Biblical teaching from Bay Leaf Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC — a multi-campus church passionate about gospel-centered preaching, disciple-making, and mission. Tune in weekly for sermons that explore God’s Word and encourage you to follow Jesus in everyday life. Whether you’re part of our Falls Lake or 540 campus—or listening from afar—you’ll find truth, hope, and practical application from Scripture.
In this sermon on Jonah 2, Pastor Jared Richard draws a compelling parallel between Jonah and the prodigal son of Luke 15, calling Jonah "the prodigal prophet." Like the younger son who wanted the blessings of the father without the father himself, Jonah fled the presence of God, convinced that life in Tarshish would be better than obedience in Nineveh. But God, like the waiting father in the…
Pastor Jared Richard opens Bay Leaf Baptist Church's new series through the book of Jonah by grounding the entire story in who God has revealed himself to be — "merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love" (Exodus 34:6-7). Against that backdrop, Jonah's shocking rebellion becomes all the more striking. Called by God to arise and go to Nineveh, the great and wicked Assyrian…
Pastor Patrick Austin brings Leaf's journey through the Book of Exodus to a close with a message centered on Exodus 40:34–38, titled "The God Who Dwells With Us." From the very beginning of Exodus, God's people were suffering under the crushing weight of Egyptian slavery, crying out in darkness and despair. Yet as Pastor Austin reminds us, even then, "God heard. God remembered. God saw and God…
Pastor Jared Richard opens Exodus 32–34 by grounding the sermon in Romans 15:4, where Paul reminds us that everything written in the Old Testament was written for our instruction, that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. With that foundation laid, Pastor Jared sets out to answer one of the most important questions the Bible addresses: how can a holy God…
In this sermon from Exodus 25–31, Pastor Jared Richard opens with a memorable story about a pop quiz designed not to test knowledge, but to form students into the kind of people who slow down and follow directions. In the same way, he argues, God's exhaustive instructions for building the tabernacle were never merely architectural — they were formational. God wasn't just building a tent; He was…
In this sermon from Exodus 25, Pastor Jared Richard takes the church on a guided tour through the tabernacle, unpacking one of the most important visual aids in all of Scripture. From the outer courtyard's bronze altar and basin, through the holy place with its lampstand, table of bread, and altar of incense, all the way to the ark of the covenant resting in the holy of holies, every element was…
Drawing from Exodus 20–24, Pastor Jared Richard unfolds God's covenant with Israel through the lens of a marriage ceremony. Just as premarital counseling and wedding vows are meant to help a couple fully understand what they're committing to, God walks His people through a declaration of intent, a detailed set of expectations, a promised blessing, and a blood-sealed covenant. God's heart in all of…
Pastor Billy Driver opens by pointing to a sobering reality: we live in a world that spends over a trillion dollars a year convincing us that contentment is just one more purchase away. Drawing from Exodus 20:17, he defines covetousness as an illicit desire for what God has not given us — a heart that is dissatisfied with God's provision and seeks satisfaction somewhere other than Him. Paul…
Pastor Jared Richard opens with the sobering story of Naboth from 1 Kings 21, an innocent man stoned to death because two worthless scoundrels bore false witness against him at the orchestration of the wicked Queen Jezebel. That story, Pastor Jared argues, perfectly illustrates why God gives the ninth commandment in Exodus 20:16: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." The…
Pastor Patrick Austin opens by pointing out that while we live in a $16 billion home security Market — a world full of people desperate to protect their stuff — we are also surrounded by people who are perfectly comfortable taking what doesn't belong to them. But before we point the finger at the burglar or the carjacker, Pastor Patrick brings us back to the garden, where Adam and Eve stole the…
Pastor Jared Richard opens by challenging the common assumption that the Ten Commandments are merely a list of prohibitions. While the "don'ts" are real and important, every prohibition is ultimately protecting a gracious gift from God. In the case of the seventh commandment — "You shall not commit adultery" (Ex. 20:14) — the gift being protected is marriage. Drawing from Genesis 2:24-25, Pastor…