Pastor Sherman Burkhead

There is no erratic power, or action, or motion in creatures, but that they are governed by God’s secret plan in such a way that nothing happens except what is knowingly and willingly decreed by Him. ~John Calvin Philippians 1:12-14

David Garland points out “Christian love is neither blind or mindless”. Our love is rooted in the truth. The truth about who God is. The truth of his Holy nature. And the truth that we are called to be Holy as he is holy. Philippians 1:8-11

Unity in the family of God is essential. Unity as a nation is essential. But that unity must be built on a selfless love that is founded on the truth. Because love with out truth is empty sentimentality. Listen to Part 3 of Philippians as Pastor Sherman unpacks Philippians 1:8-11

We all stand on level ground at the foot of the cross.

For some reason we live in a world where we tend to divide people up into some sort of spiritual class. Many see Christianity being divided up between the commoner Christian and the noble Christian; or the spiritual elite. And many people will call those in this spiritual upper class saints. But the truth is, the scriptures make no such distinctions. There is no class division in the body of Chris...

The Goal of discipleship is spiritual maturity. That we grow up and become mature in the faith so that we can go out and make more disciples. Ephesians 4:1-16

Discipleship is about learning to follow Christ and teaching others to follow Christ. And the call for all of us is to go and make disciples of all nations. Matthew 28:18-20

As Paul concludes this monumental letter he does so by praising God for who he is and what he had done. He glorifies God through his praise. And we call this spontaneous praise….doxology. Romans 16:25-27

Paul makes a point to remind us of the unity in diversity of the body of Christ, but also reminds us that unity must be built on the foundation of the truth of the Christian faith.

The truth is we are called to live our lives and make plans and decisions with wisdom and the word of God in our hearts and minds. But even with the best of intentions we can not see how everything will work out. What is left for us to do is to always seek what is God honoring, and trust in the One who is in control, knowing that He will work all things (even the worst things) out for our ultimate...

As the truth of the gospel changes our lives, and as as we begin to grow in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we become the very instrument that God is using to shine the light of Christ to the world. Listen to Part 75 of "Romans: The Power of the Gospel."

Being redeemed and made part of the family of God doesn't mean any of us are perfected. Which means the family of God is made up of imperfect people who have shortcomings. Some of the shortcomings can be frustrating and even annoying. This can make unity in the church challenging to say the least. But Paul makes it clear that it is our obligation to graciously endure the shortcomings of our brothe...

There is a day we all wait for, the day Christ will return and make all things right. But the problem is we don't know if Christ will return tomorrow or a 1000 years from now. So how are we to live as we expectantly wait for Christ to come back? Listen to part 4.

The truth is everyone one of us knows what it is like to face difficulties and suffering. We have all experienced our own hardships and pain. And if we are real with ourselves we understand that it will not be the last time. We all lose loved ones, we have all failed at something, we have all had our hearts broken. And it is in times like this we find that it is hard to wait on God. Because we wan...

If there is any thing that is certain is the fact that life changes. Some times the changes are small and insignificant and sometimes they are monumental and affect every part of our lives. How do we Wait on God when life changes all around us? Listen to Part 2.

We hate to wait! We hate to wait in line, we hate to wait for our food, we hate to wait in traffic. If there is anything that frustrates us is having to wait. But the truth is we are all created to wait! To wait on God. The truth is waiting demonstrates our dependance on God and ultimately is good for us. But how? How do we wait on God. Join us in this short sermon series as we explore the spiritu...

Paul encourages us to not cause our brothers and sisters in Christ to stumble in areas they may struggle. You will never go wrong in your love for God to see to love, to the best of your ability, you brothers and sisters in Christ, even if that means setting aside your freedom in Christ so that you cause them to stumble. Romans 14:13-23

Paul demands of all of us, is that we allow each other to be convinced in our own minds about nonessential issues and, that we accept each other, even when we don’t see eye to eye on these things. Because what unites us, the gospel and Christ our King, is greater than any of these other peripheral things that can separate us. Listen to this week's message. Roman 14:5-12

One of truths that often gets overlooked is the fact that our unity in not in the the external things we have in common. Our unity is in Christ. By faith we are united into one body, one family. But this doesn't mean that we will be exactly alike in every way. And it doesn't mean that we will agree on all of the same nonessential issues. The Apostle Paul helps us to see that that we may have stron...

Jesus said "11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, n...

As a Christian we live knowing that our hope is on the horizon because our final salvation is at hand. But we live in the tension of the in-between. We live in the already but not state of our redemption. We have been justified by faith but yet we remain here in bodies buffeted by sin. But even more is the tension we feel with wanting our King to return, but also wanting Him to wait long enough fo...

Love is the obligation we owe to a dying world. Love Fulfils the law. Love does not harm its neighbor.

Those who are in Christ have been radically transformed and are able to live radically different lives before the rest of the world. This includes how we live with our church family, how we live with our enemies and even how we live and treat those in authority over us. The truth is those who have authority in our lives are there because God has placed them there. And it is our gospel duty to live...

The gospel is the power of God to not only reconcile us to God but also to our fellow man. In light of this we are called a radically different life. One where we live in harmony peace with those around us, bless our enemies, trust in God’s justice and are compassionate with everyone. Listen to this week's message. https://youtu.be/RHtTVlONmzw

How do we live in light of the truth of the gospel in our relationship with our church family? Especially when it is hard. Because lets be honest, the church is not made up of flawless, perfect people. It is made up of people who are redeemed but still live in a fallen world in bodies that are still subject to sin. Our church family members have struggles, insecurities, frustrations, bad habits, p...