Sermons – Christ Presbyterian Church of Oxford: Recent Episodes

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proclaiming a Hope that builds a Home that launches a Healing

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Isaiah 65:17-25

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 9:1-13

Sermon Points:

The Person Covenant Kindness Embraces (vv. 1-8)
The Power Covenant Kindness Exercises (vv. 9-13)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: John 6:1-14, 25-51

What is our natural response when we don’t have enough patience, kindness, faith, resources, wisdom, or humility? How might our response change if we follow Jesus’ pattern?

Henri Nouwen’s Life of the Beloved: “To identify the movements of the Spirit in our lives, I have found it helpful to use four words: “taken,” “blessed,” “broken,” and “given…” These words also summarize my life as a Christian because, as a Christian, I am called to become bread for the world: bread that is taken, blessed, broken, and given… these four words have become the most important words of my life… they speak about the most divine as well as the most human behavior. They reach high as well as low, embrace God as well as all people.”

Sermon Points:

Bread & the Bible
Living Bread
Leftovers

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 23

Is there a more appropriately famous Psalm than the 23rd? For good reason God’s people have clung to it in times of distress. But when was the last time we camped out on those images and studied them in hopes of finding new joys of the Christian’s security in Christ?

Sermon Points:

The Sheep and the Shepherd (vv. 1–3)
The Traveler and the Companion (v. 4)
The Guest and the Host (vv. 5–6)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 110

A powerful instinct defines our humanity in the object of our admiration. We become like what we admire. David in Psalm 110 penned a verse that was quoted or referred to over 20x in the New Testament. What did he discover that fixated him so much?

Sermon Points:

The Messiah is a King
The Messiah is a Priest

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 32

David shows us that guilt can actually lead us to a place of joy. It sounds so upside down in today’s world, however, being honest with guilt and turning to the right place brings freedom, forgiveness and joy. Could our guilt actually be a pathway to joy? Let’s follow David.

Sermon Points:

Defining Guilt (vv. 1-4)
Acknowledging and Confessing Guilt (v. 5)
Cleansing of Guilt (vv. 5, 7)
Walking Daily in Psalm 32

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 137
The Psalms are capable it turns out of exposing the darkest parts of our heart, the places where we experience deep and violent thoughts of hatred. But there is a godly way to manage that emotion. And Psalm 137 provides a vivid, if not disturbing, look into that very thing.

Sermon Points:

Some Explanations
Some Lessons
Some Hope

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 145
Is there anything worse than feeling down and having some terminally perky religious person tell you to “cheer up and praise the Lord?” Yet, in Psalm 145, David ends his Psalm authorship with a litany of praise to the Lord and commands us to do the same. Why?

Sermon Points:

The Object of Praise
The Nature of Praise
The Future of Praise

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 16

The emotion of hope consists of having something to look forward to even in the bleakness of everyday life. But David has found the key to celebrating even in the midst of isolation and pain. Only if he can be rescued from the enslaving power of death can he know true hope.

Sermon Points:

The Defeat of Idols (vs. 1-6)
The Delight in God (vs. 7-8)
The Death of Death (vs. 9-11)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 73

Does doubting mean lack of faith? Does doubting mean immaturity? What does a follower of Jesus do with their doubts? Psalm 73 gives us a window into the doubt of a Psalmist named Asaph. Surely this means the Christian life has a place for doubt, and that doubting can actually lead us to a deeper relationship with Jesus and others.

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 87
For most of us, when we start to feel the aching sense of loneliness that seems to characterize more and more of modern life, we turn inward to our problems or even our marriages and families for hope. But Psalm 87 introduces us to a different source of joy, the Church.

Sermon Points:

Affection Expressed
Alienation Overcome
Adoption Secured
Fountains Accessed

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 88
Psalm 88 is unique in that it doesn’t have a happy ending. In most other Psalms, the writer finds God’s hand in everything they’re experiencing. But what if you’ve tried that, but there’s still no answer? Here we find amazing insights into the pain of depression.

Sermon Points:

Depression and Experience
Depression and Disconnection
Depression and Connection

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Hebrews 4:14-16

Sermon Points:

Holding Fast
Drawing Near

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 8

Though our culture looks inward to our feelings or our accomplishments to search for an identity, David sings to a majestic Lord and discovers his purpose and significance in light of Him. Psalm 8 poetically reveals what the rest of Scripture teaches, that we will only find our purpose and identity as we look outside ourselves to the Lord and how He made us and redeems us.

Sermon Points:

The Significance of the Lord (vv. 1-2)
The Significance of Man (vv. 3-8)
The Significant Response (v. 9)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 63
CS Lewis is an expert on the deep longing of the soul (what he called “Joy”) and how important it is to understanding the human condition. But David has found the ultimate fountain of joy in God, and investigating it opens up all kinds of doors to our humanity.

Sermon Points:

The Occasion for Joy
The Emotion of Joy
The Cultivation of Joy

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 1:1-11
Acts 1:1-11 examines the church’s role in God’s mission. It explores how Jesus’ ascension marks the continuation of His work through His people and warns against the dangers of mission drift. This message calls believers to remain focused on the gospel and to joyfully embrace their role as witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 51
It’s been argued that there is no sensation that haunts a human being more than the pervasive (and often unnamed) sense of guilt inside us. Psalm 51 walks us through exactly how King David, on the heels of a massive moral failure, navigated his way to God’s grace.

Sermon Points:

The Occasion of Guilt
The Mischief of Guilt
The Nature of Guilt
The Healing of Guilt

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 3
David is afraid as his son Absalom has enacted a coup and is trying to hunt him down. As David prays, we see how he seeks the help of others and trusts the Lord, and thereby gives us a roadmap for our fears.

Sermon Points:

Fear Defined (vv. 1-2)
Fear That Leads to Wisdom (vv. 3-8)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 13
One of the most striking features of the book of Psalms, for careful readers, is how realistic they are. Psalm 13 doesn’t shy away from full acknowledgement of the tragedy of human pain and sorrow. But how do God’s people keep from being consumed by it?

Sermon Points:

Own the Sadness (vs. 1-2)
Establish the Truth (vs. 3-4)
Start the Healing (vs. 5-6)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 19
Psalm 19 is a pretty famous Psalm because it celebrates the universal joy of finding wonder in our daily lives. But we often miss the point, so David leads us not only to find true joy in God’s word, but in the Living Word, the One the Psalm points us to… Jesus.

Sermon Points:

The Emotion of Wonder
The Limitations of Wonder
The Focus of Wonder

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 2

Psalm 1 and 2 have been called the opening pillars of entrance into the world of the Psalms . Psalm 2 is a overarching look at the central problem and solution of humanity. If we are going to dig deeply to understand our own lives before God, we must come face to face with both the gracious, sovereign, and just reign of King Jesus and our ultimately futile resistance to Him.

Sermon Points:

The Rebellion (vv. 1-3)
The King (vv. 4-9)
The Invitation (vv. 10-12)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 1
Psalm 1 and 2 have been called the opening pillars of entrance into the world of the Psalms. Psalm 1 is the powerfully clarifying contrast between two ways of living life: a life of blessing OR the life of a scoffer. It begs us to look for THE Blessed One to come.

Sermon Points:

The Blessed and the Scoffer
The Tree and the Chaff

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

When it comes to pain and loss in this life, Christians can put their hope in the second coming of the Lord and we must be diligent to keep that day on our hearts and minds as we live in this broken world.

Sermon Points:

Hoping in the Day of the Lord
Preparing for the Day of the Lord

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 6:11, Leviticus 23:37-43, Matthew 6:16-18
The New Year typically brings renewed goals! The Scriptures give us numerous practices that help form us individually and communally into the likeness of Jesus. What would it look like for our practices around food this year to point us to what God is doing and shape us into the likeness of Jesus. Scripture points us to the practices of feasting and fasting.

Sermon Points:

Consider Food (Matt. 6:11)
Consider Feasting (Lev. 23:37-43, John 2:1-10, Rev. 19:9)
Consider Fasting (Matt. 6:16-18)
Consider the Bread of Life (John 6:35)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Isaiah 40:1-11

Sermon Points:

Words of Payment
Words of Provision
Words of Proclamation

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Luke 2:8-20

When the angels appear to the shepherds in the countryside fields outside Bethlehem, they do so because they are finally being granted permission to sing about what they LOVE to contemplate: the scope of the Christian Gospel. Can we learn what the angels learn so we can sing like they?

Sermon Points:

The Angels
The Shepherds
The Mother

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 19:1-9, 21:1-8, 22:14-21
Revelation gives us an astounding picture of what Christians are looking forward to at King Jesus return. John sees that Jesus return brings everlasting life and joy as He makes all things new! Could St. Augustine be right when he said, “In God’s home, there is an everlasting party?”

Sermon Points: Your future self says “Come” because…

The joy will never end (19:1-9, 21:4,8, 22:15)
All things are made new (21:5)
God is there (21:3)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 20

We don’t like to hear the ending of books before we’re read them, but Christian need to know their own “ending” so that we don’t give in to despair. So much has been written in Rev. 20 and so much disagreement about what it teaches, but perhaps the message is simpler than we know?

Sermon Points:

A Snapshot of History
A Thousand Year Reign
A Bound Devil
A Vision of Thrones

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 19:1-9

The surprising culmination of John’s vision of Jesus’ dealing with his people culminates in the great Wedding Supper of the Lamb, where Jesus will take his Bride to himself. Turns out, the whole of Scripture can be summed up in this story: the Husband-Heart of God pursing his people.

Sermon Points:

The Wedding Event
The Wedding Story
The Wedding Bliss

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 17
John unpacks a second, albeit disturbing, image in Rev. 17-18 of a disgusting Prostitute who has corrupted the nations of the world. Far more than just a sexual image, John is talking about whoredom in the very seats of the powerful, and what God has in store for those in bed with her.

Sermon Points:

The Identity of the Prostitute
The Character of the Prostitute
The Fate of the Prostitute

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 16

In the third and final recapitulation of seven-fold judgements that God’s people will have to face, we see God putting an end to all excuses, and, by implication, all mercy. All that’s left is punishment. How does a Christian view the ultimate end of evil and how does it inform how we live today?

Sermon Points:

The Perspectives on the End
The Inevitability of the End
The Thoroughness of the End

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 12:17-14:5
The dragon calls forth two beasts to assist him in waging war against followers of Jesus. These two beastly images paint a vivid picture of world history. The church must know that Satan will try to conquer the church through intimidation and false teaching. However, the good news of the complete salvation of the Slain Lamb means His people will endure.

Sermon Points:

Intimidating Beast (13:1-8)
Deceiving Beast (13:11-15)
Mark of the Beast (13:16-18)
Resisting the Beast (13:9-10, 14:1-5)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 12
How do you account for the outrageous evil that we’ve seen inflicted on the church in the last 100 years of human history? Revelation 12’s answer is that it is due to the rage of the Devil, the mighty dragon. But the chapter includes the powerful ways in which God’d people ultimately prevail.

Sermon Points:

THAT the Devil is Working
WHY the Devil is Working
HOW the Devil is Defeated

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 4:1-8

Sermon Points:

Abraham Was Not Justified by Works
Abraham Received Justification by Faith
God Is the One Who Justifies Abraham

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 8:1-9:21

What John sees in Revelation 8-9 are powerful images to describe world history until Jesus returns from the perspective of the world. God hears the prayers of His people pleading with Him to come in judgment, liberation and cleansing and responds with the trumpets. These trumpets are like tornado sirens, warning all of those who choose to live independently of King Jesus to repent and believe or the pain and suffering will increase.

Sermon Points:

The Why
The What
The Call

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 7
John’s encouragement following the dreadful news about the terrible Four Horsemen has to do with the “sealed.” But who are the “sealed” and why do they sing like they do? And why is it important for the Christian to remember that THIS is their standing before the Throne?

Sermon Points:

The Identity of the Sealed
The Meaning of the Sealed

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 6:1-17

As John gets a peek behind the veil into heaven, the scroll is broken, and all are shown the unfolding plan of God in world history. With vivid images, John sees that world history will be characterized by four horseman riding and bringing suffering. This sight is alarming, but also comforting to see that suffering is NOT a sign that the world is out of control, but instead a sign that Jesus is indeed coming and at work.

Sermon Points:

An Explanation of Suffering (vv. 1-8)
Strategy in the Suffering (vv. 9-11)
Security amidst Suffering (vv. 12-17)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 Kings 18:17-40

Sermon Points:

Idols Exposed
Idols Extinguished

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 5
If Revelation 4 is the setting to the drama, then chapter 5 IS the drama. John is broken by the knowledge of a mysterious scroll, but immediately pointed to a Lion which, to his surprise, appears as a Lamb. In this profound vision is the very heart of the Christian meaning of life.

Sermon Points:

John Weeps
The Lamb Bleeds
Heaven Sings

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 4

When John steps through the open door of heaven, his vision is dominated (shown in the sheer amount of times he uses the word) by a Throne. He’s fixated and amazed. The entourage surrounding him suggests something deeply profound about human beings proclivity for worship.

Sermon Points:

How John Sees
What John Sees
What John Means

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 3:14-22

Jesus seeks to bring about changes in his churches he’s confronting in Revelation chapters two and three, but it’s not enough to change the way they are “thinking” about themselves. They must also change their actions, and chapters two through three contain oceans of wisdom for God’s people seeking to pursue Godly change.

Sermon Points:

Things Charged
- Do the first things…
- Endure patiently…
- Wake up…
- Buy from me gold…
Things Promised

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 2:1-7
Christians live in a world that is being invaded by grace and reconciliation, but a world that still is beset by sin and destruction. We live in the “already and the not yet.” So when the Son of Man in John’s vision comes to speak to the churches, he does so with commendation and condemnation.

Sermon Points:

Things to Commend
- Fighting Against Error
- Enduring Suffering
- Doing Good Works
Things to Condemn
- Lack of Love
- Compromise With The World
- Deadness
- Lukewarm-ness

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 1:9-20

Our story opens with John as a political exile on an island prison, likely concerned that his ministry life is ebbing away. But a voice from the heavenly realm speaks to him, and nothing will ever be the same. And the voice that spoke to John still speaks to us today. But will we listen?

Sermon Points:

John Is In The Spirit
Jesus Is Among The Lampstands
The Church Is Safe With Her Champion

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 1:1-8

The book of Revelation is written to a group of churches whose lives are getting “worse” as they follow a risen and ascended “unseen” Jesus. This book comes to people struggling to make sense of the world around them and says “LOOK!, things are not as they seem!” What is revealed to the apostle John and then shared with the churches are astounding images that make sense of the world, bring assurance and peace by ultimately revealing the character and presence of Jesus among them.

Sermon Points:

Reveals (vv. 1-3, 11)
Reveals Through Pictures
Reveals a Person (vv. 1, 4-8)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 8:18-25

The Apostles Creed ends by confessing what Christians believe about the future. In summary, God will finish what He started. He created a world to dwell with humanity as His image bearers. No matter, how much sin has infected and destroyed the world and humanity, God is going to save and restore it all. This Christian hope is embraced when we confess I believe in “the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.”

Sermon Points:

The Resurrection of the Body
The Life Everlasting

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 18:21-35

Cancel Culture as we knew it in the last decade seems to be fading somewhat, but the questions our society faced throughout still linger in the conscience. But Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness as THE necessity of the Christian life is just as fresh (and challenging) as it ever was and the Creed seeks to keep every generation from forgetting that.

Sermon Points:

The Costliness of Forgiveness
The Reality of Forgiveness
The Practice of Forgiveness

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 9:1-19

Much has been said, that doesn’t bear repeating, on the consistent anti-institutional bent of the present age. Talk of “the church” seems quaint to those who long for authenticity. But we believe in “the holy catholic church” which means that believing people find their primary identity in the collection of others who are so united to Christ.

Sermon Points:

The Reality of the Church
The Meaning of the Church
The Challenge of the Church

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: John 14:15-26

Some mystery surrounds the person and work of the Holy Spirit, for sure, but that doesn’t mean that He is due any less adoration and worship from God’s people than any other member of the Trinity. Today, we look at the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as THE active agent, the “mover shaker” of the Godhead.

Sermon Points:

The Importance of the Spirit
The Action of the Spirit
The Focus of the Spirit

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 2:3-11

Tim Keller once said, “You’ve accepted Jesus as your savior, but have you accepted him as your judge?” The idea that Jesus will return and execute justice is very much a controversial, and complicated prospect for Christians to think about. But there’s good news in his returning to judge that we’ll look at in the Apostles Creed.

Sermon Points:

Necessary Justice
Complicated Justice
Gracious Justice

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 1:1-11

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Mark 4:35-41

Sermon Points:

It Raises Questions
It Exposes Unbelief
It Awakens Love

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 11:1-9; 12:1-3

Sermon Points:

Law of Babel (vv. 11:1-9)
Gracious Call of Abram (vv. 12:1-3)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Luke 18:9-14

Sermon Points:

The Problem of False Justification
The Source of True Justification

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Philippians 1:1-11

Because the Lord is at hand, and through the grace we have in Christ, we can see one another through a different lens than the worlds sees us. We can cultivate these three postures towards each other that our modeled for us here in Paul’s introduction to his letter to the Philippians.

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Mark 1:40-45

Sermon Points:

Our Need for Cleansing
The One Who Cleanses Us

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 28:16-20

By its nature, good news HAS to be told. We aren’t really enjoying the thing until we spread the news about it. Jesus’ death and resurrection are followed by a powerful commission from him to bring his Lordship to bear on every area of life, and he empowers us to do so by his nearness.

Sermon Points:

Empowering the Mission
Directing the Mission
- Accommodating Our Doubts
- Clarifying Our Mission
- Promising Our Success

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 27:62-28:15

Progressive commentators have said that it is unimportant whether or not Jesus actually rose from the dead. Nothing could be further from the truth. The facts surrounding the mountain of hard evidence for Jesus’ bodily resurrection not only establish its importance, but rescues human hope as well.

Sermon Points:

The Evidence
The Verdict

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 27:32-54

The most transformative events in our lives are when victory is snatched from the jaws of defeat. The Cross of Jesus is a profoundly ironic twist of fate that has changed the hearts of Jesus’ followers since the day he “yielded up his spirit” and died. “Why?” will be our question this morning.

Sermon Points:

The Ironic Antagonism
The Vicarious Abandonment
The Explosive Outbreaking

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 27:1-2, 11-26

The hero, Jesus, is accused of treason. Amidst the trial, we see interactions between the hero, Pontius Pilate, a criminal named Barabbas, and the crowds. All of these interactions reveal the character Jesus and the way He will save and restore. Our hero will be a suffering servant, healing the world by taking what He does not deserve.

Sermon Points:

The Hero & Pilate
The Hero & Barabbas
The Hero & the Crowds

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 26:30-46

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus experiences a powerful and puzzling emotional breakdown. There on the Garden floor he cries out with a passion that shows exactly what it cost him to love his people the way in which the Cross would ask him to do.

Sermon Points:

Pain in the Cup
Pain from his Friends

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 26:17-29

What a strange scene with Jesus sitting with his disciples (including his betrayer) and having a meal to commemorate what was about to him on the Cross. Why would he do that and what that means for how WE take Communion in our day is our topic this morning.

Sermon Points:

Passover Past
Passover Present
Passover Future

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Mark 10:35-52

Sermon Points:

The Blind Ones (vv. 35-45)
The Seeing One (vv. 46-52)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 25:31-46

In the last public teaching before his arrest and crucifixion, our hero Jesus tells the audience about the judgment to come. It’s a sobering passage, but it reveals Jesus love for this world and how committed He is to rid this world of everything poisonous. Jesus is the judge who sees all, is opposed to all evil and amazingly receives every act of generosity as if it was done for Him. He’s a judge who can be trusted.

Sermon Points:

The Certainty of judgment (vv. 31-34, 36)
The Criteria of judgment (vv. 33-45)
The Judge of Judgment

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 22:23-33

Jesus’ confrontation with the Sadducees unveils the flaws in the materialists worldview. Denying the resurrection not only makes us theologically in error, but we rob ourselves of the joy it takes to thrive in a world full of unfulfilled longings and death.

Sermon Points:

The Problem with the Materialist
The Correction of Jesus

Launch Sermon Player Scripture Reference: Matthew 21:1-11, 14-16

Our hero enters Jerusalem in a way that reveals very clearly his claims about himself and therefore stirs up quite a bit of energy. Jesus’ parade into town on what is now known as “Palm Sunday” is boldly proclaiming Himself as King. However, this King’s carrier is a common donkey. Combine these two facts, and Jesus is revealing just the kind of King that He is! One that is humble enough to die for His people.

Sermon Points:

The Hero Is King
The Hero Is Humble

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 24:1-35

Human beings have an insatiable desire to know the future. It’s the only way in which we can have hope. Well, Jesus has pronounced some serious judgement on the Jewish temple. So when will this happen and what can we expect from our future?

Sermon Points:

The Temple Will Fall
The Son of Man Will Come
Jesus’ Followers Will Be Ready

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: John 13:1-20

Sermon Points:

Washed by Christ for Acceptance
Washed by Christ for Service

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Ezekiel 47:1-12

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 20:1-19

Our hero teaches another parable displaying the kind of kingdom he is bringing into this world. That kingdom is one of sheer grace! Grace is disturbing in a world that functions according to merit, but holds out tremendous hope.

Sermon Points:

The Allergy
The Antidote

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 21:33-46

Jesus enters Jerusalem virtually daring the religious establishment to oppose him. It’s almost as if he wants to die at their hands. (!) But he shows them through this parable that they lack the singular attribute that must be persistent in each of Jesus’ followers soul: repentance.

Sermon Points:

The Challenge of Identity
The Challenge of Pride
The Challenge of the Stone

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 19:13-30

Our hero, Jesus, has an interaction with a man who by the worlds standards has it all, and the result of the conversation leaves everyone perplexed. The man and the hearers of this passage are confronted with a sobering question, is Jesus worth letting go of all my other treasures…is He worth it? He is, but there must be something about riches that make it difficult for people to see Jesus’ worth.

Sermon Points:

Facing Jesus (v. 16)
Missing Jesus (vv. 17-24)
Treasuring Jesus (vv. 13-15, 25-30)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 19:1-9

As Jesus continues to show the “upside down” Kingdom, he takes aim at the social ill of divorce, which had become absurdly easy to obtain (for men…) and oppressive to wives. HOW he lays out the principles for marriage shows just how the Gospel provides hope for those hurting.

Sermon Points:

The Text
The Principle
The Practice

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 18:21-35

Jesus begins to unpack his Kingdom ethic in chapters 18-20, including a remarkable parable about his demands for radical forgiveness from his followers. Few topics can be more difficult for Jesus’ followers to stomach, but we have to make sense of it if we’re going to follow him.

Sermon Points:

Costliness of Forgiveness
Reality of Forgiveness
Practice of Forgiveness

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 17:1-8

Few stories in the Gospel of Matthew are quite as strange to modern readers as the Transfiguration. But Jesus’ majesty are seen in stark relief when you see that behind this story is a Jewish backstory that shows just exactly what Jesus has come to do not just personally, but cosmically!

Sermon Points:

The Story
- The Countenance
- The Company
- The Cloud
The Backstory

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 14:22-33

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Hebrews 4:11-16

Sermon Points:

Living by the Sword (vv. 11-12)
Resting in the Priest (vv. 14-15)
Going before the Throne (v. 16)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: John 21:1-19
As we look into the new year, it tends to to be a time of reflection and planning. What do you do with your failures? After Jesus resurrection, He finds Peter on a beach. In this interaction, an amazing truth is revealed. Our failures don’t keep Jesus away from us, actually they are the very reason He came and He works through them.

Sermon Points:

Jesus Response To Our Failure
Jesus Work Through our Failure

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Isaiah 9:2-7

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Daniel 7:1-14
Christians may not be those who are uninformed about the story of Christmas but may over time become unimpressed by its significance. For those who have heard the story of Jesus’ advent, perhaps we also need to see it for what it truly is. Strange as it might seem, Daniel’s apocalyptic vision is not a bad place to do just that.

Sermon Points:

The “Beastly” Rule of Earthly Kingdoms (vv. 1-8)
The HeavenlyRule of God’s Kingdom (vv. 9-10)
The Warrior-King of God’s Kingdom (vv. 11-14)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 16:13-23

How is it possible that Peter can be so “right” in his confession about Jesus’ true identity as Messiah and so wrong about Jesus’ mission. The answer to that question uncovers something profound about the new identity that being a Christian brings, with Peter as the prime example.

Sermon Points:

Peter’s Confession
Peter’s Affirmation
Peter’s Failure

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 14:13-21
After the death of John the Baptist, Jesus tries to withdraw to contemplate the loss of his dear friend. But quickly, he returns to ministry to feed a hapless people with a meal that they wouldn’t forget and a meal that his followers would be instructed to celebrate until he came again.

Sermon Points:

Jesus’ Meal Does A Lot With A Little
Jesus’ Meal Is For Everyone
Jesus’ Meal Foreshadows Better Meals

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 14:1-13a
Matthew inserts an interesting little story about the fate of John the Baptist at the hands of Herod Antipas, king of Judea in Jesus day. But the life of Herod provides an anti-example to us who, with the benefit of hindsight, can see what evil choices do to spoil a conscience.

Sermon Points:

Herod’s Choices
Herod’s Consequences
Herod’s (Untaken) Path Out

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 13:1-23

The worldwide hero spent a lot of time teaching and his disciples claim this hero has the words of life. Why then is it often so difficult to listen to Jesus? The parable of the sower in Matthew 13 is one of Jesus’ explanation for why He is dismissed, ignored and rejected. The problem is the condition of our hearts.

Special thanks to Tim Keller and Ricky Jones for helpful material on this passage.

Sermon Points:

The Purpose Of Parables (13:10-17)
The Problem (13:3-9, 18-23)
The Proper Response (13:11, 16)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 12:1-2

Sermon Points:

Embracing the Depth of God’s Mercy
Embracing the Body for Service
Embracing the Mind with Truth

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 12:1-14
When Jesus shows up in the Jewish countryside, his claims start to create reactions, depending on what was in the heart of his listeners. The Pharisees were famous for their miscalculations regarding Jesus, but when the topic of true rest arose, they were laid bare and wanted to kill him.

Sermon Points:

Check your Facts
Check your Heart
Check your Motivation

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 11:1-6, 15-19

The Hero Jesus, has come to rescue and set the world to rights. However, the way that Jesus will bring rescue offends some and even disappoints a devoted follower like John the Baptist. In these interactions, Jesusexposes the pride of our own hearts how he has come to rescue us from ourselves.

Sermon Points:

Offensive Circumstances
Offensive Call To Change
Offensive Healing

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 9:35-10:7

Having demonstrated the power of his kingdom, our Hero, Jesus, then chooses 12 disciples to carry on his mission of compassion, prayer and healing. Jesus’ priorities are the same for the church today and grasping HOW he passes these along is central to our present sense of mission today.

Sermon Points:

A Mission of Compassion
A Mission of Empowerment
A Mission of Strategy

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 8:23-34

Jesus is traveling through Galilee doing amazing things, demonstrating his power. But until you understand the nature and context of his miracles, you can’t feel the full power of just what’s being suggested: Jesus is claiming authority of the chaos of our lives and healing people by the power of his Word.

Sermon Points:

The Chaos From Without
The Chaos From Within

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon Points:

Subversive Motives
Subversive Freedom
Subversive Kingdom

Launch Sermon Player Scripture Reference: Matthew 8:1-4

It’s one thing to be physically separated from your community, quite another to be spiritually ostracized. Jesus encounters a leper who suffers from both, but the healing Jesus brings demonstrates something astounding who still struggle with God’s willingness to heal and his power to do so.

Sermon Points:

Jesus is Willing
Jesus is Holy
Jesus is Advancing

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 6:9-13

In an epidemic of loneliness in the West, why is communion with God not any more of an antidote to that? could it be that we are thinking of prayer all wrong? The Lord’s Prayer equips Jesus’ followers NOT with just a template for prayer, but a powerful means to change HOW we think of connecting with God.

Sermon Points:

Familiarity
Perspective
Celebration

Launch Sermon PlayerSermon Reference: Matthew 5:17-22

Jesus opens his famous Sermon on the Mount with a perplexing statement refuting a rumor that he had come to discard God’s law. Instead, he said he came to “fulfill” the law. What he meant by that is the key to understand the nature of Jesus’ whole mission, loving the law.

Sermon Points:

The Clash of Authority
The Clash of Religious Purpose
The Clash of Motivation

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 4:1-11 If a hero is going to bring rescue, then he must face down and defeat that which is bringing danger. The ancient and dangerous villain of this world is known as Satan, or the devil. in Matthew 4, Jesus confronts his and our arch enemy by taking upon himself […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 3:1-17

Everyone undergoes some sort of preparation before meeting a person of significance. What might it look like to be prepared to meet the hero and savior of the world? John the Baptist is out in the desert for this very reason, preparing his listeners to encounter Jesus. Disruptive words like confession, repentance, and baptism are emphasized. These words might seem off putting, until you realize the hero is coming to identify with and save the REAL YOU by sheer grace.

Sermon Points:

John Prepares
Jesus Saves

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 2:13-23 Joseph and Mary find themselves in the center of God’s will for their lives…and they’re suffering horribly. But Matthew sees beneath the surface of their struggles to the undercurrents of fulfillment that Jesus is going to bring, becoming the True and Better Israel for his people. Sermon Points: A […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 1:1-6, 16-25 Every hero has an origin story! Matthew introduces us to this long anticipated hero by way of a genealogy and then a supernatural beginning involving a virgin pregnancy. These two avenues of introduction set the table for the kind of hero Jesus will be. He is going to […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 15:1-26 The Scriptures claim that the bodily resurrection of Jesus is the lynchpin of all history and the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul says that without the resurrection, “our faith is in vain” and “we are of all people most to be pitied.” But if the resurrection happened, then […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Luke 23:1-4, 32-49 No other event in Jesus’ life gets more attention than the rather ignominious death on the Cross, what anyone would have thought the lowest moment of his life. But the reasons why they seized up on it are at the heart of what is most unique about the […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Philippians 2:1-11 Why does the class theological formulation that Jesus was “fully God, fully man” matter? We tend to do ok with Jesus divinity, but his humanity feels irreverent and perhaps even disrespectful. But properly understand, Jesus’ humanity connects our salvation with the reality of the world around us! Sermon Points: […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 17:1-13 No act of believing can be said to have integrity until the full weight of exactly who we have put our faith in has been reasonably grappled with. Matthew 17 tells the almost incredible story of Jesus’ unveiling himself to show us exactly what the Creed means when it […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: John 1:1-3 Of all the ways in which Christian distinguish themselves from the pagan religions around us, the doctrine of creation stands near the top. What is a human being’s relationship to the world around them? How do we properly understand our place in God’s creation, as it’s Lord and Maker? […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 6:5-13 If we are all by nature worshipers and living by faith, then it makes sense that the Apostles Creed begins with the being and nature of God, which is reality itself. The Creed invites us to place our faith in the one true God who exists in three persons. […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Mark 9:14-29 Throughout Christian history, believers have found it helpful to distill essential doctrine into creeds. The Apostles Creed has stood the test of time as a faithful expression of belief. But what does it mean when we say we “believe” in these things? How does “belief” work? Sermon Points: The […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Luke 18:9-14

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Philippians 1:27-30

Launch Sermon Player Scripture Reference: John 14:15-31

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Isaiah 28:14-22

Sermon Points:

The Call of the Scoffer
The Joy in the Cornerstone

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 63

David has something on the inside of him that gives him remarkable calm and poise in the midst of life crushing circumstances. We need to learn about how our soul works AND how our souls can only be satisfied in God’s love.

Sermon Points:

Understanding the Soul
Satisfying the Soul

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 24:1-4, 10, 18-25

The last chapters of 2 Samuel attempt to summarize the life of King David with a series of stories ending with a strange census and confusing question of how God was working. What do we see in David’s life reflected in this final story?

Sermon Points:

Sovereignty
Sin and Judgement
Atonement

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 23:13-17

In this tiny vignette, we see a scene from King David’s life and the daring do of his “Mighty Men” that not only shows us how to interpret Old Testament stories, but gives us a powerful glimpse into the way in which God plans to deal with evil.

Sermon Points:

A Sighing King
A Supporting Band
A Transforming Sacrifice

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 16:5-14

This chapter finds David at the lowest point of his life. His family is depleted and shattered. He is being run out of his own home by his beloved son. But the place where David found refreshment is still available to us today.

Sermon Points:

The Mess David Finds Himself In
The Refuge David Retreats To

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 13

Sermon Points:

The Posture
The Promise
The Person

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 12:1-14

David is far gone in his sin. Not only has done heinous things, but he’s covered it up and in full denial. But Nathan’s intervention on his behalf successfully leads David into genuine repentance and shows us how we can do the same.

Sermon Points:

The Need for Intervention
The Substance of the Intervention
The Response to the Intervention

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 11:1-27

It’s revealing that the name of God is almost completely absent in this dark chapter of David’s life. Instead of reflecting the generous and loving heart of God, David commits heinous sin. It’s a window into the workings of sin. When your chief goal is to avoid being caught rather than enjoy being forgiven, you will never have true security.

Sermon Points:

The Setting (vv. 1-2)
The Spiral (vv. 1-27)
The Displeasure (v. 27)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 16

Peter’s first sermon on Pentecost is preached from Psalm 16, a Psalm that he says actually looks forward to Jesus resurrection. But the preoccupation of the Psalm is with finding ultimate joy in God’s presence. How are they connected?

Sermon Points:

The Experience of Pleasure
The Location of Pleasure
The Fulfillment of Pleasure

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Thessalonians 3:13

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 9:1-13

In the timetable of the Scriptures, shortly after David receives God’s overwhelming covenant promises, the king looks to display covenant kindness to another person. David makes a man named Mephibosheth the object of his kindness and lavish generosity. The freedom and security that Mephibosheth finds as the recipient of the king’s undeserved favor is a window into the freedom and security we long for found in Jesus Christ.

Sermon Points:

The King’s Kindness Goes to the “Unlikely” (vv. 1-3)
The King’s Kindness Gives a New Identity (vv. 7-11)
The King’s Kindness Gives a Transforming Security (vv. 8, 13)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 7:1-16

The Covenant that God makes for David has some of the most foundational truths about God’s relationship with his people that when you study it, it breaks on you with such joy when you see Jesus as “great David’s greater Son.”

Sermon Points:

Provision from God, not for God
A House for David, not for God
An Eternal Line, not a Temporary One

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 6:12-23

Dejected by the loss of Uzzah, David must learn that God’s intentions for him are actually to bless him and not curse him. So David pursues a new path, a path of grace, that leads him to a complete transformation of his kingship.

Sermon Points:

The Gospel in the Presence
The Transformation in the Presence

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 6:1-11

David wants nothing more than for his kingship to be marked by a deep desire to be in the Presence of God. However, David is going to have to learn in a powerful way that this desire must be marked by truth about God’s holiness.

Sermon Points:

The Need for the Presence
The Problem with the Presence

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 Samuel 30:1-25

David finds himself in a dark and desperate situation. His response demonstrates for us the kind of King we can trust in our own desperate situations. We need a king who conquers evil and is overflowing with loving generosity.

Sermon Points:

The Distress (vv. 1-8)
The Rescue (vv. 7-20)
The Generosity (vv. 21-31)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 Samuel 24:1-22

David finds himself in a wilderness on the run from king Saul, which is always a place of temptation. David remarkably resists an alluring temptation to take matters into his own hands with an enemy. David’s remarkable actions show us the pathway of resisting our own temptations by entrusting himself to the eternal King who is the righteous and wise judge.

Sermon Points:

The Place of Temptation (vs. 1-3)
The Temptation (vs. 4)
The Victory over Temptation (vs. 4-15)
The Power over Temptation (vs. 12, 15)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 Samuel 18:1-9; 20:41-42

David’s relationship Jonathan gives a deep and powerful picture of the King’s intention with his people, which is not just to be their King…but to be their friend. In David and Jonathan, we see Jesus’ intimate friendship with his people.

Sermon Points:

Saul as Anti-Friend
Jonathan as True Friend
David as Ultimate Friend

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 Samuel 17:24-27, 41-49

The story of David and Goliath is often told as an example of how we should “slay the giants in our life.” But that makes US the hero of the story. King David is picturing US, but rather the Savior that would come and finally be our champion.

Sermon Points:

Heroism Failing
Heroism Mocked
Heroism Achieved

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 Samuel 16:1-13

As Samuel comes to anoint the new king of Israel, he is surprised by God’s choice of David. This initial meeting foreshadows how God will work in and through David. God is deeply concerned with people’s hearts AND will bring salvation by way of a humble and righteous king.

Sermon Points:

A Godly Heart
A Saving King

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 Samuel 15:17-35

In order to fully understand David as the “man after God’s own heart” you have to see its opposite. King Saul is an example of a life lived in the allegiance to people’s opinions about him, and in the end, it cost him everything.

Sermon Points:

Saul’s Disobedience
Saul’s Fixation
Saul’s Blasphemy

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Ruth 4:13-22

We begin our series on David’s life with the story of his lineage. Living in a time of cultural upheaval, God was at work in the midst of great pain to establish a pattern of redemption and salvation. “Seed” and “Land” would again be preserved.

Sermon Points:

Connections with the Past
Shadows of the King
Relevance for Today

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Mark 7:24-30

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 103

We can never truly know what a new year will bring. Psalm 103 instructs us, that no matter the situation we find ourselves in, we are to engage in the disciplines of blessing the Lord and remembering His character.

Sermon Points:

Blessing (vs. 1-2, 20-22)
Remembering (vs. 2-19)

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 25:1-13

Christmas can be so powerful “ho hum” for us the older we get. Is it possible that we think of Jesus first coming so little because we have lost sight of his second coming? What will that be like? The parable of the bridesmaids gives peculiar insight into learning to wait on Jesus well.

Sermon Points:

The Tradition of Weddings
The Practice of Waiting
The Hope of the Future

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Isaiah 40:1–9

Sermon Points:

A Cry of Comfort from the Lord
A Cry of Preparation for the Lord
A Cry of Confidence in the Lord

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 17:1-14

God is now ready to mark Abram out as a unique family of God, his agents of transformation in a broken world. But the manner and means that he does that will strike many as bizarre, but when you understand the meaning of circumcision, the purpose of the church emerges.

Sermon Points:

Be Blameless
Apply the Sign
Become the “Father of Many Nations”

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 15:1-17
As God makes big promises to Abram, the patriarch asks a perfectly natural question, “How can I know this is all going to work out.” God’s response to that simple question results in one of the most astounding passages in all of Scripture, and the key to what we mean by “grace.”

Sermon Points:

The Promise
The Response
The Grace

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 12:1-7

Genesis 12 is the break-through point in the “story thus far.” Suddenly, God calls a childless pagan to be the head of a new family that’ll carry the mission of God through to completion. It’s a commission that God’s people still have even in our day, to remake the world for his glory.

Sermon Points:

Land
Blessing
Nations

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 11:1-9

The benefits and need of diversity are heralded everywhere in modern culture, but the idea is not new. It’s always been God’s plan to build a beautiful, diverse, unified people of God and we see it’s origins at the tower of Babel.

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 54:1-7 Sermon Points: Reckoning Remembering Responding

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 2:42-47

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 9:1-17 We live in a world that totters on the brink of collapse, it seems, from a lack of certainty about the world. But God’s covenant (contract) with Noah shows that God’s people can have a radical foundation for our relationship with the world, with justice, and in our own […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 6:1-4 There is a very strange tidbit of a story in Genesis 6:1ff that is so odd that many are tempted to consign the Bible over to an absurd document of superstition. But if you dig into its meaning, you might find it opens us up to an unseen realm […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 4:1-16, 25-26 If the world we live in is wrecked by sin and death but brimming with God’s gracious and redemptive work, how should we respond? Genesis 4 outlines two different responses to God’s promises and exposes our hearts in the process. The two responses diverge because of the differing […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 3:14-24 How do you embrace the effects of evil in life and the dire consequences of sin but look to forgiveness as God’s only remedy. This is something in our culture that we don’t do very well, but if we don’t figure out how to love forgiveness, we’ll splinter into […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 3:1-13 Genesis 3 opens up for us the origins of evil and death. Evil can never find its origin in the Triune God. But, because God is Truth and Life, evil opposes God and His good world by twisting truth and trying to be independent of God. The result? Death.

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 2:21-25 There are few things like human sexuality to polarize our secular culture’s opinions of Christians. But rooted in Genesis 2 is a profound confession by Adam as he looks at Eve about God, and how he’s going to save the world that will likely shock you. Sermon Points: Sex […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 2:18-25 We live in a day when sex and gender have been torn apart in the culture’s imagination, only to suggest that our sexual differences are merely skin deep. Genesis 2 says otherwise. Quite the contrary, our sexual differences are a window into the very love of God for his […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 2:5-17 For most adults, the singular formational activity in which we are engaged is our jobs. Which is probably why our work is so fraught with opportunities for difficulty in life. But Genesis 2 lays out a framework for how God intended for his image bearers to think about their […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 1:26-2:4 The opening book of the Bible reveals a God who makes humanity in His image. This unique claim has profound implications for our dignity and purpose. Sermon Points: Dignity Dominion Delight

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 1:1-5 The opening book of the Bible reveals a God who speaks things into being with a majestic artistry that forms the foundation of humanity’s search for what is good, true and beautiful. Sermon Points: The God of Creativity The Gift of Creativity

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 1:1 Genesis 1:1 cuts across our present Western context with a clear and radical proposition: there is a God and he is the creator of all things. From that one premise comes the foundation of a Christian view of the world. Sermon Points: God and the gods God and His […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: John 5:37-47, Luke 24:25-27 If we are to correctly understand any work of literature, we need to know its intended message. The Bible has a central focus to its message that is key to its understanding. That message is bound up in the person and work of Jesus. The Bible Is […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 1 We love headlines, sound bites, and summaries! However, the Bible is not designed for quick consumption, but instead is designed for repetitious reading over a lifetime. It takes work, but the result is worth it. This week: The Bible is Meditation Literature. Sermon Points: Definition of Meditation Power of […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Thessalonians 3:17 The average “person on the street” doesn’t have a fair knowledge of the vast amount of scholarship that has bee spent on establishing an undeniable fact: that the Bible is the most reliable document of antiquity existing today. “Why,” is our topic in this sermon. Sermon Points: Translation […]

Launch Sermon PlayerSermon Reference: 2 Timothy 3:14-17, Hebrews 4:12-13 Perhaps the reason why we are disinterested in the Bible is because we don’t fully apprehend what the Bible claims to be. The truth is: if you are committed to the status quo in your life, then by all means don’t dive into the transforming power […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Deuteronomy 4:5-6 More times than not, we want to read the Bible like an answer book, looking for a technique that always produces a good result. But the Bible is wisdom literature. It teaches us to be wise, only as we immerse ourselves in its story and truth. Sermon Points: The […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Peter 1:16-21 So is the Bible a book created by God or by the hands of sinful men? While we often say the correct answer, “Both!” oftentimes we fail to realize how differently that conviction leads us to look at the world around us and how we picture a Christian’s […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Luke 16:19-31 The vast majority of the objections our secular world has with accepting the Bible for what its come from the failure to understand the kind of tool the Bible is. Getting clear on the nature of Scripture is essential to growing in the wisdom it wants to impart. Sermon […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Numbers 21:4-9 The metaphor of a pilgrim or sojourner is commonly applied to the life of God’s people, and often brings us to a place of weariness and discontent along the way. What can we learn from this episode during Israel’s wilderness wanderings? Sermon Points: Discontent Misdirected Discontent Redirected God’s Sufficiency […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Luke 4:42-44

Launch Sermon PlayerPhilippians 3:1-11

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Act 7:54-60 Sermon Points: The Beauty of Christ’s Location The Beauty of Christ’s Love The Beauty of Christ’s Plan

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 12:1-2 Paul says that there is a life altering metamorphosis that changes every Christian into a servant of Christ. But HOW that transformation happens very succinctly gathers together all the grace Paul has unpacked throughout the book and shows us that it all happens, “by the mercies.” Sermon Points: The […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 11:25-36 The whole of what Paul has been laying out throughout this book culminates at the end of Romans 11. Paul answers the questions regarding Israel’s destiny, but then explodes in “wonder, love and praise” when he sees the unfolding plan of God! Sermon Points: Blessing to the World Destiny […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 10:4-17 Paul cares so deeply for his fellow Jewish countrymen that he writes an extended explanation of exactly HOW they are to come to faith, if they do. In so doing, he provides modern believing people with a new way of thinking about the challenging topic of evangelism. Sermon Points: […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 9:1-8, 14-20, 30-33 Paul entertains a question about God’s faithfulness to “bring us all the way home” that is potentially undone by Jewish rejection of the Gospel. The answer takes us deep into the mind of God and his purposes in election and a “love that will not let me […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 8:28-39 Insecurities plague us everyday and are often the root cause of the anxieties that shorten our lives. But Paul’s exposition at the end of Romans 8 gives us a picture of a totally secure and convinced life, resting in the certainty of the Christian vision of the future. Sermon […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: John 20:1-18 Sermon Points: The resurrection is the answer to our grief. The resurrection is the reason for our hope. The resurrection is the fuel for our mission.

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 8:1-17 Romans 8 is a chapter that is preoccupied with the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christians. But what exactly does the Spirit do? How does he drive home the “no condemnation” that Paul pronounces at the beginning of this magnificent chapter? Sermon Points: The Spirit […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: John 13:1-17

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 7:7-25 The law of God has picked a fight with believing people. Because what was started by grace can never be completed by law. This inevitably leads to conflict. Understanding and locating this conflict is THE key to Christian growth and sanctification. Sermon Points: The Reality of the Fight The […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 6:1-14 It is the express intention of the Christian faith to bring about a change of life in the believer. The whole forward motion of the Bible is to fix the world from sin’s destruction. HOW Paul leads us through that in Romans 6 is revolutionary for the doctrine of […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 5:1-11 Justification by grace through faith is the medicine that cures believing people of doubting lives. Paul wants the Romans to live assured lives. So in Chapter 5 he unpacks the logic of assurance of salvation and how we can really know that we are standing in his grace. Sermon […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 4:1-5, 13-25 Paul has hung a lot of theological weight on the doctrine of justification, but the means by which those benefits come to Christians is through “faith.” But what does it mean to “have faith?” Turns out that imbedded in the life of the Jewish patriarch Abraham is the […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 3:27-31 Paul says that no one will be justified by the “works of the law.” That was his way of confronting Jewish people for their adherence to exclusionary cultural norms. But we still have those ourselves. What are the ways we seek to justify ourselves in OUR day? Sermon Points: […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: John 2:1-11 Jesus is joy itself. He is what we are looking for in all our other pursuits. Sermon Points: The Problem at the Party The Solution For the Party The Cost of the Party

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 3:21-26 We LOVE to catalogue the details of good news! How much more does Paul revel in the precision and details of God’s provision for his people in Christ. Three massive concepts: justification, redemption and propitiation, are all laid out for God’s people to mine for joy. Sermon Points: Justification […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 3:9-20 Nothing can break up the ordinariness of our day quite like an insult can. And yet, Paul unpacks a sweeping condemnation of all people (both religious and irreligious) in the middle part of Romans 3. This week, we look at the Christian doctrine of Total Depravity. Sermon Points: Negative […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 2:1-11 Having broadly condemned the irreligious in the latter half of chapter 1, Paul then turns his sights on the religious community, who demonstrate their own depravity through their condescending to others, while they do the very same things themselves. Sermon Points: Moralizing Judgers Religious Judgers The Cut Off Judge

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 1:18-32 Paul says that the Gospel is about salvation, but salvation from what? His answer is not one that this generation wants to hear: we need salvation from the very present wrath of God. But is that an archaic way of talking about God? What good could possibly come from […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 1:1-17 Paul opens his letter to the Romans announcing his overwhelming desire to preach the Gospel to the Romans. The energy behind his message is a powerful antidote to the mundane and ordinary versions of the faith that occupy “Christ Haunted” churches in the South. Sermon Points: Big News Not […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 13:5, Matthew 7:21-23

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 139:13-16; 1 John 1:9 Sermon Points: First Central Question Second Central Question Practical/Necessary Gospel Considerations

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Luke 10:25-37

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 John 1 & 2:2

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Isaiah 6:1-13 Sermon Points: A Vision of God A Vision of Self A Vision of Mercy A Vision for Service

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 27:39-44; 28:23-31 The last years of Paul’s life bring some of the most dramatic suffering he’d ever experienced. There is no triumphalism in the last chapters of Acts. But how do Christians face the inevitability of suffering in this life? How can Paul’s last years of missionary work instruct us? Sermon […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 18:1-11; 19:1,8-10 In the latter half of Acts, Paul is seen engaging in the most effective long term evangelism strategy ever conceived…church planting. This pattern of establishing Jesus Communities is the model for all those seeking to be faithful to be Jesus’ witnesses in whatever generation. Sermon Points: Urban Strategy […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 17:16-34 Many people think that in order to embrace Christianity you have to check your intellect at the door. But Paul marches right into the epicenter of Greek culture and goes toe to toe with the philosophy of the day and shows how the Creator God can only make sense […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 16:11-34 One of the more compelling traits of the Christian faith is the fact that it is not locked into one culture or people group. A remarkable diversity is seen in Acts 16 of Philippian converts. Yet, through it all, the Gospel remains the same message of the Cross. Sermon […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 15:1-2; 6-11; 13-20 From the very beginning of Jesus’ church, full acknowledgement of the difficulty of “getting alone” has been owned. In Acts 15, we get a map of how to hold the church together unity when controversy and disagreement rises up and threatens to divide the church. Sermon Points: […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 13:16-39 Paul’s first sermon is a master class on how the young missionary begins to present the Gospel to religious people. He roots his message in the relevance, facts and overwhelming joy of the work of Jesus on the Cross. Sermon Points: The Gospel Case The Gospel Content The Gospel […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 10:9-16, 34-48 The action in the book of Acts leads to a dramatic vision by Peter who begins to see that Jesus’ mission in the world will not be limited to a Jewish revolution. Instead, he is creating a worldwide, multi cultural, multi racial people of God worshipping around the […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 9:1-19 The story of Saul (soon to become named “Paul”) is repeated no less than three times in the book of Acts. Clearly, Luke wants Christians to relate this powerful conversion. But how can we do that when we rarely see so many fireworks surrounding our own experiences? Sermon Points: A […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 6:8-15, 7:51-59 The execution of Stephen looks to our modern eyes as ludicrously extreme. What could have caused this rioting mob to go to these extremes? Only when the Gospel exposes your deepest commitments, and threatens them, can we hope to see its freedom. Sermon Points: The Mob Threatened Stephen’s […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 2:1-12, 16 Sermon Points: Herod – Opposition Scribes – Apathy Wise Men – Worship

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 6:1-7 The early church was growing! But no sooner does it start than the problem of divisions in the church arise. But rather than make the new converts feel guilty about it, the Apostles appoint a new office to insure that the ministry of the Word and Deed remain together. […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 4:31-5:11 Opposition from outside the church is one thing, but hypocrisy from within is equally (if not more) dangerous. Only the fearlessness of a Spirit filled community could create the integrity needed to firmly establish this new revolutionary movement. Sermon Points: Living In Fear Separating Faith and Practice Faking Spiritual […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Luke 18:18-23 & Luke 19:1-10

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 4:1-20 Jesus’ mission to repair the world from the effects of sin meets almost immediate opposition from the religious elite. Their opposition to the disciples message still resonates with attacks on Christianity even our day. Sermon Points: Attacking Goodness Questioning Authority Challenging Power

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 2:36-47 Many people who traffic on the outskirts of Christianity have weird notions of what it looks like to live a “Spirit filled life.” But in the wake of Pentecost, there were tangible signs that the Spirit had come in power to transform a fledgling group into a worldwide movement. Sermon […]

Launch Sermon Player Scripture Reference: Acts 2:1-12 The coming of Holy Spirit at Pentecost was the “shot heard around the world” for the Kingdom of God. This was the decisive event for the church, but it can be hard to understand the meaning behind it. What does Pentecost mean for us today? Sermon Points: What […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 1:4-11 The mission of Jesus continues with him taking his place beside his Father at the Throne of the universe. Without this key insight, God’s people can (and often have) severely missed his purposes for what his kingdom is like AND how it’s going to advance. Sermon Points: Clarifying The […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 1:1-4 The book of Acts is the second part of Luke’s Gospel, so it’s not a new movement that’s being started, but God’s advance into the world to plant Jesus Communities and heal the world. Father, Son and Holy Spirit working together to advance a Kingdom. Sermon Points: God, Directing… […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 Peter 4:7-11 Peter lays out the foundation for a life of service for God’s people with a simple premise: we serve because we have been served. That means a unique gifting for all of God’s people to be hospitable to the strangers around them. This is where real healing starts. […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: John 15:4-5 There are few greater questions that a Christian can get answered than the question of “How do I change?” The world offers many paths to transformation, but Christianity is unique when it says that we only change when we abide in Christ. What does that mean? Sermon Points: Understanding […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Titus 2:11-14 Paul makes an assumption that Titus and the people he leads need to be “trained” to renounce ungodliness and live upright lives. But the whole project has to be powerfully rooted in the grace of God that has appeared in my past and will appear again in my future! […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 John 1:3-7 When John starts to unpack the reason for his letter, he uses a power packed word that we (weakly) translate as “fellowship.” But he’s talking about so much more. He’s talking about a powerful connection that exists among God’s people. Sermon Points: The Theology of Connection The Nature of […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Hebrews 10:19-25 The writer of Hebrews makes a dramatic statement about how essential it is that we be aware and commit to being together in public worship. Truth is: we take on the attributes of our Tribe. Why that’s the case is the topic for this week’s discussion. Scripture Points: Entering […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 3:12-18; 4:1-6 We should be curious about any church we join “what do you want to see in me? What do you want to shape me into as a person?” We call this topic “spiritual formation” and Paul gives us some fascinating insight into how a Christian uniquely thinks […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Luke 19:11-27 Sermon Points: The King’s Task The King’s Reward

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 11:25-30 How are you listening and living in Jesus Christ? Sermon Points: Jesus Give Us an Intimate Hope Jesus Give Us a Humble Invitation

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Romans 12:1-2 The Gospel the saves you is the gospel that changes you. Sermon Points: Gospel change is all about grace. Gospel change encompasses all of life. Gospel change is a slow and deep work.

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 7:15-27 Jesus ends the sermon on the mount by walking his followers through three barriers to genuine faith. False teachers, self-deception and bad foundations can all keep us from being what Jesus is forming in us. How can we make it through? Sermon Points: The Fruit The Knowledge The Foundation

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 6:25-34 The pandemic has taken a dramatic toll on Americans anxiety and depression. But Jesus tells us not to worry. Turns out, he then proceeds to give his followers powerful tools to erode their worry from the inside out. Sermon Points: Think Financially Think Faithfully Think Fatherly

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 6:9-15 It’s easy to get over-spiritual as Christians and assume that God isn’t interested in the “mundane” things of life: jobs, hobbies, recreation, relationships. But the second half of the Lord’s Prayer leads us directly in Jesus’ take on our day to day lives. Sermon Points: Prayer for Provision Prayer […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 6:9-13 The integrity of the Good Life requires that our prayers be more than self interested grocery lists. But how do we do that? Jesus model prayer gives his followers a framework for praying that keeps us focused on WHO exactly we’re praying to. Sermon Points: The Object of Prayer […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 6:1-4, 16-18 Jesus knows us very well. The minute that genuine piety enters our daily practice, the sinful heart looks for ways to take credit for it. Before long, all our piety is nothing but a show. But Jesus has great wisdom for hypocrites and genuine faith. Sermon Points: The […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Judges 7:1-22 God’s salvation comes through our weakness because salvation is of the Lord, not us. Sermon Points: Weak Salvation Weak Faith Weak Weapons

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 5:38-48 The greatest threat to the Good Life is the interruption of wholeness by those who hate us. If we can’t figure out what to do about our enemies, how can we ever be truly blessed? Jesus’ teaching is powerfully radical on this score. Sermon Points: The Problem with Retaliation […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 5:31-32 No vision of the Good Life is complete without some emphasis on protecting married individuals from the pervasive, erosive effects of their OWN sin. So Jesus lays down a dramatic vision for the permanence of marriage AND hope of relief to the suffering. Sermon Points: When We Need To […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Revelation 1:12-20 The Apostle John introduces a heavenly vision to a people for whom Christianity has stopped working. But it’s a vision of the RISEN Christ that ends up being transformational for this suffering people. It can do the same for us! Sermon Points: The Vision The Victory

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 5:27-30 Jesus’ warnings against lust go way beyond external explanations for our sexual behavior. Searchingly, he encourages us to go into the very depth of our motivational centers to uncover the heart of lust. (Adult themed content!) Sermon Points: The Tyranny of Lust The Anatomy of Lust The Healing of […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 5:21-26 Jesus begins his catechism of the Good Life by zeroing in on the most destructive force to human flourishing: our hatred for each other. His teaching lays us bare for what is really motivating our anger and how to heal it as well. Sermon Points: Righteous Anger Unrighteous Anger […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus is ready to launch into his description of the inner life of his followers, but first clarifies his relationship to the reigning source of truth of his day, the Old Testament Law. But Jesus is not an innovator, but a fulfiller. Sermon Points: The Bible is Reliable The […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 5:13-16 For the better part of the last few decades, the church in America has struggled to get clear on the question of what it means to be a faithful witness to Jesus in the world. But Jesus gives us two powerful images to begin a better conversation about it. […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 5:6-12 The Christian life is one of “moving in” but then “moving out.” In other words, you know when the humility of the first half of the Beatitudes has landed when the last half of them begin to come out of your life. Sermon Points: Finding Righteousness Showing Mercy Rooting […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 5:1-5 Jesus begins his deep dive into his definition of the Good Life by heading into the far reaches of our humanity where our pride, our callousness, and our power grabs live and keep us away from true human flourishing. Sermon Points: The Way of Poverty The Way of a […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 4:23-25; 5:1 As we complete our 3 yr examination of HOPE, HOME, and HEALING, we come to Jesus famous Sermon on the Mount. Jesus lays out his vision for his Kingdom and what it means to “live the good life.” Sermon Points: Attaining Blessing Avoiding Perfection Acknowledging Authority

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 13 Sermon Points: Complain Well Ask Well Despair Well

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Luke 15:1-2, 11-32 Sermon Points: Rebellion Repentance Restoration

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Mark 14:26-42 Sermon Points: Peter’s heroic declaration and Jesus’ prophecy Jesus’ sadness and Peter’s failure Jesus’ unjust trial and Peter’s denial

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 25:31-46

Launch Sermon Player Scripture Reference: Matthew 5:7 Scripture Points: A Kingdom Character Trait What is Mercy? Practical Observations & Applications

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38 When the angels appear to Joseph and Mary, you can almost hear the quivering excitement in their announcements. What exactly has the angels as excited as they are? What do they have to tell these seemingly insignificant people? Sermon Points: Invasion of a Supernatural World Advent of […]

Launch Sermon PlayerChristmas Eve Candlelight Service

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 Peter 1:10-12 Peter says that the salvation that is announced at Christmas is something that the angels LONG to LOOK into. What is so fascinating to these heavenly creatures that would cause them to fixate on it for Christmas? Turns out, it’s grace that grabs them. Sermon Points: Grace Anticipated […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:18-21, Hebrews 12:18-24 At the core of every human being’s motivation is the presence of desire. Emanating from what the Blble calls our heart, disordered desires are the root of all evil and death. Today, we see what it means to “covet.” Sermon Points: The Anatomy of Coveting The Power […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:17 At the core of every human being’s motivation is the presence of desire. Emanating from what the Blble calls our heart, disordered desires are the root of all evil and death. Today, we see what it means to “covet.” Sermon Points: The Anatomy of Coveting The Power of Coveting […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:16 The commandments go directly to the most fundamental aspect of human existence and it turns out that the words we say and think are powerful indicators of both the nature of our hearts and the direction of our lives. Sermon Points: The Powerful Tongue The Destructive Tongue The Healing […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:15 It’s amazing how attached we get to our “stuff.” So powerful is this influence that our sin leads us to take things that have not been entrusted with us to steward. How can we become generous people when the Bible tell us, “No Stealing?” Sermon Points: The Connection to […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:14 Sex is like fire. When used properly, it can warm and fascinate you. But when it is misused and abused, it can burn and scar you. What are the ways in which the Bible addresses sexual dysfunction in our day? Sermon Points:

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 95:1-11 Sermon Points: Because God is our Savior Because God is our Maker Because God is our Redeemer

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:14 We live in a time of greater confusion about sex and gender than ever in our nation’s history. Slicing through the fog, however, is God’s simple: No Adultery. What seems hopelessly quaint to some is a window into Jesus’ desire to be intimate with his people. Sermon Points: The […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 9:1-13 Sermon Points: The Recipient of Kindness The Kindness Expressed The Response to Kindness

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:13 The image of God present within the constitution of every single person, places a great burden on every OTHER person not only to avoid damaging that image, but also to do everything within our power to bless that image bearer. Sermon Points: Living With The Image of God Taking […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:12 There are few things more complicated in people’s lives than the relationships with our family. God’s design is for legitimate lines of authority to be “honored” by all, while realizing that HE is the only true Father of us all. Sermon Points: The Permanence of Family The Posture of […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:8-11 For most of us, the rhythm of life is a chaotic and frenetic mess, scrambling around trying to stay ‘productive’ and have your ‘head above water.’ In this chaos, the 4th Commandment enters and invites God’s people into a deep rest of the soul. Sermon Points: The Nature of […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:7 The 10 Commandments forbid us to “take God’s name” in a worthless manner. His “name” is the summation of his character, his reputation. But how do we guard the reputation of the God of the Universe? Sermon Points: Respect- Giving Weight To God Hypocrisy- Spoiling God’s Reputation Hope for […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 1 Peter 2:4-7 On our building Dedication Service, we look at how Peter unpacks the idea that Jesus is our “cornerstone.” In this image, we see the only way in which we can understand what it means to cast our life onto Jesus and maintain a proper perspective as we move […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:4-6 God takes our relationship with him seriously. But in order for it to be a real relationship we must honor who he REALLY is and not what we would like for him to be. The Second Commandment urges us to leave his self-revelation up to him. Sermon Points: The […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:3 Once you’ve worked through the existence of idols in general, the hard work is then exploring the idols within your own heart and community. What are the prevailing idolatries of the Oxford MS community? And how do they inform the struggles going on inside my own heart? Sermon Points: […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:1-2 The Bible has a very specific way of explaining you to YOU. That is, it shows how we are, by manufacturer’s design, motivated and changed. Without question, the first commandment is the most important plank in that explanation. Sermon Points: The Shape of our Humanity The Dynamics of our […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Exodus 20:1-2 God’s law is not a list of “suggestions.” Law is deeply connected to creation as the means by which his creatures can flourish. The law forms the very fabric of reality and therefore, the “air we breath” for people desiring their full humanity. Sermon Points: The Responses Traditionalist Revisionist […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Luke 4:16-22 Jesus’ first recorded sermon is a power packed outline of what he intends to bring in his Kingdom vision. But are these blessings purely spiritual OR are they enacted in the physical world? And if both, what is the priority of Christ Pres as we seek to “Launch a […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 87 Ezekiel’s vision of the Temple has a river flowing out of it. What will flow out of Christ Pres in the years to come? We will “Build A Home.” God is not saving isolated individuals. He’s saving a corporate entity called the Church. But life together is not easy […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Luke 24:13-32 The beginning of a three-week mini series on CPC’s core values, we look at what we mean when we say that we “Proclaim a Hope.” The Bible (and more specifically what the Bible talks about) is the heart of what we’re about here. The Bible’s authority, it’s subject, and […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 6:16-23 Something has happened to David. The hard lessons of inviting Yahweh’s presence to dwell among them have dug a deep well of transforming joy in his heart, so much so that he’s able to dance with the lowest rung of society and stave off his wife’s condescending mockery. […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 6:11-19 David is despondent in the wake of the events surrounding his desire to bring the Ark back to the Tabernacle. But he hears that God’s intention is to bless his people again, so he searches for a better way to enter the Presence, and forms a bloody trail […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 6:5-10 The celebration surrounding the return of the ark to the tabernacle comes to an abrupt and violent halt when two young priests are killed along the way. Turns out that the Presence of God is a dangerous thing that must be carefully considered before casually entering in. Sermon […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: 2 Samuel 6:1-5 As Solomon stands in front of the greatest Jewish temple in antiquity, something dramatic happens. The Presence of God shows up. But the lessons from living in the Presence of Yahweh had been learned long before when David brings the Ark of the Covenant up into the Tabernacle, […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Psalm 77:1-15

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Acts 2:37-47 What was the first Christian church known for and how can those first believers be a model for us today in their wholehearted repentance and wholehearted devotion?

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: John 13:34-35; 17:21

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Isaiah 49:14-16 God has made fantastic promises to the enslaved and exiled people of God…but they still doubt. The still feel forsaken by him and forgotten. But this is when God gives them an image of a nursing mother holding her baby and tells them to think through just how much […]

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Ephesians 6:10-24

Paul wraps up his discussion with a discourse on the inevitable conflict that Jesus’ followers will encounter. Unfortunately, this passage has so much cultural encrustation around it, it can be hard to see what he’s really saying. But once you do, the way you look at the world will never be the same.

Sermon Points:

The Location of the Fight
The Nature of the Fight
The Weapons in the Fight

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Ephesians 6:4-9

There are few things like our relationship to our work that’ll bring out the spiritual struggles inside all of us. Some of us love our jobs, while others of us hate them. Regardless, Paul instructions were powerfully countercultural and can help us even today.

Sermon Points:

The Context of Paul’s Teaching
The Content of Paul’s Teaching
The Confidence in Paul’s Teaching

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Ephesians 6:1-4

There is not the slightest notion in Paul that the Gospel truths he’s been unpacking can stay safely in a “non-public” place. Rather, it shows up in the most fundamental relationships of human life: children and parents.

Sermon Points:

The Simplicity of the Commands
The Wisdom in the Commands
The Motivation in the Commands

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Ephesians 5:22-33

The Church, Paul has said, is the most conspicuous place where God is going to show his intentions for the universe. Marriage is the other place where he will do that. Turns out, men and women have different roles to play in this cosmic drama.

Sermon Points:

The Role of the Church: Wives
The Role of the Head of the Church: Husbands
The Big Finale: Profound Union

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Ephesians 5:22-33

This is the first of a two part series on marriage in Ephesians. So many people fail at marriage because they are trying to use it for purposes that it was NOT intended to provide. Wrapping our minds around Paul’s vision for what marriage is and is not is our topic this morning. We find out that it’s directly tied to his larger mission for the world.

Sermon Points:

Marriage is a picture of God’s Grand Plan
Marriage is an antidote for human selfishness
Marriage is a sign of how Jesus heals us

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Ephesians 5:1-22

Sermon Points:

Walk In Love
Walk In Light
Walk In Wisdom

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon Points:

Look at Jesus & see what God is like
Look at Jesus to see what humanity is like
Look at Jesus & see hope

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: John 20:19-20

We are living in unprecedented times. There is a pandemic of fear as much as there is of the coronavirus. But the disciples knew exactly what fear was as they sat alone in their homes. But Jesus appeared, and nothing was going to be same after that.

Sermon Points:

The Object of our Fears
The Defeat of our Fears
The Neutralizing of our Fears

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Ephesians 4:17-32

Paul expects that the new life that has been won for Jesus’ people will penetrate into the deepest levels of motivation. Namely, to be given a “new self.” How that works and what that looks like is our topic today.

Sermon Points:

What You Were
What You Have Become
What You Are Called To Become

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Ephesians 4:1-16

It might strike you as odd that immediately after this extraordinary exposition of the Christian Gospel, Paul turns to the topic of our UNITY as God’s people. Why he does this and how we can achieve it is our topic in this sermon.

Sermon Points:

Understand Unity
Embrace Diversity
Grow Into Maturity

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Ephesians 3:14-21

Paul reaches the end of his exposition of the Gospel and pauses to pray for the Ephesians. In so doing, he speaks into his understanding of the ideal man, a person who has been strengthened by love and made full. Nothing comes close to this.

Sermon Points:

Have Strength
Know Love
Be Full

Launch Sermon PlayerScripture Reference: Ephesians 3: 1-13

Captivated ImaginationThe word “evangelism” can conjure up all kinds of anxious and oftentimes negative feelings in the lives of believing people. But Paul wants to get the message out about the “mystery” of Christ for entirely different reasons.

Sermon Points:

Mission Motivation
Humble Confidence
Corporate Thinking
Captivated Imagination