Sermons by Pastor Toby Locke (Page 38)

I joined the staff as lead pastor at First Baptist in March 2017 after nine years of ministry in Racine, Wisconsin as an associate pastor. I grew up as the child of missionaries in South America, where I got to live among and learn from the beautiful people of Bolivia and Chile. After high school I attended Baptist Bible College of PA (now Clarks Summit University) and graduated at long last in 1998 with a Pastoral Ministries degree. After completing a two-year short term missionary assignment in Chile, I returned to Baptist Bible Seminary for my Master of Divinity, which God graciously enabled me to complete in 2007. From there it was off to Rochester, New York for a year-long internship at North Baptist Church (now Northridge Church) before jumping into full-time vocational ministry at Fellowship Baptist Church in Racine in the fall of 2007.

The People of the “In-Between”

Jesus’ followers realized soon after His resurrection that it wasn’t yet time for God’s kingdom to come to earth. Instead, Jesus intended for them to bear witness to the whole world of His victory over sin and death at the Cross and to the Kingdom still to come. The Holy Spirit came to empower them…

The Only Way To Win

They way to insure that God’s Happy Ending for the world (the ultimate “win”) would happen was for the Messiah to lose his life. The Old Testament prophesied it and Jesus experienced it. His death freed his people from sin and brought them back to God. And the final shocking plot-twist was that Jesus was…

The One We Were Waiting For

Jesus was born into a nation eagerly waiting for the Messiah who would rescue His people and make God’s restorative rule on earth a reality. His mission was simple: to announce God’s kingdom, to give a preview of what life in God’s kingdom would look like, and to explain God’s kingdom to people who misunderstood…

Deep Darkness and Great Light

Knowing God’s rules didn’t help Israel obey them. Instead, the nation sank into the deep darkness of rebellion against God, resulting in punishment and a near-failure in her mission to bring God’s blessings to the world. God responded with an ultimate solution, the Messiah: God’s chosen rescuer who would make everything right.

First the Rescue, then the Rules

October 15, 2017
Pastor Toby Locke
The Gospel
Exodus

Religion tells us that if we just follow God’s rules, we can repair our broken relationship with Him. The Story tells us something different: before God gives us rules, He wants to rescue us from our sin. After rescuing us, God gives us His rules so that we can show the world was God is…

Promises, Promises

God chose to start cleaning up the mess we had made of His world by picking an unlikely candidate (Abram) and giving him several amazing promises, including a nation that God would use to rescue the whole world. All He asked in return was that Abram trust Him enough to follow Him. God still asks…

Where It All Went Wrong

Humanity has been masterfully deceived and made the horrifying decision to distrust God and decide for ourselves what is good and bad. Now our relationships are broken and our responsibility is resisted. We need a rescue desperately!