Real Peace. Real People.

Why Did He Do It?A SERMON BASED ON Mark 7:31-37His miracle was for one man and one man alone. He brings him to a private place, heals him, and then tells him to tell no one about it. Why was Jesus willing to take the time to make such a narrow impact when he could have made this man well in front of hundreds? Because it wasn’t about the crowd. In this moment, the Savior’s focus was on one man. And Jesus used this moment to bring this man healing for his life and healing for his soul.

A "Good Person"?A SERMON BASED ON Romans 9:30-10:4If we are looking for a good person, we’ve found one. No, she’s not living under our roof, he’s not staring back at you in the mirror. We find one “good person” in our life: Jesus. It is Jesus who knows what perfect obedience is. It is Jesus who knows what perfect love is. Jesus is the only “good person” we know. But he doesn’t keep it to himself. He gives his goodness to us so that we can share in the Father’s favor. This is how we begin our lives of obedience.

The Offensive Bread of LifeA SERMON BASED ON John 6:51-69In general, when people are faced with an idea that they find offensive, they do one of two things. 1. They turn their back on the idea, the person, or the movement. Or 2. They wrestle to get comfortable with this scandalous thought. In John 6, as Jesus ends his Bread of Life discourse, the disciples wrestle with Jesus' teaching and give us a path forward when we are presented with a section of God's Word that makes us uncomfortable.

A Feast of WisdomA SERMON BASED ON John 6:35-51Jesus continues his “Bread of Life” discourse as he reminds that disciples that God himself is the one who draws sinners to himself. This is a stark reminder that the wisdom of God is NOTHING like the wisdom of this world.

A Lasting MealA SERMON BASED ON John 6:24-35Tragically, the best meals don’t last forever. Whether it’s the steak that you spent WAY too much money on or it’s that Thanksgiving meal that you fondly remember, we always find ourselves being hungry again. In these beginning verses of Jesus’ conversation about the bread of life, we find him reminding the people that he offers something better. He offers something that is not temporarily satisfying, but eternally filling!

WITH YouA SERMON BASED ON Mark 6:45-56What does Jesus mean when he tells us he will be with us? And how is that helpful? When you are going through scary situations or rough patches in life, why does the presence of God matter? In our reading for this Sunday, we are reminded of a simple truth: there is no one we would rather have with us than our Savior.

Everything Means EverythingA SERMON BASED ON 2 Corinthians 9:8-11What can be used to serve Jesus? Often, we shrink the scope of service far beyond the way God presents it in Scripture. God has filled each and every Christian up with exactly what they need AND MORE so as to serve others and serve him. God is so generous with his blessings toward us and allows for so many opportunities for service that we are forced to stop asking what can be used to serve God and start asking WHAT CAN’T be used to serve God?

Inconvenient CompassionA SERMON BASED ON Mark 6:30-34When Jesus looks at you, what do you suppose he see? I’m sure he sees your day to day desire to walk in his ways. However, whether we want to admit it or not, he also sees our shortcomings. He sees the deep rooted sin. He sees the ways that we stray from him. But instead of being disgusted or disinterested, he is compassionate. His heart breaks for us. This is the heart of the gospel. This is our heart.

God's RepresentativesA SERMON BASED ON Titus 1:5-9When we take on the awesome task of serving Jesus in life, we can overlook the fact that we aren’t just to speak his words, but we are to model his behavior. That is the standard that God places on those who want to be overseers in his kingdom. Our first concern might be that we can’t live up to that calling… who can?? The same way that we depend on God’s grace for our salvation, we depend on his grace in dealing with us as we strive to do our best to represent him in his kingdom.

"It's Not You... It's HIM"A SERMON BASED ON Ezekiel 2:1-7When a couple breaks up because one party is dissatisfied with the relationship, you might hear him or her say to their partner, “It’t not you, it’s me.” The person is taking responsibility for what is objectionable in the relationship. God tells us that when we face rejection for the gospel, we need to keep in mind that the person isn’t rejecting us… they’re rejecting God and his Word. This reminder comforts us knowing, “It’s not you… It’s HIM.”

Only SleepingA SERMON BASED ON Mark 5:21-24,35-43In the account of Jesus dealing with a grief stricken father and raising his daughter from the dead, Jesus’ attitude astounds us. In the face of mourning and tragedy, Jesus shows calm, cool confidence. Why? He knows who holds all of the cards. This attitude is an attitude of faith. It’s an attitude, by grace, we can mirror.

In the Back of Your BoatA SERMON BASED ON Mark 5:35-41Did he even care? This was the question on the minds of the disciples as they scurried around the boat trying to make sure that it wouldn’t sink. They were doing their part, but by all accounts, Jesus wasn’t doing his. But this was not even remotely true! Even if Jesus didn’t frantically spring into action, it wasn’t as if the situation was out of control. Jesus was still in the back of the boat.

Kingdom Work for DummiesA SERMON BASED ON Mark 4:26-34Do we make it more complicated than it is? Spreading the Kingdom of God can seem like such daunting work. But do we overthink it. God says, “preach the gospel.” We have to do more than that, right? In his 2 parables that Jesus shares with us today, he tells us not to overthink it. Go forth with the gospel, and let him worry about the rest.

Don't Believe Your EyesA SERMON BASED ON REvelation 20:1-6Is Christianity winning? I think most who examine the falling church attendance throughout the country and the lack of respect for Christian institutions would say no. Christianity seems as if it’s on the ropes. But don’t let your eyes deceive you. Christ still sits on his throne. Knowing this is key to reading the book of Revelation and is vital to your walk in the faith.

Do You Really Deserve a Break?A SERMON BASED ON MarK 2:23-3:6People get burnt out when they continuously work without a rest. It should be no surprise, then, that the same applies to our spiritual lives. If we spend our time loving and serving those around us without any time for spiritual R&R for ourselves, we inevitably burn out. Thankfully, the rest we have a God who knows that. He knows you so well that he is willing to say, “for your own good, take a break!” We take a break, we rest every time we find our ease of heart and mind in what Jesus did for us.

The Triune God Doing "Triune God Things"A SERMON BASED ON Romans 8:12-17Every other religion has a god. This god is described in a variety of ways: powerful, wise, angry, loving, perfect, flawed… every religion thinks something about their god. What should we think about our Triune God? Who he is is revealed to us by what he has done. This week, we discover a God who reveals himself as a God who is more complex than we could possibly imagine. We understand more and more about him as we see his work in our lives. Let’s take a look!

Selling the Holy Spirit ShortA SERMON BASED ON Acts 2:1-21The power of God is present inside the walls of our church on Sunday morning. Some people might even say that they can feel it. But as you exit the doors, it might feel like things go “back to normal.” Just you, your strength, and the problems of the day. In our reading from Acts, we learn that on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church with a purpose. Jesus wanted his people to know that the power to change hearts, work faith, and save souls was a power far beyond the power of human beings. Yet, it was human beings that God chose to use as his instruments for that power.

His Ascension Draws Him CloserA SERMON BASED ON Ephesians 4:7-16In many ways, the ascension of Jesus ties a boy on his earthly ministry. He had defeated sin, the devil and hell itself. But that doesn’t mean Jesus is done. He still has an agenda even as he sits at the right hand of God the Father. Hear about that agenda in this Sunday’s sermon.

But How Do I Do It?A SERMON BASED ON John 15:9-17Even the most casual Christian understands a basic principle of Jesus’ teaching and the teaching of Scripture: love those around you. Rarely, the problem is not knowing if we should love our neighbor or our God. The problem is execution. So how do go from a place of understanding God’s call to love to making it happen? We look to the model of our love.

Remain, Remain, RemainA SERMON BASED ON John 15:1-8Your connection to Christ need not be tenuous. When he says, “Remain in me,” he isn’t calling on us to do the impossible. Instead, he is calling us to make use of the means that he has established to keep us near to him. In all of this, we understand a critical point: Jesus and Jesus alone is the one who keeps our relationship strong. In that resolute relationship, we find ourselves bearing fruit.