Creekside Sermons

What gives us hope when our faith feels fragile and our hearts feel empty? In 1 Kings 19, Elijah meets God not in fire or earthquake but in a whisper-a whisper that reminds him (and us) of three life-giving truths: God cares for us holistically , God is intimately close even in our lowest moments , and God's calling on our lives still stands, even after failure and burnout . These truths revive ou...

What ought to motivate us to put our “yes” on the table? What should propel us to a lifetime of Jesus-following and disciple-making? In Isaiah 6, we see the 3 things that motivated Isaiah, and will certainly motivate us, toward a bold, unhindered, “here I am, send me!"

We are all called to leave a legacy! Through faith in Jesus Christ "we have salvation, instruction to godly living in the present age, and hope for the appearing of our great God and Savior." As we respond to this grace, we can live as bright lights who have an overflow to pour out on others.

Life is often chaotic and distracting. It is easy to lose sight of what matters most. Jesus told us which priorities should define our lives as we strive to follow Him faithfully. The priorities are easy to understand, but hard to live out. When all is said and done, though, Jesus asks us to love God, love others, and make disciples. Does your life reflect the priorities that matter most?

The love of Jesus changed the Apostle John's life forever. Because Jesus loved Him, John understood where he was going, who he was, and how to love others. Has Christ's love changed your life, as well?

One week before His death and resurrection, Jesus presented Himself to the nation of Israel as the rightful King of the nation. The Scripture makes it clear that He is also the rightful King of the universe. The question each of us has to answer is this: Will I make King Jesus the king of my life?

Some investments simply don't work out – they decline in value or disappear altogether. In fact, from the Bible's point of view, all earthly wealth will ultimately lose all of its value unless it is converted into something of eternal value – PEOPLE. God loves people because people are made in His image, and they will all live forever, with Him or apart from Him. So invest your...

This morning we're studying Jesus' works and parables in Luke 14 to better understand how God's invitation to salvation inspires our compassion, humility, and urgency.

God loves to rescue hopeless sinners…and all of us are hopeless sinners who need rescuing. In Luke 15, Jesus told three powerful stories to illustrate the lavish and remarkable nature of God's mercy and grace to the most desperate of lost sinners.

What is the "one thing" you feel you need in order to make your life all that you want it to be? A happier marriage? More money? Better health? The Scripture tells us that real life comes from knowing Jesus first. When Jesus is our “one thing,” we can trust Him to take care of everything else. Will you and I commit to making Jesus the center of our lives?

All of us have room to grow in our prayer lives. In one of Jesus' most famous teachings on prayer, He helps His disciples on throughout the generations know 3 attitude shifts we need to make in prayer.

What makes a good neighbor according to Jesus? A good neighbor extends the unconditional love of God to anyone in need. According to that definition, are you a good neighbor? The parable of the Good Samaritan challenges us to become neighbors who reflect the character of God, who sent His only Son Jesus to help you and me when we were most in need of His love and His mercy.

Jesus wants His followers to share the good news with others about the eternal kingdom He offers to those who believe in Him. That is our mission: To help people find and follow Jesus! But how can we accomplish that mission effectively? In Luke 10, Jesus gives His disciples some instructions to keep in mind as they go into the world as His representatives. Those same instructions are useful to us...

A logical question for us followers of Jesus to ask is this: is what we sacrifice for Jesus worth what we will gain? In today's passage, the disciples have a breakthrough moment in realizing who Jesus is, and he lets them in on all of the difficulty following him will bring. The disciples are forced to ask: is it worth it? Jesus will provide the answer, which is, of course, unequivocally &ldqu...

Jesus preached the Word of God perfectly, because He is the living Word of God. Some people believed His words, while others rejected Him. In Luke 8, Jesus explains that our response to God's Word determines the outcome of our lives. A fruitful life is one that glorifies God and helps others to know Him. The only way to lead a fruitful life is to listen carefully to God's Word and to obey it.

When you think of the “good life,” what comes to mind? Riches? Fame? Pleasure? Our world values people who are powerful, important, and prideful. But the values of Christ's kingdom are opposed to the values of this world. In Luke 6, Jesus described a kingdom in which everything is upside down: the poor are rich, outcasts are insiders, enemies are friends, and sinners turn into...

God helps those who help themselves…or does He? What about those who can't help themselves: the helpless, the outcasts, and the sinners? If we are being honest, those words describe all of us! We cannot save ourselves from our greatest enemies: death, Satan, and sin. Only God has that power. Jesus, God's only Son, came to save those who cannot save themselves, and that's all of us. He c...

We've all come face to face with temptation and will continue to do so. The question is, how will we deal with temptation when it threatens us? In today's passage, we'll see the areas Satan targets to tempt us and the tools at our disposal to fight back, just like Jesus did.

Throughout human history, we've all been looking for a few standard things: purpose, meaning, fulfillment, joy and peace. In this chapter, we see 4 pieces of affirmation that every single thing we're looking for is found in Jesus.

We are made to reflect God's character and glory, but sin contaminates our lives and prevents us from fulfilling our purpose. For that reason, the Scripture calls us to pursue holiness - to separate ourselves from sin and set ourselves apart for God. The start of a new year is a natural opportunity for us to evaluate our lives and develop new habits of holiness as we seek to honor Jesus.

With the New Year comes dreams, goals, and resolutions, but as we pursue these things, what are we looking for? Is it fulfillment, satisfaction, financial stability, status, or something else? The same question could be asked about church. When we come to worship God, what are we seeking? Are we coming to church because of the tradition we were taught, or because the Bible says we should, or becau...

The greatest story of all time would never have been written if it were in the hands of human authors. God is masterfully crafting the narrative of our redemption as He reconciles mankind to Himself through His Son Jesus Christ.

Even though Christmas is meant to be a joyful season, we often find that our lives do not match our expectations. We still live in a world full of sin, death, and darkness, although we believe that Jesus came to bring us eternal life. Those who received the news of Christ's arrival on the very first Christmas also had reasons for despair and sadness. Yet the coming of Jesus into the world proves t...

With all the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it is all too easy for Christians to become a distracted people! In the narrative of Mary and Martha, we learn that activities, even good ones, must not overshadow our relationship with Jesus. When we let distractions allow us to miss presence and intimacy with God, we will become anxious and troubled. However, when we make Jesus our Main Thing, we...

God has given every follower of Jesus a story. It's a story of how His grace has intersected with our lives, a story of salvation and transformation. Every story is unique, and yet every story is also the same, because every story is about Jesus. Paul's example challenges us to share our story with anyone who will listen, because God wants to use our stories to bring people to Himself.