Claim OwnershipJohnson Ferry Sermons
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Sermon messages from Pastor Clay Smith and the pastoral team of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. The church is located in the North Atlanta area of East Cobb and offers two styles of worship – Modern and Traditional multiple times each Sunday.
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The pursuit of more often costs us what matters most. This week, Pastor Clay walks through Ecclesiastes 4 and shows how the desire for more can come at a hidden price. Who are we really competing with, and what is it costing us?
There is a time and a season for everything, but what do we do when we can’t see the full picture or understand what God is doing? This week, Pastor Clay walks us through Solomon’s honest reflections on times and seasons, and what it looks like to trust God even when time feels frustrating and life feels uncertain.
What if you could love your job? Work is often where frustration and fulfillment collide, and God’s Word has much to say about toil, labor, and discovering true fulfillment as we work for the glory of God. This week Pastor Clay gives us some insights from Ecclesiastes 2 on how we can redefine success and work according to God’s word.
Spiritual hunger begins with God. He placed desire in your heart and promises to complete the work He started. This removes pressure and produces confidence. Hunger for God is not a short-term project but a lifelong journey. God is committed to shaping you, growing you, and drawing you deeper into Himself.
Waiting on the Lord is active trust. As you quiet your heart before Him, you receive supernatural strength, clarity, and renewal. Hunger for God grows strongest when you slow down long enough to receive from Him. Often in seasons of waiting and seeking we feel at a loss. Weakness is not a disqualification; it is the doorway to divine strength.
Fullness of joy is not found in circumstances but in presence. God Himself is the source of joy, pleasure, and deep satisfaction. When you spend time with Him whether in prayer, worship, or quiet stillness, you experience a joy nothing else can provide. Hunger grows where joy is found. Seek His face before you seek His hand.
This Scripture is not a formula for getting what you want but a promise God will transform your heart. When you delight in God, your desires begin to mirror His. Hunger for God grows as you take joy in who He is, not just what He gives. Delight leads to desire, and desire leads to deeper intimacy.
Spiritual hunger is not something you must manufacture alone because the Holy Spirit helps, strengthens, and even prays for you. When desire feels weak or inconsistent, the Spirit fills the gap. He stirs longing, creates spiritual appetite, and draws your heart toward the Father. You do not pursue God by yourself; God’s own Spirit empowers your pursuit.
An idol is anything that captures your devotion, attention, or affection more than God. Idols can be obvious or subtle: comfort, approval, success, relationships, habits, or even good things placed above God. Idols dull hunger. Removing them clears space for desire to grow.
Think of a time you were famished. Hunger moves your emotions, your passions, even your physical responses. Your whole being was designed for His presence. God desires we would yearn for Him, craving His presence.
What if the things we think will satisfy us never really do? This week in Ecclesiastes 2, Pastor Clay shows how pleasure, success, and achievement can fall short, and why contentment comes from somewhere deeper.
A hungry heart is a surrendered heart. Presenting yourself (your body, thoughts, plans, time, and energy) to God is an act of worship that deepens your desire for Him. Surrender clears space for hunger to grow. When you place your life on His altar, you align yourself with His transforming work.
The desires of the flesh compete with hunger for God. The solution is not willpower but walking with the Spirit. When you live in step with Him, your appetite shifts away fromthings that weaken desire and toward things that strengthen it. Walking by the Spirit means choosing His promptings over your impulses. Over time, this creates a heart thatnaturally hungers for God’s ways.
Spiritual hunger is not something you must manufacture alone because the Holy Spirit helps, strengthens, and even prays for you. When desire feels weak or inconsistent, the Spirit fills the gap. He stirs longing, creates spiritual appetite, and draws your heart toward the Father. You do not pursue God by yourself; God’s own Spirit empowers your pursuit.
Jesus teaches spiritual life depends on God’s Word just as physical life depends on food. We often treat Scripture as optional, something we turn to when convenient. But Jesusinsists it is essential. Hunger for God increases when we recognize our daily dependence on His voice. God speaks life, strength, wisdom, and direction through His Word. Whenyou choose to live by what He says, you position your heart to desire Him more deeply.
God’s Word is not merely information, it is nourishment. When you “eat” the Word, you internalize it, digest it, and receive life from it. Hunger for God increases when Scripture becomes joy, not obligation. The Word awakens desire, feeds desire, and sustains desire.
David reduces his desires down to one essential pursuit: God Himself. Many desires compete for your attention, but only one desire satisfies, dwelling with God and seeing His beauty. Spiritual hunger grows when we simplify our pursuit.
Moses’ prayer is bold: “God, show me Yourself.” Hunger for God often begins as simple, desperate desire to see Him more clearly. God does not deny this request. He delights in revealing Himself to seekers. When you hunger for God’s glory, you’re hungering for His presence, His beauty, His character, and His power.
As we continue through Ecclesiastes, Pastor Clay challenges our assumptions about knowledge and wisdom, reminding us that while they have value, they are not enough to bring lasting satisfaction.
God speaks daily through His Word, His Spirit, circumstances, and conviction. The danger is not that we cannot hear Him, but that we tune Him out. Hunger grows when we respond quickly and humbly to His voice. Hardness happens slowly, quietly, and subtly. Staying tender is an intentional daily choice.
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