Independent Baptist Bible Church

05/31/2026

Service
May 31, 2026

Unworthy Yet Forgiven
15:11-24

And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

05/24/2026

Service
May 24, 2026

The Unconditional Love of God
5: 1-10

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

05/17/2026

04/13/2026

Our apologies, there are technical difficulties with Facebook live this morning.

Sunday Service
April 12, 2026

Micah 6:6-8

Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

06/04/2021

Come join us starting this Sunday, June 6th.
We laugh, have fun, and learn about God's word.

05/31/2020

May 31

Love A Matter of Life and Death
I John 3:11-18.

The thought that connects this paragraph and the preceding paragraph is that it may be seen who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil.
(1 JOHN 3:10) "IN THIS THE CHILDREN OF GOD ARE MANIFEST, AND THE CHILDREN OF THE DEVIL: WHOSOEVER DOETH NOT RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NOT OF GOD, NEITHER HE THAT LOVETH NOT HIS BROTHER."
John argued that a lifestyle of righteousness, or of not sinning, is the essential evidence of being a child of God. On the other hand, a lifestyle of habitual, persistent, unrepentant sin is clear evidence of being not a child of God but a child of the devil.
Now John shifts gears and brings us into a discussion of the Christian's obligation to love his brother. Now John makes a transition from a discussion of righteousness in general to a discussion of love in particular. John begins his discussion of love in vs 11. Read passage Remember this, whatever God expects of us, He will empower us to be able to do!

I. Our orders have not been changed. (11)
A. The message is the same as it was from the beginning. cf. John 15:10-12
(JOHN 15:10-12) "IF YE KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS, YE SHALL ABIDE IN MY LOVE; EVEN AS I HAVE KEPT MY FATHER'S COMMANDMENTS, AND ABIDE IN HIS LOVE. {11} THESE THINGS HAVE I SPOKEN UNTO YOU, THAT MY JOY MIGHT REMAIN IN YOU, AND THAT YOUR JOY MIGHT BE FULL. {12} THIS IS MY COMMANDMENT, THAT YE LOVE ONE ANOTHER, AS I HAVE LOVED YOU."
B. Love one another.
1. Not a suggestion or an option.
2. A direct command.
3. True love is more than emotional, it is motional: true love produces action, it must do something, it must give, it will practice in walk what it declares in talk.
4. God is our example: cf John 3:16 Where would we be if God loved, but didn’t give?
C. An example of an abnormal family. v12-13
1. True believers do not find it difficult to love one another.
2. Love between the brethren is natural.
3. A family where no love exists is not a normal family. If one brother dislikes another, if one sister dislikes another it is unnatural.
4. For illustration John refers to Cain and Abel.
a. Cain was of that wicked one. (Jn. 8:44; Eph. 2:3)
b. Abel was of God. (Heb. 11:4)
c. Why did Cain kill Abel? Because his works were evil and Abel’s were righteous.
d. Cain and Abel lived in two different spheres of life: one in darkness the other in light cf. John 3:19-20
5. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
a. You cannot love the world and love God too.
b. If you love God then the world will hate YOU.
c. If you are living like the devil and can’t see anything wrong with it take a look at 2 Cor. 2:14. You are blind to the spiritual.
D. True love will produce assurance. v14-15
1. We know that we have passed from death unto life.
a. No doubt about it we know!
b. A child of God knows whether he is a child or not by one, any, or all of these ways:
1) Testimony of the Word.
(JOHN 5:24) "VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU, HE THAT HEARETH MY WORD, AND BELIEVETH ON HIM THAT SENT ME, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE, AND SHALL NOT COME INTO CONDEMNATION; BUT IS PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE."
2) Testimony of the Spirit.
(ROM 8:16) "THE SPIRIT ITSELF BEARETH WITNESS WITH OUR SPIRIT, THAT WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD:"
3) Testimony of our own heart-the new heart God puts within us at the new birth.
(1 JOHN 3:20) "FOR IF OUR HEART CONDEMN US, GOD IS GREATER THAN OUR HEART, AND KNOWETH ALL THINGS."
4) Testimony of our love for the brethren.
Note: We are not saved through loving the brethren; we love the brethren because we are saved.
(JOHN 13:35) "BY THIS SHALL ALL MEN KNOW THAT YE ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YE HAVE LOVE ONE TO ANOTHER."
2. He that loveth not his brethren abideth in death.
a. This is said with the same certainty.
b. If you do not love fellow family members then you are not part of that family.
3. If you hate then you are a murderer: you know that murderers do not have eternal life!
E. The supreme example of love. v16-18
1. The example: "Hereby perceive we the love of God..." (16)
a. We can say God loves you.
b. We can quote Scripture after Scripture that God is love, For God so loved...
c. The only way we can understand with any degree of understanding is to realize that "He laid down His life for us..."
d. Our understanding of that will not really mean anything until we realize it on a personal basis. He laid down His life for ME!
e. The love of God is personal; The salvation of God is Personal salvation.
(ROM 10:9) "THAT IF THOU SHALT CONFESS WITH THY MOUTH THE LORD JESUS, AND SHALT BELIEVE IN THINE HEART THAT GOD HATH RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, THOU SHALT BE SAVED."
2. Our Response: "we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren"
a. Not in the same manner that Christ laid down His life for us, we cannot be anyone’s Savior!
b. He illustrates what He means in the following verses: (17-18)
1) If you have the wealth of this world, and see a brother in need
2) If when you see a brother in need YOU have no compassion for him.
3) Then, how does the love of God dwell in You?
c. There is nothing wrong with being rich - the sin against God is having wealth without any compassion for the brethren .
1) Note the example of Christ:
MATTHEW 9:36, "BUT WHEN HE SAW THE MULTITUDES, HE WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION ON THEM, BECAUSE THEY FAINTED, AND WERE SCATTERED ABROAD, AS SHEEP HAVING NO SHEPHERD."
MATTHEW 14:14, "AND JESUS WENT FORTH, AND SAW A GREAT MULTITUDE, AND WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION TOWARD THEM, AND HE HEALED THEIR SICK."
MATTHEW 15:32, "THEN JESUS CALLED HIS DISCIPLES UNTO HIM, AND SAID, I HAVE COMPASSION ON THE MULTITUDE, BECAUSE THEY CONTINUE WITH ME NOW THREE DAYS, AND HAVE NOTHING TO EAT: AND I WILL NOT SEND THEM AWAY FASTING, LEST THEY FAINT IN THE WAY."
MATTHEW 20:34, "SO JESUS HAD COMPASSION ON THEM, AND TOUCHED THEIR EYES: AND IMMEDIATELY THEIR EYES RECEIVED SIGHT, AND THEY FOLLOWED HIM."
MARK 1:41, "AND JESUS, MOVED WITH COMPASSION, PUT FORTH HIS HAND, AND TOUCHED HIM, AND SAITH UNTO HIM, I WILL; BE THOU CLEAN."
MARK 5:19, "HOWBEIT JESUS SUFFERED HIM NOT, BUT SAITH UNTO HIM, GO HOME TO THY FRIENDS, AND TELL THEM HOW GREAT THINGS THE LORD HATH DONE FOR THEE, AND HATH HAD COMPASSION ON THEE."
MARK 6:34, "AND JESUS, WHEN HE CAME OUT, SAW MUCH PEOPLE, AND WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION TOWARD THEM, BECAUSE THEY WERE AS SHEEP NOT HAVING A SHEPHERD: AND HE BEGAN TO TEACH THEM MANY THINGS."
LUKE 7:13, "AND WHEN THE LORD SAW HER, HE HAD COMPASSION ON HER, AND SAID UNTO HER, WEEP NOT."
2) Jesus was compassionate, He is our example, Christian means Christ-like.
3) His only motivation was compassion.
4) Our admonition: My little Children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
a] In plain and simple terms He is saying, "Don’t just talk about it-do it!"
b] James 1:22 says you deceive yourselves if you aren’t doers of the Word.
c] Faith is justified by works. cf James 2:18-24
1] Abraham could have stayed near the camp and told God all about how much He loved Him and wanted to obey His commands.
2] But: He was justified when he set out to do what God had commanded him to do.
A consistent lifestyle of heartfelt love that is practical, sacrificial is what God expects of his children. And this lifestyle of love is what God empowers in each of his children through his Spirit.
Loving one another is not unimportant for us as Christians. It is indeed a matter of life and death. Our lives loving one another with Christ-like love will be lives of joy as we experience the truth of Jesus' words that it is more blessed to give than to receive. They will be lives of assurance as we find solid evidence that God has indeed by his grace brought us out of death into life. They will be lives of enriching the lives of others. And they will be lives that bring great glory to God for they will cause others to see our good works and give glory to our father in heaven.

05/24/2020

So glad to have service in person with other believers today!! Come join us every Sunday at 11am to fellowship and hear from God.

It Can Be a Struggle
Galatians 2:20
May 24, 2020

I don’t think it is any secret that most of us struggle to some degree with the daily living of the Christian life. God is all-powerful, but we find ourselves quite lacking. God is perfect, but we are not. God knows the beginning from the end, but we don’t have that knowledge, “For now we know in part...”

I want to encourage all of us in this matter of living like a Christian ought to live. Acts 11:26 says that “the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” They were called this, not by Sunday School teachers or other believers, but by their enemies, those who opposed the work they were doing for the Lord. About 12 years or so after Jesus’ death, the disciples were finally called “imitators of Christ.”

But you say, “I have a difficult time living the Christian life!” Most of us do, and probably everyone here has said that at one time or another. Difficult, yes. Impossible, NO! We can have God’s grace and help in our time of need, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

You see, God can and will help:

1. If you are without Jesus . - Romans 3:23-24

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

- God has provided grace to help the unsaved man to come to Jesus!

- This is what Ephesians 2:8-9 is all about, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

- We cannot save ourselves, no one can, no one ever has, and no one ever will. God has provided the grace it takes to get saved and go to Heaven when you die!

- If you died today, do you know you would go to Heaven or do you have some doubt?

* John 1:12 promises that if we would simply receive Jesus, we would become one of God’s children, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

2. When you struggle with sin . - Romans 6:1-2

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”

- Salvation is the free gift of God, but salvation does not rid us of sin’s presence nor power, just its penalty right now.

- “I can’t help it. I have to sin a thousand times a day!” God has the power to help you to live as a Christian ought to live.
- One of the reasons Christians struggle so much with sin is because they try to fight it in their own strength. My friend, the arm of flesh will fail you!

- “The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God...”

3. When you struggle with weakness .

- 2 Corinthians 12:9 states, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

- All of us struggle. No good Christian can live the Christian life in his own strength.

- You cannot be a good preacher, teacher, layman, singer, cleaner, or volunteer with the help of God’s grace.

- God’s power is only made perfect when we are weak.

- Those who see themselves as strong never pray for the power and grace of God to live the Christian life.

- This is one reason I’m thankful God took a shy, untalented man and called him into the ministry. I have to depend on the Lord for everything!

4. When you are struggling to grow in Christ .

- 1 Corinthians 1:4-8, “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

- 2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”

- The first step is usually the hardest.

- Perhaps you just wish that you would grow a little faster. The only things that grows fast in your garden are weeds!

- Let the Lord grow you up.

- If you are struggling with an old habit, take it to the Lord and learn to lean on Him in those times of great personal weakness.

- Reading your Bible and praying are constant struggles for many. Learn to take just one day at a time and live one day at a time and get the victory just one day at a time.

Some christians grow slower then others , but trust in God he will catch you up .

( when I was young I had a had time learning , very slow but look at me now , do you think God did a great job.)

God gives His grace and help to those Whom He chooses. He also gives it to those who have the need for it. And, to those who ask, there is grace and help in the time of need.

- I can’t be a good Christian. Ask God for grace!

- I can’t be a soul winner. Ask God for grace!

- I can’t be a good husband. Ask God for grace!

- I can’t be a good wife. Ask God for grace!

- I can’t be a good brother. Ask God for grace!

- I can’t be a good sister. Ask God for grace!

- I can’t be a good teacher. Ask God for grace!

- I can’t be a good preacher. Ask God for grace!

- I can’t be a good father. Ask God for grace!

- I can’t be a good mother. Ask God for grace!

That’s right! You can’t be good on your own, but you can do better with God’s help. Why not admit your need and ask Him for His help and grace today?