United Baptist Church

United Baptist Church UBC’S HISTORY
United Baptist was born on November 30, 1975 when 80 families joined together to create a new congregation.

Homecoming Sunday April 28th United Baptist Church 1970 Lowell Bethesda Rd, Gastonia, NC. Join us for an uplifting time ...
04/26/2019

Homecoming Sunday April 28th United Baptist Church 1970 Lowell Bethesda Rd, Gastonia, NC. Join us for an uplifting time of fellowship with Heart To Heart, followed by a covered-dish meal in our fellowship hall. The concert starts at 11 a.m., and the meal will begin immediately after the singing. No evening service.

04/23/2019

............................A Second Chance................

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" __Matthew 28:9

The Resurrection of Jesus reminds us that God provides second chances. When Jesus was crucified it came as a shock to His followers. They just did not seem to understand that He would be crucified and rise again on the third day. When the Crucifixion actually took place, it shattered their faith. But after His Resurrection we see the risen Lord seeking out these discouraged, disheartened disciples to revive them, to reignite them.
How easily Jesus could have written them all off and said, “You didn't stand by Me in My greatest hour of need; now I am not going to stand by you in yours.” But no—the Lord sought to restore them.
When Mary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus early in the morning, the angel told her that the Lord had risen. As she and the other Mary “went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, ‘Rejoice!’ ” (Matthew 28:9). She found the living Lord to restore her hope and purpose in life.
Thomas missed the meeting when Jesus had appeared to the other disciples, but He reappeared when Thomas was back with the group. How gracious of Jesus to condescend to the skepticism of one single man. It almost appears that He came to that meeting simply to restore Thomas.
Remember the two discouraged disciples on the Emmaus Road? As He spoke to them, their deadened hearts began to reignite. “And they said to one another, ‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?’ ” (Luke 24:32). Jesus went out of His way to restore their hope.
Maybe you have doubts or fears today. The same Jesus who restored Mary, the disciples on the Emmaus Road, and the skeptical Thomas, will restore your faith. You too can find that Jesus gives second chances.

04/22/2019

.....................Easter Is for Second Chances...................

But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you." __Mark 16:6-7

Do you need a second chance today? On the first Easter morning, Peter needed one. There in the Upper Room, he had insisted that he would never deny Christ. But just as Jesus had predicted, Peter not only denied the Lord, but he denied Him three times. The last glimpse Peter had of Jesus before His crucifixion was in the glow of the fire in the high priest’s courtyard, where he actually made eye contact with Jesus. And then he went out and wept bitterly.
What kind of look do you think Jesus gave Peter when their eyes met? Do you think it was one of those I-told-you-so looks? Do you think it was one of scorn, as if to say, “How could you betray Me?” I don’t think it was either one. I think it was a look of love, a look of compassion that said, “I still love you, Peter.” And I believe that is why Peter went out and wept bitterly. He had failed the Lord so miserably. He probably thought there was no hope for him.
But then a message went out from the empty tomb that Jesus had risen, followed by these instructions, “Go, tell His disciples—and Peter. . . ” It was not, “Go tell the disciples, including Peter, James, and John. . .” It was just Peter, because Peter needed a special word of encouragement.
Do you need encouragement today? Maybe you have fallen short. You didn’t plan on it, but it happened. And like Peter, maybe you ended up with the wrong people in the wrong place at the wrong time, ultimately doing the wrong thing.
God gave Peter a second chance. And He will give you one, too—because Easter is for the person who needs a second chance.

04/22/2019

...........................Jesus and the Skeptic.....................

Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." __John 20:27

After Jesus rose from the dead, the Bible tell us that “He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen” (Mark 16:14).
These disciples, hearing of the risen Lord appearing to Mary, did not believe. The most vocal of the bunch was Thomas. He said, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25).
Eight days later, when the disciples (including Thomas) were meeting behind locked doors, Jesus showed up. And He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” (verse 27). To Thomas’ credit, he declared, “My Lord and my God!” (verse 28). That day, Thomas the skeptic became Thomas the believer.
God can take a skeptical person and turn him or her into a believer. How do I know? Because He did it for me. There was no person more skeptical than I was. After all that I had seen and been exposed to, I was very skeptical when I first heard the promises and claims of Christ.
The skeptic thinks, “Show me, and I will believe.” But I say, “Believe, and He will show you.” The one who is willing to take that step of faith and believe will be amazed at what God will do.
God can change skeptics—if they will come to Him.

04/21/2019

....................Statement One............................

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Luke 23:34
Do you realize that you are in need of the Father’s forgiveness?

Statement Two
“Today you will with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43
Have you realized and confessed Jesus as your personal Savior?

Statement Three
“Woman, behold your son.” John 19:26
Jesus is concerned for us and provides for all of us.

Statement Four
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:46
Jesus was forsaken so we don’t have to be.

Statement Five
“I thirst!” John 19:28
This personal statement reminds us that Jesus is not only God, but He also was man. Jesus identifies with our needs.

Statement Six
“It is finished!” John 19:30
Jesus paid for our sins, and sin’s control over our lives is broken!

Statement Seven
“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Luke 23:46
You can entrust your life into God’s hands.

If you are reading this today and you’ve never committed your life to Jesus Christ, would you go to KnowGod.org and confess Him as Your Savior and Lord?

04/21/2019

....................Finished!..............

When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.__John 19:30

The cross was the goal of Jesus from the very beginning. His birth was so there would be His death. The incarnation was for our atonement. He was born to die so that we might live. And when He had accomplished the purpose He had come to fulfill, He summed it up with a single word: finished.
In the original Greek, it was a common word. Jesus probably used it after He finished a project that He and Joseph might have been working on together in the carpentry shop. Jesus might have turned to Joseph and said, “Finished. Now let’s go have lunch.” It is finished. Mission accomplished. It is done. It is made an end of.
So, what was finished? Finished and completed were the horrendous sufferings of Christ. Never again would He experience pain at the hand of wicked men. Never again would He have to bear the sins of the world. Never again would He, even for a moment, be forsaken of God. That was completed. That was taken care of.
Also finished was Satan’s stronghold on humanity. Jesus came to deal a decisive blow against the devil and his demons at the cross of Calvary. Hebrews 2:14 says, “That through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil” This means that you no longer have to be under the power of sin. Because of Jesus’ accomplishment at the cross, finished was the stronghold of Satan on humanity.
And lastly, finished was our salvation. It is completed. It is done. All of our sins were transferred to Jesus when He hung on the cross. His righteousness was transferred to our account.So Jesus cried out the words, “It is finished!” It was God’s deliberate and well-thought-out plan. It is finished—so rejoice!


*Greg Laurie*

04/20/2019

.....................The Death of Death.................

Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? __John 11:26

When Jesus died on the cross, He conquered sin. But when He rose again from the dead, He defeated death.
Death is not a subject we usually want to discuss. But when you get down to it, that is what Easter is all about. Easter is about the death of death, because Jesus came to conquer death.
We don’t like to discuss this subject of dying. It is a hard subject for us to talk about. Many don’t even want to use the word death. They will use other words, like passed away or expired. We will refer to someone who has died as “the dearly departed.”
Some, in an attempt to avoid its seriousness, will make light of it with expressions like “kicked the bucket” or “cashed in their chips.” We don’t want to deal with death. It is a hard subject to grapple with.
Easter is a day that marks the death of death. Death died when Christ rose. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25–26).
You may be thinking, “Greg, are you crazy? What are you talking about—death died? People still die. Don’t you watch the news? Haven’t you heard about all of the horrible things that are happening in our world right now and the deaths of so many people? How can you say that death died?”
I understand that we die. I understand that our bodies go into a grave. But here is what I am saying to you: death is not the end. Sure our bodies go into the ground, but the soul lives on forever. The Bible says that one day our bodies will be resurrected as well.
This is the hope of Easter. Death is not the end of the road; it is only a bend in the road. When Jesus died and rose, He rendered death
powerless.

*Greg Laurie*

04/19/2019

This Good Friday, may we all truly experience the real love of Christ, an incomprehensible love that knows no boundaries.
"Once on a hillside, people were gathered, watching as Jesus was crucified. No one showed mercy to the One who had healed them...yet Jesus loved them as He suffered and died." unitedbapistchurchgastonia.org

04/18/2019

Matthew 20:17-19 (KJV)

And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.

[ Jesus Talks Again About His Death ] Jesus was going to Jerusalem. His twelve followers were with him. While they were walking, he gathered the followers together and spoke to them privately. He said to them, “We are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the leading priests and the teachers of the law, and they will say he must die. They will hand him over to the foreigners, who will laugh at him and beat him with whips, and then they will kill him on a cross. But on the third day after his death, he will be raised to life again.”)

04/06/2019

.....................The God Who Suffers...............

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief . . . Surely He has borne our grief and carried our sorrows. __Isaiah 53:3-4

When we think of God, we usually consider the fact that He is righteous, holy, loving, and good. But here is something else to consider about God: He is the God who has suffered. We don’t tend to think that a perfect Creator would experience such a human trait as human pain and suffering. After all, why would you suffer if you did not have to?
But God has suffered, and more deeply than any of us could ever imagine. In his book The Cross of Christ, John Stott said, “Our God is a suffering God.” And I think he is right.
Listen to Isaiah’s description of what Jesus (who was God) went through at Calvary:
“He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs . . . Surely He has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:3–5)
“A man of suffering.” That was Jesus. But why did God suffer? Because He loved and loves. That means He also enters into our suffering as well

04/03/2019

.............Loving the Dark................

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. __John 3:19

The Pharisees did not doubt Jesus because they merely disagreed with Him. They doubted Jesus because they were hardened against Him.
Doubt is a matter of the mind. Even Christians have moments of doubt. We don’t always understand what God is doing or why He is doing it. Unbelief, in contrast, is a matter of the will. It is a choice we make.
The Pharisees were full of unbelief. They did not reject Jesus for lack of evidence or because He was not consistent with what He said. The fact is that Jesus was the perfect example. Even Pontius Pilate, who had examined countless people, said, “I find no fault in this Man” (Luke 23:4), and “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person” (Matthew 27:24). Judas Iscariot, who spent three concentrated years with Jesus and even betrayed Him said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). So Jesus clearly was a model of everything that He said.
The Pharisees rejected Jesus because it interfered with the way they wanted to live. And that is why people reject Him today. Jesus said, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:19–20).
People don’t reject Jesus because they have carefully examined the evidence and have determined that it is not convincing enough. They don’t reject Him because they have read through the Scriptures and have found some apparent contradiction. They don’t reject Him because of the so-called hypocrisy of some in the church. They reject Him because He interferes with the way they want to live.

03/30/2019

.....................Removing the Sting.........................

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? __1 Corinthians 15:55

Have you ever been stung by a bee? It’s not a fun experience. But although it’s painful for the person being stung, it’s fatal for the bee.
When a honeybee stings a person, it can’t pull its little barbed stinger back out. This is a one-time experience for them. They had better think carefully about who they are going to sting, because once they do it, they are not going to survive.
When a bee stings you, not only is the bee’s stinger left in you but also part of its abdomen and digestive tract, as well as nerves and muscles. This massive abdominal rupture kills the bee shortly after it stings.
That is what happened when Jesus died on the cross. In his enduring hatred for God’s Son, Satan thought it would be a great idea to have Jesus betrayed, arrested, beaten within an inch of His life, and then crucified and put to death on a Roman cross. The devil said, “This is my moment. I am going to sting Him. I will have a role in His death. When He dies, that is the end of Him.” Everything went according to Satan’s plan, and like a bee, he flew off thinking he had succeeded.
But everything went according to God’s plan as well, and the sting of death was its own defeat. As 1 Corinthians 15:54–55 says, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
Where is the sting of death for the believer? It is ripped out, because at the cross, Jesus took the stinger out of death. This is a great truth. As Christians, we no longer need to fear death because our souls will live on forever with Christ.

*Greg Laurie*

Address

1970 Lowell Bethesda Road
Gastonia, NC
28056

Telephone

(704) 824-2866

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