McKernan Baptist Church Podcast

Matthew 6:13 Jesus said we are to pray, "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one." Believers are in a battle. We all have temptations. We all have trials. And no one is above yielding to them and damaging our lives. How are we to handle temptation? We must not be surprised by it, but rather we are to expect these trials. And we are to view the trials and suffering in our lives...

God tells us time and time again how much He loves us. He invites us into a relationship with Him and desires to engage in the kind of dialogue there would be between a parent and their child. We are encouraged to present our requests to God in that similar kind of relationship, trusting that God cares so much more for us than any earthly parent ever could. How do we process what is going on when...

In the Psalms, we see God's people look beyond their earthly reality to find renewed perspective in God's true reality. Even from the cross, Jesus quoted twice from the Psalms (Ps. 22:1; 31:5). Many of the Psalms were written out of the experience of great difficulty, expressing deep lament over desperate circumstances. Today, we will look at an example of one such Psalm (Psalm 13) and explore how...

John 18:1-11 On this fourth Sunday of Lent, we continue our journey with the book, "40 Days of Decrease." Our current readings in the book of John have brought us to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is arrested. The story paints an amazing scene in which trained, rugged soldiers fall back on the ground at the sound of Jesus' voice. The irony in this account is thick. Jesus is the one arrested,...

March 7, 2021 - LENT: LIFE BOTH IN AND OUT OF THE "WORLD"

John 13:1-17; 14:1-6 On this second Sunday of Lent, we continue our journey with the book, "40 Days of Decrease." Our current readings in the book of John have us in the Upper Room, where Jesus washed His disciples' feet and began to explain His soon coming departure. In John 14:1-6, Jesus talked of going away to make available the kind of life He came to offer, not just in the future, but for now...

John 12:24-26 Today is the first Sunday of Lent. As we begin a journey with the book, "40 Days of Decrease," the messages during this season will come from the daily readings in John 12-21 that are recommended in the book. We begin today with Christ's words in John 12:24-26, where Jesus provides His certain response to the awareness that His impending crucifixion was near. This response appropriat...

Isaiah 42:1-9 Last week, we began a journey through this passage in which Christ is prophesied as the Coming Servant of the Lord. As those served by Him, we are now sent to serve as He served (Jn. 20:21-22). Today, we'll see what this prophecy has to say about how and who Jesus came to serve. If we are sent to serve as Jesus came to serve... How are we to serve? Rather than draw attention to ourse...

***WARNING: WE HAD SOME PROBLEMS WITH THE MICROPHONE AND THERE IS SOME HIGH-PITCHED RINGING THROUGHOUT THE SERMON. *** Isaiah 42:1-9 We live in a culture that is quick to serve itself. This "self" focus runs quite counter to the challenge of many references we find in Isaiah to "the servant of the Lord." God called His people, Israel to be His servant (41:9), yet they failed to serve His purposes...

God is Our Trusted Source of Hope (Psalm 121) We start by lifting up our eyes to God (1-2) God's presence is active (3-4) God's presence offers us protection (5-8) He promises to be with us in difficult times (Isaiah 43:1-4) Moving Forward in Hope Cultivating the hope that we have in God Prayer Scripture Telling stories of God's faithfulness (Joshua 4:21-22) Sabbath Stewarding our selves Maintain...

As Isaiah continues to address the situation of God's people exiled in Babylon, he addresses the fear that will certainly threaten them, especially when Persia overtakes Babylon (41:10). Not only does Isaiah call the exiles not to fear, He offers them solid truth that speaks to their (and our) fear. When fear threatens to control us, God assures us with these truths...

BEYOND THE DESIRE TO GIVE UP Isaiah 40:28-31 In our journey through Isaiah, we'll continue to look at God's amazing prophetic encouragement to His people (Is. 40) as they would find themselves in the pain and questions of exile, certainly tempted to give up on living faithfully for Him. In the past two weeks, we've seen how God gave to them a picture of His unwavering love (vs. 1-11), sovereign po...

In our journey through Isaiah, we'll continue to look at God's amazing prophetic encouragement to His people as they would find themselves in the pain and questions of exile. Last week, we saw God's posture of love, inviting them (and us) to ultimate restoration. Today, we'll see how verses 12-28 address God's absolute ability to fulfil His promises and His purposes. Where they (and we) could not...

On this first Sunday of the new year, we return to our journey through Isaiah. We'll move ahead to the latter section of the book that speaks to hope, beginning with today's passage that prophetically addresses those who would find themselves in exile, lamenting their failure and wondering if their guilt had placed them beyond the restoration of God. (Lam. 1:2; 5:20-22)

On this last Sunday of 2020, we will take time to look back on the past year and ahead to the new year, considering how God may be asking us to focus our attention as we move forward. A number of our pastoral staff will share a word or concept that God has impressed on their hearts as they enter 2021. The Race Car: https://i.redd.it/skkeozks22e31.jpg

Merry Christmas from McKernan Baptist Church

On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we will return to Isaiah's prophecy about Christ's coming and focus on what it means to see Jesus as Prince of Peace. When we look at the state of the world and often the state of our own troubled souls, we can be left thinking that this peace is entirely elusive. The kind of peace Christ's promised coming offers is represented in Hebrew using the word "Shalom," wh...

Isaiah 9:3 On this third Sunday of Advent, we will return to Isaiah's prophecy about Christ's coming and focus on a verse we typically overlook (Is. 9:3), which speaks to the joy that Christ's coming will ultimately make available. This joy is about an inner sense of "buoyancy" or soul satisfaction (Psalm 19:8, Prov. 15:30) that comes from God (Ps. 86:4, Neh. 8:10,12, Gal. 5:22).

On this second Sunday of Advent, we will look at how the prophesied name of Jesus, "Everlasting Father" (Is. 9:6), is a powerful declaration of God's love for us.

On this first Sunday of Advent, we will explore how Isaiah prophesied the coming of hope into a world that was in deep distress and hopelessness. We often look at this familiar prophecy, "For unto us a Child is born..." without seeing the darkness of its context.

Pastor Mike and the worship band lead us through a blue Christmas service. Just a heads-up, the volume will be much louder for the music, and quieter when Pastor Mike is speaking.

BEYOND THE CHAOS, EVEN IN CHAOTIC TIMES

As we continue our journey through Isaiah, we arrive at a point in Jerusalem's history when they faced a significant military challenge. Rather than turn to God and His way forward, King Ahaz opted for what he saw as the more obvious and immediate way out.

Nov. 1, 2020 - BEYOND AN INADEQUATE VIEW OF GOD (pt. 2)

Beyond an Inadequate View of God