1st Baptist Church of Kennedy Heights
OUR PASTOR
Job 23:10 says, "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I shall come forth pure as gold." Such seems to be the threads that have woven the fabric of the life and ministry of the Reverend Robert W. Harper.
Pastor Harper began in the ministry under the tutelage of Pastor Lewis at the Greater Liberty Baptist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He was the Youth Pastor at Mt. Zion Woodlawn before accepting the call to Pastor in 2002 at the 1st Baptist Church of Kennedy Heights in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is responsible for oversight of a church with multiple ministries. As the Pastor, he is deeply involved in the planning and execution of outreach, worship, and learning activities. He works to cultivate the membership and partnerships with other church and para-church organizations to promote soundness for the individual, the church, and the surrounding community.
Pastor Harper serves on several boards and has membership with We Are Ohio, The Collective Empowerment Group, Inc., Streaming Faith, AARP Advocates, Loveable You Portrait Studios, LLC, Center For American Progress Action Fund, and more.
In 2019 he published "Called to Be Victorious". The book is dedicated to assisting believers in tapping into that place of peace, power, and victory.
Pastor Harper has been married to his best friend and love of his life, Elaine, for over 40 years, and together, they are the proud parents of two grown children.
OUR CHURCH
In 1914, a strip of land along Red Bank Road, then named Yanonte Road, was purchased by members of the “Prayer Band” of the First Baptist Church of Kennedy Heights.
First Baptist Church of Kennedy Heights' purpose, its legacy, and its appeal are all rooted in the Christian tenets of the birth, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
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We believe that the Bible, in the original languages, is the inspired Word of God. We believe that God is Completely Holy. (Leviticus 11:44-45)
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We believe The Bible is God-breathed. All scripture is given by inspiration of God…2 Timothy 3:16a)
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We believe that God is tri-part in His essential nature. He is God The Father, God The Son and God The Holy Spirit. (See Matthew 3:16-17)
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We believe in Original Sin. Adam’s fall polluted us all. (For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. Romans 3:23) (See Genesis 3:9-11)
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Because of sin, unholy man is cut off from the Holy God. (Genesis 3:24 & Isaiah 59:1) Death is a direct result of the curse against sin.
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God loves man but hates sin. (Disobedience, transgression, iniquity…anything unlike God) Both God and man have a problem.
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Anybody who commits a sin must die. (Ezekiel 18:4)
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God has a solution. He gives His sinless son as a substitute for sinful man. (John 3:16)
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Jesus gives eternal life because He Is eternal life. He is The Only way back to God the Father. (John 14:6 & John11:25-26)
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1 When anyone accepts/receives/invites Jesus into their lives by faith, they are saved. They are protected from eternal separation from God. This is God’s gift to the believer. (Romans 10:9-10 & Ephesians 2:8-10)
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God has an expectation for those who believe. (Romans 8:29-30)
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A change rakes place in a believer’s spiritual life. That change will be made plain in the day-to-day life of the believer in varying degrees. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)
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The believer has The Holy Spirit of Christ living on the inside. (Colossians 1:27) God will perfect the believer…until… (Philippians 1:6)
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The final resting place for all believers is Heaven, where The Father and the Son wait to receive all The Family of God for all eternity. (John 14:1-3 & Revelation 22:1-5)
