Melbourne Heights - Sermons

If you've ever tuned into the Hallmark Channel leading up to Christmas, it's easy to feel like everyone is having the best Christmas ever...except you. But no matter how pretty a tree may look, or how happy your holiday guests may seem...there's no such thing as a perfect Christmas. So instead of wishing that your Christmas could be better, may it's time you start focusing on the blessin...

Jesus was once teaching more than 5,000 people. As he taught, the day drew on and Jesus knew the crowd was getting hungry. But in that moment, it seemed like there was nothing that could be done for the crowd. There were just too many people and not enough resources to go around. But Jesus fed all of those people with just a few fish and a couple loaves of bread, reminding us that in God's hands e...

John Lennon famously sung that "Life is what happens when you're busy making plans." The same thing is true when it comes to faith...most of our journey of faith happens on ordinary days. In this sermon, we'll be reminded how important it is to choose to follow God on ordinary days, and how those oridinary days prepare you to trust in God when the extraordinary happens.

From promising Abraham and Sarah that they'd have a baby when they were both over 90 years old, to telling the people of Israel to march around in circles to defeat the city of Jericho, to having David face a giant with just a sling and a stone; there are times in life when God asks us to do impossible things. But God has a habit of making the impossible possible. God does this to show how po...

It's easy to say that the past is in the past, but there are plenty of things that we have all experienced in our past that can continue to hurt us in the present. In this sermon, we'll talk about how we really can put the past behind us and how God gives us all a clean slate when we commit to follow him.

Whenever we look to the future, it's easy to get scared. And we get scared because we just don't know what will happen. But when we're struggling with fear about what tomorrow may bring, it can help to remember the past. When we look back on the past we can see how God helped us make it through challenges before and we can trust that God will continue to help us when we face new challenges.

It's been said that fear is the glue that keeps us stuck. In the book of Joshua, we can see just how true that statement was for the people of Israel. They had been on the verge of entering the Promised Land for 40 years...but their fear kept them from being able to move forward. In this sermon, we'll see how the people of Israel were finally able to move forward and we'll learn how we can overcom...

Hypocrites, liars, deceivers. We typically use these terms for groups like the Pharisees in the Bible...but what we, as followers of Jesus, don't often realize is that those terms are what people outside the church use to describe a Christian. How can we reach people outside our walls if they all think we're full of hot air? Well it starts by trying to spread the word that we aren't...

Do you know someone who has left the church because of something that did or did not happen to them? In this sermon, we'll explore the story of the Prodigal Son to see how God responds to his children who wander from him. But we'll also focus on the older brother in the story of the Prodigal Son. And we'll see how God wants us, as his followers, to treat those who have left the faith.

If you've ever had your car break down, or lost your luggage while traveling, or had a fussy baby that wouldn't stop crying; then you know what it's like to wonder "What now?" We wonder "What now?" whenever we aren't sure how to proceed. However, as followers of Jesus, there is always one thing we need do even when we're not sure how to move forward. As followers of Jesus, we are always called to...

Have you ever sat in the wrong seat at a ball game or went to the wrong restaurant to meet up with your friends? We've all had moments where we have been convinced we were in the right spot only to find out that we weren't. But when it comes to our faith, whenever God wants us to move forward, it's not because we were in the wrong spot...it's because God has a better place for us to be.

From choosing a destination, to figuring out how you'll travel, to deciding on what you'll do and where you'll eat when you arrive...it can be a lot of work to plan a trip. But no matter how much work you put into planning, there is no such thing as a perfect trip. So what do you do when things don't go according to plan? In this sermon, we'll talk about how you can move forward even when life thr...

It doesn't matter if you're talking about arriving at your destination when you're on vacation or reaching a goal you've set in your life...when we know where we want to go, we want to get there as fast as we can. But rather than racing through life, trying to get from one point to the next, we need to remember that there are lessons to learn on every step of our journey.

Being stressed can take a toll on your health. Stress can lead to high blood pressure & heart disease. It can aggrevate asthma. It can cause anxiety & depression, and more. So what can you do to make sure your stress doesn't negatively impact your health? In this sermon, we'll take a look at one important thing you can do to reduce your stress and protect your health...and it's something t...

Although it may feel like there are a million things that stress you out about your job, there are really two major things that can make our jobs especially stressful. We feel stressed about work when we don't feel like we belong or when we find our work meaningless. In this sermon, we'll talk about what you can do to find your place and make a difference in whatever work you may do.

When it comes to money, there is a lot that can leave you feeling overwhelmed. Inflation is at a 40 year high. The stock market is down almost 6,000 points. Your 401(k) feels more like a 201(k). So what can you do when you're overwhelmed by money? In this sermon, we'll talk about one practical thing we can all do to take control of our finances.

From the ongoing war in Ukraine, to the downturn in our economy, to the recent surge in COVID-19...there is a lot that we can worry about. And this doesn't even begin to talk about the stress we face in our daily lives. So what are you supposed to do when all of this stress gets to be too much? In this sermon, we'll talk about practical things you can do to help you when you're feeling o...

There are times when it can feel like being a follower of Jesus is just about spending an hour each week attending a worship service. But, when Jesus was on this earth, his ministry wasn't limited to one hour each week. No, Jesus shared every hour of every day with his followers. So, if we are going to reflect the light of Jesus into our world, we have to share life together too.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to reflect the light of Jesus through our lives. But we can't reflect Jesus when we're focused on ourselves and our own preferences. In this sermon, we'll be reminded of just how selfish we can be and we'll see that there is far more that draws us together as followers of Jesus than pushes us a part.

As a follower of Jesus, your life is the only Bible that some people will ever read. And that means that your words are the closest things that some people will ever hear to the words of Jesus. So the words you use when you talk about your spouse, your job, your church reflect who Jesus really is? Or are your words driving people away from God?

Whether we want to admit it or not, the church has a reputation for playing favorites. And when we play favorites, we show the world a Jesus that only loves and cares for certain types of people. But there is no one who is not loved and welcomed by Jesus. So if we want to reflect who Jesus really is in our lives, then we have to stop playing favorites and love everyone like Jesus does.

A mirror is used to reflect light...as followers of Jesus, we are called to do the exact same thing. We are called to reflect the light of Jesus into the darkness of the world around us. Unfortunately, we sometimes get it wrong and, instead of being a reflection of Jesus, we expect Jesus to be a reflection of us. So, in this series, we'll explore how we can do a better job of reflecting Jesus in o...

Have you ever seen an implosion? An implosion pulls everything inward and then disperses the debris out at the end. God’s love is a lot like that implosion. After getting back to a relationship with God, what comes next? What is it that we are supposed to do as followers of Jesus to actually follow Jesus? Having a relationship with God isn’t enough to be a follower of Jesus. It comes from being ab...

What do we do when we find ourselves falling away from Christ? How do we get back into an intimate relationship with Jesus? Well, it starts from coming out of hiding. It starts with realizing that it isn’t too late to come back. It starts with realizing that God is looking for you.

When we find ourselves in situations when we don't know what to do, there isn't typically a quick solution to our problems. And since there isn't a quick solution to our problems, we often give up before we even begin to solve them. In this sermon, we'll talk about the need to persevere and to keep working until the work is done.