it is also true of us today.

We know that Jesus “came to His own, and His own received Him not.” Not only was that true of His town of Nazareth, but also the nation of Israel. Jesus was rejected by His own people to the point that He couldn’t do many mighty works because of their unbelief. That could easily be us. We can easily turn “unbelieving” in a heartbeat. We can begin to doubt the power of Jesus when He allows things into our lives that do not make sense. Join us as we see: “The Astonishing Rejection of Jesus,” and learn how we can stand grounded in Him, not doubt.

All seemed lost for the Synagogue Ruler. While he waited with Jesus to help a poor woman with her troubles, his daughter died. It’s no use! “Don’t bother the Teacher,” his friends said. Yet, Jesus said, “Keep on believing.” The man did, and Jesus raised his little girl from the dead. Never forget that Jesus specializes in resurrections of things that are dead. How about you? Does your marriage look dead? How about your job? Your health? Your finances? Don’t feed your doubts…starve them. Feed your faith and trust Jesus to do what only He can do. He is able!

Are you in a hopeless situation in your life right now? Do your circumstances seem insurmountable? Well, take heart! Jesus specializes in situations that seem impossible. Join us as we see Part 1 of “When All Seems Lost, Turn to Jesus,” as He is on His way to heal a little girl when He’s suddenly stopped by a woman with a serious health issue that’s plagued her for 12 years. She has spent all her money on doctors and tried everything imaginable for help, but with no success. Her last resort is Jesus, and she finally fights her way through the crowds and touches the hem of His garment. Everything changed after that! But the story has just begun!

We know Jesus is all-powerful! He can boldly make that claim because He has the power over life and death, because He rose from the grave. But He also has power over the world we can’t see with our eyes. What world is that? The world of demons and angels. Join us as we see: “The Power of Jesus Over Demons,” as He casts out a “Legion” of demons from a tormented man. You’ll be encouraged to know that He is stronger than anything in the seen and unseen world.

God reveals His divine plan for our lives, but so often, the way He accomplishes it looks nothing like we expect. The storms of life seemingly threaten to upend His plan, but the storms are actually part of the plan, and God goes through it with you. Join us and be encouraged as we see “Jesus in the Storm.”

Join us as we ask and answer: “Three Questions about the Manger.” #1 Did Jesus exist before He was born in Bethlehem? (Hint: Yes. We’ll tell you why.) #2 What did Jesus have to do to come to this earth as a baby? (Hint: Set aside His glory and become one of us.) #3 What did He stand to gain by coming? (Hint: Us). Prepare to be thrilled and awed as we prepare for Christmas and conclude our time together with an always powerful “Candlelight Celebration” together.

Sometimes it’s hard to know if the Lord is speaking to us, or if we’re just hearing our own voices in our heads. Yet, Jesus said, “My sheep know me, and they recognize my voice.” Join us as we see: “How to listen to Jesus” as He speaks through three parables recorded in the Gospel of Mark and how we can actually “hear” when He is speaking.

Scripture, the Bible, refers to the heart many times. The majority of those times, it is speaking about our soul, and not the physical heart that pumps blood through our body. As the Gospel is proclaimed, there are four responses that people can make. Therefore, we could say four types of human hearts. Join us, and may the Lord speak to you to show you which type of heart you have when it comes to the Gospel of Jesus being proclaimed.

You know the phrase, “One nation under God.” You know the phrase “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator.” Just who is this God? This Creator? As you ponder, answer this: “Whom do we give thanks to at Thanksgiving?” The answer to all of those questions is this: Yahweh, Jehovah God of the Bible. Join us as we see why we celebrate Thanksgiving and the roots of this great holiday! Hint: It’s all about God!

Did you know Jesus had four brothers and at least two sisters? He sure did! The Bible is clear on that in Luke 8:2-3. Yet, they didn’t believe He was the Son of God. In fact, they thought He was crazy! What does it mean to be part of Jesus’ family? Join us as Jesus explains who His family really is.

Do you know what it means to “blaspheme the Holy Spirit?” Is it taking the Lord’s name in vain? Is it cursing the Holy Spirit? Well, there are many questions and several schools of thought on this question. Join us as we see what Jesus described as “The Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.”

It’s often been said, “Jesus changed the world with a handful of men.” It’s true that Jesus chose 12 Apostles to entrust the Gospel to and see that it was spread throughout the world. And here we are today! It worked! Join us as we see how Jesus chose the 12 Apostles and how that applies to His calling for your life!

What does Jesus want for you? One word: Believe. Jesus wants you to believe that He is the Son of God. He wants you to believe that and then act upon it and become His follower. Are you a follower of Jesus? Many claim to be, but aren’t. Jesus said: “They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Join us as we see a “Summary of Jesus’ Ministry.” We’ll see that He is indeed the Son of God.

You would think people would have been excited to see Jesus heal a man with a withered hand! But oh no, He did it on the Sabbath! Therefore, this was considered unlawful by the Pharisees! What was their problem? Why were the religious elites so frustrated with Jesus? Join us as we see why Jesus healed on the Sabbath and the lessons we can learn from His teaching!

Which day of the week is the Sabbath Day? Don’t say: Sunday. That’s the Lord’s Day. That’s the day Jesus rose from the dead and the day we are to come together to worship. The Sabbath is what the Jews observed, and that was Saturday. Join us as we see why the Pharisees were so infuriated with Jesus for plucking grain on a Sabbath. We’ll see why Jesus called Himself: “The Lord of the Sabbath.”

When you look back over your life, do you have parts of your past that you would like to forget, or change, or do over? I’m sure you do. We all do. So, how can we move past our past? How can we leave the old and embrace the new? Join us as we’ll be encouraged by Jesus to focus on the “new” and not the “old,” as we understand: “The Old vs the New: Moving Beyond Our Past.”

Matthew in the Bible was the worst of the worst in the first-century town of Capernaum. He was a Jew who turned his back on his people and went to work for the Romans collecting taxes from the nation of Israel. To say that Matthew was hated would be an understatement. Yet, Jesus called Matthew to follow Him. Why? Join us as we see how “Jesus Calls Matthew” and how Jesus still calls the downtrodden and lowly in our world.

Outside of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, there was perhaps no miracle more poignantly offensive to the Pharisees than when Jesus forgave the sins of the paralyzed man who was brought to Jesus by friends. It was one thing for Jesus to heal, but to say that He could “forgive sins.” That was preposterous! Join us as we see and understand how “Jesus Heals and Forgives.” You’ll be encouraged and challenged in your faith!

Jesus constantly showed compassion when He was on this earth, but perhaps no greater compassion was shown by Him than when He healed lepers. Lepers were so contagious and so labeled by the first-century world as “untouchables” that for Jesus to touch this man and heal him was beyond anything anyone of that day had ever seen. Today, Jesus still shows compassion, and He does it through His followers. Join us as we see “The Compassion of Jesus” and how we may show that compassion to our world today.

Jesus, the Son of God, prayed. Let those six words resonate in your mind. Even though He was the Son of God, He knew that His power came from communion with His Father. Where does your power come from? Is it an energy drink? Is it money? What is it? For Jesus, it was prayer, and since Jesus is to be our example in all things, prayer should be an essential part of our lives. Join us Sunday as we see how: “Jesus Prays.”

Authority. Who or what has the authority in your life? Something or someone does. Authority is what determines how and why you make decisions and do the things you do. Jesus claimed to have “all authority.” And He does. But does He have authority in your life? Join us as we see “The Authority of Jesus” and learn how to allow His authority to guide our lives, because when we do, that’s when we know the greatest joy in life!

On August 21, 1875, Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church was founded by 37 members, who sat on log benches in a log structure that served as the first church for MPBC. Join us this Sunday as we give thanks and celebrate our 150th Anniversary with a tremendous time of remembering our past and looking forward to an outstanding future. Sunday will be a day to remember!

Children love playing the game, “Follow the Leader,” by crawling under tables and climbing over and under things to make it difficult to keep up and follow them. However, that is not the case with Jesus. He said, “Follow me.” He didn’t say: “Ask me into your heart.” He didn’t say, “Receive me." "Applaud for me," or even “Like me.” He simply said: “Follow me.” Join us as we look at what it truly means to follow Jesus and live for Him. And we’ll see that doing so will bring the greatest joy that you can know in this life.

So often in our day, where “easy-believism” has begun to reign supreme (where people think they can just “believe in Jesus” and go to heaven), repentance has been cut out of the equation. Jesus didn’t just say, “believe.” He said: “Repent and believe.” Join us as we see what true salvation is and see how “repentance” is the doorway to salvation.

When we’re tempted, does that mean we’ve automatically sinned? The short answer is: No, but the temptation of Jesus by Satan gives us a tutorial on how to overcome temptation by using the Word of God. Join us as we see: “The Temptation of Jesus) and learn that temptation is part of life in this sinful world, but those temptations don’t have to lead us to sin.

The baptism of Jesus is recounted in some form or fashion in all four gospels. For some, it’s a bit confusing. “Why was Jesus baptized?” Many more walk past it too quickly and largely miss its meaning. Join us as we strive to soak up all the glorious significance that "The Baptism of Jesus" holds for our walk with Him.

The continued waiting for the Messiah has been going on for 400 years after the Prophet Malachi last spoke words from God to the Jewish nation. The wait is over, and a man steps on the scene prophesied about by the Prophet Isaiah as one that will be, "Like a voice crying out in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord!" Join us as we see who this man is, and should we also be one crying out in our generation as a voice saying, "Prepare the way of the Lord in your life!"

What a triumph! Noah and his family made it through the flood, and all is well! Not so fast! Noah gets drunk, and everything changes for the family! Noah’s sons will now be on different paths. Join us as we see why and how this happened as we study: “Noah’s Trouble.”

What a triumph! Noah and his family made it through the flood, and all is well! Not so fast! Noah gets drunk, and everything changes for the family! Noah’s sons will now be on different paths. Join us as we see why and how this happened as we study: “Noah’s Trouble.”

God promised Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood, and He put a rainbow in the sky to prove it. The rainbow is a reminder to all generations that God keeps His promises and is a faithful covenant-keeper. Join us as we see: “God’s Promise to Noah,” and are encouraged in our trials and “floods,” because our Lord is faithful!

The debate rages: “How old is the Earth?” Is it 4.5 billion years old or just thousands of years old? Does it matter, and if so, why? Join us for a fascinating deep dive: “How Old is the Earth? Fossilization and Dating Methods.” We’ll discover that the dating methods are flawed because of erroneous starting points and a predetermined outcome. This message will be one that you don’t want to miss!

Did you know all of the Earth’s land mass used to be one mass? It’s true! It wasn’t until after the cataclysmic changes brought on by the Flood that the earth’s land mass broke apart and created the continents we know today. This is one of the reasons all of the animals could make it easily to the ark for safe passage. Did that include dinosaurs? Yes. So, what happened to them? Join us as we find out what happened to the dinosaurs, as well as the Ice Age that occurred after the flood. We’ll be encouraged as we are reminded of the Lord’s care and protection for His followers!

Do you think it was just 40 days of rain that caused Noah’s flood, which flooded the entire earth? No way! The Bible says, “the fountains of the great deep burst forth” (Genesis 7:11). The waters prevailed so high that it covered all the mountains by 23 feet (Genesis 7:20). Join us as we learn more about the fascinating reasons as we study: “What Caused Noah’s Flood.”

Some of the most often asked questions about Noah’s Ark are: How could a boat that big be built so long ago? How could Noah fit all the animals (including dinosaurs) into the ark? How did Noah care for those animals for 13 months on the ark? Join us as we answer those questions and more as we look at “The Building of Noah’s Ark.”

What is the Gospel? What is repentance? The word Gospel is used 93 times in the New Testament, and the word Repentance is used 46 times. What do they mean? When it comes to our salvation, they go hand in hand! Join us Sunday as we learn what the Bible says about the clear meaning of both.

Are you growing in your relationship with Jesus or stuck in spiritual infancy? Join us as we examine the balance between discipline and dependence in our walk with the Lord and gain useful tools for “Making Room For Jesus.”

“The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” When was that written? Yesterday? No, but it could have been. Today, we are living much like the people of Noah’s Day. There was such great corruption and evil. It was that condition that brought the flood. What happened? How did those people get to that point? Join us as we see “The Corruption of Noah’s Day” and learn how to avoid those conditions for our day.