1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. 1 Timothy 2: 1-8

Here at Historic Berean Baptist Church I take the same instruction from the Lord.

In a time of gimmicks, flash, show and hype, and then the need to finance such foolishness to please men, the Word of God gets a second.

We are a humble church seeking to please God. I am trying to teach in truth (verity) with prayer and supplication, and that we should not be ashamed to praise Him, without fluff, just faith.

I invite you to become a part of this family of God located on the corner of 1400 Montana Avenue, NE, in a little brick building that used to be a bank. Our worship begins at 10 am.

Today I celebrate my fifth year as pastor and my seventh year serving at this church. It would be nice to see you.

I could see the sadness in his face and told him that there are some old folks that don’t know what you just asked. We sometimes think we are the only ones confused. We sometimes think nobody else has ever questioned their existence.

I can’t tell you want you are here for but I do believe that God doesn’t make mistakes. Everyone is here on purpose. The number one purpose is to give God glory.

Each one of us is born with unique talents, gifts, and abilities that if we did and gave God thanks for would benefit others and probably sustain us.

Our talents are necessarily what the world esteems as a whole but you are important. There are no cosmic accidents, only Divine Incidents. You are one.

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Revelation 4:11

Today we gained a new member and I have the opportunity to baptize by immersion two men. It’s a wonderful thing when you get more soldiers in your camp.

The men of our church sang today.

Historic Berean Baptist Church, 1400 Montana Avenue, NE WDC 20018
Saturday, March 3, 2012, Noon-3PM
Donation: $25

Featuring Ms. Natalie Carter, accompanied by Calvin Fields, David Carr – percussion, and Pastor Kenneth Blanchard-guitar

For tickets call the church

The Message was from the “Beatitudes,” found in Matthew 5:1-12. Pastor explained how the Sermon on the Mount, is still relevant today. How it is an encouragement to the people of God that trust in Him.

But one that grieves the Holy Spirit is the sin of unbelief. There are many people that don’t prescribe to “organized religion,” from some hurt, or don’t believe all, and as a result are guilty of this sin. It doesn’t matter how great a deed one does, or how “righteous” they seem to us, we don’t have a heaven to keep them out of or a hell to put them into. Faith is the key.

“Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is” (Hebrews 11:6).

The worship has been on fire. The church club donated money to get a new wireless microphone and audio system. The music has been great and there are a few new faces from the neighborhood. God is glorified.

I heard a couple of nice things today at church. I heard a man testify that he loved his wife and appreciated her after being married to her for almost 61 years. Then he said he didn’t want to tell her personally cause she might get a big head and “start gaming the system.” I knew what he meant, and thankful to God for seeing a change in an senior saint. Love is good at every age.

Todays message comes from Matthew 22:35-37 and is provided in audio below. I had to compress it a little and shared it on my In The Wilderness Ministries Podcast.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/kennblanchard/87_ITWM.mp3

Brother Fields ushered in the Spirit with the gifts of a talented musician. He played softly and lively until folks got in there customary places and got comfortable. Our drummer and Trustee Carr was on time and accompanied him on the drums. Pastor relented from the pulpit passing the microphone to Minister Blue to take the lead as worship leader, and pastor grabbed the electric guitar augmenting the vocals with the instrument like BB King might if he played in church. Testimonies, songs of praise and prayers continued until the church was almost full.

Deacon McGee led a couple of spirited spirituals reminiscent to days gone by that resonated in our souls. There were no out of key outburst. There was no one trying to lead that didn’t know the songs, it was just harmony. Our praise and worship lasted longer than usual and it felt good. Pastor was brought to tears several times thinking about how good God was to him. It made it difficult to play the guitar and not cry.

The Message took something from the past and brought it to the present. While many were downtown celebrating the dedication of the memorial of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., pastor reminded the church about those times compared to the present.

In 1967, Jimi Hendrix made a album called “Are You Experienced.” 1967 was a tough time. There are tough times today. Our experiences should give us hope. Our trials and tribulations should teach us and remind us that if it hadn’t been for God on our side, we would have perished. The text came from Romans 5:1-4.

1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

This experience gave me hope that we are growing. It was a good day, and you just had to be there.

I am the pastor of a Baptist church in northeast Washington DC named Historic Berean Baptist Church. It’s a mouthful and let me share with you a little about it. The founders of the church split from a church that they had loved named Berean Baptist Church in northwest D.C. The name “berean” comes out of the Bible in the book of Acts 17:11-12, where the Apostle Paul met a noble people from Berea that had a readiness of mind and that searched the Scriptures daily. The founding members in 1997 were all senior citizens and believed they were the “history” of the church they had left so they included it into the new name.

I have been a member since 2005. When I arrived, the church didn’t have a pastor and was still going through the fall out of several incidents and loss. I came to serve God. I came to worship God. Things were tough. I stayed because God asked me to.

Two years later I was ordained in the traditional oral Baptist fashion in the presence of nineteen pastors. A year later I was called as the second pastor of HBBC. We’ve had our challenges. It’s a new church today. Check us out and see the changes He has made. God is here. We are getting better every Sunday. Come and see.

The video and pictures you see here are of the experiences and people that God has blessed me to meet, to love, to listen to and to learn from. Not everyone pictured are members. Some are from the community the church is located in. I consider all potential members. Good times are here. We have bible study on Wednesday nights at 7pm. Come on over. The Rhode Island metro is down the street.

I am here to build a tabernacle not made by human hands. Our building is an old bank. It’s not about money. I am here to lift up and encourage. I am here to grow in grace. I am here as a witness to what God can do with someone like me. Come as you are and leave anew.

This is old school with a God that never fails to do the miraculous.

Welcome and thanks for watching.

If you are looking for a church home consider being apart of my family. This is HistoricBereanBaptistChurch.org He’s left The Light on for you.

Pastor Kenneth Blanchard

The answer to the title question is, I suggest you trust God!

HBBC Revival 2011 – first night from Historic Berean Baptist Church on Vimeo.