In this message from 1 Corinthians 15:22, Pastor Blade explores one of the most foundational questions in Christianity: How is a sinner actually saved?

Many believers can explain that they are saved, but struggle to explain what God actually does to transform someone from being "in Adam"—dead in sin—to being "in Christ"—made alive through His righteousness.

This episode examines the Bible's teaching on baptism, distinguishing between water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You'll discover why Scripture speaks of multiple baptisms, why rightly dividing God's Word matters, and how the Spirit of God unites every believer to Christ through faith alone.

Whether you've wondered about baptism, salvation, or your identity in Christ, this study will strengthen your confidence in the gospel and the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

All humanity is either in Adam (unrighteous) or in Christ (righteousness). Being “in Christ” is a complete change of identity from unrighteousness to righteousness before God.

This is seen in three major components of salvation:

• Justification – Forgiven of all sins, imputed with Christ’s righteousness, and permanently reconciled to God (Eph. 1:7; Rom. 3:20–26; Rom. 5:1).
• Sanctification – Dead to sin, alive unto God, and made sons of God (Rom. 6:2, 11; Rom. 8:14–15).
• Glorification – The one new man in Christ, citizens of His heavenly kingdom, and a heavenly vocation and impact (Eph. 2:15; Phil. 3:20; Eph. 4:1).

Salvation through the gospel of the grace of God is complete: justification in a moment, sanctification in the present life, and glorification in the future, all grounded in our identity in Christ.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

From Genesis to Romans, Scripture shows that Adam’s fall didn’t just affect him it defined all of humanity by nature. Through one man, sin entered the world, and death passed upon all. In this message, we unpack three major dimensions of that fallen condition: condemnation, abomination, and alienation.

We trace how Scripture describes humanity as under sin, without perfect righteousness, and even as enemies of God. We look at what it means to be servants of sin, dead to righteousness, and walking according to the course of this world. And we examine the sobering truth of spiritual alienation separated from life, hope, and God, belonging by nature to the kingdom of darkness.

But the story does not end in Adam.

The final movement of this message turns to the hope of the gospel: “But now in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:13). What was once condemnation becomes justification. What was abomination becomes sanctification. What was alienation becomes reconciliation. In Christ, there is a new identity new life, new citizenship, and a new standing before God.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

The central emphasis is the mission of God and how it shapes every part of a believer’s life. True discipleship is not partial or compartmentalized—it touches everything.

Drawing from passages like John 3:16–17, Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8, Luke 14, and others, the message highlights four key realities of the mission of Christ:

•  It is for WHOEVER—every person, regardless of background. 
•  It is for WHEREVER—all nations and every place in the world. 
•  It is for WHENEVER—present in the everyday rhythms of life. 
•  It is for WHATEVER—pervading every detail of a believer’s activity. 

The sermon challenges listeners to evaluate whether they truly follow Christ by loving what He loves and embracing the cost of discipleship. It warns against building personal kingdoms and instead calls believers to participate in God’s global mission: seeing every moment, relationship, and opportunity as part of the work of the gospel.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

1. Equipping ourselves in the word of God for the work
 

Key Point 1: Biblical ministry will require us to count the cost of preparation as we look ahead to the work before us. 

Before any public ministry or visible fruit, there is the hidden work of being rooted in Scripture. Preparation is not optional, it is the foundation that sustains every act of service that follows.

2. Engaging in the work of the ministry

Key Point 2: The work will require us to count the cost of our participation as we look among ourselves for our unique role in the body of Christ. 

Ministry becomes real when we step into active participation. Each believer has a role within the body, and engaging that role requires humility, availability, and commitment to serve alongside others.

3. Edifying the body unto perfection

Key Point 3: The work will require us to count the cost of perfection as we look above to Christ Jesus. 

Spiritual growth and maturity in the church is directed upward—toward Christ. Edification is not self-improvement alone, but Christ-centered transformation that shapes the entire body toward maturity

4. Extending & exemplifying the word of God to others

Key Point 4: The work will require us to count the cost of our propagation as we look around & across cultural barriers to sow the word of God into the souls of men. 

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

In this sermon we explore the connection between wisdom and Scripture, and why true disciples must be rooted in the Word like a tree planted by rivers of water. Jesus said that abiding in Him includes letting His Word abide in us, and Psalm 1 shows us the picture of a life shaped by daily meditation on God’s truth.

But this kind of wisdom is not free. It will cost us what money cannot buy, our natural desires toward sin, our personal pursuits, and even our comfort. Yet what we gain is far greater, the wisdom of God, the fear of the Lord, and a life that bears lasting fruit.

Key Thought: The disciple must count the cost of obtaining the wisdom found in the Word of God.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

Worship is more than music, it is recognizing and responding to the worth of God above all else. From Luke 14, David’s sacrifice, and Mary’s offering in Bethany, we see that true worship always involves cost, surrender, and priority. Jesus teaches that following Him means placing Him above possessions, relationships, and personal plans.

This message challenges us to consider what it truly means to follow Christ, and how discipleship is rooted in a life fully established in worship.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

This message walks through three foundational qualities that shape every disciple. First, the work of the Spirit of God, who seals believers, reveals truth, and produces spiritual fruit that cannot be manufactured by human effort. Second, the necessity of a teachable heart, marked by humility, surrender to Scripture, and a willingness to be shaped through instruction and correction. Third, the call to faithfulness, where consistency and endurance become the evidence of stewardship in the life of a believer.

Together these truths remind us that discipleship is not built on talent or personality, but on Spirit dependence, humble learning, and steady obedience over time. As the church embraces this calling, God forms believers into mature followers of Christ who are able to strengthen others and carry the gospel forward.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

Throughout Scripture we see a consistent pattern of spiritual growth and generational investment, from Moses and Joshua to Elijah and Elisha, from Jesus and His disciples to Paul and Timothy. Spiritual maturity is not instant but progressive, built step by step as believers grow in knowledge, temperance, patience, and godliness.

This message explores why discipleship matters. It is commanded by God, it equips every believer for ministry, it strengthens the entire church, and it ensures that the next generation is grounded in the truth of Christ. A discipled church is not centered around a single leader, but is a body of believers who are trained, mature, and active in the work of the gospel.

Ultimately, discipleship is how the church becomes spiritually healthy, missionally effective, and generationally faithful.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

Using Paul’s imagery of the Christian life as a race, we examine how spiritual maturity requires temperance, patience, meekness, and gentleness. Moderation is not weakness or passivity, but Christlike strength under control, fair minded, steady, and gracious in judgment.

Through passages such as 1 Corinthians 9, James 1, Titus 3, and Psalm 18, this message shows that the Spirit produced life is marked not only by conviction, but by a visible calmness and humility toward others. David’s testimony reminds us that it is God’s gentleness, not power alone, that shapes and transforms His people.

Ultimately, this sermon challenges us to live in such a way that Christ’s character is seen clearly in how we speak, respond, and relate to others, because the Lord is at hand.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

The passage moves through three movements of restoration. First, intercession, as Ezra weeps, confesses, and pleads before God on behalf of the people, demonstrating how godly sorrow leads others toward repentance. Second, proclamation, as the Word of God is clearly declared, exposing sin and calling the people to make confession, separate themselves, and return to obedience. Third, examination, as each individual is brought face to face with their own responsibility before God, revealing that repentance is never merely corporate but deeply personal.

Though the chapter is heavy with conviction, it is also marked by hope. “Yet now there is hope in Israel” because God’s mercy preserves a remnant and provides a way for restoration. The message closes by pointing to the ultimate fulfillment of this hope in Jesus Christ, whose complete devotion and atoning work alone make true restoration possible. God’s call in Ezra 10 is clear. Turn from sin, respond to His Word, and find hope in His mercy through repentance and faith.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

Ezra’s response is immediate and deeply sorrowful. He tears his garments, sits in shock, and identifies with the sin of the people in prayerful confession before God. The passage highlights the seriousness of holiness in the life of God’s people and the ongoing call to be sanctified and set apart, not conformed to the surrounding world as taught throughout Scripture.

Yet even in judgment, Ezra recognizes the mercy of God. Though the people deserved full consequence, God had given them “a little space of grace,” preserving a remnant, restoring worship, and allowing them to rebuild what had been broken. His confession centers on the truth that their survival is not the result of their righteousness but the patience and mercy of God.

Ezra 9 ultimately confronts the reader with the weight of sin, the necessity of separation from the world, and the overwhelming mercy of God who does not consume His people according to their iniquities but offers grace that calls them back to repentance and renewed faithfulness.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

As Ezra leads the remnant on a long and vulnerable journey back to Jerusalem, he depends not on military strength or political security, but on the mercy of God. Through fasting and prayer at the river of Ahava, the people acknowledge their dependence on the Lord, and God proves faithful to guide, supply, and preserve them. The same hand that moves kings also equips His people, raises up leaders, and guards them along the way.

Ezra 8 confronts the temptation to trust human strength while revealing the sufficiency of God’s hand over every circumstance. The passage calls believers to humility, dependence, and confidence in the God who both calls His people and faithfully completes His work.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

The message traces how true spiritual strength is rooted in a heart that is intentionally prepared before God. Ezra’s life shows a progression from devotion to obedience and then to instruction, where knowing the word of God naturally leads to living it and passing it on to others. Even his success before the king is attributed not to strategy or skill alone, but to the gracious hand of God.

Ezra 7 calls God’s people to examine whether their hearts are prepared before the Lord, to pursue His word with sincerity, to obey what He reveals, and to depend fully on His hand for strength and fruitfulness.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

Following this restoration, the children of the captivity gather to keep the Passover in accordance with Exodus 13, where God commanded His people to remember His deliverance from bondage and to pass that remembrance on to every generation. This moment in Ezra is not only a return to obedience but a return to identity, as a purified people, including priests and Levites, come together to observe what God had commanded from the beginning.

The emphasis of the passage is clear. When God restores His people, He also restores their worship and their memory. The Passover becomes a corporate act of obedience and gratitude, anchoring them again in the truth that their history is defined by God’s saving power, not their delay or failure.

The passage calls God’s people to remember rightly, to return to faithful worship, and to let restored obedience lead to renewed reverence for the God who delivers and sustains His people.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

As rebuilding resumes, God’s people must also navigate outside scrutiny. Tatnai’s inquiry becomes a test of wisdom and integrity, yet “the eye of their God was upon the elders” (Ezra 5:5), showing that God’s presence sustains His people even in pressure. Ultimately, God moves through King Darius to not only permit the work but provide for it, demonstrating that what He commands, He also secures.

The passage calls believers to trust God’s word to reignite what has grown cold, to walk with discernment under pressure, and to finish what He has started, confident that He completes every work He begins.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

This sermon traces the continuity of God’s work across Scripture: while Ezra points to a physical temple, the New Testament reveals a greater spiritual reality—God building a “house” made up of His people. Drawing from passages in Ephesians, 1 Peter, 2 Corinthians, and 1 Corinthians, the message emphasizes that believers are living stones in a spiritual house, founded on Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone.

Pastor Blade develops the theme that God is not only a Creator but a Builder, actively forming His Church throughout history. This “building project” is not about a physical structure, but about the formation, maturity, and faithfulness of God’s people in Christ. The sermon also points to the accountability of believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ, where works are tested and evaluated based on what has been built on the foundation of Christ.

This message challenges listeners to examine what they are building with their lives—whether temporary pursuits or eternal work aligned with God’s blueprint—and calls the Church to labor faithfully together in what God is constructing through His Spirit.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.