Open Door Fellowship Franklin

01/02/2026

As you should probably know by now, Open Door Fellowship and Community Baptist Church of Franklin have replanted as Crossway Bible Church. Sunday Service is at 10:30am with a Children's Ministry occurring at the same time. The building at 250 14th Street has undergone some renovation to be more open and welcoming. Please consider joining us as Bryan brings the message.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19MkaGRjA3/

First Tuesday is elder-led time of either Prayer Emphasis, Witness Equipping, or Making Disciples Training held the First Tuesday of each month. Join us January 6th at 5:30 for dinner and 6:30 for Prayer Emphasis.

09/01/2025

04/29/2025

BIG NEWS: A New Chapter Is Beginning!

God is doing something new in Franklin! This fall, He is bringing together a few Johnson County churches to plant a brand-new gospel-centered, Jesus-pursuing church—Crossway Bible Church.

This isn’t just a name change—it’s a fresh start and a united step forward to reach our city with the good news of Jesus. We can’t wait to share the journey with you, and we want YOU to pray about being part of this new story from the beginning!

This page will be closing down soon, so we invite you to join us on our new adventure. Follow us now at Crossway Bible Church to get all the updates, behind-the-scenes stories, and upcoming events as we prepare for launch. God is writing something amazing, and you’re invited into the story.

Let’s step forward together in faith and expectation! See you at Crossway!

04/23/2025

Have a great day, everybody


1 Peter 1:13-16

First Peter 1:16 says, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” What an overwhelming command! But that is exactly what the Lord is committed to do in our life—make us holy. His grand plan can be summed up in one word: sanctification. This is the three-stage process by which He sets us apart for His purposes.

Stage one occurs at salvation. When God declares us righteous, we are positionally holy. The second stage is a progression of growth as we become more and more holy in practice. This process will continue as long as we are alive on this earth. Desiring that we be conformed to the image of His Son, the Father is continually working to shape our character, conduct, and conversation (2 Cor. 3:17-18).

The third stage of sanctification is our ultimate perfection when we will possess absolute holiness. Upon our physical death, we are freed from sin, and in the resurrection, our bodies will be made perfect. We will stand faultless and spotless before Christ.

If we could just get a glimpse of what the third stage will be like, we would never moan and groan about the difficult sanctification process we endure now. Our eyes would be fixed on the goal, and our greatest motivation would be to glorify God by submitting to His transformation.

04/21/2025

Have a great day.

Romans 8:32-39

In Romans 8, Paul delivers a persuasive argument for believing in eternal security, and it’s framed with these questions:

Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? The answer is simple: No one can bring an accusation against believers and make it stick. Satan tries, but God has justified us through Jesus—He’s declared that we are not guilty. If you fall into a stage of unbelief or sinful living, you may lose your reward, but you can’t lose your eternity in heaven with God (1 Cor. 3:12-15).

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Undoubtedly, there are many experiences that test our faith, but we are ultimately saved by God’s grace. Jesus understands our trials and doubts, and He is not interested in casting us away at our first misstep. God always knew we would make thousands of mistakes after receiving Christ, but He saved us anyway.

Some followers of Jesus worry that embracing the idea of eternal security will motivate people to go out and live a life of sin because they have nothing to lose. If we think about the wonder and majesty of our Father, doesn’t it make more sense that people would be motivated to praise Him for saving them from their disobedience? The more we know of Jesus and His love for us, the more we will love Him and want to please Him.

04/20/2025

A great Redurrection Sunday at... The Church on 14th Street.

04/18/2025

It's Good Friday

Mark 15:42-46

After the crucifixion, a wealthy Jewish leader named Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for Jesus’ body (Mark 15:43). Not only did Joseph understand the risk of requesting Rome’s permission to bury a criminal convicted of treason; he also knew his reputation and status in the religious community would be jeopardized. Why did he have the courage to come forward while the Lord’s closest friends stepped back in fear? The reason is that Joseph had been living expectantly, on the lookout for God.

Christ’s sacrifice changes everything—it affects both our eternal destination and daily life, allowing us to live with a sense of hope and anticipation. Yet sometimes we don’t recognize God’s presence and fail to live expectantly in “the already but not yet.”

Consider Peter, John, and the women who saw the empty tomb. Though Jesus had told them what to expect, they didn’t anticipate His death. Their shock and disbelief tell us clearly what they had thought would happen. Like them, we must remember that where Jesus appears, how He thinks, and what He says may not always be what we expect.

Without Christ’s sacrifice, there would be no hope. Though it may not be easy to live expectantly between present and future realities, it’s the best approach to the Christian life.

04/17/2025

Have a blessed day ya'll.

Matthew 26:36-46

When you are suffering, where do you go for help? God’s Word assures us that He will bring life, hope, and promise to otherwise hopeless situations. When we respond to trials the Lord’s way, the difficulty that threatened to harm us actually enriches our character and enables us to do greater works for Him.

The Bible provides a record of Jesus’ intense suffering in the garden of Gethsemane. Christ knew that by bearing our sin, He was about to endure not only a gruesome crucifixion but also the full force of the Father’s wrath. That’s something no other child of God will ever have to experience, because Jesus’ agony achieved mankind’s redemption. We know that whatever trial awaits, God will be by our side, supporting us through it (Isa. 41:10).

What trial are you facing? Do you have confidence that God is in control? Let Jesus’ Gethsemane experience be your example in times of trouble. Our Savior fully trusted His Father and accepted His will. Don’t forget that our sovereign, omniscient God limits the length and intensity of the pain. Though seeing His children suffer hurts Him, He loves us enough to allow the difficulty because of the way we will ultimately benefit. There is a beautiful harvest of growth and purpose when we embrace His road for us and apply the lessons we learn from His holy Word.

04/16/2025

Have a great Wednesday everyone. See ya tonight

Romans 8:6-11

“Death to self” happens at salvation, when we are crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:6). The old self dies, and we are given a new nature as the Holy Spirit comes to live within us (John 14:17). At times, however, it takes a bit longer to willingly make a sacrifice—to hand over to the Lord something we love and value.

Once God has given us a new nature, we can experience freedom because Jesus triumphed over sin. But our Father doesn’t stop with our salvation; His purpose is to conform believers to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). To live as God intends, however, we must be willing to give Christ the predominant position in our life. As a result, the Lord calls us to the cross on a daily basis—to lay down anything that might distract us from our purpose of serving and following Him.

Don’t misunderstand what this means. God isn’t going to take away everything so we see ourselves as lonely paupers. Instead, leaving our valuables—whether possessions, people, or dreams—at the foot of the cross frees us from the attachments of this world.

When we lay down these treasures, our self-esteem will no longer be tied to “stuff” and our sense of acceptance won’t come from people. Then we are complete in the Lord. Or, as Paul said, we are “alive to God in Christ

04/15/2025

Have a great day.

Rev. 7:16-17

Bumblebees and badgers, lions and skunks, black bears and beagles all have one thing in common: If threatened, they attack. But that’s not the case with lambs.

In the Bible, they’re usually mentioned in the context of a sacrificial offering. For example, at the time of the Passover, God rescued His people from Egyptian slavery through lamb’s blood. Imagine the disciples’ shock when John the Baptist introduced Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

Ours is a strange story. Christianity is the only religion with a God who, in love and for love, subjected Himself to be sacrificed at the hand of His own creatures. Of course, Jesus the vulnerable Lamb is also the Mighty One who rules, judges, and triumphs (Rev. 5:6; Rev. 14:9-11; Rev. 17:14)—but even then, He is “the Lamb who has been slain” (Rev. 13:8).

It’s a valiant and unique story—of broken people who have sunk so deep in sin that we cannot lift ourselves out. Someone had to come and rescue us from our self-imposed bo***ge, even if it meant dying in our place. And that is exactly what our Savior did. Jesus, the lion who came as a lamb, willingly gave His life for us.

04/14/2025

Let's take time this week to remember all Jesus did for us during Holy Week

Matthew 21:12-17

For the disciples, Palm Sunday must have felt like a dream as they celebrated with their people in Jerusalem. But the next day, something entirely different took place.

The Court of Gentiles, the only area of the temple non-Jews could enter, had become an open-air market. The Teacher and His followers pushed through customers who haggled with merchants, shouted over the livestock, or crowded around money changers’ booths. Jesus had seen enough. He went through the court, upending tables and chairs, pouring out coins, and driving animals toward the gate. Finally, He prevented merchandise from being carried through the temple (Mark 11:16).

The disciples must have been astounded. They expected the Messiah to judge their oppressors, not His own people and their place of worship. Shouting above the din, Jesus reminded them of a scripture they’d apparently forgotten. “Is it not written,” He cried, “‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den” (Mark 11:17).

Jesus’ fervor in cleansing the temple revealed the priority He placed on purity of worship and access to the Father. He showed that nobody—not even God’s chosen people—should interfere with anyone seeking to follow the Lord.