Harvest Sermons

This sermon introduces a seven-week summer series on the book of Proverbs, emphasizing that wisdom is not merely intellectual knowledge but "skill in living." Pastor Kent Prescott challenges the congregation to understand that the fear of the Lord—properly understood as awe, reverence, and respect rather than terror—is the beginning of wisdom. He presents the vision that the church should produce...

This sermon explores the rich theology and practice of communion through 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, where Paul addresses the Corinthian church's misuse of the Lord's Supper. The message traces the historical development of communion theology from the early church through the Reformation, acknowledging that faithful Christians have understood this practice differently throughout history. Rather than i...

This sermon addresses one of the more challenging passages in Scripture—1 Corinthians 11—regarding gender roles, head coverings, and women's place in church leadership. Pastor Julie Van Hove explores the cultural context of Paul's instructions to the Corinthian church, distinguishing between timeless truths and cultural practices. The central message affirms that men and women are "interdependent...

This sermon explores how Christians can faithfully follow Jesus while living in a culture that doesn't share their values. Through 1 Corinthians 10, the Apostle Paul addresses the Corinthian church's question about meat sacrificed to idols, but the underlying issue is more universal: How do we maintain deep connection with non-believers while remaining distinctly formed by the gospel? Paul doesn't...

This sermon from 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 addresses the danger of confusing spiritual privilege with spiritual maturity. Pastor Jason warns the Corinthian believers—and contemporary Christians—against trusting in their knowledge, experiences, or religious practices while neglecting humility and dependence on God. Using Israel's wilderness failures as cautionary examples, Paul demonstrates how God's p...

This sermon explores how Christian freedom is radically different from worldly freedom. Rather than freedom being the right to do whatever we want, Paul demonstrates in 1 Corinthians 9 that followers of Jesus are free from the things that keep us from becoming who God sees us becoming, and free to serve God and others. The Apostle Paul models this by voluntarily laying down his legitimate rights—i...

This sermon explores 1 Corinthians 8, addressing how early Christians navigated living faithfully in a non-Christian culture. Using the case study of meat sacrificed to idols, Paul teaches that knowledge without love is destructive, while love builds up the community. The sermon emphasizes that Christian maturity is not measured by how much freedom we can claim, but by how willingly we lay down ou...

This sermon explores Christian marriage as a sacred covenant under Christ's lordship, contrasting cultural views of marriage with biblical teaching. The pastor addresses 1 Corinthians 7, emphasizing that Christian marriage is fundamentally different from secular marriage—it's not merely a contract for personal fulfillment but a covenant that reflects God's unconditional love for His people. The me...

This sermon explores the biblical teaching on singleness as a positive gift from God, challenging cultural assumptions that marriage is necessary for completeness. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 7 and Matthew 19, the message emphasizes that both singleness and marriage are equal kingdom gifts that enable undivided devotion to the Lord. Jesus, through His own unmarried life, modeled a fully flourishing...

This sermon addresses how the gospel transforms our understanding of sex and marriage within the context of 1 Corinthians 7. Pastor Josh emphasizes that following Jesus means learning to live differently in every area of life, including sexuality and relationships. The message challenges both cultural extremes—making marriage/sex everything or making them nothing—and returns to the biblical founda...

This sermon concludes a mini-series on spiritual formation, focusing on the third goal of discipleship: doing what Jesus did. The message emphasizes that Jesus trained his disciples through a four-stage apprenticeship model (I do/you watch, I do/you help, You do/I help, You do/I watch) to equip them to continue his kingdom work. The core teaching addresses the misconception that Jesus performed mi...

This sermon explores the second aspect of discipleship - becoming like Jesus - as part of a series on spiritual formation. Drawing from Luke 6 and the ancient rabbinic model of discipleship, the message emphasizes that transformation into Christlikeness is a lifelong process requiring intentionality and cooperation with God. The sermon defines spiritual formation as "the process of being formed in...

This sermon explores the foundational practice of spiritual formation—being with Jesus. Drawing from John Mark Comer's "Practicing the Way," the message emphasizes that transformation begins not with doing more for God, but with simply abiding in His presence. The sermon challenges the cultural tendency to conform to worldly patterns and instead calls believers to be transformed through remaining...

This Easter sermon presents the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ as a "true, true" historical event that demands a response rather than just a religious preference. The pastor systematically examines the evidence for the resurrection through the empty tomb and post-resurrection appearances, establishing that this event is either true for everyone or not true at all. The sermon emphasizes that t...

This sermon explores 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, addressing the Corinthian church's struggle with sexual immorality in a culture where such behavior was widely accepted. The pastor emphasizes that followers of Jesus are "different now" and must view their bodies as holy temples where God dwells through the Holy Spirit. The message challenges the cultural notion that sex is merely recreational activity...

This sermon explores the practice of listening to God and neighbors as essential to loving well and expanding God's kingdom. Using Jesus' Parable of the Sower from Matthew 13, the pastor examines four types of listeners—hardened, superficial, distracted, and good—and how the condition of our hearts affects our ability to receive God's word and engage with others. The message addresses modern chall...

This sermon explores the intersection of loving our neighbors and praying for healing, challenging believers to actively engage with those around them through prayer ministry. The pastor emphasizes that healing is unpredictable, requires active partnership with God, and can be approached naturally without complex formulas. Drawing from Acts 3 and the healing ministry of the early church, the messa...

 This sermon explores 1 Corinthians 6, emphasizing how believers in Christ have a new identity that should transform how they handle conflict and view themselves. The Corinthian church struggled to live differently from their surrounding culture—a wealthy, materialistic city comparable to New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas combined. Paul reminds them that because they belong to Jesus and carry t...

This sermon explores the challenging passage of 1 Corinthians 5, where Paul addresses sexual immorality in the Corinthian church and calls for church discipline. The pastor emphasizes that the church is not called to judge the world but to maintain accountability within the believing community. Through extensive Old Testament background—including Passover imagery, the purging of leaven, and corpor...

This sermon explores what it means to be a leader in Jesus' church through the lens of 1 Corinthians 4. Pastor Josh challenges the congregation to embrace the same humility that Jesus demonstrated, contrasting worldly leadership with Christian leadership. The core message emphasizes that all Christians are called to be servants and stewards of God's grace, regardless of their formal leadership pos...

This sermon explores three biblical metaphors for the church found in 1 Corinthians 3: God's field, God's building, and God's temple. Pastor Josh emphasizes that the church is not a physical building, crowd, or social club, but rather the "ekklesia"—the gathering of called-out ones who belong to God. The message addresses the Corinthian church's problem of dividing around human leaders, calling be...

This sermon explores 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, addressing the early church's tendency to divide over teachers and worldly wisdom. Pastor Jason emphasizes that the church should unite around God's presence and power rather than human gifting or celebrity. He unpacks how Paul redefines five key Greek concepts—wisdom, maturity, the present age, mystery, and spirit—to help believers understand that true w...

This sermon explores Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, focusing on how God's wisdom appears as foolishness to the world. Paul addresses the divisions in the Corinthian church by pointing to two examples of divine foolishness: the cross of Christ and the church itself. The message emphasizes that God deliberately chose the weak, lowly, and despised things of the world to shame the wise and po...

This sermon explores the paradox of the cross as both foolishness to the world and the power of God for salvation. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 1:17-25, the message emphasizes that our salvation and transformation come not through human wisdom, eloquence, or strength, but solely through the power of Christ's cross. The sermon challenges believers to understand that in God's wisdom, He chose what app...

This sermon addresses the Apostle Paul's urgent call for unity within the church of Corinth, emphasizing that followers of Jesus are "different now" and should live accordingly. The pastor explores how the early Corinthian church was divided by celebrity culture, personality cults, and status-seeking behavior that mirrored their surrounding Greek culture. Paul's appeal for unity is not about unifo...