Creekside Sermons

Psalm 42 contains a number of circumstances that can lead to depression. But, even in the midst of despair, the psalmist keeps his focus on God.

Being a parent is a hard job, but it is also an eternally significant job! How can you treasure your role as a mom, while focusing on the values and character traits that are most important for your children to understand and develop?

God established boundaries around marriage and sex because He loves us and He wants what is best for us. For that reason, the Scripture prohibits homosexual behavior, along with every other expression of sexual sin. In a society that denies God's design, it can be hard to believe that real change is possible for those who struggle with sexual sin. However, the gospel offers forgiveness for every s...

Why did God create marriage and sex in the first place? The Bible is clear that marriage is not the only pathway to a life of purpose and meaning, so what is it for? God's Word tells us that marriage is both a partnership and a picture, in which a man and a woman join together to fulfill God's purposes and reflect God's love.

God created us in His image. But why did He make us male and female? Why do those categories even matter from a biblical perspective? Our current culture questions the importance, and even the reality, of God's design on this issue. Knowing what His Word says about sex and gender will help us to respond with grace and truth as we engage these challenging, yet critical, conversations.

The Bible has a lot to say about sex and gender. So why does God care so much about our sexual identity, behavior and thoughts? Scripture tells us that God is not trying to keep us from experiencing joy and fulfillment by placing boundaries around our sexual behavior. Instead, He wants us to understand that when we live in keeping with His design, we will experience true freedom and joy. His desig...

What is God's heart toward us when we sin? The story of Peter's restoration shows us that God pursues sinners, forgives sinners, and uses redeemed sinners for a beautiful purpose.

We all need hope. But in the face of a world filled with sin, death, tragedy, and suffering, we find ourselves struggling to maintain our hope. After Jesus died, His disciples also struggled to keep their hope alive: if the Messiah was dead, then their future was lost. But we know the whole story now! Jesus rose from the dead, defeating every enemy and restoring our hope. So where do you place you...

What characterizes a healthy church? The answers might surprise you! A church can have a beautiful building full of people, high-quality music, and excellent events, and still be unhealthy. On the other hand, a church could be small and outwardly unimpressive and yet be healthy and effective in its mission. Romans 16 paints a picture for us of a healthy church, as Paul concludes the epistle. A hea...

As Paul nears the end of his letter to the Romans, we see him take on a more personal tone as he explains his ministry and role within the Gospel mission. In doing so, he highlights two essential activities of a healthy church: accepting one another in Christ despite cultural differences and supporting those that are going out to share the gospel. When we understand our own role and are united in...

We all go through crisis. We all have needs at various times. Through the story of the Good Samaritan, we are, both, challenged to love our neighbor and given some very practical ways to care for others when we see someone hurting.

Even though we are united by the gospel, Christians sometimes disagree with each other. Disagreements over issues of secondary importance often divide the church and threaten our ability to reflect Jesus well. So how can we disagree well? Paul calls us to make love our default position, even when we don't agree.

How can we honor Jesus when we live in a world that doesn't know Him or believe in Him? We are not the first Christians to face this dilemma. In Romans 13, Paul tells us that the best way to honor Jesus well is to live peaceful lives consistent with His character: submit to the government, love our neighbors, and live righteously.

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The Scripture is clear that nobody can have eternal life without believing in Jesus. But what about people who work really hard to do what is right? Or people who feel like they don't have the information or the ability to believe? Those excuses did not work for the nation of Israel, and they won't work for us either. In Romans 9-10, the apostle Paul explains that nobody has a legitimate excuse fo...

We believe that God's promises of salvation are permanent are irrevocable. Nothing can separate God's people from His love and mercy. But if that is true, then how can we explain the fact that most Israelites - God's chosen people - rejected Jesus? Does their unbelief mean that God's promises to them have failed? And if so, does that mean that we can no longer trust His faithfulness? In Romans 9,...

Our lives are busy and full; it's easy to be constantly distracted and never focused on what's important. As a church, we want to remain laser-focused on a few key priorities: to love God, to love others, and to make disciples. How can each of us participate in these priorities as we seek fulfill God's purposes for us?

Unless Jesus returns first, we are all going to die one day. We don't like to think about it very often, but the Scripture encourages us to consider how the reality of our death affects how we live. Are we investing our lives in what will last for eternity, or are we squandering our lives on temporary pleasures? Solomon, the wise writer of Ecclesiastes, reminds us that nothing on earth can satisfy...

We all want to live fruit-bearing lives. In John 15, Jesus lays out a beautiful metaphor that teaches us how to create the optimal conditions in our lives for God to produce fruit in and through us. Jesus will show us that the key to the fruit-bearing life is abiding in Him.

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Christmas reminds us that Jesus was born to bring God's light into our dark world. Christ's light destroys the darkness of sin and death, reveals to us the truth about God and ourselves, and illuminates the entire world. His Light shines brightly for everyone who wants to see it. Do you?

Every Christmas, we sing the same songs and read the same Bible stories. If we aren't careful, the story of Christmas can being to feel stale and lose its wonder. How can we reclaim a sense of amazement and wonder during the Christmas season? The key is for us to make Jesus our primary focus, whether we are by ourselves, with our family, or out in the world.

Sometimes it's hard to live in between Christ's ascension to heaven and His second coming. We have the promise of eternal life, but we're still waiting for its fulfillment. God's kingdom is coming, but it hasn't arrived yet. We experience suffering and tension as a result of living in a world that awaits its final redemption, and we often wonder what God is doing while we wait. Paul tells us in th...

When we believed in Jesus, the Holy Spirit came to live within us. That means that we now inherit all of the promises that God has made to His children: Freedom from sin, closeness to Him, and hope for the future. As we learn to walk more closely with God by the power of the Spirit, He will more deeply assure us of God's power, love, and promises to us. Because of that, the Spirit-directed life is...