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White Stone Church
Weekly Message Audio from White Stone Church in Knoxville, TN. Watch Live Video of our Services, or enjoy Worshipping with us at http://www.whitestonechurch.org
"Anxiety" has been a buzzword in our culture for quite some time now, and it doesn't seem to be going away any time soon. It's no secret that we are experiencing an epidemic of anxiety, depression, and despair in our time.
One of the hard things about anxiety and depression is that there are no easy answers for it. There is no three step process to fix it; there is no easy way out of it. But in spite of that, there is one thing that is abundantly clear: if you read the scriptures you'll realize that anxiety is not a new. People have struggled with it going all the way back to the beginning, and if you do struggle with anxiety, you are not alone.
In this message, Brock opens up and vulnerably addresses anxiety in his own life, and rather than giving a quick fix for anxiety, he points us to the hope and peace available to us in and during our anxiety.
We all love a good underdog story. Stores of people who have overcome great adversity, hardship, or obstacles inspire us to pursue greatness. But for some reason, that doesn't translate to most of our faith journeys. Many people within the church, when confronted with obstacles to walking in their calling, let the obstacles have the last word. The truth is that we are all gifted in unique ways for the advancement of the Kingdom of God on the earth, but many of us let excuses like "I'm too busy," or, "I've been hurt before, and I'm not going to let that happen again," stop us from using those gifts.
This series is all about the power in God's people deciding to "Do it Anyway," in spite of the obstacles.
In this message, Cody starts off the series by talking about the importance of choosing to "Do it Wounded"— choosing to continue to show up even though we have been hurt, and choosing to serve even when we are living with the casualties of living in a fallen world.
As we round out our series through the seven spiritual gifts of Romans 12, we turn to the final gift listed in the text: Mercy.
Mercy is a topic that is discussed heavily in the gospels, but Jesus, surprisingly, didn't talk all that much about it. People asked Jesus to show them mercy all the time, but there are only a few times where Jesus actually uses the word "mercy" in his teaching; three to be exact. In the third of these three stories, Jesus heals a demon-possessed man, and then tells him to go and tell his friends how the Lord has had mercy on him.
Now, if that story is the only record we have of Jesus describing something he did as being merciful, we could probably stand to learn about the gift of mercy by digging into that story. In this message, Brock breaks down the true meaning of mercy by drawing insights from the healing of the Gerasene Demoniac, and then gives three traits that mark people with the spiritual gift of mercy.
As we've gone through the seven spiritual gifts that Paul lists in Romans 12, one thing that has become clear is that the gifts are not intended to box people into one or two particular areas of service. In other words, just because you are gifted in one area, doesn't mean that you don't have to do the activities associated with the other areas of giftedness. We are all called to prophesy, some of us are just spiritually gifted at it. We are all called to serve, some of us are just spiritually gifted at it. It goes on down the list.
The same thing is true of giving. We are all called to give and to be generous. Some of us are just supernaturally gifted at it. In this message, Cody lays out what the New and Old Testaments say about what role giving should play in the life of a follower of Jesus, and lays out traits that mark people who have been supernaturally gifted by the Holy Spirit to give and empower the church.
We hear Jesus referred to as the "lamb of God" a lot, but what does that actually mean? Many people will tell you that a great way to sum up the gospel is John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he GAVE..."
We know that Jesus is the Lamb of God because he gave himself as an offering on our behalf. But there's so much more to it than that. In this message, Brock takes a deep dive on the idea of the "lamb of God" as it appears all through scripture, and by doing that we can see that Jesus is ultimately revealed to be the answer to a question going all the way back to Genesis: "Where is the Lamb?"
It's an almost universal truth that the people who want power the most, are usually the most unfit to possess it.
Last week, Colby gave us a solid framework of what qualities identify people who have been spiritually gifted to lead. But in Romans 12, Paul doesn't just list the gifts, he also tells us how to use them. In the case of leadership, he tells leaders to lead "with zeal." In this continuation of last week's message, Brock does a word study on the Greek words used for "Leader," and the word used for "zeal," shedding light on how leaders are to use their positions of influence.
In this message on the spiritual gift of encouragement, Brock uses a specific character from the New Testament as a case study on just how powerful and beneficial to the church the gift of encouragement can be. Barnabas is not a character in the Bible that ever really receives top billing. It’s likely that you’ve never heard a sermon solely about his life and impact. But Barnabas’s name literally means “son of encouragement,” and as we see from the book of Acts, you don’t get Paul without Barnabas. As we look at how Barnabas used his gifts to equip people in the church from behind the scenes, the power and importance of encouraging people in the power of the Holy Spirit comes into full view.
Think about your favorite teacher you had when you were growing up. What was it that made that teacher your favorite? Odds are, they impacted you more than the rest because they did something to make the subject relatable to you. Maybe they took a particular interest in you and you. Maybe they did something to make the class fun. Whatever the reason was, odds are that your favorite teacher did not become your favorite just because they were smart. You probably don’t have lifelong memories of this person and how their teaching impacted you because of their knowledge of the subject matter.
That seems like an obvious observation, but when we talk about the spiritual gift of teaching, many of us view it that way. We think that you have to have a comprehensive knowledge of the Bible or a seminary degree to have the gift of teaching. Because of that, many of us dismiss the gift of teaching, without seriously considering if we actually have it.
In this message, Cody looks at 3 traits that the Bible shows us come with the gift of teaching. Maybe you are gifted to teach, but you’ve never felt called to step out into your giftedness. It’s our hope that this message could be a small step to change that.
One of the deadliest poisons spreading through the Church right now is the pursuit of vain glory— the subtle temptation to proclaim the gospel and make a name for ourselves at the same time. There's this idea that many of us have, especially in the American church: we blur the lines between submission and ambition. But the reality is that it is impossible to magnify Jesus and promote yourself at the same time. As Christians, we are called to a life of service, not to a life of greatness.
This is true for every single one of us. Yet, there are some of us whom God has gifted with a supernatural, spiritual gift of service. Some of us don't only have the ability and responsibility to serve, but we also are energized, filled up, and fulfilled when we serve. What an incredible and necessary gift that is! In this message, Brock explores the spiritual gift of service from Romans 12, and also calls us all away from celebrity Christian culture and back toward simple, consistent discipleship.
It is our sincere belief that God has gifted you in a particular and unique way for the advancement of His kingdom and the building up of His Church. Because of that, we are so excited to be launching into a new series for the next seven weeks exploring the seven spiritual gifts listed in Romans 12, and it is our hope that through this series you can hone in on what your gift might be, and that you would be able to put it to use.
In this message, Brock sets up the rest of the series by reminding us that comparing ourselves to others is the enemy of contribution; that one of our primary functions as the church is to equip one another to do the work that God has made us for; and that for us to truly live, we must die to ourselves daily.
As we wrapped our series on First John last week, Brock left us with the truth that Satan's ultimate goal is that our faith might fail. He encouraged us as John encouraged his readers to resist the enemy's attacks on our faith.
It can be easy to become overwhelmed when we think about the forces that stand against us having vibrant faith. We can easily become disheartened when we see our own strength compared to Satan's vast resources. In this message Brock reassures us with a message from the life of the prophet Elisha. In three back-to-back moves of God, we are shown that God has power and authority over the natural world, over the chaos we feel in our lives, and over the supernatural world. Because of that, we can boldly resist the enemy's attacks on our faith, because those who are with us are more than those who are with him.
It's pretty obvious that God has a goal for your life, but do you know that Satan does as well?
We see in a conversation between Jesus and Peter in Luke 22 that Satan's overall desire for you and for all of humanity is that our faith would fail. Satan wants to see you give up when the road gets hard; turning your back on the God who made you and saved you. He wants to see you apathetic and cynical and angry and empty.
Simply put, the God of heaven wants to see you faithful. His enemy, the father of lies, wants to see you faithless.
In this final message in our series through First John, Brock closes out the series in the same way John closes out his letter: by calling the Church to stand firm, to pray for one another, to remain faithful, and to finish the race.
. . .
The book, Fighting Shadows, by Jon Tyson and Jefferson Bethke that Brock mentioned in this sermon can be found here:https://a.co/d/a3i4sd6
In 1954, Roger Bannister was the first person to run a mile in under four minutes. Before that, the most widely held belief was that it was impossible for a human to run a mile in under four minutes. But after Bannister crossed that threshold, what was impossible was suddenly possible. What is interesting, though, is that while Bannister was the first to run a sub-four minute mile in 1954, since then almost 2,000 people have done it as well—presumably because once they saw that it was possible, the mentality surrounding the feat changed.
We've covered that a large part of 1 John is about restoring the church's confidence. Like the church John was writing to, many of us approach life with a "grasshopper mentality"— one that says that our obstacles are like giants and we are like grasshoppers. But since we have watched Jesus overcome the world, that should change our perspective on what is possible, and empower us to step into the calling he has for us.
If you had to describe God in one word, what would it be?
There are four direct “God is…” statements in the Bible; Direct and explicit declarations of God’s character. 1 John 1:5 tells us that “God is Light.” In Hebrews 12:29 we are told that God is “an all consuming fire.” In chapter 4 of the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us that “God is Spirit.” And lastly, in 1 John chapter 4, we learn that “God is love.”
These are four different aspects of God's character and his nature. In many ways, God is like a kaleidoscope. And when you turn the kaleidoscope and you look at it from different angles, you see different colors, different shapes, different forms of beauty.
What is truly incredible, though, is that while the Biblical authors over the course of human history have had true encounters with God and have experienced aspects of His character, we find the full expression of what God is like in the person of Jesus.
As we step across the threshold into the fourth chapter of 1 John, we are greeted with a warning: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God."
John originally wrote this letter for multiple reasons. One of them was to combat distortions of the gospel that were rising up in the early churches of his day. His advice to the church then is just as relevant to us today: just because something feels spiritual, doesn't mean it is from God. As followers of Jesus, we should make it a practice to test the teachings we hear against the Word of God: Jesus himself; as well as against the overarching story we see unfolding in scripture.
Entitlement, bitterness, cynicism, and resentment threaten every relationship we have. We have all been placed among people who we are called to love sacrificially, but the reality is that there are times when we feel like we are pouring out more of ourselves than we are getting back from others, and that can lead us to become bitter. It can tempt us to draw back from those God has placed in our lives for a reason.
We could all stand to learn a little from the great mothers of the world in that way, because while every other relationship seems to be threatened by one party sacrificing more than their fair share, the constant sacrifices that mothers make for their kids actually cause them to love their kids more; not less.
As we pick up our series through 1 John on this Mothers' Day, Cody reminds us that the danger of going from being part of Christ's Kingdom, to being anti-Christ, begins with the urge to grow bitter and pull away from the people God has called you to love when things get hard. The mark of a true citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, however, is steadfastness, consistency, and the ability to bear with our brothers and sisters in love.
There is a song of worship that even the angels cannot sing. Just think about that for a second.
We see references to it throughout the Bible, and it has come to be referred to as "the Song of the Redeemed." The angels can't sing it is because they have never been rescued like we have— they have never tasted separation from God, and the hopelessness that comes with it. And likewise, they have never experienced the life-altering grace and kindness and rescue that was made possible through the work of Jesus. And because redemption is not a part of their story, they cannot join in the Song of the Redeemed.
Verses 12-14 of 1 John chapter 2 are markedly different from any other verses in the letter. They are written in the form of poetry, mimicking a song or a dance. After spending the majority of chapter 2 warning against hypocrisy, the author shifts and affirms the authenticity of his listeners' faith— almost like he is reminding them of their redemption and is encouraging them to once again sing out in the song of the redeemed.
In this message, Brock gives a powerful presentation of the Gospel, and invites us all to learn the song of our redemption, and to join in the great symphony of God's redeemed.
It is impossible to have an encounter with a holy God without being changed by it. We see it play out time and time again throughout the narrative of scripture. From Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush, to Isaiah's vision of Yahweh on his throne in the temple, to Paul's encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus; it is clear that when we encounter God's presence, we walk away differently.
In the second chapter of 1 John, the author of the letter speaks to the authenticity of our faith, making the bold claim that if we claim to know Jesus, but we do not walk in the way he did— if we have not been changed by an encounter with him— then we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. In this message, Brock breaks down the second chapter of 1 John, and teaches on what it means to have an authentic faith— how to keep an aroma of heaven about us, even through the changing seasons of life.
The book of First John begins with a bold claim: “God is Light, and there is no darkness in him at all.” And because of that, we are called to be people who walk in the light, not under the cover of darkness and pretension.
It’s no surprise then that John immediately tells us to confess our sins to each other.
The rhythm of regular confession is something that many of us leave out of the rule of Christian living. Maybe we do this because we don’t think we need to, or maybe it’s because we intentionally want people to think more highly of us. Whatever the reason, a consistent rhythm of confession; for the purpose of building up, not of shame, can create opportunities in our life for deeper intimacy with God, deeper community with each other, lasting healing from sin, and greater spiritual maturity.
One of the most beautiful stories that we have in the Bible of the day Jesus was raised is the story of the two followers on the road to Emmaus.
In the story, the two friends were returning home from Jerusalem after witnessing all that had happened to Jesus on Good Friday. While they were walking, the resurrected Jesus met them on the road, but his identity was hidden from them. It was over the course of their journey that they aired their disappointments and grievances with how the story had unfolded up thus far. They had thought Jesus would be the one to redeem Israel. They thought he would be the one to liberate their people from Rome. They had thought he was God's anointed. Apparently, he wasn't.
The stranger on the road challenged their perspective on some things, but it was not until they invited him to eat with them and saw him break the bread that everything became completely clear.
In this Easter message, Brock uses this familiar story to illustrate how we all are so often uncomfortable with how God brings His plans to completion. The fact is, most of us want to maintain some semblance of control. We want things to be done our way. But when we remember the reality that the tomb is empty, and that the Savior is no longer there but is inviting us to a table instead; we remember that the impossible is possible, and that even out of death, new life can spring forth.
Holy week seems to always come around when there are all sorts of painful things happening. The image of Jesus riding into Jerusalem challenges our hopelessness, our belief that God has forgotten us and has left us in our despair.
In Ezekiel's incredible vision of the valley of dry bones, God asks him an almost ridiculous question: "Can these bones live?" Can God bring resurrection when these bodies have been dead for so long? Is resurrection even possible in this circumstance? Or is the situation too far gone?
In this Sermon given on Palm Sunday, Colby finishes up our series on the Holy Spirit by showing us the Holy Spirit's role in resurrection— how God restores the muscles and skin of the dry bones while Ezekiel prophesies, but they aren't truly alive until the breath of the Spirit fills them—the Breath of Life.
Imagine that you are a defendant in a courtroom, and you are called to the stand to give your side of the story. No matter who you are or how well spoken you are, it would be foolish for the jury to just take you at your word without anyone else corroborating your story. That is why witnesses are so important in a courtroom.
In Acts 5, Peter invokes the Holy Spirit himself as a third witness to all that Jesus had done. In that text, as well as several others, the Holy Spirit is described as a "witness." And as we find out by digging into the scriptures, the Holy Spirit's role as a perfect witness to the gospel and to what is true is extremely vital to us and our faith, especially considering how untrustworthy our own emotions and thoughts can be.
We are all living in the middle of a great battle—a battle that rages inside each and every one of us; the battle between the Holy Spirit and our flesh—the natural desires that are in all of our hearts, running counter to God's will for our lives and for human flourishing.
And it is into that battle that Paul gives the command to the church, "Walk in step with the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." As it turns out, walking in step with the Spirit is not about modifying our own behavior from our own strength, but instead comes from our identity, and where we are planted.
And it is after he gives that command that Paul gives his famous contrast between the "works of the flesh" and the "fruit of the spirit." But instead of contrasting all of the behaviors in those lists, what can we learn by contrasting the names of the lists themselves? What is the difference between "works" and "fruit?"
It's a little bit of a mouthful, but the official working title for this sermon is "Four Important Truths About the Holy Spirit that I Think are Significant, but I haven't Been Able To Fit Them in a Sermon Yet."
It may not be a great title, but it does get at the heart of this message. Over the course of our teaching series on the Holy Spirit, there have been several significant, biblical truths about the Holy Spirit that Brock has felt led to share, but they haven't really fit in with the topics of each of the messages so far. This message is straight from the cutting room floor, in hopes that God can take the scraps left over and turn them into the entree.
It can be very easy to confuse the effect of something with the thing itself. There is a beautiful moment in the story of Elijah where God tells Elijah to come out of the cave he was hiding in to meet with Him. The Bible says that the Lord passed by, and with that there were several effects of his presence: a mighty wind, an earthquake, and a fire. But Elijah knew the difference between the effects of God's presence, and God himself.
It is especially dangerous in worship to make the same mistake. In Ephesians 5, Paul tells us that our songs of worship are to be an effect of being filled with the Holy Spirit. If our worship doesn't come from a lifestyle of being filled with the Spirit, and if it doesn't lead us into further submission to the Spirit, then our worship can become something altogether different.
The Apostle Paul saw the Holy Spirit much differently than many of us do. While many of us see the Holy Spirit as a sort of adviser, Paul saw Him as his Master. While many of us see the Holy Spirit as a supplement to our faith, Paul sees him as central.
A great example of this is in Acts 20, where Paul says that he is literally "chained to" or "bound to" the Holy Spirit, even when the Spirit leads him to places where there will be hardship and suffering.
It's obvious that the majority of us don't submit to the Spirit in this way, but we are invited deeper into submission. We are all on a journey of relying more and more on the Spirit, from being curious about him, to being led by him, to being bound to him. And it is through being bound to the Spirit that God can use hardship and suffering in our lives to produce power in us to reach the world.
Last time Cody preached, we went through the first section of Romans 8 together, and broke down how the Holy Spirit helps us to lay down our own brokenness in exchange for the new life God has invited us into. But Romans 8 has so much more to say about the Holy Spirit!
In this message, Cody focuses on the middle section of Romans 8, which is all about prayer from within suffering. When we as believers stand prayerfully in the spirit at the places where our world is in pain, the Holy Spirit takes those cries for redemption and intercedes for us with groans that are “too deep for words.” Because of that, it is very possible that prayer plays a deeper role in our mission as Christians than we originally thought.
Jesus told the Pharisees and teachers of the law in Matthew 12, that "every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven." Because of that statement, many have come to refer to "blaspheming the Holy Spirit" as "the unforgivable sin." But what exactly does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? Is it possible that we have done it unintentionally, and in so doing, disqualified ourselves from forgiveness?
Questions like this have led many people to view this passage through a lens of fear. In this message from our series on the Holy Spirit, Brock digs in to what Jesus was getting at when he made this incredibly bold statement against the religious elite of his day.
Living in a modern, fast-paced culture can make it easy to forget that we are in the midst of a battle. And Paul reminds us in Ephesians chapter six that it is not a battle against people who believe differently than we do, or people who persecute us for our faith, or even against unbelievers. It is a spiritual battle against the dark forces of the world, our own sinful natures, and the devil himself.
To fight in this spiritual battle requires preparation: being equipped for what is rising against us. In Ephesians six, Paul gives an incredible roadmap of what it takes to navigate the spiritual warfare that we each must face if we intend to follow Jesus, culminating with our one offensive weapon: the sword of the Spirit.
There is a lie in the church that many of us have come to accept as truth: Jesus is one of many different things that can bring us lasting satisfaction, peace, and fulfillment.
The truth is, while there are all kinds of good things in the world that can bring us pleasure, the things that are appealing to our human nature don't bring lasting joy. Ultimately, God has a better definition of what it means to be human than we do.
Paul talks a lot about this in Romans 8, and he tells us that it is by the power of the Spirit that we can step out of the corrupt side of our humanity, and into the glorious purpose and life that He has for us. And again, this is only by the Spirit. Many people have tried to do it on their own strength, and that always ends badly.
In this message, Cody explores the early verses of Romans 8 which tell us that it's by the Spirit we die to ourselves, and it's by the Spirit we live in our new role as renewed humans in a world that is on its way to being redeemed.
Jesus told his followers in John 16 that it would actually be to their advantage that he go away, because of who he would send in his place: The Holy Spirit.
He then went on to describe the Holy Spirit with a word that we don't really have an equivalent for in English: paraklētos.
Paraklētos can mean a "helper." It can also mean "an advocate," and it can mean "comforter as well." Most literally, it means, "Someone who comes alongside."
Jesus knew that for all those that followed him, there would be times that they were mistreated, times that they felt alone, and times that they needed someone to advocate on their behalf. In this message, Brock talks about how in the Holy Spirit, we all have the promise of a helper, advocate, and comforter who will be with us even on the darkest of days.
For many christians, the Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood and most neglected member of the Trinity. When you look at all of the promises in scripture about the Holy Spirit and compare them to how most of us interact with the Spirit, the difference is absolutely tragic.
Our church is in a very interesting season right now. Externally, things look really good. God is doing incredible things. People are being served and loved in our community. We are witnessing miracles. But for many of us, internally, we are having a rough time. That is why it is so important for every believer to prioritize their own relationship to the Holy Spirit that has been poured out on us. In this message, Brock introduces us into our next sermon series on the Holy Spirit. In this message, he answers the questions:
Who is the Spirit?
Where does the Spirit come from?
And how do we receive the Holy Spirit?
If you were to boil down the entire Christian life into a singular goal, what would it be? You could definitely use a text like the Great Commission to define our greatest goal as the mission that Jesus left his church to fulfill. But at an even more basic level, the goal of the Christ-follower is simply to become like Christ.
That is what Paul says is his ultimate goal that he is "pressing on" to attain in Philippians 3; and he is quick to tell us that he is not perfect, and hasn't gotten there yet, but he gives us the tools we need to shift our mindset so that day by day, we develop more and more into the character of Jesus.
In this message preached on New Year's Eve, Colby uses Paul's encouragement to the Philippian church to encourage us to continue pressing into the goal of Christlikeness as we enter in to this brand new season.
Where is the most beautiful place you have ever been? Maybe it was the Grand Canyon, or Niagara Falls, or a mountaintop on a Caribbean island overlooking the ocean. Great artwork gives us a desire to learn more about the artist who made it, and it is no different when it comes to creation. There are so many things we can learn about God by looking at the world he has made.
But while creation tells us so much about God's greatness, it is the incarnation that informs us of his goodness. God becoming a man in the person of Jesus tells us that God is not only great and holy and magnificent, but also that he is relational, kind, and loving. In this message on the Christmas story, Brock urges us to cultivate a faith that clings tightly to both of these ideas. God is great, and God is good, and it is at Christmas that we see the two fully.
This is an audio recording from our 2023 sermon series titled, "Behold Him." For a video of the full service, check out the White Stone Church app, or visit www.whitestonechurch.org
Figuring out how and where to start a story can be tricky. In telling the story of Jesus, the Gospel of John opens very differently than the other three gospels. While Mark starts with the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, and Matthew and Luke start with the beginning of Jesus’ life, John starts with a different perspective entirely.
Cody leads us through the prologue of the book of John in this week’s Advent sermon, and in it, John makes the claim that Jesus’s story doesn’t even have a beginning. He has always been. The opening verses of John reveal a whole lot about the identity of Jesus, and it extends to us the invitation to behold him for who he really is.
This is an audio recording from our 2023 sermon series titled, "Behold Him." For a video of the full service, check out the White Stone Church app, or visit www.whitestonechurch.org
Our theme for our celebration of Advent this year is simply, “Behold Him.” Brock begins this year’s Advent series by going through the story of the Transfiguration in Matthew chapter 17. While that story isn’t your typical Christmas reading, Brock uses it to invite us to slow down, to be present, to be careful not to miss the beauty in front of us; to Behold, to look for a deeper glimpse into God’s glory in the person of Jesus, just like Peter, James, and John, as well as Moses and Elijah did on the mountain of Transfiguration. Because seeing Jesus in his glory represents thousands of years of God keeping his promises. And also, because seeing Jesus in his glory leads to our own transformation.
This is an audio recording from our 2023 sermon series titled, "Behold Him." For a video of the full service, check out the White Stone Church app, or visit www.whitestonechurch.org
We have spent nearly a year digging into the commands of Jesus found throughout the Bible. As the year draws to a close and our celebration of Advent begins next week, Cody closes out the commands series by reading the end of the Sermon on the Mount.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out a multitude of practical ways that he expects his followers to implement their faith and submission to him in the everyday facets of their lives. The commands of Christ that we have been studying all year are the same, and the concluding words of Jesus at the end of the sermon on the mount are just as poignant for us today as they were for their original audience: "Take these words of mine and put them into practice."
This is an audio recording from our 2023 sermon series titled, "If You Love Me". For full service videos, check out the White Stone Church app, or visit www.whitestonechurch.org
The story of the Good Samaritan is one of the most well-known and most frequently-taught of Jesus's parables. But one recurring problem in the historic church is that we often read stories like it in the Bible with the wrong perspective. We put ourselves into the shoes of the wrong character. We like to identify with the heroes in the stories, but more often than not, we are represented by a different character.
In this sermon, Brock breaks down the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and asks where we fit in the story. Only after answering that question can we truly understand Jesus's command at the end to "Go and do likewise."
This is an audio recording from our 2023 sermon series titled, "If You Love Me". For full service videos, check out the White Stone Church app, or visit www.whitestonechurch.org
In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes 7 statements about his own identity throughout the narrative of the book.
The first of these statements is "I am the bread from Heaven." Implicit in this statement are several commands for how we as followers of Jesus should structure and prioritize our lives. We live in a world full of things that promise to satisfy us, but Jesus claims that he alone will bring true nourishment to our souls.
This week, Colby teaches how we can reorient ourselves to pursue Jesus, and make him our primary desire in our lives.
This is an audio recording from our 2023 sermon series titled, "If You Love Me". For full service videos, check out the White Stone Church app, or visit www.whitestonechurch.org
In Matthew 18 Jesus tells his disciples, "Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." In the time we are living in, many of us are addicted to two things: information and domination. We want to know everything, and we want to control everything. More often than not, this desire to know and control everything, keeps us from finding joy in anything. And yet, Jesus calls us to a life of surrender, trust, and faith.
In this message, Brock breaks down what it practically looks like to become more childlike in our faith, by focusing on three things that children typically get right that adults get wrong: Control, Honesty, and Wonder.
This is an audio recording from our 2023 sermon series titled, "If You Love Me". For full service videos, check out the White Stone Church app, or visit www.whitestonechurch.org
In Matthew 10, just before Jesus sends out the 12 Apostles into a world that was openly hostile to them, he tells them to “Fear Not.” But telling someone to stop being afraid doesn’t really do anything to make them more courageous. How were the disciples to go about not being afraid? What reason did they have to be courageous?
In this message, Brock reminds us that to understand scripture fully, we have to take context into account, and avoid reducing the Bible down to sound bites and bumper stickers. As it turns out, when we look at Jesus’s command to “fear not” in context, he gives us all of the tools we need to take courage in a world that is often hostile to us and the Kingdom of God.
“Whatever God has called you to do, he will empower you for.”
This is an audio recording from our 2023 sermon series titled, "If You Love Me". For full service videos, check out the White Stone Church app, or visit www.whitestonechurch.org
No matter who you are or where you live, suffering and hardship are universal. All of us have come face to face with suffering, and as long as we are here on this earth, we will continue to. As Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble.” But why would an all powerful and loving God allow his own children to suffer? By looking through the book of Job, as well as the rest of the Bible, Colby unwraps the meaning and purpose behind our suffering, and the fact that God is sovereign through all of it. By putting our trust in God’s sovereignty, and surrendering to his plan, we are able to do what Jesus commanded; we are able to take heart and have peace.
This is an audio recording from our 2023 sermon series titled, "If You Love Me". For full service videos, check out the White Stone Church app, or visit www.whitestonechurch.org
In John 14:15, Jesus told his disciples, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Clearly, Jesus's love language is obedience, but sadly, many Christ followers are unfamiliar with most of the commands that Jesus explicitly gave his disciples. Because of that, we have decided to devote all of 2023 to digging into the commands of Christ, and how we can put them into practice in our daily lives.
Brock shares his take on Jesus’s command to “not cast your pearls before pigs, or give to dogs what is holy.” We often let the world dictate how we ought to identify and value ourselves, rather than allowing ourselves to be identified by Jesus and his finished work on the cross. Our Identity, how we see ourselves, is sacred and is worth defending. Just like in the story of the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, we have to humble ourselves and come to Jesus, allowing him to ask us, ‘what do you want me to do for you?”
This is an audio recording from our 2023 sermon series titled, "If You Love Me". For full service videos, check out the White Stone Church app, or visit www.whitestonechurch.org
In John 14:15, Jesus told his disciples, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Clearly, Jesus's love language is obedience, but sadly, many Christ followers are unfamiliar with most of the commands that Jesus explicitly gave his disciples. Because of that, we have decided to devote all of 2023 to digging into the commands of Christ, and how we can put them into practice in our daily lives.
Today at White Stone, we are honored to get to sit under the teaching of Pastor Colbert Dorcely. Pastor Colbert has been pastoring a church in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti for decades, and he still continues to lead his church from afar since his family has relocated to the States due to gang violence against their family. In Haiti, Pastor Colbert is a very well known and highly regarded preacher and Bible teacher. Since moving to the States, however, he has not had very many opportunities to use his gifts. It is a blessing to have him and his family in our congregation, and we are so thrilled to see him preach once again.
In this message, Pastor Colbert talks about the Power of God, which is manifested all throughout the Bible and the Gospel. Without God's power, we are powerless to affect change in the world and in our lives. Colby, his son, graciously uses his gifts to translate this message for us.
This is an audio recording from Pastor Colbert's 2023 sermon titled "POWER!" . For full service videos, check out the White Stone Church app, or visit www.whitestonechurch.org
In this message, Brock talks about Jesus’s command to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.” Brock discusses how many of us live our lives like we know better than Jesus about what is best for us. True life, growth, and peace only come in submission to Jesus and his way.
This is an audio recording from our 2023 sermon series titled, "If You Love Me". For full service videos, check out the White Stone Church app, or visit www.whitestonechurch.org
In John 14:15, Jesus told his disciples, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Clearly, Jesus's love language is obedience, but sadly, many Christ followers are unfamiliar with most of the commands that Jesus explicitly gave his disciples. Because of that, we have decided to devote all of 2023 to digging into the commands of Christ, and how we can put them into practice in our daily lives.
In this sermon from our series on the commands of Christ, Cody digs into Jesus’s command to “ask, seek, and knock.” Although this is a command about prayer, it goes much deeper than that. Jesus is calling us to deeper relationship in prayer, and to a persistent rhythm of prayer. We also dig into how we can reconcile this passage with the reality of suffering and seemingly unanswered prayer in the world around us.
Links to resources for more on this topic:
Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools by Tyler Staton
God on Mute by Pete Greig