Welcome

Thank you for visiting unitybaptist.church

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Please note: During the winter months we will be meeting for service on Sunday mornings only. Sunday School will start at 10 a.m. and Worship at 11. Evening services will resume when the time changes March 10th.

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PASTOR’S WELCOME

Let me be the first to welcome you to Unity Baptist Church! Perhaps you are looking for a church to visit in person or maybe you have been to a service and are now doing a little research. In either case I will take a moment and share a little about us.

As a small country church, we don’t have people directing traffic in the parking lot or a team of greeters to meet you at the front door. But I can promise you this: any visitor will be met and warmly welcomed. Our people will be happy to see you. My wife and I have served at Unity since October of 2014. I cannot write a long list of things our church “has to offer” but our goal is to be the body of Christ in this community. We read and study God’s Word and seek to share the Gospel – Good News – at every available opportunity.

Sunday School begins at 10 am and our worship service is at 11. Singing, praying, reading scripture, giving, preaching and the response to preaching are all acts of worship. We have Discipleship on Sunday evenings which is a small group focused on living the Christian life and a short worship service after that. On Wednesday evenings we have a short Bible study followed by prayer meeting. (See note above about evening services during the winter months.) Throughout the year we have events like Easter Egg Hunts, 4th of July cookouts, Trunk ‘R Treat around Halloween and a Christmas dinner. (This year’s Christmas dinner will be Sunday, December 16th, following the morning worship service.) Visit a few different things to get a good idea of who we and what we’re about. I don’t shove religion down anybody’s throat; I want to introduce you to Jesus and tell you more about him. And don’t get the wrong idea – we’re still learning as well, myself included.

You can read about our beliefs, the church’s history and listen to sermons at this website. Contact me via email pastor@unitybaptist.church or give me a call (770) 608-7005 to schedule a pastoral meeting or discuss any concerns you may have. Don’t be a stranger. Feel free to drop in anytime we are here.

Clark Bunch
Pastor, Unity Baptist Church

Clark, Teresa and Johannah Bunch

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Hope: Week 1 of Advent

There are many prophetic texts throughout the Old Testament. This year on the first week of Advent we focus on two verses from Isaiah 9, specifically looking at the names given to Messiah.

 

Advent

December 2nd will be the first Sunday of this year’s season of Advent. To read more about what that means and how we celebrate, try this article I wrote a few years ago for the local paper. It’s a good introduction to anyone new to Advent.

Our Sunday School literature this year is doing a series of lessons very similar to our annual Advent services. Each week in Sunday School we will follow a person or group of people as they encounter God and respond to the birth of Jesus. There will be one lesson Joseph and another on Mary while in our Sunday morning worship we will consider the faith of Joseph and Mary together; there is a lesson on angels but not one for shepherds. Again, the Sunday School lessons are similar but not exactly the same. We will certainly spend more time exploring the scriptures learning about all those surrounding the birth of Jesus than we have in years past.

Rejoice, Pray, Give Thanks

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I read more of the text than these three verses but this gets to the heart of the matter.

 

God is Near: Daniel

We’re about to wind down our year long series on the theme “God is Near” but I would like to do one more sermon, possibly in January, on the apocalyptic passages of Daniel. This sermon is about Israel in exile, particularly Daniel and his friends, and reminds us that no matter where we go God is near. There are many parallels between Joseph going down to Egypt and Daniel being taken into Babylonian captivity as well as Israel going into both empires. In both cases God could see and hear and they could hear from God. Something for us to think about no matter where we go.

Jeremiah, Bearer of Bad News

It’s a shame we only think of Jeremiah as “the weeping prophet.” While he did bring a message warning Israel of God’s judgement there was a constant plea to repent and turn back to God. There is hope and encouragement in the book of Jeremiah as well as words of warning for those who continue to reject and refuse.

The Suffering Servant

Isaiah 53 is a well known passage describing the crucifixion. Careful analysis of the text reveals that Isaiah is prophesying the birth, death and resurrection of God’s servant. We know that God has a plan, and his plans are sure, because he reveals what he is going to do ahead of time.

God’s Plan for Messiah

Even if we overlook birth prophecies is chapters 7 and 9 (we will return to those the first week of Advent) Isaiah 11 describes the shoot that will come up from the roots of the stump of Jesse.

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
-Isaiah 11:2 

Isaiah’s Message, God’s Plan

Isaiah is an Old Testament prophet. While he lived and wrote in a specific time period, God knew what his plan was all along. He revealed his plan to humanity over a period of time. Isaiah didn’t have a full picture but it was clear even by his time, 800 – 900 years before Christ, that God would be doing something new.

*I read Isaiah 1:12-17 and said that I would come back to verse 18. We did do that on Sunday evening but take a look at verse 18 and consider how the sermon points apply.

Isaiah, Prophet of God

Isaiah served during a time that God was judging Israel. Judgement and salvation are both from God. Much of this sermon compares Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4 illustrating that the Bible has many writers but there is one author.

Why Preach the Gospel?

I wrote a series of posts at The Master’s Table answering the question “Why Preach the Gospel?” Here’s a link if you’d like. This sermon uses 2 Timothy 4:1-5 to illustrate the same three points.