Burnt Hickory | Sermons

When you are feeling like the world has ended, that things you’re striving for are falling apart, when it seems like all hope is lost, God’s not done with you. We look in scripture through this sermon series at the lives of people who have not been defined by their past, but God has shown that even in their failures, He’s not done in their lives. Today we look at Moses and see that God was not don...

As we conclude our sermon series through Ephesians, we look at chapter 6 and the idea that our work matters to God. What we do for a vocation is ordained by God at creation before the fall – to work in relationship with each other, to meet needs, and to be fruitful and multiply. In modern times, we have separated the sacred from the secular, keeping work and Christina life distinct, when in realit...

In Ephesians chapter 5, we see the picture of what a family looks like that’s been changed by the gospel. Just as Christ saved us from darkness, we are to live as children of light in Him. When we read that wives should submit to their husbands, we know that it does not mean that a wife is not equal to her husband, or that she has to always agree with her husband. What it does imply is that a bibl...

We continue in our summer sermon series through Ephesians by looking at chapter 4 this week. We see that in discerning spiritual gifts that God has given us, we need to consider our affinity, ability, and the affirmation from others. Our gifts are the means in which we share the gospel. Because we have been changed through the gospel, we live with renewed minds, hearts, and souls for Christ. Charl...

This week, we continue our sermon series through Ephesians as we look to chapter 3 verses 14-21. We know that an active prayer life is an essential part of Christian living, and Paul gives us a model prayer to follow and learn from in his letter to the Ephesians. We should pray with humility through gratitude of God’s provision and with confidence in him. We need to seek through prayer the fullnes...

This week, we continue our Ephesians sermon series, called Together in Him and for Him, by looking at the second chapter the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Ephesus. We learn that while sin is an action we commit, it is also a condition that we are born into. When we live like we are the God of our life, we replace living for God's glory inside His authority with living for our own glory by f...

As we celebrate the fathers and father figures in our lives this week, we get to hear from a panel of dads and pastors give us godly wisdom for shepherding our families. God gives us as dads some scriptural commands to not exasperate our kids, but to bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Earthly fathers should be patterned and reflect God’s divine fatherhood, and the guide for...

We continue in the second half of the first chapter in the book of Ephesians for our sermon series called Together in Him and for Him. Today we ask God to open our eyes to the hope that he has called us to, the riches of his glorious inheritance, and the incomparably great power that is available to us as Christians. As followers of Christ, our main purpose is to know and pursue God more and in th...

We begin our summer sermon series through the book of Ephesians and dig into the idea that we are chosen and set apart, and just as the early church in Ephesus, we have a purpose for God. Pastor Brian covers the beginning of this rich New Testament letter, and we learn that we are chosen, adopted, redeemed, and marked and its all to the praise of the glory of God. This is the good news, that God h...

We study scripture again this week to pull out principles of generosity as we give to God our first and best. Jesus’ life is the model for generosity that we should follow in our own lives and God has richly provided us with everything we need for our enjoyment. As we save, we should remember that treasure in heaven is worth more and better than any treasure on earth, and our primary source of sec...

Why is it so uncomfortable to talk about money in the church? Well, over the years, it’s been a topic that has been abused by some pastors and most people are not living in obedience to our calling that God has put on us as Christians to give. Today, we dive into scripture to see why Jesus spoke so often about money, and what God actually asks of his followers in generosity. Everything belongs to...

We celebrate mothers and mom figures today on this special day, and through scripture, we learn about faithfulness. Proverbs 31 dives into what a faithful and noble wife and mother looks like, her value and purpose in life, the sacrifice she makes for her family. We see that the faithful take action and serve their families and others and speaks truth while loving sacrificially. These are not just...

We celebrate our graduating class of High School Seniors today as Pastor Eli preaches on endurance in life. We learn through this bible study that in order to endure life, we must full surrender to God who has overcome, and we need to surround ourselves with Godly community. Biblical community provides accountability and guidance, collective worship and prayer, and a way to witness to the world. S...

The foundation of Christian discipleship is obedience, to do whatever Jesus tells us to do. It’s a tough, but powerful lesson we learn as we study scripture today. We aren’t called to do amazing things, but God will do extraordinary things through us because of our obedience. Jesus steps in when it seems like nothing else can help, starts with what we have to offer, and looks for our willingness t...

Joy is one of the most vital and important gages on the dashboard of life. We as followers of Christ, our lives should be filled with joy, but sometimes it seems a struggle to find it amidst our circumstances. Today, as we study scripture, we learn that we will be joy-filled when we recognize sin, worship sincerely and treasure Jesus. When we redirect our confidence in Jesus instead of our own abi...

In today’s bible study, we explore Luke chapter 24, and we learn some powerful lessons about Jesus. One of the greatest gifts given to mankind is the powerful, personal, live-giving, and complete word of God that points to Jesus, the loving Savior. We also serve a God that personally cares about every individual in the world, including you. If you truly search for Jesus, he will show himself to yo...

We celebrate Easter every year, but what did the resurrection actually accomplish? If we believe that its true, it means that we are redeemed from our sin and Jesus has secured out future. Because of his sacrifice and offering his power we can truly live, to live with hope. We study in Luke that after Jesus was crucified, the tomb was discovered empty. What an amazing fact, that the empty tomb has...

As we look towards Easter next weekend, we follow along Jesus’ path towards the cross. After his entry into Jerusalem, things turn dark quickly. It’s easy to misdirect our hope like the disciples did. Or to misunderstand hope based on our circumstances. But we learn from scripture that because of Jesus, we have true and redeeming hope that restores us through the cross. 1 Peter 2:24 says “He himse...

Our Radiate Students hosted an amazing DNOW weekend where hundreds of middle and high school students got to recharge their faith, come together for fun and fellowship, and were inspired to carry the gospel to the lost through their schools and friends. It was 2 days filled with worship, games, and small group time, and lives were transformed. Today, we get to experience the ending to an impactful...

This week, we study the bible and discover what God says about dealing with shame. We learn that guilt is the focus on the what, and shame is the focus on the who, and shame comes from feelings of guilt from what we have done. Shame can be brought into our lives by others, but mostly it comes from something about you that you have no control over. By studying Mark chapter 5, we see that shame lead...

This week, we continue to look at what scripture says about our feelings and how we can trust and lean into God’s promises and rely on his character when life gets tough. As we study Matthew chapter 6, we learn that anxiety pushes us to think too little of God and tries to hide how much God thinks of us. Its easy to see what we are devoted to in life, since we tend to worry the most about it, but...

Depression is when you are looking into the now and into the future, and all you feel is despair, suffocating darkness, and no clear way back to joy. Today we study Jerimiah chapter 3 to see what scripture says about dealing with depression and finding joy in what seems like a place of no hope. We learn that its ok to express raw emotions to God when we are struggling, and many of the greatest Chr...

This morning in our bible study, we look at Philippians chapter 2, where we dive into what it means to have true joy. To shine the salvation message of Jesus like the stars to the dark world, joy has to replace a critical, grumbling, and arguing heart. We know that this world is crooked and perverted, but we as Christ followers must recognize our position and we must grow from that. We also learn...

We conclude our sermon series called the Transformed Life this week by looking at Simon Peter. We dive into scripture to look at Simon Peter’s face-to-face encounter with Jesus that changed his life. What we see as Simon remembers, is restored by, and eventually recommissioned by the grace of Jesus Christ, we learn that we should follow Him and not compare ourselves with someone else. When we do f...

In our bible study today, we look at Saul’s conversion in Acts chapter 22. The significance of this divine face to face encounter with Jesus is absolutely life changing for Saul, even to the point of his name change. We look at the aspects of the contact, conviction, the conversion, and ultimately, the commission of Paul in this experience. As believers, we each have a purpose and a story. God nev...