Sandy Creek Baptist Church

Sandy Creek Baptist Church Join us as we seek to serve Christ and serve each other.

Founded in 1844, Sandy Creek Baptist church has remained faithful to preaching the word of God, making disciples and reaching into our community with the love of Jesus.

09/08/2026

“If You Love Me” – Why Talk Is Cheap

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

John 14:15 ESV

Have you ever heard the saying: “Talk is cheap”?

It’s a great way to summarize today’s devotional verse.

Jesus was spending his last night with the disciples before being crucified. They still didn’t fully understand what was happening. But with all his talk about loving one another, he was about to show them what ultimate love looked like on the cross.

Jesus doesn’t love the way our culture typically defines it. He didn’t simply say, “I love you!” and rely on warm fuzzies to prove it. He went beyond emotions, denying his own desires to obey the Father (Luke 22:42) and love the world by saving us (John 3:16).

If you love me, obey my commands

For Jesus, love is an action word.

People make promises and break them all the time. I’m guilty of this, too! Remember what Peter did on Jesus’ final night alive? He assured Jesus that he loved him and would never deny him. Yet before the rooster crowed at dawn the next morning, he had denied him three times!

Jesus wasn’t saying that God bases our relationship with him on good works. Instead, he said your actions will prove your love.

Disciples aren’t all talk. We’re action-oriented, faith-filled people obsessed with fulfilling God’s mission.

So our question today, am I all talk? Or do my actions of obedience show my love for Jesus and others?

09/07/2026

A Palette for Truth (Job 34 Meaning)

“The ear tests words as the palette tastes food…”
Job 34:3-4

Have you ever heard of a sommelier?

They’re world-class w**e experts. And while I personally don’t drink, their skills illustrate the truth in today’s verse tremendously well!

Sommeliers have an incredible ability to taste w**e and tell you virtually everything about it.

They can tell you about the soil composition, how the rocky, well-draining earth stressed the vines just enough to produce grapes with concentrated flavor. They might even be able to pinpoint the year it was harvested, based on the weather patterns that influenced the growing season.

It’s a remarkable skill, honed through years of study and practice. And it’s not so different from what we need to do when it comes to the voices we allow to speak into our lives.

As disciples, need to develop a discerning “palette for truth.” One that can taste the difference between truth and lies, between wisdom and folly, between life and death.

Just like a sommelier trains their senses to pick up on the subtlest flavors in a w**e, we need to train our spiritual senses to detect the nuances in the messages we hear.

We need to be able to take a sip of what someone is saying and discern whether it aligns with God’s Word, whether it resonates with the truth of who He says we are.

And just like a sommelier would never settle for a cheap, mass-produced w**e, we can’t settle for cheap, mass-produced “wisdom.”

We need to seek out the good stuff, the words that have been carefully crafted and aged in the presence of God. We need to surround ourselves with people who have walked with Jesus, who have weathered the storms of life and come out with a vintage faith, full-bodied and complex.

So let’s become connoisseurs of truth. Let’s develop a palette that can taste the difference between what brings life and what brings death. And let’s be intentional about who we allow to pour into us, knowing that who we listen to is everything.

Because truth matters.

Check out our new sign on Hwy 81N, then come check us out Sunday! Sunday School 10am, morning worship 11am, evening Bibl...
09/05/2026

Check out our new sign on Hwy 81N, then come check us out Sunday! Sunday School 10am, morning worship 11am, evening Bible study 6 pm. Wednesday 6pm. There is a place for you here.

Join us this Sunday at 11am. We will save a seat for you.
09/04/2026

Join us this Sunday at 11am. We will save a seat for you.

09/03/2026

Let Everything That Has Breath Praise The Lord!

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 150:6 NIV

Psalm 150 is the last chapter in the Psalms. It’s all about where to praise God, how to praise God, and who should praise him.

We could also translate today’s verse like this: “All the breath, let it praise God!”

The Hebrew word for breath, “neshamah,” implies that the very act of living and breathing is a form of praising God! This connects to the truth that all life is sustained by God’s breath (Genesis 7:22).

This means praising God isn’t simply a human activity—it is for everything that breathes. Every swimming fish, tail-wagging puppy, and soaring eagle praise God as his creatures. Their very existence showcases God’s creative power. Every creature’s breath comes from God (Genesis 7:22). Every inhale and exhale glorifies God.

Remember what the Apostle John heard in Revelation 5:13:

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

Whether or not we do, creation praises God nonstop.

So the big question: will I join creation by praising God with the breath he’s given me?

6 Ways to Praise God Today
1 Dance (Psalm 149:2)
2 Play music (Psalm 150:3)
3 Sing to him (Psalm 149:1)
4 Act in ways that please him (Colossians 3:17)
5 Talk in ways that honor him (Psalm 35:28)
6 Devote your full heart to him (Psalm 86:12)

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord—and that means you! How will you praise God today?

09/02/2026

Sweeter Than Honey: How to Desire God’s Word

“How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

Psalm 119:103 ESV

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter found in the Bible and is famous for its teaching on God’s law.

But it’s not simply about what to do and not do—it’s about how God’s law deepens our relationship with him.

In today’s verse, the words of God are described as “sweeter than honey.”

Honey is a natural sweetener. And God’s words (or laws) bring a sweetness to the life we live.

Just as like we crave sweet treats, our lives should crave the sweetness of God’s words if we are followers of Jesus (1 Peter 2:1-3).

Sweeter Than Honey in Our Lives
This desire does not come from good works or going to church, but from the one and only giver of sweet things, God (Psalm 119:18).

While we can learn much from God’s word as we listen to a pastor preach or musician sing, we shouldn’t rely on just these as our honey. We need to learn to enjoy God’s Word by ourselves also. But without the desire to read God’s Word, even the most self-disciplined of efforts will fail.

As C.S. Lewis said:

“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and s*x and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

To fall in love with God’s Word requires that we fall in love with the Author himself. His words are sweeter than honey because everything that comes from him is good. So if you’re struggling with a lack of desire to spend time in the Bible, don’t start by trying to manufacture that desire.

Instead, begin by asking yourself these two questions:

Do I love God?
Do I desire to spend time in his presence?
If the answer to question two isn’t a true, “Yes,” then reconsider your answer to question one. Don’t receive this as a harsh chastisement. Instead, consider it a fresh chance to understand where you’re at.

Remember, loving God’s Word means more than loving Scripture—it means loving the Word, Jesus Christ himself.

No matter where you’re at today, join me in praying this prayer today:

God, I want to love your Word. I want to love you more than I do right now… More than I ever have before. Move on my heart and my affections. Give me a deep, burning desire to be near you. To hear your voice. To love your presence. Overshadow all things by your majesty and become the single longing of my soul.

08/31/2026

Psalm 126: Songs of Joy

Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 126:5–6

Psalm 126 is two things: a sorrowful reflection and a look toward hope.

Today’s verses were probably written during the era of Ezra and Nehemiah. God’s people had returned home from captivity. There was joy, but it gave way to sadness.

Have you ever experienced this?

God does something wonderful in your life, family, or community. Positive emotions flow and it’s easy to worship and be thankful. But then, we get to a new stage: the messy middle.

Like a valley between two summits, life gets hard again. For Israel, they had gone home to a Jerusalem in ruins. They had spent a generation telling stories of God’s power to deliver them. The elders described the Temple’s splendor.

Reality was starkly different.

Nehemiah 1:3 describes Jerusalem this way:

“Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

How Psalm 126 Offers Hope For Us
A city with broken walls and burnt gates was a wasteland. It offered no protection and had no way to engage economically. It was a disaster zone, so bad that there were parts of the city where “there was not enough room for [his] mount to get through” (Nehemiah 2:14).

Psalm 126 reflects on this sorrow, but ultimately promises hope.

We read that God sees our tears like a farmer’s seed. They are silent, buried in the soil. But then, we all know what happens: life!

What appeared to be dead comes to life.

This is what our God does with sorrow, he trades it for joy. He’s the one who can turn disaster into triumph.

As Jesus said in John 12:24:

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”‘

His body, like a seed, was planted in the ground only to spring up with eternal life for everyone who believes in him (John 3:16).

Psalm 126 offers hope for future joy because, over and over, God proves he’s in the business of wiping away our tears even when all hope seemed lost.

08/29/2026

Have you ever messed up? Has Satan ever whispered in your ear that God "can't use you" because of your past? Has the condemnation from others made you feel unworthy to be a part of a church family? Join us for this Sunday's message. We'd love to have you worship with us.

08/27/2026

How To Pray In Hard Times

“May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy…”

Colossians 1:11 ESV

Paul wrote this letter to the church in Colossae from prison in Rome. (Go figure!)

They faced a threat from the inside. It was likely that a shaman-like leader had emerged in their church, and was distorting the gospel, leading people astray with his “sensuous mind” (Col 2:18).

There is historical evidence for teaching that invokes the power of angels as spiritual guides and protectors. With amulets being found that were said to be magical.

One such amulet had the inscription: “Michael, Gabriel, Ouriel, Raphael, protect the one who wears this…”

These are angels’ names.

The Nature of Their “Hard Times”
So, why were these hard times for the church?

Simply put, they were losing the true picture of Jesus, his place as supreme above all things, and the power of God in their lives.

Often, when we hear about struggles, or hard times, we imagine persecution…

We think about crises in our families…

We think about struggling to pay our bills…

These are absolutely hard times Scripture addresses over and over again.

But there are also trials and struggles of faith believers face—just like they did in Colossae.

Who to Believe
Who’s telling the truth? What voice should we believe?

These questions are poignant for us today, as well.

There is a battle on for our minds and our hearts. The spirit of the world is seductive and deceitful. And the enemy constantly tries to take our eyes off of Jesus.

How to Pray in Hard Times
In today’s verse, Paul shows us how we should pray.

Pray for God’s power.
Our strength alone will never be enough to fight the battles we’re up against. We need God’s power to radically invade our circumstances and our culture. How does this power flood our lives? Prayer!
Pray for endurance and patience.
Our first inclination is usually to pray for deliverance from hard situations. But Paul tells the Colossians to pray for endurance and patience to weather the storms. What if, instead of praying for God to take us out of trials we prayed for endurance and patience within them? This is where character is forged (Rom 5:4).
Pray for joy.
Did you know we can have joy right now, even when things are confusing and hard? Even when there are a thousand voices telling us lies, when we press into God’s presence and ask for his wisdom, we can hear the voice of truth through the static. Joy isn’t something available to us only on the other side of hard times—it’s available now! Pray for it.
How will this change the way you pray today?

Address

1125 Line Road
Ponce De Leon, FL
32455

Opening Hours

Wednesday 6pm - 7pm
Sunday 10am - 12pm
6pm - 7pm

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+18508306634

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