East Side Church of Christ

06/06/2026

Mark your calendars and join us for WORSHIP in the PARK! June 14th 10am at the pavilion for a time of worship ,fellowship and food

05/31/2026

05/25/2026

We wish to announce that Tim Brown has been released as minister with the East Side Church of Christ.This will allow him to pursue the calling that God has given Tim. He plans to continue to call Snyder home. We wish Tim and the entire Brown family God’s richest blessings.

Eastside Elders.

05/20/2026

Post #7 in the Series…
A Disciple’s Guide to Living in the Last Days

Learning Faithfulness Through the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 1:1–4:22

Getting on Mission – Part 6

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
— Matthew 3:11–12

I do not understand how we can read passages like this and not hear what is being said. I do not understand how we can read warnings from Scripture and immediately assume they are meant for “them” but never for “us.” The modern church has become very good at pointing fingers at the corruption in the world while ignoring the corruption growing within the house of God itself. Yet Scripture says, “For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household…” — 1 Peter 4:17.

The Spirit of God is separating wheat from chaff right now, and one of the primary tools He is using is His Word. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword…” — Hebrews 4:12. The Word exposes what is real and what is religious performance. It reveals who truly wants Christ and who merely wants the appearance of Christianity without surrendering to Him.

John the Baptist did not come preaching a comfortable message designed to entertain religious people. Jesus did not come building a system centered around popularity, politics, entertainment, or worldly success. The message was repentance. The message was obedience flowing from genuine faith. The message was to come out from sin and prepare for the coming Kingdom of God.

Yet modern Christianity has convinced many people that you can claim the name of Jesus while continuing to love the same world system that crucified Him. Scripture says otherwise. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.” — 1 John 2:15. James went even further: “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?” — James 4:4.

John the Baptist was preaching to one of the most religious societies on earth. They had Scripture. They had rituals. They had traditions. They had religious leaders. They had public worship. Yet many of them were spiritually blind while convincing themselves they could see clearly. Jesus later rebuked them saying, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” — Matthew 15:8.

How much of modern Christianity looks exactly the same?

Today we have churches filled with people who know worship culture but do not know the fear of the Lord. We have Christians obsessed with entertainment, sports, politics, money, celebrity culture, social media, and worldly success while prayer meetings die, holiness disappears, and biblical discernment becomes almost nonexistent. Paul warned this would happen: “Having a form of godliness but denying its power.” — 2 Timothy 3:5.

Jesus is our example in all things.

For thirty years He lived in quiet obedience before His ministry ever began. He submitted Himself to the Father’s will in the hidden places long before public ministry arrived. He was not chasing fame. He was not consumed with worldly distractions. His eyes were fixed upon the mission His Father had given Him.

When Jesus heard the message of John the Baptist, He recognized the voice of His Father calling Him into the next stage of His mission. He went to John at the Jordan River, not because He needed repentance, but because He came to fully identify Himself with the will of the Father.

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’

Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented.” — Matthew 3:13–15

As soon as Jesus came out of the water, heaven opened, the Spirit descended like a dove, and the Father publicly declared His approval over the Son. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” — Matthew 3:17.

Too often we become obsessed with outward acts while completely missing the deeper spiritual reality God is trying to show us. Throughout Scripture, God used symbols, rituals, and physical objects to point people toward spiritual truths. But humanity continually turns the symbol into the focus while neglecting the heart behind it.

Israel continued sacrifices while living in rebellion.
The Pharisees defended traditions while rejecting the Messiah.
And today many churches defend religious systems while tolerating compromise, worldliness, pride, greed, lust, division, and spiritual lukewarmness.

Baptism itself was never meant to be an empty religious ritual. It pointed toward a life that had been surrendered to God. The Jews already understood ceremonial washing. Water symbolized cleansing and purification. But John’s baptism pointed toward something deeper — the need for an entirely cleansed heart, mind, and life before God.

The problem is that religious people often love rituals more than repentance because rituals allow someone to appear spiritual without actually dying to self.

It is easier to attend church than to walk in holiness.
Easier to quote Scripture than to obey it.
Easier to defend a denomination than to surrender pride.
Easier to perform religious activity than to crucify the flesh.

Paul warned about people like this when he wrote, “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.” — Titus 1:16.

The modern church does not need more entertainment.
It does not need more compromise with the world.
It does not need more celebrity Christianity.

It needs repentance.
It needs holiness.
It needs discernment.
It needs the fear of the Lord again.

Jesus is not returning for a lukewarm church that merely carries His name outwardly. Scripture says, “For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” — Revelation 19:7.

The same cry that echoed through the wilderness in John’s day is echoing once again in ours:

Prepare the way of the Lord.

(To Be Continued)

05/17/2026

05/13/2026

Counting the Cost of Discipleship

As Christians, it is easy to talk about grace, forgiveness, and the hope of Heaven. But in Luke 14, Jesus reminds us that discipleship is far more than casual belief or religious routine. Large crowds followed Him, yet Jesus turned to them and spoke some of the strongest words in the Gospel: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

The message of the cross is both comforting and challenging. Salvation is the free gift of God, purchased by the blood of Christ, but following Jesus will cost us our lives in another sense. It calls us to surrender our priorities, our desires, our loyalties, and even our own will in order to place Christ above everything else.

In a culture that often encourages convenience and comfort, Jesus calls His people to commitment. Discipleship is not simply attending church services, owning a Bible, or identifying as a Christian. It is daily taking up the cross, denying self, and following Christ wherever He leads. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously wrote, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”

Jesus compared discipleship to building a tower and going to war. Both require counting the cost beforehand. The Christian life was never meant to be lived half-heartedly. Christ is not looking for consumers of religion, but devoted followers who are willing to trust Him completely.

The encouraging truth is that anything surrendered for Christ is never wasted. What we give up in this life can never compare to the eternal joy, peace, and purpose found in Him. True discipleship may be costly, but it leads to the only life that truly matters.

May we each ask ourselves this week: Have I simply admired Jesus from the crowd, or have I truly committed to following Him?

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05/09/2026

It’s East Side’s month to serve our local food Cupboard and they have been blessed with about 15 trucks that need unloading. Anyone available to help serve Jesus today we will be at 2701 Avenue K from 3 to 6 pm.

05/06/2026

Post #6 in the Series…
A Disciple’s Guide to Living in the Last Days
Learning Faithfulness Through the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 1:1–4:22
Getting on Mission – Part 4

Years later, John the Baptist began preaching in the desert of Judea, and his message was simple and direct: “Turn back to God, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:1–2). This was the one spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight’” (Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:3). John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4).

As God called John the Baptist to be His voice from the desert, so God has always raised up voices to cry out with that same message—“Turn back to God.” Yet unlike much of what we hear today, that message is often incomplete. We hear that “Jesus is coming,” but the call to repent is missing. The truth is, repentance is not popular. People do not want to stop sinning; they want to be saved in their sins (John 3:19–20). And so the message has subtly shifted from “turn back to God” to “turn to church,” which is not the same thing.

For nearly 30 years, the religious leaders were aware of Jesus and had been watching Him, yet they refused to accept Him as the Messiah (John 1:10–11). As long as He did not disrupt their system or challenge their authority, they were content to let Him be. They had their own agenda, and because Jesus would not submit to the leadership or expectations of the church, He was excluded from it. This same pattern continues wherever religious systems take priority over submission to God.

Then people began coming to John from Jerusalem, all Judea, and the region around the Jordan, and they were confessing their sins and being baptized by him in the river (Matthew 3:5–6). That order is important—confession and repentance came first. John did not baptize people into an organization or a church system; he baptized those who were turning away from sin and being instructed in righteousness (Acts 2:38). In contrast, much of what is seen today places the emphasis on church membership first, and then baptism follows as an entry into that system, rather than as an outward expression of genuine repentance.

The crowds who came to John were not only from the religious community, but also those considered sinners, outcasts, and even pagans. This angered the Pharisees and Sadducees, who came not because they felt a need to change, but because it had become a popular movement (Matthew 3:7). They believed their religious background and lineage were sufficient. But John spoke directly to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:7–8). He warned them not to rely on their heritage, saying that God could raise up children for Abraham from stones, and that every tree not producing good fruit would be cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 3:9–10).

The same condition exists today. Those who rely on church identity, family background, or outward appearance of faith, yet remain unrepentant and continue in sin, are no different. Church itself can become the object of devotion, replacing true obedience to God (2 Timothy 3:5). When people become so entangled in religious systems, traditions, and internal matters, they lose the ability to hear the voice of the Spirit of God, who is continually leading them in the way of truth (1 Kings 19:12; John 16:13).

There was nothing casual about John’s message. There was no “just accept and move on,” because lives were at stake. Judgment was real. Therefore, he spoke plainly. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who comes after me is mightier than I… He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). He continued, “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor; He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12).

It is difficult to understand how we can read these words and not take them personally. Too often, the tendency is to apply them to others rather than to ourselves. Yet the Word of God is living and active, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). The Spirit of God is separating the wheat from the chaff, and He is doing it through His Word. Those who respond in obedience—turning from sin, pursuing righteousness, and keeping the commandments of Christ (John 14:15)—are being gathered. Those who refuse to obey will ultimately be separated.

John the Baptist and Jesus did not preach a message centered on church attendance. Their message was clear and consistent: repent, obey, and live (Luke 13:3; John 14:23). Disobedience leads to destruction, but obedience rooted in faith leads to life.

Perhaps it would do us well to hear again the voice crying out in the wilderness—to prepare the way, to turn back to God, and to be ready.

(To be continued…)

~ Timothy M Brown Jr.

04/26/2026

The livestream stopped for some reason.

Here’s the link to the Eastside website livestream.