East Side Baptist Church

East Side Baptist Church I want to welcome you to East Side Baptist Church of Killeen, Texas. We are so glad you took the time to visit us via the web.

Please feel free to look through our calendar and activities. We would truly like to meet you in person!

01/25/2026

Church services are canceled for Sunday Jan 25th

10/29/2024

Hebrews 6:7 (The Bountiful Crop of the Faithful)
Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.- Hebrews 6:7
August 27, 2024 Floyd Ray Gage
This verse follows the discussion about those who are around the things of God, but do not decide to take them in so that they change their lives and give them new birth. This is an agricultural analogy, along with the verse that follows, to show this point. This verse shows those that take in all that God gives to them in salvation, His Word, and His presence and allow that to produce things in their lives that are beneficial to them, to others, and to God’s kingdom.
In Matthew 5:43-45 we are told by Jesus, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Jesus is teaching us to have the heart of God and to love everyone, even those that do not accept that love and give it in kind. He says that this is like the Father, Who sends rain and sunshine on everyone out of His grace.
This relates to Hebrews 6:7, because God is sending His rain, which symbolizes His blessings and His love, down and these are the ones that accept it and allow it to nourish them and help them be fruitful for Him. This would also mean that God sends His rain and some of the blessings on those that do not produce a good crop and these would be the ones that are discussed in Hebrews 6:4-6. They will be further discussed in Hebrews 6:8 as well.
Jesus also told the Parable of the Sower in Luke 8. In Luke 8:8 it says, “Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When He said this, He called out, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’” In Matthew 13:8, we are told that in the Parable some seed produced a hundred, some sixty, or some thirty what was sown. This is talking about the same kind of person that is discussed in Hebrews 6:7.
The ones that are being discussed now are the ones that receive what Jesus has done and offered to all and allow that to change their hearts and lives. The degree to which it changes them and the amount of fruit they bear because of it can differ, but there is a definite change in their lives because of allowing God into their hearts and souls.
The Parable in Matthew lets us know that some will produce more than others, but that is okay. The important thing is that fruit is being born. We all know that there are many that allow God to change their lives and there are many that have the same opportunities, rain storms, come into their lives and they make the choice to let God’s revelations wash over them and make no change at all.
God is showing the world through Jesus Christ that they can be changed and that they can become His child. Our sins can be forgiven and washed away by the blood of Christ shed on the cross. All we must do is take this truth into our hearts and lives and allow it to change us. We must be born again into the truth of God’s revelation and glory in Christ.
Those who allow this change will produce a crop of love and righteousness for the Lord. Some will produce a hundred times, some sixty and some forty, but all will produce. When we produce the fruit of the Spirit from the showers of blessings, it will benefit us, our families, our churches, the kingdom of God, and the world at large. Lord, may the ones reading this receive Your gospel truth and allow it to change them and remold them into Your Children. Amen.

10/29/2024

I had a young man tell me tonight how much my sermons had helped him and answered questions that he had. I did not know how much I needed to hear that until I received that blessing tonight. God always knows what we need and is always showing us HIs encouragement and love in so many wonderful ways. I just wanted to thank Him tonight for that blessing and remind all of us that we never know who might need that word of encouragement that God leads us to share.

10/26/2024

I feel that as a pastor I need to give a caution to all politicians. Please be careful about how you use or abuse the name of Jesus. If you say that you are a Christian publicly and then espouse policies that are unbiblical and contrary to His character, you will have to answer to Him. Supporting abortion as birth control is unbiblical. Supporting the physical or chemical alteration of confused young people is unbiblical. Please think and pray before you espouse Jesus in one breath and unbiblical platforms in another. You will be called to account by your Creator for this.

10/25/2024

Trusting Jesus
Written by Floyd Gage on October 25, 2024
Trusting Jesus
Is more than what we wear or say;
It is obeying Him always
Each and every day.

Trusting Jesus
Is not just claiming His name;
It is living to honor it
And to bring Him more fame.

Trusting Jesus
Is never on our own terms or wants;
It is submitting to Him
No matter the resistance or taunts.

Trusting Jesus
Is more than the songs we sing;
It is worshipping Him with our lives
And seeking Him in everything.

Trusting Jesus
Is simply and honestly just surrender;
It is giving Him all our lives
And making our hearts ever to Him tender.

Many claim to trust Him
For their own personal gain;
Only those who truly do
Know Him in joy or in pain.

Many will say they trusted Him
Until their final breath;
But if their choices do not show that true
They will meet with eternal death.

Simply trusting everyday
We must choose for Jesus always;
No matter what others may say or do
It is the only way to truly serve Him all our days.

Do you trust Jesus
Truly, honestly, and with your heart complete?
For that is all that will truly matter
At the final judgment seat.

10/22/2024

Hebrews 6:6 (Rejecting the Crucified Christ)

If they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace.- Hebrews 6:6
August 20, 2024 Floyd Ray Gage
This verse is very hard to understand and as I said earlier there have been many interpretations of Hebrews 6:4-6 that end with the conclusion that a Christian can lose their salvation. There are plenty of other scriptures that would tell us that this is not true. With this in mind, I have to conclude that the author is warning against a “playing around” with the Christian life.
The word used for “fall away” is not the same word that is used for apostasy, which would be a believer turning away. Notice that the author said “if they fall away.” I think that he is addressing these comments to those that are seriously considering the truths of the gospel, but have not fully committed to it yet. They would be those that have been raised in a religious environment and know all the religious terminology and know in their heart that it is all true. Once someone accepts the validity of the gospel and understands all that Christ did and their great need for Him, then they decide to turn away from that, then they can not be brought to repentance, because they realize their sin, but don’t want to do anything about it.
In point of fact, they are ridiculing Christ and all that He did on the cross, by saying that they know it is true, but they don’t care enough to surrender to it. The truth is that we as human beings don’t know when someone has reached this point. We can have our suspicions, but we cannot know.
Just because someone leaves the church and does not fellowship with other believers for a time, does not mean they have committed this sin. Jesus talked of the unforgiveable sin as blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. I feel that what Jesus talked of ties into this.
Whenever someone fully understands Who Christ is and what He has done, if they blaspheme His precious sacrifice, by rejecting it totally and completely and or call it into question so that they lead others astray, then they have gone to a place they may very well not be able to return from in this life or the next.
Christ was crucified for you and me so that our sins could be forgiven. If we know this to be true and then reject that offer of grace and mercy from God, then we have rejected the only thing that can save us and cleanse us. Nothing else in all of God’s creation can make us pure and whole.
It is like the old hymn says, “What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again, nothing but the blood of Jesus.” I think that is why the author says that they are crucifying the Son of God all over again. With their denial and ridicule of the Lord Jesus, they are doing what the Pharisees in Jesus’ day did.
The Pharisees knew the truth of Jesus and that is why they wanted to kill Him. He was the Son sent by the owner in the Parable Jesus taught of the stewards of the vineyard that killed the servants and the Son. Many today are self-righteous in their own religion. They know the truth of Christ, but have not accepted it fully because it would change them. They are in danger of committing this sin and the sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Then there is no hope at all.

10/15/2024

Hebrews 6:5 (Experiencing the Power of the Word and the Glory Firsthand)
Who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age,- Hebrews 6:5
August 13, 2024 Floyd Ray Gage
We are continuing the discourse in Hebrews about those that have been exposed to spiritual things but have not taken the plunge into living in light of those spiritual things. Now the author centers in on two aspects of Spiritual life that it is possible to be exposed to and yet not choose to walk in the way of Christ.
The first one is tasting of the Word of God and the goodness of that Word. The author already talked about tasting of the heavenly gift. Again, tasting means sampling but not taking it fully into yourselves. Many throughout history have tasted the Word of God and its goodness, but have not made its truths a part of their active lives guiding them and instructing them on how to live.
When one tastes of the Word of God, they will pick and choose the parts of God’s Word that they will accept and then discard the parts that bother them or prick their conscience. When it comes to the Word of God, we must realize that the Word of God has been given to us in its totality to instruct us and guide us in our lives.
In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we are told, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” This is very plain that to be a man or woman of God, we must look at the totality of Scripture and be instructed by it.
Anyone who denies Scripture and its validity in its totality is subject to the suspicion of being a taster of the Word and not a liver of the Word. This is why in James 1:22 we are told, “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” We are but a taster of the Word if we just listen to it and don’t apply it in our lives.
The powers of the coming age are tastes of the full expression of that power in the coming age today. We see God inserting His influence into this life in many ways. We experience His Holy Spirit and the intimate fellowship of that Spirit in our hearts and lives. This can be present in a worship service as the Spirit expresses Himself through the worship of believers and through the proclamation of His Word.
Even a nonbeliever can be touched by the Spirit moving in a church service or in the life of a believer out in the world. They can sense that something is happening. They can feel the joy. They can feel the warmth and peace of the Spirit in a believer’s life and know there is something there, but not surrender to it themselves.
It is truly hard to believe that people can experience these things, but never give into them and experience these things for themselves. It is like those that experience the beauty and inspiration of great music. They are in the audience and enjoy the feelings that it brings to them, but when they have the chance to make that music themselves, they do not want to make the sacrifices that are necessary to do this.
Those that are satisfied with being an audience watching God’s power in the lives of others, but who are not willing to commit their lives to Christ themselves in order to be active participants with God are the same. We must experience the Lord, not just see Him in others.

10/08/2024

Hebrews 6:4 (Those Who Toy with Faith)

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,- Hebrews 6:4
August 6, 2024 Floyd Ray Gage
We are entering a section of Hebrews that is greatly debated and honestly misunderstood by many believers. Some want to use these verses to say that a person can lose their salvation. I think we need to look at the audience of the book of Hebrews to fully understand what the writer is saying in these next few verses of Hebrews.
The recipient of Hebrews are Jews that have started to come into the Christian church. The writer has already expressed a misgiving about moving deeper into the truths of the Christian faith, because he is afraid that some may fall to the wayside in teachings of Christ being after the order of Melchizedek and many of the other teachings about Christ that might challenge their preconceived ideas and beliefs.
In verse 4, the writer talks about the impossibility of people being truly repentant when they have been taught and understood certain truths and then rejected them. When he talks about enlightenment, he is talking about being taught the truths of Christ and those truths shining upon your heart and soul and you understanding them.
These people have received accurate teaching about Christ and understood it to be true and they therefore have had the light of the world shine into their hearts and illuminate their minds with the understanding of Who Jesus is and all that He has done. It is possible to be enlightened about something and still choose to walk in the dark.
Jews that understood the full revelation of Christ and saw that He truly was the Messiah, but because of cultural or familial pressure refused to follow Him, would fall into this category. People that have been raised in the church and have understood Who Christ is and all that He has done for them but still refuse to surrender their hearts and lives to Him would fall into this category.
The author then goes on to talk about those who have tasted of the heavenly gift. This means they have taken a nibble of the truths of Jesus and then for whatever reason have decided not to ingest them. To taste of something is not to partake of it. For salvation to truly happen in a soul, a person cannot play around with the truths of Scripture, and the will of God, We must fully dive into and fully consume the truths of God and make them an active part of our lives.
We are told in Scripture to taste and see that the Lord is good, but we are not told to stop there. This was a problem the Jews had from the beginning. Many of them were happy to have faith in God as a pass time, but few were they that wanted to serve and follow God full time. The same is sadly true today with many religious people.
The final designation in this verse is sharing in the Holy Spirit. The word for sharing means partaker or associate. This would mean someone that enjoyed being in the company of the Holy Spirit, but never truly surrendered themselves to Him. It would be people who like the feeling they get in a Spirit-filled church service of experience, but never committed to experiencing the Holy Spirit in a real and personal way. Jews or religious people today that saw, tasted, and enjoyed, but never truly surrendered to Christ are who the author is talking about.

Address

500 N W S Young Drive
Killeen, TX
76543

Opening Hours

Monday 8:15am - 4:15pm
Tuesday 8:15am - 4:15pm
Wednesday 8:15am - 4:15pm
Thursday 8:15am - 4:15pm
Friday 8:15am - 4:15pm
Sunday 8am - 8pm

Telephone

+12546340358

Website

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