Burnt Hickory | Sermons

As we continue our sermon series on the transformed life, we study Zacchaeus, and we learn some big lessons from this little character as he came face-to-face with Jesus. As we study scripture, we learn that no one is beyond the goodness of Jesus, and it’s a God-breathed, soul-level curiosity that positions us to actually meet Him. When Jesus looks up at Zacchaeus, he calls out to him in the tree,...

Today, we study scripture and look at feasts in the bible, specifically at the upper room feast, and the impact on the lives of the disciples as they at face-to-face with Jesus. We see that the first feast was not just about eating a meal together, but in picking a team. God provides a way for life, but it requires a sacrifice and an active faith. All of the struggles of this world are temporary b...

We continue our sermon series called the Transformed Life where we’re looking at the lives of people from scripture and how their lives were changed after coming face-to-face with Jesus. We are studying John chapter four and the woman at the well. We learn that how we perceive Jesus will shape everything about us. Jesus fully sympathized with what this woman was going through, and he fully sympath...

We continue our study of people who came face to face with Jesus in scripture with our focus this week on John the Baptist. Even though John knew that Jesus was the awaited Messiah, the one he had proclaimed, he faltered with doubt while in prison. His doubt shows us that serious doubt can creep into true faith and dealing with long term struggles can challenge even the most faithful of believers....

We begin the new year with a new sermon series where we look at the impact Jesus had on the lives of people who came face to face with Him. As we study scripture, we see in John chapter 9 the story of the man born blind. And we learn that God’s eternal purposes in our sufferings are always more important than our understanding of the causes of our sufferings. In other words, Jesus cares deeply for...

We want to show and receive God’s love to those around us, and we live that out practically everyday. We strive to bring hope by meeting physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of everyone we come in contact with. We love fiercely—like a family, because everyone is included and our Father loves us all. We’re building biblical community by seeking God’s Word, believing in His promises, and applyin...

Merry Christmas! We celebrate the birth of Jesus through worship and a short message of hope. The real reason for Christmas began some 2000 years ago in a most peculiar and unimportant place, but impacted the entire world. The importance of this day is that Christ came to earth as an infant, to be Emmanuel, God with us.

As we draw the advent season to a close and move into celebrating Christmas Day, we look at Simeon and Anna in our final sermon in the series God With Us. We learn that it’s the Holy Spirit that give us clarity and insight into the things of God, and waiting is a key element of the Christian life. We have to remember that God sees us. He has not forgotten us. Out act of waiting doesn’t mean that w...

In our sermon series God With Us, where we are looking at the story of the birth of Jesus and how it changed the lives of the people around him, we look to Mary. We learn that there’s a difference between clarifying questions about God’s plan and doubting God. God is not like man, and he always fulfills his promises, and this was a serious task for Mary to trust God and believe in his plan. We als...

We reflect on the wise men as they sought and worshiped Jesus this week as we continue our sermon series God With Us. We learn that despite the distance, discomfort, and danger, the wise men worshiped Jesus at his birth. What led them to him was the Holy Spirit, the scriptures, and a star God placed in the heavens. Even today, the wisest thing you can ever do is to drop what you’re doing and seek...

It’s the beginning of Advent, a time to celebrate God with us through the birth of Jesus as we look towards Christmas. Pastor Matt will walk through scripture in this sermon series not only looking at the miraculous birth, but also how it affected those around Jesus and how it should affect us as believers today. We begin by looking at Joseph’s faith and how it was tested in his response from the...

As a Christian, you’ve probably asked the question: how much good does prayer do? Today, as we conclude the Wisdom From The Master sermon series, we are going to explore what it means to pray persistently. We study in Luke as Jesus teaches us about knocking on the door of a friend and of the widow who kept asking for justice. When we pray desperately, boldly, persistently, and trustingly, we will...

We look at one of the most well-known parables Jesus taught this week as we study wisdom from the master, the parable of the Good Samaritan. When we study Luke chapter 10, we see that an expert in the law, or a religious person, was trying to trip up Jesus and capture him in a battle of wits. What we see is the Maker of the Universe turning this simple question of “who is my neighbor” into a wonde...

This week during Missions Sunday, we get to hear from our mission partner Oleg as he shares what’s ben happening in Ukraine during the war. Even though trauma is everywhere around, and the future is so uncertain, people are sharing the gospel and ministering to emotional and physical needs. Learn about how Radooga Ministries is caring for children in the midst of war and turmoil. Special Guest: Ol...

We can only live wisely in the present through clear thinking about the future. This principle guides us through continuing our study through the book of Luke in our sermon series called Wisdom From The Master. This week we dive into Luke chapter 12 as we learn from Jesus what it means to be ready for his return. We need to keep our lamp burning and live as a faithful and active steward as we wait...

Greed isn’t about our possessions, but a reflection of the fallen condition of our hearts. As we study wisdom from the master through Luke, we learn that it’s possible to appear to be living for Jesus but still be consumed by greed. Jesus teaches us to be on guard against all kids of greed, and that life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Through this bible study, we learn the sympto...

God’s heart is not for you just to attend church, its for you to belong to and be with the church. This week, we look at what it means to be a member of a church through the lens of scripture. The Greek word for church is Ekklesia, which derives from Ek – out of and Kaleo – to call, which translates to the called-out body. We are to live together as a called-out community. The bible shows us that...

What does it mean to be a true follower of Jesus? We dive into scripture as we continue our sermon series in Luke looking at the wisdom of the master. We study Jesus’ teachings about carrying our cross and following him in order to be his disciple. What does it mean to take up my cross? We see that our beliefs need to be inline with Jesus and our will has to be aligned with his. We have to fully e...

We continue our sermon series called Wisdom of the Master by looking at Luke 8 at the healing of the sick woman and the raising of Jairus’ daughter. In both of these stories, we see a parallel that no one is too messed up, unclean, or too insignificant to get Jesus’ attention. And conversely, no one is too good, powerful, or religious to need Jesus. From both sides of these principles, we see the...

Do you have a healthy fear and love for Jesus? That’s what we seek to answer as we look into the gospel of Luke at more wisdom from the master. We study chapter 8 when Jesus calms the raging storm and, in an instant, everything is calm. The disciples were struck with fear, not from the storm, but from the master who could calm it just with words. We examine our faith as we gather principles from J...

We continue on in the book of Luke as we discover more wisdom from the master in scripture. This week, we learn that our obedience is a response, that we keep God’s statutes and laws as a response of gratefulness to the grace that God has given us. We also see some indicators of grace in the lives of believers are uncontrollable passion for Jesus, radical acceptance of others, and tremendous gener...

As we begin a new sermon series in the book of Luke, we look at the practical teachings of Jesus as wisdom from the master. Looking at Luke chapter 6, we see Jesus’ teaching on the fruit of the spirit, and we see what distinguishes a self-deceived religious person from a true follower of the master. They don’t bear good fruit, they don’t do what Jesus says, and their faith falls apart in the storm...

Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials because the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Sounds great, but why is it that God allows trials in our lives and doesn’t respond or remove them? That’s what Pastor Marty helps us consider today as we look through scripture. Having a right understanding of trials is the beginning of understanding why bad things happen to us. When we are tes...

This week, we focus on building stronger relationships at Burnt Hickory with our special guest speaker Shawn Stoever. Just like being on an adventurous hike, in life we have to have a guide, we choose our partners for the journey, and we will find beauty on the way. In relationships, the world’s way is the wrong path leading to the need to control others, selfishness and pride, and being influence...

This week in our sermon series Moving Forward, we’re looking at what it takes to read and understand the bible correctly. As a Christian, we read the bible, but we also must learn to love and study the bible too. We always need to answer the question of what does a passage say to its original audience and then ask what is the difference between the original audience and me. As we study, we learn t...