Pastor Sherman Burkhead

When we were children we used to have such big dreams, and most of us believed we can change the world. But some where along the way the dream of changing he world became a distant memory. Because for some of us, we feel like nothing we do will help, and other of us are willing to help but we feel like we are going to have very little impact. While others think there is no point to help at all. Bu...

When it comes to the question of why God saved us it is easy for us to look inward and become very self focused. But the truth is much greater than that. Yes Jesus came and died on the cross in order to set us free from the penalty from our sins. But the reason why, the purpose of that, is so much bigger then just us. Christ did not come to earth simply to set us free. He came for something much b...

The object of your faith must be capable of delivering on the promise that it makes. God promises that we can be forgiven and saved by our sins. And this available by grace through faith. And that is available only in in Christ. Christ is the object of our faith because only He is capable to deliver on the promise of our salvation. Listen to Part 4

Martin Luther was commanded by the church he loved to recant his view of the gospel of Jesus Christ and he knew that he would condemned as a heretic if he didn't, which meant he could loose his life. But he refused to recant. In fact he said he couldn't recant. What would make a man like Martin Luther stand his ground in the face of such powerful enemies? Martin Luther came out of the darkness of...

The idea that we are saved by grace alone is perhaps the easiest of "sola" ideas to explain and understand but for some reason it seems to be the hardest one to accept. There seems to be something in us that demands that we participate on some level in our own salvation. We feel we need to "get our life right" or "follow some rituals" or "become religious" in order for God to accept us and save us...

500 years ago, on a day just every other, a man in his quest for truth unwittingly set events in motion that would change the entire world. Who could have known that wanting to start a conversation could to have lead to so much change? Not only did the world change but the true Gospel of Jesus Christ was pull out of the darkness of tradition and set before the world once again as the ONLY way to s...

The beatitudes are not a list of pithy of statements. They are not a set of things to do. The beatitudes are Jesus' call to his people to live a radically different life because in that life we have a happiness that is radically more than anything the world can offer us. Jesus said “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." It is only when...

Not only do we want to be happy but we want peace in our lives. But in light of what Jesus teaches the question we should ask ourselves is "What am I doing to get peace"? As children of God we are not only called to desire peace but we are called to actively get involved and create it. Listen to Part 5

Blessed are the pure in heart for the shall see God. What an incredible promise that Jesus give us. But what does it mean to be pure in heart? Listen to part 5.

We all want true lasting happiness. But we also seem to want to nurse the grudges and bitterness that we have for those who wrong us. But Matthew 5:7 helps us to see that this is completely inconsistent. It is a contradiction in terms. Jesus says blessed are the merciful not the merciless. Listen to Part 4

Hunger and thirst and not simply wants. they are needs. You hunger because you need food. You thirst because you need water. So what is Jesus getting at when he says "blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness". Listen to Part 3

It is God's plan for people and for churches to grow toward spiritual maturity. With growth comes change. We may fight change and we may resist it but change is part of growing up. And change is even necessary for healthy people and healthy churches. Listen to Vision Sunday 2017 to find out more about where we are going at First Baptist Church.

When Jesus said the meek are blessed, was Jesus saying the Christian life is about being powerless and afraid? Not at all! What Jesus is talking about is much more profound and much more important. He is talking about a way to glorify God in our lives that demonstrates that our hope is Him and not the world. Listen to Part 2

We all want to be happy. But all of the things that we pursue to find happiness seem to only give us temporary happiness. It never really lasts. It seams we are hardwired for something deeper, something more profound. Something that truly brings joy and satisfaction. Jesus tells us about that kind of happiness and tells us where we can find it. Listen to part 1.

#1 Faith in God is always a response to truth. #2 Our faith is solid because the object of our faith is rock solid. #3 Our faith in God not only frees us from sin but it ushers us into the very presence of God. And today we talked about #4 our faith urges on toward action. Listen to part 4 as we discover what the book of Hebrews shows us about faith in action.

For thousands of years the tabernacle and the temple stood as a reminder that there was a barrier between God and man. The very architecture of the temple demonstrates that man and God are separated. But when Christ died on the cross something amazing happened. That barrier was permanently destroyed. Where once high priests entered into Gods presence with fear and trembling once a year, as followe...

A lot goes in to VBS each year. Lots of time, energy, and resources. But why do we do it? Why do we work so hard and go all out every year? It really comes down the fact that we care about kids. The world tells the kids that truth is not real, reality is not real, and life has no ultimate purpose. But we work hard at VBS to tell kids the truth about who they are and about the God that made them. L...

In the first century there was a lot of pressure on Christians to either deny Christ or at least deny the central truth about who He is. In Hebrews Chapter 1 the author gets right to the heart of the issue and offers up 14 truths about who Christ really is. Listen to part 2

When I was a young adult the idea of faith seemed to me to be wishful thinking, a desire for something to be real that was not real. Faith seemed to me a willingness to believe something in-spite of the evidence. But this this what faith is? NO! Not even close. “Faith in God is always a response to TRUTH and REALITY.” Listen to Part 1

John Piper once said “One day America and all its presidents will be a footnote in history, but God’s kingdom will never end.” This is a message of hope but also a hard truth. No nation on earth is eternal and all greatest nations descend from their pedestal and another take its place. Is there where we are today? Is the time where our beloved country goes quietly into the night? Or is this a time...

There are some temptations that come into our lives that we are not to wrestle with or to fight against or to try to exercise will power over we commanded to run. To flee from danger. As Pastor Trent Hunter wrote "We're supposed to flee from things that can kill us. Active volcanoes, oncoming traffic, and snakes come to mind. So should sexual immorality." Listen to Part 4

Most Fathers day messages are either about God being the perfect father, or about how fathers should grow to be more like God. But today special guest Dr. David Larsen explores the question "How can we be better children of God?".

The ideas of submission and resistance are complete opposites, yet the foundation of learning to overcome temptation and sin is to apply both of these things in our lives at the same time. In fact by learning to submit and resist we find new power over the temptations in our lives. Listen to Part 3

Even though temptation has its roots in our own desires it is not impossible to overcome temptation. If you trust in Jesus you have the ability to withstand the trial, in fact we really do not have an excuse not to stand strong. Listen to part 2 as we explore the reason why we all can stand up under the weight of temptation.

Speak oh Lord by Sherman Burkhead