Pastor Taylor Shippy's Sermons

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Mark 1:13-16; Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 3:21-22 Today is a Baptism Service at Gibbon Baptist Church! We looked at Jesus’ memorable baptism considering that maybe we’re meant to see our own baptisms through the lens of His? That a dimension of revisiting Jesus’ memorable baptism isn’t simply to recall a historical moment in Jesus’ life but to see echoes, reflections, if not ourse...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 "Right foot on red." "Left hand on blue." "Right hand on yellow." What if being a Christian is kinda like playing a game of Twister?

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Luke 18:9-14 Leonard Ravenhill was a 20th-century British evangelist and author. He once said, “The devil has two major tricks with people. One is, ‘You’re so good you don’t need to be saved.’ The other is, ‘You’re so bad you can’t be saved.’ And he’s a liar on both counts.” I believe both of these lies appear in Jesus’ story this morning, and I also think He shows us a way...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Matthew 18:21-35 There’s a danger for each of us, friends, that Jesus wants us to be aware of… We want to be like the first servant at the beginning of this parable -- and enjoy all the benefits of being liberated from your debt to the king -- but there’s a high chance we’ll become like the first servant throughout the remainder of the parable as well, unwilling to liberate...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Matthew 13:31-33; Luke 13:18-21 On seemingly numerous occasions we find Jesus preaching in the Gospels about the Kingdom of God. You could make the argument that this was Jesus’ primary message as He inaugurated His ministry with it: “The Kingdom of God is near…” (Mk 1:15; cf. Matt 4:17). However, without fail, Jesus seemed to always frustrate the expectations of those aroun...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Matthew 20:1-16 "The Parable of the Vineyard Workers" may be the worst offender of Jesus’ seemingly poor arithmetic… The most flagrant and attention-grabbing example of Jesus’ bad math... Almost everyone can sympathize -- if they haven’t already outright identified -- with who we believe are the ‘victims’ of this story, and their seemingly justifiable discontentment and frus...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Luke 11:1-13 More than any of the other Gospels, Luke is captivated by the prayer life of Jesus. It was not a trivial detail to Luke that Jesus, even as God the Son, frequently prayed to God the Father. And Luke’s not the only one fascinated by this. The disciples were too. “Lord, teach us to pray…” (Lk 11:1). It’s not to say that the disciples do not know how to pray; rathe...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Luke 10:25-47 What if I told you we don’t often read "The Parable of the Good Samaritan” how Luke likely intended us to… It may be the most memorable and compelling story Jesus shared, but we so often forget it’s actually a story within a story . And what if it was never meant to be told by itself; rather, Luke intended for us to read it as part of a larger story unfold...

Pastor Taylor -   Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21; Luke 12:13-15; Philippians 4:10-13; Colossians 3:5; Hebrews 13:5-6 This morning our conversation is going to center around watching out for the 'Green-Eyed Monster' that often knocks on the doors of our lives, deep in our heart of hearts. And if we given it space and freedom in our lives -- it won’t simply make it impossible for us to adher...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Exodus 20:16; Proverbs 6:16-19, 26:24-28; Matthew 12:36-37; Ephesians 4:25-5:2; James 3:2-12; 4:11-12 For the past few weeks, we’ve been talking specifically about the later half of the Ten Commandments. These terse, pithy, often only two or three word sayings in the original Hebrew. Sayings aimed toward honoring and loving our neighbor. So far, we’ve looked at honoring the...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Exodus 20:15, 22:1-15; Leviticus 6:2-5, 19:11, 13; Matthew 6:19-21; Ephesians 4:28 Why do you think stealing is in the Ten Commandments? Why did God feel the need to include, in and among the Top Ten things He wanted the ancient Israelites to live by, something every civilized society recognizes as a crime? Why is taking something that doesn’t belong to you, without the cons...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Matthew 7:24-29 As part of our 'Back to School' Sunday, where we recognized and blessed our students and teachers ahead of a new academic year, we also consider how we can continue to be students and apprentices of Jesus.

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Genesis 2:18-25; Exodus 20:14; Job 31:1-8; Matthew 5:27-30; 1 Corinthians 7:1-11; Ephesians 5:21-33 This morning Jesus makes a similar move with the Seventh Commandment as He did with the Sixth. Another two word phrase in the original Hebrew: ‘ No adultery.’ Like last week with anger, Jesus sees a virtue or value behind sexual desire. A good that has unfortunately been spoil...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Genesis 4:1-16; Exodus 20:13;  Matthew 5:21-26; Ephesians 4:31-5:2; Romans 12:14-21 C.S. Lewis once wrote that “ your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.” And today, through the Sixth Word, we are reminded and invited to honor the sacredness of the lives of our fellow human beings. Image bearers of God Himself. To honor the sanctity of human life and flo...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Exodus 20:12; Leviticus 19:3; Proverbs 23:22-25; Ephesians 6:1-4; Colossians 3:20-21 Perhaps you’ve familiar with the prevailing theory that the Ten Commandments can be neatly divided between the first four and the remaining six? That as you make your way down the ‘Big Ten’ there is a momentum shift part way through where the language seems to pivot from talking about our re...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Isaiah 58:13-14; Mark 2:23-28; Hebrews 4:1-11 Out of all the 'Big Ten,' the fourth one is the longest and most detailed. It’s also the most hyperlinked and referenced commandment throughout the remainder of the Bible. Why is that? Further, it is the only one charging God’s people to remember something… It’s as if God is subtly hin...

Pastor Taylor Shippy -   Exodus 20:7; Matthew 5:13-16; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; 1 Peter 2:11-12; 3:15-16 As we are continuing in our summer series through the Ten Commandments, last time we were together, we talked about God caring about His image. This week we now see that God cares about His name . A name that He has given and pronounced over those whom He’s saved and called. A name that is above...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Exodus 20:4-6, 32:1-8; Deuteronomy 4:15-20; Mark 8:27-30 This morning, as we continue our summer series through the Ten Commandments, for a lot of people this week’s ‘word’ from the LORD may seem a tad redundant. Last week, we talked about having no god but God, and God’s insistence on having no idols is essentially communicating the same thing; however, while there is defin...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Exodus 20:1-3; Mark 10:17-27 John Wesley once said, “Whatever is loved, feared, delighted in, or depended on more than God that we make a god of.” Today, as we examine the first 'saying' of God from Mt. Sinai, the first of the 'Big Ten,' we meditate on having no other gods but God and the potential for us to create other gods either besides Him, before Him, b...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Hosea 2:2-20; Ephesians 5:21-32 Last week we began our summer-long conversation through the Ten Commandments. Some of the most iconic, most recognizable, and perhaps, for some, the most venerated verses in the entire Bible. But also, we began talking about last week, some of the most misunderstood… This week we are continuing that conversation, picking up where we left off,...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Exodus 19:1-8, 16-19; 20:1-21; Matt 5:17-20 This morning we are beginning our new summer sermon series entitled - "The Big Ten: A Survey of the Ten Commandments" - where we are going to strive to figure out the function of the Ten Commandments in our walks with God. To discern, with God’s help, what is the role and purpose of God's Law not simply for ancient Is...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Genesis 2:4-8; John 20:19-23 Today is ‘Pentecost Sunday.' ‘Pentecost’ is a transliteration of the Greek word pentēkostē (πεντηκοστή) which simply means ‘fiftieth.’ For Christians is the fiftieth day after Easter when remember the Holy Spirit descending upon the followers of Jesus after His Ascension. The tricky part is, if you’re reading the New Testament, there isn’t on...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Acts 1:3-9; Hebrews 4:14-16 For many of us, when we retell the story of Jesus, we’re really good at talking about when He was born. We’re eager to share about the Cross. And we're pretty good at talking about the resurrection. But we almost never talk about the Ascension, and perhaps that’s why we forget and forfeit what our risen Lord is doing right now out of love for...

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Acts 16:16-34 While ‘a magician may never reveal his secrets’... A preacher does. It dawned on me this week that this whole episode wasn’t an escape ; it was a rescue . A rescue of not only this single jailer but also his entire family. Not to mention the slave girl from earlier that afternoon. And how about us?

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Acts 8:26-40 I think Philip demonstrates or exemplifies what I’m growing convinced all followers of Jesus ought to strive to be: Verbal Disciples. And when I say ‘verbal’ I don’t mean in the sense of making a lot of noise, I mean being characterized by an array of Christlike verbs. That when people think of Christians, they immediately think of the verbs they inhabit and act...