Zion Hill Baptist

On this Easter Sunday we remember essential doctrinal truths about Jesus Christ. He was born of a virgin, He is God, He is the atonement for our sins, and He physically rose from the dead conquering death as the first fruit. The resurrection was not spiritual or a untrue event, it is the corer stone to our hope and the justification for our salvation. God that can conquer death is a God who can do...

During this Easter Sunday sunrise service we remember the empty tomb and celebrate that Christ is risen, he is risen indeed. We consider the road to Emmaus and what we can learn from the encounter that occurred there and how Jesus Christ witnessed to himself through prophecy, logic, miracles and the giving of the Holy Spirit. With these same witnesses and our testimony we are sent into the world t...

Shoes are an important part of our clothing. They help us with balance, protect our feet, give us comfort and more. But when we come before God we must be wiling to take them off and stand exposed before Jesus Christ with reference, humility, submission, and purification. It was true for Moses and Joshua and true for us today. Will we allow Him to change us? And for those who have been brought fro...

As we hear Easter we begin to focus, rightly, on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Here, in John we give pause as we see several Greeks who desire to see Jesus after his Triumphal entry into Jerusalem just before Passover. Who are these men? How are they different from the Scribes, Pharisees, Hebrews, Romans, and others? We see that Christ is glorified by God explains that he must be...

At the conclusion of this series we ask an important question, what is our goal and how do we know if we have reached it. Many Christians and churches have erred in this question either relying on earthly metrics while shunning the spiritual or often wandering without direction spiritually. In this sermon we attempt to layout areas we need to spiritually assess our health (community, family, churc...

Who are you? What is your identity? Society is focused on 'me' and the identities we take on; wife, husband, child, parent, republican, democrat, student, tall, short and so on. We take on many roles and identities in life, but the primary question is at my core, who am I? If you've been saved by God then you are a child of the king, a new creation, a friend of Christ, an heir of the kingdom. We m...

Most people don't get the rest their bodies need. This leads to all types of problem (impaired cognitive functions, stress, anxiety, depression, & weakened immune systems). But it is often the same with the spiritual nature of our lives. We don't 'rest' in Him often enough. While we are not under the law and not required to keep the Sabbath the practice of devoting a time of rest that is Holy to t...

Dehydration effects 75% of us and most of us don't even realize it. The impact leads to fatigue, foggy memory, irritability, seeking salty food, and looking for the problems with the way we feel in all the wrong places. Spiritually, we are often the same way. When we quench the spirit that has given us a soft heart in place of the rock and fail to have allow the holy spirit to renew us, we find ou...

To avoid muscle atrophy (weakening) and to be able to do all the things we want to do in life, we must exercise. That is not always a pleasant experience and we would rather stay like we are. But, dynamic equilibrium tells us that we never say in a consistent state, we are either growing or declining. The same is true for us spiritually. We are either pressing on, contending, growing, workout, bei...

Do you have spiritual nourishment? Jus as we must eat the right type and amount of food to help us live, we also most intake spiritual food. We do that through 1) scripture, 2) prayer, 3) fellowship with other believers, and 4) thinking on what is good. Too many of us fill out lives with junk food and things that are not food for us. Many many not even realize they are hungry, empty or malnourishe...

Obedience and Submission are not synonymous. Obedience is following orders or commands externally out of a sense of duty--can can be done unwillingly (like when we pay taxes or follow certain laws). Submission is yielding to power or authority internally out of a sense of respect--that is done willingly out of respect and love. We are to be both obedient and submissive to God! Christ molded this p...

In the 1990s a popular wristband asked What Would Jesus Do or WWJD? There were meant to remind us that we being Christians are to be Christ-like or mini-Christ's. But too few of us actually know what Christ is like to know how we are to act, behave, or think. Today we review some of what we know about Christ. He is compassionate, serious, focused, a servant, submissive and obedient to His Father,...

The scripture teaches us to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts and to be always ready to give an answer (or defense) to anyone that asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. Today we review what this verse means and asks the question, are you ready?

After we are saved God makes us Ambassadors for Christ. We represent him in this foreign culture. We are to seek to honor him and not promote our own welfare. We carry the gospel message of reconciliation to a lost world and are to do so while being as wise as snakes but as innocent as doves through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We have our own vernacular (or church words) that are often assumed to be understood. But a great many both within the church and without don't know what it means when we say they need to be saved. Saved from what? Save for what? Today we discuss what salvation is, why it is such an important concept, and what we should do about it. We are reminded that God created each one of us special and he de...

Jesus Christ said, blessed (happy) is the poor in spirit. This sounds counterintuitive until we realize that to meet Christ (to be saved) we must not depend on our own happiness, but rather have total dependence on Him. We spend most our lives trying to be happy and wondering why we are not happy. We peruse pleasure, wealth, fame, status, pride, laziness, lust and more just to fill the empty void....

We look unto Psalm 111 for instruction, guidance, and comfort today. We see that we are to Praise the Lord with all our heart in both good and hard times, to share that praise with others, to study the works of the Lord, and remember the things he has done. We know he has given us everything we need, compassion, a covenant that he will never leave us, a heritage. All of this comes from his truth a...

There is much wisdom to be gained from the conversation God had with Cain. We are reminded that failing to do what God requires is sin and that sin is crouching at the door waiting to kill, steal, and destroy our lives. All too often we invite sin in thinking we can handle it or control it. But that is not the case, sin is a wild animal waiting to ambush and devour us. Rather, we are to acknowledg...

As we consider what 2023 brought and look ahead to 2024 this New Year I encourage you to just open the bible and read. God will reveal himself through the His inspired Word (Old and New Testament). The word will never fail, never vanish, and will not return void. It is able to divide our thoughts from intentions and is profitable for instruction, conviction, and correction. I encourage everyone to...

At Christmas we celebrate the coming of the Messiah; which, in Hebrew means anointed one or chosen one. In Greek we translate it to Christos. So we when say Jesus Christ we are saying Jesus the Messiah. After the fall of Man God foretold he would send a Messiah to redeem us to him. Today we look through some of the Old Testament prophesies that reveal Jesus is the long awaited Messiah!

Have you allowed someone to steal, kill, or destroy your Joy? Have you yourself killed you joy? All too often we allow others or are our own worst enemy. But at this time of year we pause to remember that the great 'I Am' has come that we may have life and that we may have it more abundantly. Let us follow after David and repent, be obedient, and ask for the joy of our salvation to be restored unt...

Hell is real. It is the place where we are separated from God and punished for our sins. This is the default position for all mankind. The only way out, is provided through Jesus Christ. We must be saved or born again as a new creature to stay out of hell at the end of our lives. We must all enter through the narrow gate, but few will find it. Have you?

What do we know about heaven and how much of what we think we know is untrue? Today we consider what is know about heaven. We know heaven is real and that only those who are saved will be there. We know we will spend eternity with God without the impact of sin. We also know this is not automatic and many who say Lord Lord, will not enter the kingdom of heaven. In this brief sermon we try to descri...

God ordained priests during the Old Testament to serve as an intermediary between the Lord and His people. However, Christ, as the great High Priest sacrificed himself and is seated on the right hand of God. We no longer need priests, but can communicate directly to God. Those who are saved are the priesthood of believers and should make spiritual sacrifices, do good works, live as a sacrifice and...

We discuss the encounter Jesus had with the 10 Leper. All were physically healed, but only one was spiritually healed--the one who returned and was thankful. Are you thankful today? Are you publicly thankful for the spiritual things God has done in your life?