Sermons
Biblical messages that inspire faith, strengthen your walk, and speak truth into everyday life.
Persecution and Protection Part 1
This is Memorial Day Weekend, as we come together to spend time in worship and reflection, we take a moment to honor those who have laid down their lives in service to this nation. Memorial Day is more than a holiday—it is a sacred remembrance of sacrifice, courage, and love for one’s fellow man.
Scripture tells us in John 15:13, “No one has greater love than this,
to lay down his life for his friends.” (CSB). On this day, we recognize
the men and women who embodied that love, who fought and fell so that others might live in freedom.
Persecution and Protection Part 2
We have been on a journey looking at Jesus instruction to the
Disciples (and ultimately to us) during and after the Last Supper.
The earthly ministry of Jesus is coming to a close, and things are
about to change. This change is necessary. Jesus has been
speaking about “these things” (16:1) to prepare the Disciples and
keep them from stumbling (changing course or being distracted).
Pastor Chuck Swindoll said this, “These things” refers to everything
Jesus had to say about the believer’s relationship to the world,
which is strained at best, hostile at other times, and can become
deadly.
Joy
What to do? What to do? Struggling to figure out the next steps is something we all face at one time or another. Being overwhelmed can lead to hopelessness, it can easily throw one into some kind of funk. It sounds like this is what the Disciples were facing as Jesus continued to reveal where His path was leading. From the time they had gathered for Passover (the Last Supper) until this moment, Jesus had been given them instruction and examples on how to live.
Truth
Justice Part 1
Justice Part 2
For the last several weeks the thought that “truth matters” has been echoing in my head. It took me so far as to begin to read 2 books about the subject … Truth Matters by Andreas Kostenberger. Darrell Bock and Josh Chatraw (2014) and Excellence (2011) which is also by Andreas Kostenberger. I know that this is the beginning of a journey for me, and I get to include you in the first steps
Hope Part 1
Hope Part 2
Change
Prayer
Have you ever been to an all-night prayer meeting? They used to be commonplace when I was growing up. Four or five nights a year would be set aside to come together and pray through the entire evening. It’s difficult for many to pray for more than a few minutes. Praying for an entire evening is a commitment. Prayer is about drawing close to the Lord God … about sharing our lives with Him and listening to what He has to say. We read in James, “Come near to God, and God will come near to you.
Romans
Prodigal
Purpose
Suffering
Suffering is one of the most intensely debated topics when talking about God. Many people default to the question, “If God is good, why does He allow suffering?” Which is a loaded question. Too often, when a “why” question is asked it’s an opening for a debate. This debate can take many forms. And I am not starting this way as an opening to define and debate the theology of suffering.
Waiting
Mission
Isaiah 40:31 stands out as a verse that continually offers strength and guidance, forming a foundation for the life of a disciple. It emphasizes the significance of waiting on the Lord and relying on His promises each day. During personal prayer and devotion, reflecting on this passage encourages a deeper trust in God, who is always faithful. Choosing to trust God may not always be easy, but it is consistently the right decision.
Beginning
Stephen
The “Spirit led” or “Spirit filled” life is transformative. It leads one down a path that is different than where society attempts to put us to. Living this way is a choice, it is a decision to keep our Lord God at the center of each moment, and to follow the promptings and guidance the Holy Spirit gives us. Jesus said, “13However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.
Community
Having a sense of community is important. This helps with a sense of belonging and meaning. Being a part of a community brings people together, it fosters a feeling of inclusion, of identity and significance. This is one of the strengths of the New Testament Church. They were united in purpose and intent.
Results
Effective
Last week I wrote about the communication breakdown we are dealing with today. It’s the same kind of misunderstanding that took place in the first part of Acts 2. I will say it again; communication is essential in any relationship. First, our communication with the Lord and a close follow-up is communication with others around us. Effective communication builds bridges and brings transformation to lives, circumstances, and challenges that we face.
Communicate
In 1915, Robert Frost published a poem and part of it said … “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” (taken from The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost). I say this because I feel that it is necessary to take us to place that this passage in Acts 2 doesn’t frequently take people. To be somewhat poetic, I am taking “the road less traveled” in this message.
Gratitude
It’s that time of the year again where the Holiday Season steps into full bloom. In November, we gather around tables filled with food, family, and tradition. We pause to say ‘thank you’ for blessings both big and small. But gratitude is more than a polite response to good fortune, it is a spiritual discipline, a way of life that shapes us into Christlikeness.
Defined
We’re starting this year with a simple but life‑shaping conviction: faith is not just something we believe — it’s something we live. Scripture never treats faith as a static idea or a private feeling. Faith is trust in motion. It shapes our choices, strengthens our endurance, deepens our love, and anchors our hope.
Joseph
Next
Identity
Sense
We’re living in a world where people feel the ground shifting beneath them more often than they’d ever admit. One phone call changes a family’s future. A doctor’s report rewrites someone’s plans. A relationship that seemed steady suddenly fractured. Even the people who look composed are carrying something heavy beneath the surface.
Endurance
We’ve spent the last several weeks exploring what it means to have a faith that lives … faith that is more than belief, more than sentiment, more than a moment. We’ve been learning what it means to trust God in ways that shape our decisions, our relationships, our priorities, and our future. We have learned that the substance of faith is found in trusting God when we don’t see or struggle to understand. We talked about listening.
Respond
Listen
Noise
There are seasons in life when pain becomes so loud it drowns out everything else. You can be surrounded by people, surrounded by Scripture, surrounded by truth — and still feel like you’re standing alone in a storm no one else can hear.
Most of us don’t wrestle with the existence of God. We wrestle with the silence of God. We wrestle with the gap between what we believe and what we feel. We wrestle with the noise of our own questions. We wrestle with the voices around us that don’t always help.
Space
Viktor Frankl (Man’s Search for Meaning) once described a moment in the concentration camp when the cold was so sharp it felt like it was cutting through his bones. The guards had forced the prisoners out before dawn, and as they marched, Frankl said he could barely lift his feet from the frozen ground. He was exhausted, starving, and stripped of everything that once defined him — his profession, his dignity, even his name.
Architecture
Community
Bridge
If you feel like you’ve been doing some heavy lifting lately, you aren’t alone. For the last few weeks, we have sat together in the tension of pain and suffering. We’ve looked the tough questions in the face. We’ve wrestled with the ‘why’ and the ‘how long.’ And if I’m honest, that kind of soul-work leaves you with a bit of a ‘spiritual limp.’ You’re tired.