Stop Faking It - Why Authenticity Matters More Than Your Image - Pastor Bart Blair

We all struggle with the gap between who we really are and who we want people to think we are. This isn't just a modern problem—it's been around for at least 2,000 years.

In Acts 5:1-11, we encounter the shocking story of Ananias and Sapphira. As the early church was caring for one another, these two sold property and brought money to the apostles. But they kept back part of the proceeds while pretending they'd given everything. Peter confronted them: "Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?" Both dropped dead within three hours.

Here's what's puzzling: they were under no obligation to sell their land or give all the money. Peter even said, "Wasn't it yours while you possessed it?" But they wanted the applause that came with total sacrifice without actually making that sacrifice. They wanted to look more generous than they were.

Why did God judge them so severely? I don't believe it was simply for lying. They defiled God's dwelling place. Throughout Scripture, we see this pattern: Nadab and Abihu consumed by fire for bringing unauthorized fire into the temple. Uzzah struck dead for touching the Ark of the Covenant. King Uzziah struck with leprosy for burning incense reserved for priests. God always protects His sacred space.

The church is the new temple. God's presence moved from brick and mortar into the people who make up His ekklesia—the called-out ones. As 1 Peter 2:5 says, we are "living stones" being built into "a spiritual house." When we bring deception into the church, we corrupt God's holy dwelling place.

Ephesians 4:25 instructs us: "Put away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another." Authenticity is essential to maintaining the purity of God's dwelling place.

We started where Ananias and Sapphira finished—dead in our trespasses (Ephesians 2:3-5). But God made us alive in Christ. Now, as Ephesians 2:19-22 describes, we're "being built together for God's dwelling in the Spirit" with Christ as our cornerstone.

Performance Christianity corrupts God's holy dwelling. People aren't looking for fake Christians—they want real people. The goal isn't perfection; it's progress together.

Ask yourself: Where am I putting on a show? Where am I hiding something I need help with? Confess it to God and commit to authenticity. We're all broken sinners in need of a Savior, and the more honest we are with ourselves and one another, the closer we can get to Him.

Learn more about Bear Creek Community Church in Lavon, TX - https://www.bc3.church/

Pastor David Watson explores Acts chapter 4, examining how the early church responded to opposition with prayer for greater boldness rather than safety. He identifies four characteristics of bold faith that make the church unstoppable: bold faith starts in a committed community, is burdened for people far from God, depends entirely on the Holy Spirit, and remains filled with faith that God will do the saving work.

The sermon emphasizes that "boldness always drives movements," pointing out that the early disciples weren't content to huddle together but were compelled to speak boldly despite threats. Pastor David suggests that our culture is primed for revival, with an estimated 5.7 billion people worldwide who need to hear the gospel. He concludes by encouraging "baby steps" toward boldness, beginning with daily prayer for God to create in us a fearless confidence to share Jesus with others.

Learn more about Bear Creek Community Church in Lavon, TX ➡️ https://www.bc3.church/

Pastor Bart Blair begins his sermon with the story of golfer Tommy Fleetwood, who built a fan base not through winning but through his gracious responses to defeat before finally winning the Tour Championship. This illustrates the sermon's central theme: pressure doesn't create character—it reveals it. While our culture often teaches us to avoid pressure at all costs, champions understand that pressure is where greatness is forged.

Pastor Blair uses the analogy of squeezing an orange to explain that pressure simply reveals what's already inside us. For Christians, when we get "squeezed" by life's pressures, what should come out is the character of Jesus—the fruit of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Unfortunately, what often emerges instead is doubt, anger, fear, or compromise. The true measure of spiritual maturity isn't how we appear on Sunday mornings but what flows out of us when we're under pressure.

The sermon then examines Acts 4:1-22, where Peter and John face intense pressure from the religious authorities—the same people who crucified Jesus just seven weeks earlier. Despite the threat of death and imprisonment, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly proclaims that healing came "by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead" (Acts 4:10). He further declares that "there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Pastor Blair highlights three responses from Peter and John that believers should emulate. First, they "stayed in the game," leaning into the Holy Spirit rather than folding under pressure. Second, they "played their game," remaining clear and direct rather than compromising their message. Third, they "rose to the occasion," transforming from uneducated fishermen to bold proclaimers of truth who amazed the religious establishment.

The sermon concludes with three practical applications. First, pressure provides a platform—difficult situations often become our greatest opportunities to declare truth about Jesus. Second, pressure releases power—it activates the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit available to believers. Third, pressure produces proof—what flows out when we're squeezed reveals what's truly inside us. Pastor Blair encourages believers to examine what comes out when they're under pressure and to prepare through daily spiritual disciplines.

Just as Tommy Fleetwood didn't become a champion overnight but through years of developing his game and mental toughness, having championship faith requires daily discipline—time in God's Word, prayer, and fellowship with believers. When pressure meets purpose, ordinary people become champions, and the overlooked become unstoppable, just like Peter and John, whose boldness under pressure changed the world forever.

Learn more about Bear Creek Community Church in Lavon, TX: https://www.bc3.church/

Pastor Bart Blair begins with a personal story about learning humility when his boss asked him to be the last person to speak in meetings, revealing his tendency to want to be the center of attention. He connects this to our modern "selfie culture" where we're conditioned to put ourselves at the center of the frame, seeking validation and recognition.

Drawing from Acts 3:11-26, Pastor Blair highlights how Peter, after healing a lame man, immediately deflected attention away from himself toward Jesus. Rather than taking a spiritual selfie and building his own platform, Peter pointed people to Christ. This pattern of "deflect to reflect" offers believers a model for how to live in a self-centered world. Pastor Blair emphasizes that true meaning and lasting legacy don't come from building our own image but from reflecting God's glory and serving others. He challenges both believers and non-believers to consider whether Jesus is truly at the center of their lives or if they need to reframe their perspective.

Learn more about Bear Creek Community Church in Lavon, TX: https://www.bc3.church/

In his sermon on Acts 3:1-10, Pastor David Watson examines how life-changing events not only alter our actions but also give us a platform for proclamation. Through the story of Peter and John healing the lame beggar at the temple's Beautiful Gate, Watson illustrates how followers of Jesus are transformed into witnesses. While thousands walked past this beggar daily, Peter and John saw him through Jesus' eyes and offered him something greater than silver or gold—healing in Jesus' name.

Watson identifies three hurdles that prevent us from helping others experience Jesus: we can't see what we aren't looking for, we can't give what we don't have, and we won't participate in what we're not propelled by. Just as the four friends in Mark 2 tore through a roof to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus, we too should be willing to do whatever it takes to bring others into Jesus' presence because "Jesus has changed my life and He so desperately wants to change yours."

Learn more about Bear Creek Community Church in Lavon, TX

In "An Uncomplicated Church is an Unstoppable Church," Pastor Bart Blair examines how our culture unnecessarily complicates things—from sports to food to entertainment—and how this tendency has infected modern church life. Looking at Acts 2:42-47, Pastor Blair identifies five commitments of the early church that made them effective despite their simplicity: devotion to the apostles' teaching, genuine community (koinonia), meeting real needs, sharing life around the table, and dependence on God through prayer.

Bear Creek Community Church aims to embody these same principles by focusing on deep but practical Bible teaching, authentic missional community, shared meals and hospitality, caring for real needs, and passionate prayer. Pastor Blair challenges individuals to simplify their own faith journey, examine their church expectations, and embrace their role in the church's mission. As he concludes, "What could God do in and through us if we kept things that uncomplicated, that simple, that pure?"

Learn more about Bear Creek Community Church: https://linktr.ee/bc3.church

Pastor David Watson explores Peter's powerful sermon in Acts 2 that led to 3,000 conversions, contrasting it with modern sermon preferences. He notes that while contemporary Christians often prefer encouraging, practical messages, Peter's sermon boldly proclaimed that "judgment is coming, but deliverance is here." Drawing parallels to Jonathan Edwards' famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Pastor Watson explains how Peter answered two crucial questions: who is the Lord (Jesus), and what does it mean to call on His name?

The sermon concludes with three practical applications: step into a personal relationship with Jesus through genuine repentance, step out through baptism as a public declaration of your primary association with Christ, and step toward others with the power of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Watson challenges the congregation to consider what step they need to take today, emphasizing that we have "an extraordinary opportunity" to respond to Christ who has "flung the door of mercy wide open."

Learn more about Bear Creek Community Church in Lavon, TX: https://www.bc3.church/

Pastor Bart Blair teaches that Pentecost represents far more than just speaking in tongues—it's essentially the "Christmas of the Holy Spirit," Marking when God's presence moved from buildings to people. In Acts 2:1-13, the Holy Spirit arrived with the sound of rushing wind and tongues of fire resting on believers, enabling them to speak in languages they never learned. This miraculous event occurred during the Jewish festival commemorating Moses receiving the law, but now God was writing His law on hearts through His Spirit.

The detailed list of nations present shows how God brought the world to Jerusalem, allowing the disciples to begin fulfilling Jesus' commission without leaving the city. Pastor Blair emphasizes three key takeaways: believers are now God's temple rather than buildings, God's mission begins right where we are, and God values our availability over our qualifications. Just as God used ordinary fishermen to change the world, He continues to use imperfect, dependent people today.

Learn more about Bear Creek Community Church in Lavon, TX: https://linktr.ee/bc3.church