Passion Creek Church

In Matthew 20 Jesus tells a parable about a master who rewards his workers based on grace, not their merit. In the parable, Jesus explains that God gives grace out of his goodness, not our productivity. Most of us struggle with this truth today. While we’re grateful for God’s mercy extended to us, we can grow bitter when God gives mercy, providence, and blessings to those we don’t think deserve it...

In Matthew 18:21–35, Jesus tells a parable that exposes the danger of harboring unforgiveness. In the story, a servant is forgiven for his great debt by a king, but then refuses to forgive others who owe him a great debt as well. Jesus uses this parable to show that unforgiveness is poison to our souls. It hardens our hearts against others, turns wounds into bitterness, and bitterness into bondage...

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells two stories that illustrate what it means to wait for him to return. In the first story, ten bridesmaids wait for the arrival of the groom and the start of the wedding celebration. Half are ready when the groom finally comes, but the other half miss the wedding entirely because they’re unprepared. Jesus’ warning is simple: true disciples don’t just wait for Jesus to retu...

The parable of the Good Samaritan is another popular parable of Jesus that often gets overlooked. In this story, Jesus describes a Jewish man in need on the side of the road. Religious experts and the “spiritually mature” pass him by, but a Samaritan, one of the most despised people to the Jews, stops to help him. In our lives today, we can be tempted to simply pass by those whom God is calling us...

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about a master who leaves on a trip and trusts his servants with his finances. On the surface, it’s a simple story about stewarding our resources while we wait for our Master, Jesus, to return. But like all of the parables, there are layers to this simple story. It’s actually a revelation about who God really is — a generous Master who wants to help us live our...

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most well-known parables of Jesus, but it’s also one of the most overfamiliar. Most of us skim past the rich details that Jesus includes when he tells it, so we miss the deeper truths and invitations of this story. By slowing down, we see that this parable is actually about two sons. The Younger Son represents all of us who are driven by desire. When w...

In Matthew 13 Jesus tells a parable about wheat and weeds. At first wheat and weeds look the same, but over time their distinctions become clear: wheat produces life, and weeds produce death. When he explains this parable to his disciples Jesus tells them that the wheat represents the people of His Kingdom, and the weeds represent those deceived by the enemy. Both exist in the world today, and lik...

In Luke 14, Jesus gives us a parable full of paradoxes. In the parable, many are invited to a banquet, but only the outcasts and marginalized show up. The paradoxes are that God’s greatest blessings can also become our greatest barriers, the gospel is both radically exclusive and radically inclusive, and to dine with Jesus is also to die with Jesus. To become good hearers of this parable and recep...

In Mark 4, Jesus tells a series of parables back-to-back, and they all have to do with seeds. In one, the Kingdom is compared to a seed that’s planted and prepares the ground for a harvest. In the second, the Kingdom is compared to a tiny mustard seed that grows into an enormous tree. Both of these reveal important aspects of the Kingdom: the Kingdom will prepare the world for both justice and flo...

The first parable recorded by the three gospel writers Matthew, Mark, and Luke is a parable about seeds. Jesus explains that like a seeds planted among different types of soil by a farmer, the words and teachings from Him are shared among different types of people. Some reject His words and teachings, some don’t allow it to take root, and others give up following the way of Jesus by giving into th...

One of Jesus’ favorite ways to teach about the Kingdom was through parables. Some of his most well-known stories are parables, and together they make up nearly one-third of all his teachings in the Gospels. And yet, parables are also among the most misunderstood. Most of us assume Jesus used parables as simple illustrations to make spiritual truths clearer, or as moral lessons to show us how to li...

Paul had a sense of urgency when it came to sharing the gospel. In 2 Corinthians 5 and 6, he tells us that we will all appear before God one day and give an account of how we lived as witnesses. He also says that our job is to persuade people to believe in the gospel because “today is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). But today, few of us live with this sense of urgency. Rather than fearing God...

In Corinth, Paul faced a city with culture similar to ours. The highest values in Corinth were social status, success, and self-image. You were only accepted if you were able to present the most successful version of yourself to the rest of the world. But rather than boat in his accomplishments, successes, and brilliance, Paul did the opposite. He vulnerably demonstrated his weakness to those he s...

When Paul planted the church in Corinth, his method was simple — preach Christ and Him crucified. Paul was able to clearly and courageously call people to repent and align themselves with the true King, Jesus, and the church in Corinth was born. Our job as witnesses today is the same — preach Christ and Him crucified with courage and clarity. And while courage comes with time, clarity takes effort...

As we begin our last practice together, the practice of Witness, we look to Paul’s teaching in 2 Corinthians. Writing to a church in the middle of a diverse and pagan culture, Paul encourages the church there to live their lives in such a way that their alignment with King Jesus is evident. Much like a strong aroma will either draw others in or push them away, Christians should remain so close to...

n John 17, Jesus prays His final words before the cross—not just for His disciples, but for us. He asks the Father to keep us safe from the evil one, make us holy by His truth, and unify us in love. And in verse 23, we see the breathtaking truth of the gospel: the Father loves us with the same love He has for His perfect Son.

In a world that chases comfort and avoids pain, Jesus offers something deeper: joy that is born through sorrow, not apart from it. In John 16, Jesus prepares His disciples—not with easy answers, but with enduring hope. This Vision Sunday message explores the paradox of Christian hope: that even in our darkest seasons, God is shaping us through the pain and leading us toward resurrection joy.

Jesus warned us: if we truly abide in Him, the world won’t celebrate us—it will resist us. In this message from John 15, we explore four ways the world hated Jesus—and still hates His followers today: misunderstanding, misrepresentation, marginalization, and even martyrdom. But we’re not left alone in the resistance—Jesus gives us His Spirit to walk beside us through every fiery trial. Learn how t...

In John 15, Jesus invites his disciples into a deeper understanding of what it means to follow him. Like a branch that’s intimately connected and attached to a vine, we too are made to attach ourselves to Jesus. But to attach ourselves to Jesus means we must detach ourselves from other things. Whether it’s our work performance, our future hopes for success, or our reputation, abiding in Jesus mean...

Instead of rushing past the familiar line “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” we’re invited to slow down and receive it not just as a doctrinal statement, but as a personal proposal from the Groom to His Bride. Don’t pass over the Passover, don’t pass over the proposal, and above all—don’t pass over the Person of Jesus.

In John 13, we witness a table full of disciples—some confident, some comfortable, and one quietly unraveling under the weight of hidden sin. While no one else sees it, Jesus is compassionately aware of the spiritual battles unfolding in the hearts around Him. This sermon calls us to follow His lead: to open our eyes, love one another deeply, and courageously step into the mess with grace and trut...

Jesus spends the last of his time on earth with his disciples and a sense of urgency. In the days leading up to the cross, he gives his disciples everything they need to know before he leaves. But he starts on the night of Passover by doing the most menial and humiliating thing a Jewish Rabbi could do: he washes his disciples’ feet. By doing this task, Jesus shows his disciples two things. First,...

Prayer is so important because it allows us to delight in God’s presence, discern His heart, and depend on His power. But prayer is so powerful because it actually directs God’s hand. When we pray, prayer moves our heart and will to align with God’s heart and will. But it also moves God’s hand to directly interfere into the affairs of humanity. And yet few of us actually believe this. Some of us f...