Creekside Sermons

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If we cannot win our struggle against sin by obeying the Law, then what can we do? Is real change even possible? Yes! If you know Jesus, then the Holy Spirit - the third member of the Trinity - lives in you. And the Spirit can do what the Law could not do: He can give us the power to obey God and to become more like Jesus. But unlike the Law, the Spirit doesn't transform us by means of external pr...

If Jesus died and rose again to set us free from sin's reign, then why do we still struggle with sin on a regular basis? In Romans 7, Paul describes the fierce battle that we face between our desire to obey God, and our inability to actually do so. This conflict is a normal part of the Christian life, yet it can lead us to frustration and even despair. How can we experience practical victory over...

Every church is called to the same mission: To make disciples of Jesus. At Grace Bible Church, we desire to make disciples not only in our local community, but all around the world. That is why we engage in world missions. All of us are called to participate in the mission that Jesus gave us. As we learn more about what God is doing around the world, we will be increasingly motivated to pray, to g...

Paul explains how the believer in Jesus Christ has been released from the Law and why it is to our benefit.

If God's grace covers all of our sin, then why should we even bother to pursue holiness? If God is going to forgive us anyway, why not just keep on sinning? In Romans 6, Paul answers this question by telling us that sin is completely inconsistent with our new identity in Christ. Sin is destructive and tyrannical, and Jesus died and rose again to set us free! We are no longer under sin's power, and...

When Adam chose to disobey God, he introduced sin and death into the world. As a result, all of us are condemned to eternal death and separation from God, unless He intervenes to save us. The good news is that He has intervened! All who are united with Christ by faith are rescued from death, and granted infinite grace, the righteousness of God, and eternal life. We are no longer identified with th...

By His amazing grace, God forgave our sin and declared us righteous when we believed in Jesus. Now, everything about our lives has changed! We get to participate in the amazing benefits that come from knowing God. We we were once God's enemies, but now we are at peace. We were once hopeless, but now we have hope again, even in the face of suffering. We were once destined for eternal death, but now...

We all like to believe we are self-sufficient, that we can solve all of our problems if we only try hard enough. When it comes to our relationship with God, however, we can't fix things on our own. Our good works and religious rituals aren't good enough for us to earn our way to heaven. The only way to be right with God is to believe in Jesus. Saving faith does not include our good works, nor does...

Our sin has created a rift between us and God, and there is nothing we can do to make things right again. That's the bad news. But the good news is that, through Jesus, God has done everything for us! Everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness, righteousness, and eternal life as a gift. We are saved by grace through faith alone. We add nothing to the equation; we simply accept what God gi...

It's easy to believe that the world is sinful, but it's harder to believe that we are sinful. We all understand that murderers, adulterers, thieves, and idolaters are disobedient to God. But what about religious people? If I attend the right church, know the Bible inside and out, and hang around with holy people, isn't that enough to make me right with God? The book of Romans says it's not enough....

In this week's passage from Romans, Paul directs his attention to the self-righteous moralist… that lives within every one of us. He shows us that if you're relying on yourself for salvation or God's approval, you're hopelessly lost. All of this is building his argument that the gospel really is good news.

Sin is a very big deal to God. Apart from His grace, we aren't just a little bit off track; we're hopelessly lost. Humanity has chosen rebellion and disobedience instead of faith and submission to God. As a result, our sin has incurred the wrath of God, which leads to devastating consequences. In order to understand the beauty and the magnitude of the good news, then, we have to understand the bad...

We all need to hear good news, especially in a world full of so much bad news! In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul explains why the gospel - a word that means “good news” - is the very best news we could ever hope to hear. God's good news is that we can have a relationship with God and eternal life when we simply believe in Jesus. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus h...

In order to be effective, a church must understand its mission and its core values. At Grace Bible Church, our mission is to help people find and follow Jesus. That mission is supported by our key values, or “pillars,” that support everything we do. We value God's Grace, God's Word, Next-Generation Ministry, and World Missions.

Sexual immorality is rampant in our world. Believe it or not, that's nothing new. Ever since the fall of mankind, men and women have used God's good gift of sex in twisted and sinful ways. That's why Solomon warned his son of the dangers of sexual immorality, and exhorted him to pursue godly wisdom instead. Talking about sex is awkward, but necessary. If we want to pursue holiness in this area of...

When it comes to words, there are pitfalls everywhere. The more we talk, the more likely we are to say something sinful or stupid. Jesus told us that our words reflect our hearts. If we hope to transform our speech, then, we need to ask God to change us from the inside out. That transformation begins with evaluation, as we examine our speech patterns to see where we fall short of God's standards....

Pride is a parasite that has infected us all. Left unchecked, pride will drain us of life and deteriorate our relationship with God. But God wants more for us! Today's talk dives into a few proverbs and 1 Peter 5:5-7, which all exhort us to do two simple things: kill pride, and wear humility.

There is a natural rhythm between work and rest but it can very difficult to find a healthy balance between those 2 responsibilities in our life. Proverbs will highlight the great value of rest and we will explore why we struggle to rest, what rest actually is as God designed it, and how we can build in healthy rhythms of rest in our life.

Words are powerful. They have the ability to build up or tear down, to save life or destroy it. The book of Proverbs has a great deal to tell us about how to use our words to honor God and other people. Life-giving words are honest, kind, peaceful, pure, and timely.

From the day we are born, we are dealing with the powerful emotion of anger. No one had to teach us how to be angry. Yet, if we never learn to control our anger in a godly way, we could end up damaging the relationships around us. In the book of Proverbs, we see those that are quick to anger are usually proving their foolishness to everyone around them, but those that are slow to anger showcase th...

Researchers say that the average adult makes about 35,000 choices a day... Choices like, "What to eat, what to wear, what to watch, what to believe." The reality is that you are where you are today because of the choices that you've made in the past; similarly, the choices you make today will determine your tomorrow. Thus, making wise choices is an extremely important and priceless skill that will...

Being a father is a wonderful privilege, but it's also a tough job! What does it mean to be a “good” dad? Where do you even begin? In writing the book of Proverbs, King Solomon had a clear and simple goal for his son: To help him grow in wisdom. As fathers, we are called to help immature children become wise adults. Wisdom, of course, begins with knowing and revering the Lord....

Money is a valuable tool, but it's a terrible god. The book of Proverbs urges God's people to use money in ways that honor and reflect His character. When we keep it in its proper perspective, we will earn and spend our money wisely and righteously, and we will remember that it doesn't last forever. When we view our money correctly, we will invest it in eternal treasures rather than in the fleetin...

Nobody navigates life successfully without good friends. Even Jesus had friends during His earthly life. Some friends are better than others, though. So what makes for a good friend? The book of Proverbs offers a number of character traits to give us a portrait of the kind of friends we should look for, and the kind of friends we should be. Ultimately, we will find that the very best friends are t...