Fountain of Life Bible Church

09/10/2026

There are moments when God asks us to trust what He has said before we have any idea how things are going to turn out. That kind of faith is easy to talk about when everything is going well. It becomes much harder when people disappoint us, plans fall apart, prayers seem unanswered, or someone we thought would stand beside us walks away.

That’s when I think about Noah. Hebrews 11:7 says that “by faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen…constructed an ark for the saving of his household.” Noah obeyed God concerning something he had never seen. Genesis doesn’t tell us that Noah understood every detail or knew exactly what the coming days would look like. It simply tells us, “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him” (Genesis 6:22).

That challenges me. We often want God to show us the outcome before we give Him our obedience. Lord, show me that this will work. Show me that person will stay. Show me the door will open. Show me how this ends, and then I’ll trust You, but biblical faith reverses that order.

God speaks. We trust. We obey. The outcome belongs to Him. And sometimes part of learning that lesson is discovering that people are not as dependable as we hoped. Psalm 118:8 says, “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.” That doesn’t mean we become cynical or stop loving people. God gives us relationships, friendships, families, and the church as tremendous gifts. But no human being was ever meant to carry the weight of our ultimate trust.

People can love us and still disappoint us. People can make promises and fail to keep them. People can stand beside us for one season and disappear in another. God does not. Paul knew that pain personally. Near the end of his life he wrote that at his first defense, “no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me.” Those words must have hurt. But Paul immediately added, “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me” (2 Timothy 4:16–17).

I love that. Everybody else could leave the room, but Paul was not alone. Maybe you’re in a place right now where you can’t see how something is going to work out. Maybe someone you counted on has let you down. Maybe God has made the next faithful step clear, but you’re hesitant because you can’t see what comes after it.

You don’t need tomorrow’s outcome to obey God today. You need His Word. You need His grace and you need to remember the character of the One who made the promise. “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

So take the next step God has clearly put in front of you. Don’t build your confidence on who stays, who leaves, who applauds, or who understands. Build it on Christ. Trust His Word before you see the outcome. People may fall away, circumstances may change, and the road may look nothing like you expected, but the God who called you to trust Him will still be faithful when you get there.

By Dr. Matthew Young, D.Min.

09/09/2026

FLBC Morning Devotion: Proverbs 16:19, "Seek Righteousness."

09/09/2026

There are some voices that know exactly where to hit us. They remind us of what we did, what we regret, what we wish we could undo, and the parts of our story we hope nobody ever discovers. Shame has a way of taking our worst moment and whispering, That’s who you are, but then I think about the woman at the well. Jesus knew her story before she ever walked toward Him.

John 4 tells us that Jesus was sitting beside Jacob’s well when a Samaritan woman came to draw water. By every social expectation of that day, there were plenty of reasons for Jesus to avoid her. She was a Samaritan. She was a woman speaking with a Jewish rabbi. And as the conversation unfolded, we discover that her personal life was deeply complicated.

Jesus knew all of it. Yet He didn’t move away from her. He moved the conversation toward her heart. Jesus told her that if she understood who was speaking to her, she would ask Him, and “he would have given you living water” (John 4:10).

I love that because Jesus didn’t pretend her sin didn’t matter. He gently brought the truth into the open. When He told her to call her husband, she answered that she had none. Jesus already knew she had been married five times and that the man she was currently with wasn’t her husband and yet He stayed. That’s grace. Grace isn’t Jesus looking at our sin and saying, It doesn’t matter. Grace is Jesus knowing the whole truth about us and offering what our thirsty souls could never find anywhere else.

The woman had apparently spent years looking for something that people and relationships could not provide. Jesus offered something completely different. He said that whoever drinks ordinary water will thirst again, “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” (John 4:13–14).

That hits close to home because all of us have our own wells. Places we return to hoping this time they’ll satisfy us. Approval. Relationships. Success. Money. Recognition. Pleasure. Control. Even ministry can become a place where we look for something only Christ can give. And eventually we discover the same thing: We get thirsty again.

Jesus didn’t come merely to make us feel better about ourselves. He came to save sinners. At the cross, He bore the guilt that shame keeps throwing back in our faces. That’s why Romans 8:1 can say, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

If you belong to Christ, your worst chapter doesn’t get to write the ending. Maybe you’re carrying something today that still makes you lower your head. Jesus already knows. You don’t have to hide it from Him. Confess what needs confessing. Repent where repentance is needed. Receive the grace Christ purchased for sinners, and stop returning to broken wells expecting them to satisfy a soul that was made for God.

One of my favorite parts of the story is what happened next. The woman who came to the well carrying her water jar eventually “left her water jar” and ran back into town telling people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” (John 4:28–29).

The very woman who might have preferred not to be known suddenly wanted everyone to meet the One who knew everything about her. That’s what grace does. Shame says, Hide. Jesus says, Come. Shame says, You’re too far gone. Jesus offers living water. Shame keeps pointing backward. Jesus calls us forward.

So when shame starts shouting today, don’t shout back. Listen to the voice of Christ instead. He already knows your story. And He’s still the Savior who meets thirsty sinners at the well.

By Dr. Matthew Young, D.Min.

09/08/2026

🍲 Blessings in the Bowls is coming up! ❤️

Join us Wednesday, September 16 at 6 PM for a night of good food, Bible study, fellowship, and BINGO!

We’re asking everyone who can to sign up and bring a pot of your favorite soup to share. Homemade, an old family favorite, or simply something you know everyone loves. We want them all! 😊

Grilled cheese sandwiches will be provided, so bring your soup or salad, bring your appetite, and come ready for a great evening together.

Let’s fill those bowls, fill those tables, and enjoy a wonderful night with our church family. ❤️

🍲 The sign up sheet is in the foyer, or you can sign up below in the comments. Please let us know what soup you’re bringing AND how many people will be attending with you so we can make sure we have plenty for everyone!

We hope to see everyone there! ❤️

09/08/2026

Most of us know what it feels like to look at what we have and think, Lord, this just isn’t enough. Not enough money. Not enough strength. Not enough time. Not enough ability. Not enough patience to handle one more thing. And sometimes we convince ourselves that if we had more, then God could really use us. But Jesus has never been limited by our “not enough.”

In John 6, thousands of hungry people surrounded Jesus, and the disciples immediately started calculating the problem. Philip looked at the crowd and basically said, We don’t have enough money. Andrew found a boy with “five barley loaves and two fish,” but then asked the obvious question: “What are they for so many?” (John 6:9).

I understand Andrew. We do the same thing. We look at what God has placed in our hands and compare it to the size of the need. Then we decide it’s too small to matter. But Jesus didn’t ask the boy to produce enough food for thousands. He simply took what was available.

John tells us that Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them. Everyone ate “as much as they wanted,” and afterward the disciples gathered twelve baskets of leftovers (John 6:11–13). The lesson isn’t that Jesus promises to multiply everything we give Him into material abundance. That’s not what this passage teaches. The miracle points us ultimately to Christ Himself, the One who later declares, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger” (John 6:35). But there is something here I don’t want to miss: Jesus wasn’t intimidated by what was lacking and He still isn’t.

Maybe today you’re looking at your life and thinking you don’t have enough to offer God. Bring Him what you have. Bring Him your tired prayers. Bring Him the little bit of strength you have left. Bring Him your limited resources. Bring Him the ability you think isn’t impressive. Bring Him the ordinary day sitting in front of you.

Paul learned that God’s answer to weakness wasn’t always to make Paul stronger. Sometimes it was to teach him that Christ was enough. Jesus told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

That’s a truth I need regularly. God isn’t waiting for me to become impressive before He can use me. He wants faithfulness. So stop staring at the size of the crowd and worrying about the size of your lunch. Bring Him your everyday lack.

Put what you have into the hands of Jesus, obey what He tells you to do, and trust Him with what happens next. Because sometimes what feels painfully insufficient in our hands becomes exactly the place where we discover that Christ has always been enough.

By Dr. Matthew Young, D.Min.

09/07/2026

There is something about the cross that we can never afford to make ordinary. We see crosses on church buildings, necklaces, signs, and pictures, and because they are so familiar, it’s easy to forget what actually happened there. At Calvary, God did not ignore our sin, He dealt with it. And He did it in a way that displayed both His perfect justice and His incredible mercy.

Romans 3 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” but then gives us the good news: sinners are “justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23–24). Paul goes on to explain that God put Christ forward as the sacrifice for sin so that God would remain “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). That is the heart of what R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur emphasize when explaining the atonement: God didn’t set His holiness aside to forgive us. In Christ, His righteous judgment against sin was satisfied.

Think about that. The Judge didn’t pretend we weren’t guilty. The Judge provided the payment Himself. Isaiah had foretold it centuries earlier when he wrote that “he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities,” and that “the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5–6).

Jesus took the judgment sinners deserved so that those who trust in Him could receive mercy they could never earn. Billy Graham often explained the cross in those very terms: our sin is serious and must be judged, yet Christ willingly stood in the sinner’s place and bore that penalty.

That’s why Jesus’ words from the cross are so powerful: “It is finished” (John 19:30). Not almost finished. Not I’ll do My part and you earn the rest. Finished.

The debt was paid. The sacrifice was offered. The way home was opened. And maybe that’s what somebody needs to hear today. You don’t have to spend the rest of your life trying to outrun your past or somehow become good enough for God. You can’t. Neither can I, but Jesus was good enough. Jesus paid enough. Jesus accomplished what we never could.

First Peter 3:18 says, “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” I love those last words. “That he might bring us to God.” That’s the Gospel. The cross isn’t merely about getting us out of judgment. It’s about bringing sinners home to the Father.

So when you look at the cross, see both things. Justice was satisfied. Mercy opened the way home. And standing at the intersection of both is Jesus Christ the Savior who took our place, conquered the grave, and still calls sinners to repent, believe, and come home.

By Dr. Matthew Young, D.Min.

09/06/2026

09/05/2026

Just a friendly reminder for this Sunday!

You have two wonderful opportunities to gather, worship, and hear the Word of God proclaimed.

If you are looking for a church home or simply need a place to be encouraged, I would love to invite you to join Dr. Vic Young at Fountain of Life Bible Church at 10:45 AM.
📍 118 Julie Lane, Johnson City, TN 37601
He will be preaching on “Labors of Love.”

If you would like to be part of the Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan service, I would be honored for you to come hear me speak at 10:00 AM at Tipton Haynes Farm.
📍 2620 S. Roan St., Johnson City, TN 37601

No matter which place you choose to attend, my prayer is that you will be strengthened, encouraged, and reminded that God is still faithful, still working, and still worthy of our worship. In a world full of discouragement, we all need the hope that only Christ can give.

If you don’t have plans this Sunday, come be with us. We would love to see you.

Two places. One Savior. One message of hope.

09/04/2026

FLBC Morning Devotion: Matthew 23:12, "Humility."

09/04/2026

I want to challenge every one of us at Fountain of Life to think of one person.

One person who needs encouragement.
One person who may be going through something you know nothing about.
One person who has gotten away from church.
One person who may simply be waiting for someone to invite them.

Then let’s do three simple things: pray for them, invite them, and bring them.

Sometimes we think reaching people has to be complicated, but it can begin with something as simple as, “Would you come sit with me Sunday?”

So here’s the challenge: Who’s your one?

Choose that person. Pray for them by name. Reach out to them. Invite them personally. And if they say yes, don’t just tell them where the church is. Meet them, walk in with them, and let them sit beside you.

We may never know what God can do with one prayer, one invitation, and one person willing to reach out.

To see the lost saved.
To see the saved grow.
To be real.

Let’s be the church that doesn’t just wait for people to walk through our doors. Let’s go get them.