Pastor Jonathan White

Introduction: Everyone wants something. Talk about a vague generalization. That is definitely one! But it is also a true statement if there ever was one. We all want something. Some of us want a lot of somethings! As the old Veggietales movie parody showed - everyone can struggle with mewantium. The…

Introduction: We live in a me-first world today. Narcissism is in full bloom in our culture of selfies and self-worship shrines (also known as Facebook, Instagram). Entitlement is also the story of today. People think that just because they participate in something that they should be rewarded. The generation…

Introduction: If anyone has listened to me preach for a while, you have probably have heard a dig or two at Joel Osteen’s book, Your Best Life Now . I’m sure you probably have caught yet another dig in my sermon title today as well. I pray that the man finds true salvation one day and recants of his…

Introduction: What kingdom are you a part of today? Some of you might first think about your citizenship of a particular country. But there is a much more lasting kingdom that we should be a citizen of first and foremost - and that is the kingdom of God. All of the other kingdoms of this world will pass…

Introduction: This week, we are coming to one of Jesus’s most interesting parables. Parables are stories with a meaning. According to the ISB Encyclopedia, they are often metaphors with a short narrative which almost always seek to reveal and illustrate a truth about the kingdom of God. There is usually…

Introduction: Today’s sermon is on a passage that we have probably all heard in some way or another. We will be talking about the parable of the prodigal son. In this parable we are introduced to a father with two sons. The father in the parable represents God and the sons represent two different types…

Introduction: When we think about God, what attributes of His stand out? His glory? His justice? His omnipotence meaning His power? His omniscience meaning He is all-knowing? His love and mercy? His forgiveness? There are many, many others we could describe as well. However, one that is probably among…

Introduction: Many of us have grown up in churches that didn’t preach the complete Gospel. I’m not saying we all grew up hearing apostacy. Some here likely had very strong Bible teaching and Bible preaching pastors. However, during the past few decades we have seen a time of great decline in a true preaching…

Introduction: What do you think about most? If you are like most people, you probably think about yourself more than anything else. The growing trend of self-focus is seen in many ways in our modern culture. According to NPD Research, the self-help industry has exploded in recent years - growing by 11%…

Introduction: Have you ever gone to a big event - maybe a concert, sports game, or a gathering of sorts? There are thousands of people trying to get through a narrow gate. Obviously it takes time and dedication to get through that narrow gate. You must stay focused on which way you are going. If you…

Introduction: Pastor Nouh Yattara was born into a nomadic Muslim family. He shared his testimony on Voice of the Martyrs Radio recently. He talked about his life of fear as a Muslim. He was afraid of so much. He was afraid of superstitions, demons, and death. However, this all began to change after he…

Introduction: Why do bad things happen to good people? I have heard this question countless times. The question comes from a place of raw emotion. It is hard to watch people suffer. This past week I have watched my uncle pass away from a massive heart attack. I have watched the suffering of my family.…

Introduction: We have been in a difficult part of the book of Luke. Because we preach book by book and verse by verse at CrossPointe, we don’t get to pick out what the next sermon is going to be. So we have been wading through some difficult teachings by Jesus as we have resumed the Gospel of Luke in…

Introduction: Have you ever had to stay up all night? It is pretty difficult. Somewhere around 3-4 AM it starts to becomes very hard to stay awake. For my wife it might become very difficult somewhere around 9:30 or 10:00 PM though! I actually work 24-hour shifts a few times a month in the ER. It took…

Introduction: According to the NIH, almost 20% of American adults were diagnosed with an anxiety within the last year. An estimated 31.1% have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. This number is almost identical for those 13-18 as well. Some of these anxiety disorders…

Introduction: I’m sure most of us have used a hammer at one point or another. Some of us may have fond memories of accomplishment. Others may have terrible memories of pain in your thumb. Either way we know that a hammer is used with force. We have adopted an expression in modern times that we call “dropping…

Introduction: Modern-day Christianity in America seems to be clueless and ignorant about the spiritual battle that exists all around them. The comforts of modernity have caused many in the church to fall asleep at the helm. This slothful spirituality is certainly not because the Bible hasn’t clearly…

Introduction: The title of today’s sermon is certainly relevant to us all. We all have some sort of work to do. We all must manage money in some way. And we are all worshipers of something - whether it be God, money, people, or things. Sadly, many false teachers are out there trying to keep you from…

Introduction: A few weeks ago we discussed the qualifications for elders/pastors. These qualifications were very weighty and detailed. The Lord takes the purity of His church extremely seriously. Today we are going to see the need to protect the pastorate - or the office of pastor. If we want to have…

Introduction: Pastoral burnout is at an all-time high in our nation. When asked by Barna Research whether they had given real, serious consideration to quitting full-time ministry within the last year, 42% said yes in March of 2022 while 29% had said yes in January of 2021. This is a marked increase…

Introduction I usually preach from a different text outside of the book that I am currently preaching through when I preach on Resurrection Sunday. However, this year the Lord gave me a Scripture right in stride through our study of 1 Timothy. This Scripture fits right in for today’s remembrance and…

Introduction An apostate is one who has abandoned the faith that they once professed. We live in a world of many apostates. We see countless examples of those who seemed like legitimate believers but turned out to be fakes. Joshua Harris is one such man who is a glaring example of this. He wrote the…

Introduction According to Gallup - church membership was incredibly consistent from 1938-1998 ranging from 68-73%. However between 1998 and 2018 this number sharply declined to 50%. Gallup noted that this was partly due to an increasing proportion of individuals stating they have no religious preference.…

Introduction Last week we discussed the office of pastor/elder in great detail. This week we come to the only other official church office listed in the Bible. As we go through today’s sermon, I want us to be sure to understand something very important. Although the offices of elder and deacon are the…

Introduction: The Scriptures give a very clear two-tiered approach to Church Leadership. There are elders and deacons. We see this clearly laid out in Philippians 1:1 : Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: There…