Resurrection Life Sunday Sermon

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 7:24-27. This week, while Mark is on vacation, we welcome back Rev. Steve Jessen of the PCA's Ministry to North America Disaster Response team to the podcast. Steve is the Disaster Response Specialist for the Carolinas, and he brings us a message on faith called A Firm Foundation.

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 11:17-19. This week, we move between two passages that describe the same event. Genesis 22 recounts God's call for Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Hebrews 11:17–19 sheds light on Abraham's perspective throughout this entire episode. Abraham's faith was so unshakable that, even in the face of death, he fully trusted in the power of the resurrection. His faith challenges...

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 11: 9-16. This week, our Forward-Looking Faith series focuses on the faiths of Abraham and Sarah. In Hebrews 11, the author uses Abraham and Sarah to make an important point: We are but pilgrims called to believe and receive God’s promises. Along this journey of faith, we are to look at God’s upcoming promises of eternal security and salvation like a warm greeting to a friend ap...

SCRIPTURE: HEBREWS 11 This week, we begin a new summer sermon series through Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 records several Old Testament men and women of faith who had assurance in things hoped for. That’s why we’re calling this summer sermon series “ Forward-Looking Faith .” Each of those listed in Hebrews 11 lived many years before Jesus was born. However, their faith still points us to the greater rea...

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 10:1-18. This week, as we continue in the Book of Hebrews, it feels a little like a broken record. Over and over again, the author reminds us that in the old covenant, sacrifices were offered over and over again. In contrast, he compares them to Jesus’ once-for-all and forever sacrifice on the cross. What’s behind this repetitious tension between the many and the one? We'll unpa...

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 9: 1 - 15. This week, we explore one of the most important themes in the book of Hebrews: worshiping with a free and purified conscience. The effects of Jesus’ priestly ministry are all-encompassing, reaching even our inner faculties of thought, reason, and judgment. In Hebrews 9, the author shows how the old covenant required external rituals that could never truly reach the he...

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 8 This week, we dive into one of the more theologically rich developments in the Book of Hebrews. The consequences of Jesus being our kingly priest change everything. One of the biggest consequences is how we now understand God’s covenant with us. Through Jesus’ ministry and his current royal position beside the Father’s throne, he mediates a better covenant. That covenant means...

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 7 This week, we return to Hebrews and look to Jesus. Jesus is our fearless, timeless, and courageous leader who promises to be with us at all times. The words from Hebrews 7:25 ring throughout all time and space: “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” As sinners in need of redemption, wha...

SCRIPTURE: Numbers 6:24-27 This week, we take a break from our series on Hebrews. Last week, the Preacher of Hebrews challenged us to stop being so dull of hearing and to grow up in the faith. At times, we need to hear this word. This week, however, Pastor Mark returns to a passage he has preached on before but not on this podcast. Numbers 6:24–27 is one of his favorite passages, partly because it...

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 5:11 - 6:3 The tone of Hebrews 5:11–6:3 is among the most severe and serious within this book. These verses fall within a larger passage that serves as a slight off-topic diatribe. In the midst of preaching heavy-hitting theological points, he takes a moment to challenge his audience: Stop being so lazy! Grow up! You’ve been stuck taking Christianity 101 classes over and over ag...

SCRIPTURE: John 5:1-18 This Sunday we had the privilege of hearing from Matt Brouwer, youth pastor from Christ the King Church in Raleigh, NC. Matt brought a message from John 5:1-18, a story where Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath.

SCRIPTURE: Luke 24:13-35 Though this week we are taking a brief pause from the Book of Hebrews, we are not stepping away from one of its central themes. Throughout Hebrews, the author is encouraging his audience to truly see Jesus—not with physical eyes, but with spiritual clarity. We cannot see Jesus physically; He is in heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 1:3). And yet, we ar...

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 4:14 - 5:10 If you’ve been following our current sermon series, you know by now that the Book of Hebrews is a loving and theologically rich warning that we not turn away from Jesus after once claiming faith in Him. But the Christian life is, at times, more difficult than we ever expected. We are often tempted and greatly discouraged. Where or to whom can we go for help? We need...

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 4:1-11 Our last podcast was a history lesson. Today, we look to the future. God has in store for us a future rest. The reason that rest remains for those who believe in Jesus is simply because Jesus hasn’t come back yet. Along with Jesus’ return is a promise fulfilled: an eternal Sabbath rest. Hebrews 4:1-11 partly defines for us what this future reality will be like. Dr. Knetsc...

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews: 6-19 This Sunday Sermon is dedicated to Pastor Mark's history professor in seminary, Dr. David Rylaarsdam. As he guided us, eager seminarians, through the centuries of church history, he kept pushing us to learn from the heretics. He would challenge us to pay attention to the heretics for two reasons. First, to learn from their mistakes. Second, to know how their theological er...

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 3:1-6 This Sunday Sermon's title, "We Are the House," comes from Hebrews 3:6: "And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope." This verse emerges from a brief but powerful comparison between Moses and Jesus. By now, we expect the author of the book of Hebrews to pack a powerful theological punch into just a few verses, and this passage...

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 2:10-18 Pastor Mark wraps up the author of Hebrews' discussion of angels and Jesus. This scripture is actually a transitional passage between demonstrating Jesus' superiority over angels and establishing His superiority over the roles Moses and Aaron played in the Old Testament. The author begins to open the door for us to see how Jesus is the grand Liberator--far greater than M...

Scripture: Hebrews 2:5-9 This Sunday's message comes from a profoundly rich passage. These five verses wrestle with this: If Jesus was superior to angels, and if he's that much more powerful, then why did he appear like any ordinary person? To tackle this question, the author of Hebrews reflects upon Psalm 8. He concludes that Jesus only appeared inferior for a time during his incarnation and part...

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 22:36-40 This Sunday we welcomed to the pulpit someone new, but not a stranger to us, Matt and Shondra Oliver have worshiped with us for awhile now. Matt is a actually a teaching elder within the PCA serving as a chaplain in the U.S. Army. What a privilege to have such a talent, willingness, and ability within our own flock! Matthew brought us a very timely message for St. Valen...

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 1:1 - 2:5 Over the past couple of weeks, we have looked at big picture themes from the Book of Hebrews. This week, we focus on the first major argument in this book. The author of Hebrews jumps into the deep end of Old Testament proof-texting. The term “proof-texting” can have negative connotations. People can justify all kinds of unbiblical points by misappropriating Scripture....

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 1-10 Looking at the first ten chapters of Hebrews, Mark continues our current series “From Shadow to Substance , ” with an “Overview of Hebrews on a Snowy Sunday.” This episode is taken from a the special video Pastor Mark recorded to assist worshipers with their worship at home due to the snowy weather and difficult transportation.

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 1:1-3 The Book of Hebrews is where we will be spending our time this winter and spring. What a glorious gift it is to feast upon such a treasure trove of truth! We kick-start this sermon series by focusing on Hebrews 1:1-3. It’s quite the challenge to find more theologically rich verses in all of God’s Word. In fact, Pastor Mark is pretty excited to dive into the details of this...

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 131 This Sunday, Jeff presented us with a moving and timely sermon on Psalm 131, a passage that offers a lifetime’s worth of lessons in just three verses. As we begin a new year, we often set our thoughts on hopes, dreams, and goals for the coming months. We might also reflect on the causes of past disappointments and the fears we face in the present. In this Psalm, King David for...

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 1 How does a new year start? With the first psalm in the Bible, Psalm 1! It has two powerful images: a tree planted by streams of water and chaff blown away by the wind. We'll see how sin can pull us away from God’s best for us. And we’ll also discover the secret of a happy life: not just doing the right things but enjoying God’s Word. We’ll see how the new birth plants us by the...

With this podcast, we complete our sermon series in Ezra–Nehemiah by examining Nehemiah, Chapter 13. What might Nehemiah 13 have to do with the coming of Christ? Well, everything, as we will see. Like the books of Deuteronomy, Judges, and 2 Kings, the Book of Nehemiah ends with a sense of incompleteness and uncertainty. Although in Chapters 9 and 10, God’s people agreed in writing to repent of var...