FSBC - Freemason Street Baptist Church

06/23/2026

"All that we are belongs to God, and God is making us into the new creation of being like Christ, and yet being who we are."

This past Sunday (6/21/26), Pastor Bob preached a sermon entitled: "Baptism and Grace (Why Baptism Is Important and What It Means)."

To watch the full service: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7009992

06/21/2026

In worship this morning, reflections on baptism's meaning and purpose will help us think about who God is and what it means to be a follower of Christ. The sermon's title will be: "Baptism and Grace." If you'd like to join me in reading ahead the scripture for tomorrow, the text is Romans 6:1b-11.

"Should we continue in sin in order that grace may increase? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.

"For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

06/20/2026

Please join us in worship as Pastor Robert Guffey reflects on the sixth chapter of Romans and reveals its connection with Baptism and Grace. Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. at the corner of Freemason and Bank Streets or online on Facebook. The NRSV translation of the focal passage reads:

"Should we continue in sin in order that grace may increase? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.

"For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

06/17/2026

Pause…take a walk along a shaded path and be surprised by its ending.

06/16/2026

May this prayer from Pastor Bob's sermon, "Neighborliness and Grace", be a welcomed moment of pause in this busy week.

To watch the full worship service from 6/14/26: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7009992

06/14/2026

In support of Christ's call to follow in ministry, including ministries of social justice, you will notice that the order of service is different for this Sunday. As well as the offering being taken earlier, you'll find a large entree centered on the folksong, "K*m Ba Ya." We'll share the background of the song, which is not relegated to feel-good campfire singing, but arises from the depths of God's people in need of God to "come by here." With Sunday being annual budget adoption Sunday, we hope to help worshippers connect with the history of this congregation and see how the call to be Christ's presence in the world is woven throughout what we do and how we spend God's money.

06/11/2026

The longstanding conviction of the Freemason Street Baptist Church, Norfolk, VA, is that the biblical witness affirms that God calls both men and women equally to serve as leaders. In well over a century and a half of ministry, we have seen this conviction affirmed again and again in the lives of faithful, gifted, committed sisters and brothers in Christ who have served through this church and in Christian ministry around the world. We join with our partners in ministry, like Baptist Women in Ministry, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and others of faith and goodwill, in sharing this affirmation, grieving the barriers especially placed before our sisters in Christ, and encouraging all persons to covenant fidelity to the ways God may be calling them.

Sincerely,
Pastor Bob and Pastor Caroline

Today, the SBC voted again to further restrict women in pastoral roles in churches all across the country.

Baptist Women in Ministry laments this decision and the harmful messages it amplifies.

Convention votes do not decide who is called to pastor, preach, or minister.
Convention votes do not dictate whose callings churches can affirm.
Convention votes do not determine women’s value to God or the church.

Yet convention votes do cause real harm to women and girls.

We express our solidarity with the women in ministry who have been harmed by this vote and the rhetoric surrounding it. Women in ministry deserve affirmation, respect, and the opportunity to follow God’s call.

We remain steadfast in the truth we proclaimed for millions to see: God calls women to pastor, preach, and minister.

Read our full statement: https://bwim.info/BWIMResponsetoSBC/

06/09/2026

On Sunday, June 7th, Pastor Bob preached on Matthew 9: 9-13, 18-26, with his sermon titled "Mercy and Grace."

You can watch the full service at https://vimeo.com/showcase/7009992.