All !n with Jordan Easley

In our next Holy Land Highlights message, we’ll focus on Caiaphas’s house—a place of great significance in Jesus’ final hours before the crucifixion. This is where Jesus was taken on Thursday night, and while Scripture doesn’t describe every detail of what happened there, history suggests He may have been beaten and held alone in a dark underground dungeon beneath the house. In this message, we’ll explore this place of suffering and why it plays such an important role in the story of Jesus.

As we continue through the Gospel of Matthew, we see how the disciples responded to everything Jesus endured in the final hours before His crucifixion. In His moment of greatest need, His closest friends scattered, leaving Him alone.But before that happened, Jesus brought His disciples to the Mount of Olives. When they arrived in the garden, He told them to sit. That detail may seem small, but it’s significant. Why would Jesus ask them to sit at such a critical moment? That’s the question we’re going to explore together in this message.

Jesus was an incredible teacher, and one thing that made Him so effective—beyond the fact that He is the Son of God—was His ability to use what was right in front of Him to communicate truth. Jesus often taught through vivid, tangible illustrations, helping people see and understand His message more clearly.As we come now to Matthew 16, imagine what it must have been like for the disciples as they walked through the gates and into the heart of a thoroughly pagan city. The setting itself became part of the lesson. I believe the account we’ll focus on today could be called the greatest field trip ever, and I say that because of four key things we see in this story. Let’s begin by looking at those four things together.

The question I want us to consider today is this: how do we love and serve the God who saved us? After all, I firmly believe that when you truly experience God, you should naturally want to serve God. In this message, we’re going to look at a couple of different ways we can serve God based on what we learn from those who served well in Scripture. The people we’re going to look at today set a great example of what it looks like to serve with the love of Jesus, so I think we would benefit to learn about and follow their example.

Paul’s words in Colossians 4 remind us that faith isn’t meant to be stationary. If you’re truly rooted in Christ, that should move you forward into mission, into purpose, and into a closer relationship with Him. Being rooted in Christ isn’t just about growing deep; it’s about reaching wide. If your faith is real, it won’t stay private. It will go public.

If you’ve lived in the South for any amount of time, you’ve probably encountered a plant called kudzu. This plant was originally brought to America from Asia to help with erosion back in the 1930s because it grows extremely fast, up to one foot a day. At first, it looks totally innocent, just a few leafy vines growing along the side of the road. But give it time, and it will take over everything. Trees, power lines, abandoned cars…if something remains still long enough, kudzu will completely cover it. But as frustrating as kudzu is, it teaches us something profound about relationships. Like kudzu, our lives are always growing, connecting, wrapping, and intertwining with other people.Relationships are either growing healthier, or they’re growing out of control. And here’s the truth Paul shows us in Colossians 3: the quality of your relationships reveals the roots of your discipleship. If your life is rooted in Christ, it will show up most clearly in your relationships.

Following Jesus isn’t about polishing your past. It’s about living in your new identity. You’re not the same as you were before Christ. You’ve been raised. You’ve been changed. You’ve been given new life. As we continue our Rooted series in Colossians, chapter 3 shows us what stepping into your new reality in Christ is supposed to look like. Paul is calling believers to live lives that are rooted in new life.

Paul opens the second chapter of Colossians, acknowledging that the church in Colossae was in danger, not because of persecution, but because false teaching was creeping in. Deceptive philosophies, legalism, and mystical experiences were threatening to rot their spiritual roots. Writing from prison in Rome, Paul urges believers then and now with a clear message: Don’t be uprooted. Be rooted in truth. Being rooted in truth protects us from spiritual deception and false religion.

Storms are coming. They are an inevitable part of life. And when storms hit, only what’s rooted on the rock will remain standing. This series isn’t about looking religious. It’s not about behavior management or surface-level growth. This series is about strengthening what lies beneath the surface: your root system. Because the truth is, if you aren’t deeply rooted in Christ, you will collapse in a moment of crisis. We live in a world that values speed over depth, image over integrity, and influence over intimacy with God. But the reality is, shallow roots create fragile faith. And that isn’t the kind of faith that God has called us to. Over the next several weeks, we’re going to dig deep into the gospel, into your soul, and into the soil of the Word because God isn’t calling us to a surface-level Christianity. He’s calling us to be rooted in Him.

Many years ago, a wealthy man contracted two artists to paint a picture that would capture the essence of peace. The first painted a serene landscape including a still lake, soft clouds, and gentle sunlight. It was calm and beautiful. The second painted a violent storm, with lightning and crashing waves, yet tucked into the rocks was a bird’s nest with a mother bird sheltering her babies, unmoved by the chaos. The man chose the second painting and said, “True peace isn’t the absence of trouble, but the presence of calm in the midst of the storm.” In the 8th century B.C., Israel was in a storm. Enemies approached, people panicked, and fear consumed the land. In the midst of the chaos, God spoke through Isaiah, promising a solution to their greatest problem: a child, Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, the nation of Israel was in a mess. Assyria was threatening to invade from the north, and the people of God were living in darkness and fear. King Ahaz wanted to protect Judah, but instead of trusting God, he took matters into his own hands and sought alliances with foreign powers. In the midst of this chaos, God gave a message to the prophet Isaiah, a message of hope. He told them that a child would be born, a son would be given, and that this Son would be the answer to their greatest problem. God didn’t offer a military strategy or political solution; He promised a baby, His Son, who would bring peace, healing, and restoration.

Revelation 11 reminds us that even when it looks like evil is winning, God’s victory is certain. This chapter introduces two special messengers who boldly proclaim God’s truth during the darkest times and show His power through their mission, death, and resurrection.

Life often brings us to forks in the road—critical moments requiring us to choose our path. In Revelation 10, God provides humanity with one final pause, a significant window of time to choose repentance before the coming judgment intensifies. This chapter reveals God’s mercy, offering a last opportunity for people to turn to Him, even in the midst of the Tribulation.

The book of Revelation reveals God’s divine plan layer by layer. As the seventh seal is broken, silence in heaven signals the trumpet judgments—an escalation of God’s righteous response to sin and a call to repentance. Through these trumpets, we see not just judgment but also God’s deep desire for humanity to turn back to Him.

According to Revelation 6 and 7, after the Church is raptured, the Tribulation will begin. In this message, Pastor Jordan Easley helps us understand exactly what will happen during the horrific period of the Tribulation, and he explains the six seals that will be broken during this time.

When God instructed John to write the Book of Revelation, He told him to write what he had seen, what currently is, and what is to come in the future. Understanding each of these components is the key to understanding Revelation and the message God has for us in this important book.

The book of Revelation is a very confusing book of the Bible, which is why many people often avoid reading it. In this message, Pastor Jordan Easley begins a series all about the book of Revelation in hopes of helping you better understand this portion of God’s Word.

I want you to imagine two chairs: one labeled OLD and the other NEW. Everyone knows what it’s like to sit in the OLD chair. This chair symbolizes our old self, our original nature as sinners. Psalm 51:5 says, “Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.” In the OLD chair, we strive for personal success, wealth, comfort, and status. We’re driven by self-interest and the applause of others. We live to build ourselves up and prop up our own name. But when Jesus saves us, He changes our chair, our minds, our hearts, our desires, and our actions. The NEW chair represents following Jesus. In this chair, our focus is different: we seek God’s righteousness, build His Kingdom, serve others selflessly, and share Christ faithfully. In this chair, Jesus is King, and we live for His glory, not ours. As we turn to Matthew 6, Jesus shifts from internal transformation to external practices and asks: Why do you do the things you do? The world measures actions. The Lord measures motives.

We live in a world where resentment is easy and forgiveness feels impossible. When someone hurts us, our natural response is to hold a grudge, seek revenge, or cut them off completely. But in Kingdom Culture, Jesus calls His followers to a radically different way of life: to love not only our friends but even our enemies. That kind of love is countercultural and supernatural. In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus raises the standard for what it means to truly love. The love of Jesus looks different from the world’s love, and we’ve been called to love like Him. Today He shows us three defining marks of that kind of love.

There’s a big difference between becoming a Christian and being a Christian. Becoming a Christian happens in a moment when you place your faith in Jesus, ask for His forgiveness, receive His salvation, and are born again. But that beautiful moment is just the beginning. Being a Christian is more than a spiritual moment. It’s a lifelong journey. It’s a daily commitment to live differently, to love radically, and to follow Christ completely. That’s the message Jesus communicates in Matthew 5 as He preaches the Sermon on the Mount. He reminds His followers that He hasn’t called us to a title but to a total transformation. In today’s passage, Jesus challenges us to go against everything our flesh desires: not just to meet expectations, but to go beyond them and live a second-mile life.