Bakersfield First Assembly Podcast

Bakersfield First Assembly
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Welcome to the official podcast of Bakersfield First Assembly, where our mission is simple—to make more and better disciples. Each week, join Pastor Jason Kennedy and the BFA teaching team as they bring biblically grounded, Spirit-led messages that inspire transformation and deepen your walk with Christ. Whether you're exploring faith for the first time or looking to grow stronger in your journey, this podcast is for you. Stay connected with us online at bakersfieldfirst.com or download the Bakersfield First Assembly App to access sermons, events, and more. Join us—and discover what it means to live with purpose, grow in faith, and lead with love.

  1. 1d ago

    The Way Up Is Down

    What does it truly mean to follow Jesus in a world obsessed with status, comfort, and climbing the ladder? In this message drawn from Mark 10:35-45, we are confronted with one of the most startling moments in the Gospels: two of Jesus's closest disciples, moments after hearing him predict his own death, ask for the best seats in his kingdom. The audacity is almost unbelievable, and yet if we are honest, the impulse behind their request lives in each of us. The message cuts straight to the heart of what discipleship actually costs. Jesus does not soften the answer. He asks whether we are ready to drink the cup he drank and be baptized with the baptism he endured, language that points directly to suffering, surrender, and death to self. Through the words of Paul in Galatians 2:20 and 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, we are reminded that the life we now live is no longer our own. True discipleship, we discover, is not a self-improvement program or a path to personal gain. It is a radical reorientation of everything we are toward the purposes of Jesus. If we have been treating faith as a way to get more out of life, this message invites us into something far greater and far more satisfying than anything comfort alone could ever offer. Chapters Chapter 1: The Context: Power as One of Three Great Temptations 0:00 - 6:53 Mark chapter 10 addresses the three great temptations of money, sex, and power, and calls us to understand them through the lens of true discipleship. Chapter 2: Discipleship Is Defined by Submission, Not Personal Gain 6:53 - 13:15 True discipleship means submitting our lives entirely to Jesus rather than pursuing status, titles, or personal advancement. Chapter 3: Discipleship Is Characterized by Death and Sacrifice, Not Comfort and Ease 13:15 - 28:40 Following Jesus means being willing to drink the cup of suffering and lay down our lives, just as he did. Chapter 4: Discipleship Is Expressed in Servanthood, Not Lordship 28:40 - 54:17 Jesus calls us to reject the world's pattern of lording power over others and instead embrace the posture of a servant who lifts others up.

  2. Oct 11

    WEALTH

    What does it really mean to follow Jesus with everything we have? In this message drawn from Mark 10:17-31, we encounter a wealthy man who runs to Jesus with a sincere question about eternal life, only to walk away grieving because he cannot bring himself to release his grip on his possessions. The central tension of this passage is not really about money at all -- it is about authority. Who truly directs our lives? Jesus looks at this man with love, not judgment, and issues a clear and personal challenge. That same loving gaze is directed at us. The story forces us to ask ourselves whether we have quietly placed portions of our lives beyond the reach of Jesus, telling ourselves that everything belongs to God while behaving as though our finances, our comfort, and our security are entirely our own domain. The rich young man was one decision away from walking alongside Jesus. That sobering detail reminds us that proximity to truth is not the same as obedience to it. We can feel the weight of conviction and still walk away unchanged. This message calls us to move beyond emotion and into genuine, concrete action -- because stewardship, at its core, is an act of trust. Chapters Chapter 1: Everything Belongs to God 0:00 - 9:09 The passage from Mark 10 introduces the rich young ruler and establishes the foundational truth that God owns everything we have. Chapter 2: Stewardship Begins with Recognizing Jesus's Authority 9:09 - 20:49 True stewardship starts with surrendering authority over our lives and possessions to Jesus, not merely performing religious duties. Chapter 3: Stewardship Reveals Where We Have Placed Our Trust 20:49 - 34:00 How we handle our money and possessions exposes what we truly trust, and Jesus calls us to concrete, not theoretical, obedience. Chapter 4: Stewardship Flows from Grace and Becomes Real Through Obedience 34:00 - 43:54 Generous obedience does not earn salvation but flows naturally from it, and emotion alone without action is not true obedience. Chapter 5: Stewardship Invests in What Matters Eternally 43:54 - 49:45 Placing our trust and resources in the kingdom of God yields an eternal return that no earthly bank

  3. Oct 4

    Marriage and Divorce

    Bakersfield First Assembly Podcast

  4. Sep 27

    An Incongruent Life

    What does it truly mean to be great? Most of us have been conditioned from childhood to chase recognition, status, and the front of the line. But in Mark 9, Jesus completely dismantles that instinct. When he catches his disciples arguing about who among them is the greatest, he does not scold them and move on. He sits down, gathers them close, and redefines greatness from the ground up. The one who wants to be first must become last and servant of all. Then, to drive the point home, he places a child in their midst, someone with zero social standing, zero influence, zero ability to advance anyone's reputation. That is the picture of kingdom greatness. This message challenges us to examine what is actually governing our lives. Is it humility, or is it a quiet hunger for recognition dressed up in spiritual language? We can say all the right things and still spend our week trying to be first. True service begins with an honest reckoning of who we are before God, and the good news is that when we get that right, everything else about how we treat people begins to change. Chapters Chapter 1: The Human Obsession With Being First 0:00 - 7:22 We all have a deep-seated desire to be first, and Jesus confronts this tendency head-on in his disciples. Chapter 2: Humility: The Foundation of Kingdom Service 7:22 - 16:50 True service in God's kingdom must be built on genuine humility, which requires an honest understanding of our dependence on God's grace. Chapter 3: Vision Beyond Ourselves: Seeing the Bigger Kingdom 16:50 - 25:42 Kingdom service requires a vision that extends beyond our own group, reputation, and comfort to embrace all that God is doing in the world. Chapter 4: Integrity: The Character That Sustains Service 25:42 - 44:51 Lasting kingdom service requires integrity, meaning our private lives, attitudes, and choices must align with our public confession of faith.

  5. Sep 20

    I believe; help my unbelief!

    What does it really mean to have faith? Not the polished, confident kind we perform for others, but the raw, honest kind that admits it is struggling even as it reaches out. In Mark 9, we encounter a desperate father who has watched his son suffer since childhood, who has already been let down once, and who still brings the boy to Jesus with these unforgettable words: 'I believe, help my unbelief.' That prayer is not a failure of faith. It is one of the purest expressions of faith in all of Scripture. This message walks us through the valley that follows the mountaintop, reminding us that the same Jesus who shines in glory on the mountain meets us in the chaos and confusion below. The central lesson is one that cuts against the grain of a culture obsessed with confidence and positive thinking: biblical faith is not faith in faith. It is not manufactured certainty or spiritual optimism. It is trust placed in the person, character, and authority of Jesus. And here is the freeing truth that emerges from this story: weak faith placed in a strong Savior is still real faith. When we bring our impossible situations to Jesus, even trembling and half-doubting, we are doing exactly what faith looks like in the real world. Chapters Chapter 1: The Nature of True Faith 0:00 - 11:34 We explore what biblical faith actually is, distinguishing it from manufactured certainty or confidence in ourselves. Chapter 2: Bringing Our Brokenness to Jesus 11:34 - 24:04 Through the account of the demon-possessed boy in Mark 9, we see that faith does not deny the severity of our problems but brings them honestly to Jesus. Chapter 3: Prayer as Dependent Faith 24:04 - 41:36 We learn why the disciples failed to cast out the spirit, and why an abiding, dependent relationship with Jesus is the only foundation for real spiritual power. Chapter 4: Faith Anchored in the Cross 41:36 - 50:20 Mark's placement of Jesus' prediction of his death immediately after the healing teaches us that true faith must always be understood through the lens of the cross.

  6. Sep 13

    Seeing But Not Seeing

    What does it really mean to see Jesus clearly? In Mark 8, we encounter a fascinating two-stage miracle where a blind man first sees people who look like walking trees before his vision is fully restored. This is not just a healing story. It is a living parable for every one of us who has looked at Jesus without truly seeing him. Peter stands at the center of this tension. He gets the right answer when he declares Jesus to be the Christ, and yet moments later he rebukes Jesus for talking about suffering and death. He saw, but he did not see clearly. How often do we do the same thing? We recognize Jesus, we call him Lord, we wear the label, and yet we quietly reshape him into a version that fits our expectations and preferences. This message challenges us to ask the uncomfortable question: are we following the real Jesus, or a convenient version of him we have constructed in our own minds? Chapters Chapter 1: Looking Without Seeing 0:00 - 9:36 There is a profound difference between looking at Jesus and truly seeing him, illustrated through the healing of a blind man in Bethsaida. Chapter 2: Peter's Confession: Right Answer, Wrong Understanding 9:36 - 23:41 Peter correctly identifies Jesus as the Messiah at Caesarea Philippi, but his understanding of what that title means is completely wrong. Chapter 3: Get Behind Me: When We Reshape Jesus to Fit Our Desires 23:41 - 30:30 Peter rebukes Jesus for speaking of suffering, and Jesus responds with a sharp correction that exposes the danger of following a Jesus of our own making. Chapter 4: Take Up Your Cross: The Cost of Following Jesus 30:30 - 40:43 Jesus calls every follower to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him, drawing a clear line between those who want his benefits and those who truly follow him.

  7. Sep 6

    Faith Outside the Lines

    What happens when we reach the absolute end of our own resources and find ourselves with nowhere left to turn? In Mark 7, we encounter two remarkable healing stories set in Gentile territory, and together they paint a picture of a God who refuses to be confined by the boundaries we draw around him. At the heart of both stories is a radical truth: the mercy available at the table of Jesus is not reserved for the deserving, the religious, or the culturally acceptable. It overflows to anyone who comes with honest, persistent, unashamed need. The Syrophoenician mother who falls at Jesus' feet is not celebrated because she had the right background or the right credentials. She is celebrated because she understood something profound about grace -- that even the crumbs from his table are greater than any banquet the world could offer. Her faith was not polished or theologically sophisticated. It was desperate, relentless, and utterly dependent on the mercy of Jesus alone. That kind of faith still moves heaven today. We are invited to ask ourselves whether we have arrived at that same place of honest desperation, and whether we are willing to stay there, persistent in prayer, even when silence seems to be the only answer we receive. Chapters Chapter 1: God Works Outside the Lines 0:00 - 7:47 A personal encounter with God's power in unexpected places sets the stage for understanding how Jesus works beyond our assumptions and boundaries. Chapter 2: A Desperate Mother and the Mission of God 7:47 - 17:13 The Syrophoenician woman's desperate plea for her daughter reveals the universal scope of God's redemptive mission and the nature of true need. Chapter 3: Persistent Faith When God Seems Silent 17:13 - 29:16 The woman's relentless pursuit of Jesus, even through silence and apparent dismissal, reveals what true, saving faith looks like in practice. Chapter 4: Crumbs of Grace Are Enough 29:16 - 44:49 The woman's humble response to Jesus demonstrates that genuine faith rests entirely on God's grace, and that even the smallest portion of his mercy is more than sufficient.

  8. Sep 2

    The Unseen Realm Part 3

    We live in a moment unlike any other in human history. The technology we are building is no longer just a tool to help us write emails or search the internet. The most powerful voices in Silicon Valley are now using language that sounds less like a product pitch and more like a sermon. They speak of curing all disease, eliminating scarcity, creating a brain for the world, and granting humanity superpowers. That kind of language is not technological. It is theological. And that is exactly why we as followers of Christ need to pay close attention. This session takes us on a journey from Genesis 1, where God creates humanity in his image and gives us a mandate to cultivate and subdue creation, all the way to Revelation 21, where God restores all things and dwells with his people forever. Along the way, we stop at Genesis 3, where the serpent offers knowledge, autonomy, and transcendence apart from God, and Genesis 11, where humanity uses technological innovation not to honor God but to exalt themselves. The pattern is ancient, but the tools are brand new. The central question we are forced to wrestle with is this: could the same technology that promises to solve our greatest problems also become one of the most powerful instruments of deception the world has ever seen? Scripture is clear that the defining mark of the end of the age is not merely evil but deceptive evil. Lies that look like truth. And for the first time in history, we have built something that can talk back, remember us, anticipate us, and answer our deepest spiritual questions with the appearance of omniscience. The call is not to fear technology but to discern it, to test every intelligence against the unchanging revelation of God, and to never confuse a gift with the Giver. Chapters Chapter 1: The Utopian Promises of Artificial Intelligence 0:00 - 10:15 The most powerful voices in the AI industry are making sweeping, utopian promises about what artificial intelligence will accomplish, and those promises have crossed from technological into theological territory. Chapter 2: Genesis, the Image of God, and the Babel Pattern 10:15 - 23:20 Scripture gives us the framework to evaluate AI theologically, from the cultural mandate of Genesis 1 to the self-exaltation of Babel and the serpent's original temptation in Genesis 3. Chapter 3: AI as Idol: The New Oracle and the Technological Gospel 23:20 - 34:00 Millions of people are beginning to treat AI with religious devotion, confessing secrets to it, seeking moral guidance from it, and granting it the authority that belongs to God alone. Chapter 4: Deception, Discernment, and the End of the Age 34:00 - 57:28 The defining mark of the end of the age is not merely wars and earthquakes but deception, and we now live in a technological moment that makes the kind of world described in biblical prophecy increasingly imaginable.

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About

Welcome to the official podcast of Bakersfield First Assembly, where our mission is simple—to make more and better disciples. Each week, join Pastor Jason Kennedy and the BFA teaching team as they bring biblically grounded, Spirit-led messages that inspire transformation and deepen your walk with Christ. Whether you're exploring faith for the first time or looking to grow stronger in your journey, this podcast is for you. Stay connected with us online at bakersfieldfirst.com or download the Bakersfield First Assembly App to access sermons, events, and more. Join us—and discover what it means to live with purpose, grow in faith, and lead with love.

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