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First Baptist Church, Wellsboro, PA
(opens in a new tab)"Gathering, Growing, and Giving to Glorify Christ"
"He Ripped Himself From Eternity"Sermon Clip from Sunday, October 11th, 2026Christ Over All ThingsColossians 1:13-23Pastor Chris Osterbrock
FBCW Covenant of Membership ReflectionsReflection #2 – Expectation 1: I Will Worship RegularlyLast week we talked about the first line of our church’s membership covenant, and how we have been called to be members of the body of Christ. We also talked about how we are individually equipped with different gifts and that should primarily be used to benefit those who are a part of the body.This week we are going to walk through the first of seven expectations that the members of First Baptist Church of Wellsboro have agreed to fulfill:"As a member of First Baptist Wellsboro, I will fulfill the following expectations: 1. I will worship the one true God with other First Baptist Church members for as long as I am physically able (Hebrews 10:24-25; Romans 12:1). The goal of my regular weekly worship is to give God glory and magnify Christ in His assembly (Romans 11:36; Hebrews 13:15)."True worship, according to Jesus, is not about the physical acts we commit. Instead, we are to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23). In spirit by presenting our “bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1). Doing so with affection and gratitude. In truth by putting to death the deeds of the body by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:13). It is by these that God molds us farther into his image. We can worship rightly because Jesus entered the holy places by means of his own blood (Heb. 9:12). We are freed to pursue God without the hindrance of our sin because his blood was a perfect sacrifice. “Therefore,… let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering… and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together…” (Heb. 10:19-25). As long as I am physically able I will gather with the saints, because to neglect the gathering willingly is to “trample underfoot the Son of God,” and to profane “the blood of the covenant” (Heb. 10:29). Therefore, let us instead through Jesus Christ “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” together (Heb 13:15). If you are a member at FBCW and you have been failing to meet this expectation, would you reach out to a fellow member and ask them to hold you accountable? If you know someone who has been willingly (not because of health or otherwise) missing Sunday morning service, would you reach out to them and lovingly call them back into the sheep pen? Now “from [Jesus] and through [Jesus] and to [Jesus] are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom 11:36).Brother Samuel JacobsenMember of FBC WellsboroNext Week – FBCW Covenant of Membership Reflection #3 – Expectation 2: I Will GrowSpiritually
October 11th, 2026Christ Over All ThingsColossians 1:13-23Pastor Chris Osterbrock
"There is no 'mute' Christian"Sermon Clip from Sunday, October 4th, 2026New Series: Christ, The One and OnlyColossians 1:1-12Pastor Chris Osterbrock
FBCW Covenant of Membership ReflectionsReflection #1 – The Body of ChristChurch membership has become a divisive topic among the saints. However, I am not writing to argue for or against formal membership. My goal is to stir up the mind of those who have already signed the First Baptist Church of Wellsboro Covenant of Membership. To do this by reminding you of what you have committed to as members of this local congregation, that we might seek unity with each other.In this first post we will look at the first sentence of our covenant."As a church member, I commit to the body of Christ, His church (1 Corinthians 12:27; Romans 12:4-5)."The apostle Paul wrote to the church of God in Corinth on several occasions. By the time we reach 1 Corinthians 12 Paul has spent the last few chapters rebuking the Corinthians for abusing their freedoms in Christ, boasting in their own strength, and getting drunk off of the communion wine! Clearly they are having a lot of issues.It should come as no surprise that spiritual giftings have become an issue for division as well. Paul addresses this issue in Chapter 12 with his main point being that we are all one in Christ. Everyone has received the same spirit that distributes spiritual gifts to different individuals at different times. Yet, we are all individually members of the body, or church, of Christ (1 Cor. 12:26). Our different giftings should not cause us to form into factions, but the Spirit that dwells within us should unite us to care for one another using those gifts (1 Cor. 12:25).Romans 12:3-8 affirms this understanding of 1 Corinthians 12. We are not to think more highly of ourselves than what scripture defines (v3). We are members of one body with different functions (v4), who are individually members of it (v5). We are to use these gifts for the benefit of the body whether that be proclaiming his word, serving, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading, or showing mercy (v6-8).Now that we have established a biblical foundation for committing to the body, what does that practically look like? That is the purpose of our Membership Covenant! Over the next few weeks we continue to examine what we have committed to, and hopefully we will all be encouraged to pursue these things together.Brother Samuel JacobsenMember of FBC WellsboroNext Week: FBCW Covenant of Membership ReflectionsReflection #2 – Expectation 1: I Will Worship Regularly
October 4th, 2026Christ, The One and OnlyColossians 1:1-12Pastor Chris Osterbrock
"Sin Always Affects Other People Around You"Sermon Clip from Sunday, September 27th, 2026All of Life for the Glory of ChristScripture: 2 Peter 3:17-18 Pastor Joshua Bankston