Colonial Baptist Church Blue Ridge VA

09/06/2026

Galatians 1:1-10
“The One True Gospel”
Pastor Joel Wegner

09/04/2026

09/02/2026

Pastor’s Encouragement - Wednesday, September 2nd

Title: “Singing in Two Directions”
By Pastor John Wiley

Who are you singing to when you’re at church? My guess is the most immediate answer would be, “To God, of course!” And that ought to be true, per the directions of Scripture. But did you know that there is a second direction for our singing? Listen to the words of Colossians 3:16 from the Apostle Paul: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” This is my favorite passage regarding music ministry. And while there is a lot we could unpack, I would like to simply consider how this verse speaks of singing in two directions.
The first “recipient” of our singing mentioned is actually not God, but “one another.” We might call this the horizontal direction of our singing. Yes, when we sing at church, we are actually involved in the “ministry of the Word” by singing biblical truth to one another! This is why it’s so important to sing songs of substance and biblical accuracy. Colossians 3:16 also speaks to some practical matters of today. One reason we don’t turn off the lights in our church building for the time of singing is that we cannot readily sing to one another if we cannot see one another. Next time you join us for a church service, remember that you have the blessed opportunity to sing to one another for the building up of the Body of Christ.
The second “recipient” of our singing that we see in Colossians 3:16 is indeed God. Paul reminds us that by singing a variety of songs when we gather together (Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs), we are called to do so in worship to the Lord. We might also call this the vertical direction of our singing. Certainly, we are not merely going through the motions of outward performance of either voice or instrument. Rather, we are “singing with grace in [our] hearts to the Lord.”

In Christ,
Pastor John Wiley

08/26/2026

The Power of Prayer

Prayer is a powerful thing! We have a direct line to God Almighty!! 1 John 5:14-15 reminds us of this blessed promise!

1 John 5:14-15
“(14) And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. (15) And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”

What an amazing reality we have as God’s children: we can have confidence that not only does He hear and care about our requests, but He promises to answer prayers that are in His will that we bring before Him!

I love how Greg Pruett, President of Pioneer Bible Translators, shares in his book Extreme Prayer, as he points out, five times before Jesus died, He promised to answer prayers in His name. [John 14:13; John 14:14; John 15:7; John 16:23-24] In the book, Greg states, “Any promise that Jesus repeated five times just before He died must be vitally important. Not only that, but the Gospel of John is characterized by its stunning economy of words. For instance, the most powerful claims for the divinity of Christ are achieved with the two simple words ‘I am.’ But this point about prayer in Jesus’ name carries such weight, unlocks such vast power, and is so counterintuitive that John records five instances when Jesus repeated it so we would not miss it.”

What a great reminder for us to think about today. Prayer is a powerful thing, and praying for and in God’s will and in Jesus name is like a power that we can’t even comprehend!

So as we think on this, I’d love to share with you what our church is taking part in for our Upward Soccer ministry! We’re praying that God would use this season in a mighty way, but to see that become a reality, prayer needs to be the foundation! So this past Sunday we kicked off our “10 Weeks of Prayer for Upward Soccer” Challenge. For the next ten weeks, we will be praying through specific things for our Upward Soccer ministry, and I’d invite you to join us on this journey! We want to see God work mightily in the lives of our players, families, and staff this season, but we don’t want to miss that foundational element of the ministry…prayer!

So join us as we pray for 10 weeks that God would use this season in a mighty way!!

In Him,
Pastor Jordan Spangler
Romans 8:31

08/23/2026

"Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away." Mark 13:31
Pastor Joel Wegner

08/19/2026

Pastors Encouragement Wed., August 19 
“When To Speak”
By Pastor Joel Wegner 

I am learning a lot about timing these days. Specifically, I’m learning about the timing of when to speak and when not to speak.

The experts say that the average person speaks anywhere from 12,000 to 16,000 words a day. WHOA! That’s a bunch of words. They say that the average person speaks 100 to 150 words a minute.

With so much speaking, we better be careful with WHAT we say, and WHEN we say it. Our words are powerful! They can edify or damage. Colossians 4:6 reminds us that our speech should be always with grace and seasoned with salt. James 3 tells us a lot about the power of our tongue. That little body member can do much evil! In fact, only God can tame the tongue. And, in taming my tongue and my speech, I’m looking to the Lord for more help these days with the timing of my words.

In my roles as a Christian, a husband, a parent of an adult child, a pastor, a boss, a friend, etc., I know my words matter. And, I certainly am one that has the tendency to talk too much! My dad, Pastor Marvin, was just the opposite. He talked very little compared to me and my mother! 😂 Pastor Dad often got on to me about talking too much. But recently, I’m not so sure I’ve let the Lord control the TIMING of my words the best!

So, here are verses that I am meditating on to help guide me (In 3 categories):

1. Different Seasons for Speech & Silence
* Ecclesiastes 3:7: Solomon writes that there is “a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak.” God places purpose behind every shifting phase of human life including when to speak. And we need His wisdom of when to do that.

2. Discernment and Timing for speaking truth
* Proverbs 15:23: “A man finds joy in giving an apt reply, and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!” Knowing how to answer at the exact moment brings gladness.
* Proverbs 25:11: “A word fitly spoken Is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” Truth is most effective and beautiful when delivered in the proper season.
* Proverbs 15:28: “The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.” Careful thought precedes wise, truthful speech, unlike rash responses.

3. Danger of Hasty Words
* Proverbs 29:20: “See thou a man that is hasty in his words? There is more hope of a fool than of him.” Speaking without waiting or thinking demonstrates a lack of basic wisdom.
* Proverbs 10:19: “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is wise.” Sin is found in a multitude of words. Limiting my speech helps me avoid sin and error.

Lord, please help me say the right words today, at the right time, for Your glory and the good of others!

In Christ Alone,
Pastor Joel Wegner
Galatians 2:20