Resurrection Life Sunday Sermon

SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 9 This week, we take a good, hard look at another worship service from Nehemiah 9. Last week’s sermon on Nehemiah 8 described an atypical ideal for corporate worship: Ezra reads from the Law, leaders preach among the people, the people respond, and Nehemiah shepherds the people out with the call to rejoice. Nehemiah 9 records another corporate gathering occurring later that sam...

SCRIPTURE: Neh. 8:1-12 This week we return to the book of Nehemiah, for our second week of Advent. For Advent, we are looking through the lens of Ezra and Nehemiah to help us prepare our hearts for the King. Last week, we focused on hope. This week, we focus on joy. Our passage in Nehemiah 8:1–12 ends on a joyful note. As a result of listening to God’s Word and adhering to both Ezra’s and Nehemiah...

SCRIPTURE: Luke 10:25-37 This Sunday we welcomed Steve Jessen to our pulpit. Steve is the regional director for Ministry to North America Disaster Response, a ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America. Steve has served as a pastor and currently helps plug people and congregations into acts of service, particularly in times and places of great physical need. MNA Disaster Response is our Minist...

NEHEMIAH 6 and 7:1-4 This week we are privileged to focus on Nehemiah 6. What an intriguing chapter! It’s filled with four major attempts to attack Nehemiah’s health, reputation, integrity, and life. For the murder-mystery types, this chapter is for you. Nehemiah truly was an outstanding leader—a hero, in fact. As we focus on his fierce resolve against relentless oppression, we once again read abo...

SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah Chapter 5 More problems plague the first generation of new exiles in Jerusalem in Nehemiah 5. Problems exist from the outside—enemies surround Israel who do not want these Jews to succeed. However, in Nehemiah 5, we encounter significant internal problems. The economy is plagued by, well, a plague. Actually, more than that, the upper class uses extortion, exorbitant taxation, a...

SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 4 Paul warned his protege Timothy, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). Nehemiah 4 teaches us especially about responding to self-declared opponents of Christ and His people. While openly aggressive persecution of Christians is relatively rare in modern North America, God wants believers everywhere to ready themselve...

SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 2 Nehemiah faces King Artexerxes downcast and depressed. The King asks him why he looks so gloomy, which opens up the opportunity for Nehemiah to share his desire to leave his post as cupbearer in Susa, to wall builder in Jerusalem. The trajectory of Nehemiah 2 is really quite inspiring. It begins with a downcast Nehemiah, but it ends with resolve, hope, and motivation. As we g...

SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 1 The book of Nehemiah begins as a memoir. Nehemiah reflects on his situation—a cushy government job in Susa, a Persian city in modern-day Iran. The Persian Empire had not been the picture of stability during the fifteen years separating Ezra and Nehemiah. However, in 445 BC, Persia experienced a period of relative stability—another “hand of God” moment. According to Dale Davis...

SCRIPTURE: Ezra 9 It's been 80 years since Cyrus the King of Persia decreed that Jerusalem should be rebuilt. But the rebuilders were opposed by the local inhabitants. King Darius I searched the records and found Cyrus' decree and redecreed that Jerusalem be rebuilt. In Chapter 7, Darius' grandson sends Ezra to Jerusalem. Now finally Ezra arrives and Ezra pulls out his beard in shock. He was commi...

SCRIPTURE: EZRA 7 Sixty years separate Ezra 6 from Ezra 7. A fresh group of newly deported Jews arrives in Jerusalem, led by Ezra himself. After spending time this past week exploring the person of Ezra, this week we look at him as an Old Testament, Christ-like figure. Obviously, Ezra was not Jesus, but he does display many characteristics that helped Israel prepare for the coming Messiah. We also...

SCRIPTURE: Ezra 4-6 Ezra 4–6 forms a single, cohesive unit. Two weeks ago, we looked at Ezra 4 — a complex chapter describing opposition in two different historical settings. That chapter is framed by Israel’s struggle during the reign of King Darius as well as King Artexertes 90 years later. Chapters 5–6 pick up the story with King Darius, describing in more detail what that opposition looked lik...

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 31 THIS SUNDAY, we were privileged to welcome Pastor Jonathan (Jono) Darville from Peace Presbyterian Church in Cary. Pastor Darville’s message is from Psalm 31 on the theme, " A Grief Absorbed. "

SCRIPTURE: Ezra 4 This Sunday, we tackled a timely question: How should the church respond to opposition? It’s a challenging question in our day and age, especially in light of recent events. Clearly, synchronizing our beliefs to match the ideologies of the age is not an option. And yet, without realizing it, we may already have capitulated in ungodly or unfaithful ways. When we muster the courage...

SCRIPTURE: EZRA Chapter 1 After a 70-year nationwide time-out, God planned a new path for His people. He began to stir hearts to bring about change, opening the miraculous opportunity for Israel to return home. Just a year after the Persian Empire conquered Babylon, King Cyrus II permitted the Israelites to return to Judah to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. What a moment! What hope! What joy! An...

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 13:44-46 Matthew 13:44–46 contains just three verses, yet each one carries weighty insight into the Kingdom. In this Sunday Sermon, we look at parables about a hidden treasure and a pearl—two simple, tangible images from the first century. Together, they give us a glimpse into the nature of the Kingdom. We see that the Kingdom involves discovery, delight, desire, destruction, an...

SCRIPTURE: Luke 18:9-14 This Sunday, we faced yet another challenging parable. The message is clear: those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. The message is simple, but living it out is steep! Luke 18:9-14 challenges not merely Pharisees, but all of us who may practice Do-It-Yourself Spirituality. No matter how we focus on God’s grace and our cal...

SCRIPTURE: Mark 4:26-34 Last week’s sermon, “Parable of the Hidden Lamp,” taught us that Jesus’ self-revelation was gradual, not immediate. Similarly, the two parables that follow in Mark 4:26-34 tell us that God’s kingdom — the visible expression of Christ’s rule, primarily through His church — is also gradual, but equally certain to come to fruition. Based on appearances, we may think the church...

Scripture: Mark 4:21-25 This week’s Sunday Sermon centers around a unique and short parable about the purpose of a lamp. What’s the purpose of a lamp? To shed light, of course. Simple. What’s the point of a lamp if it’s hidden under a bowl? So, in one aspect, part of this parable is as simple as singing the old children’s song, “This Little Light of Mine, I’m Going to Let It Shine.” However, anoth...

Scripture: Luke 11:1 -13 This week's Sunday Sermon focuses on one of the more fascinating parables Jesus shares with us—the Parable of the Midnight Knocker. This story challenges us to rethink our approach to prayer, inviting us to come to God with boldness, persistence, and confident expectation. Pastor Mark includes an intimate testimony of his struggles in prayer with his own health condition.

SCRIPTURE: Luke 16:19-31 This Sunday's Sermon focused on a story Jesus told, comparing two men with two starkly different destinations. One man is rich. Filthy rich. The other man, named Lazarus, is destitute and disabled. This parable is the only time Jesus uses a proper name. The tables turn dramatically after these two men die. The rich man no longer basks in his wealth, but finds himself in ag...

Our Director of Ministries, Jeff Smith, returned to the pulpit with a return to our summer series on Jesus' parables, PORTRAITS OF THE KINGDOM. Because of our sin, we have no standing to insist on favorable treatment from God. Nonetheless, we all tend to require payback from those who have wronged us. But God lavishes free and full forgiveness on all who trust in Jesus’ righteousness and payment f...

SCRIPTURE: John 21:1-11 Are you tired of doing all the right things—working hard, planning wisely, staying faithful—yet still feeling like you have nothing to show for it? In this week’s message, called “Children, Do You Have Any Fish?” from John 21:1-11, we explore what happens when even our best efforts fall short—and how Jesus meets us right there, not with judgment, but with grace and directio...

This Sunday, in our Portraits of the Kingdom series, we turned our attention to the Parable of the Prodigal Son. As we explore its four distinct scenes, one of the key questions we’ll confront is this: As we grow up, will God’s compassion and grace grow with us? This question contrasts the challenge Jesus gave to the religious elite: to die to their self-righteousness and self-congratulation.

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 25:1-13. The message of Jesus' parable in Matthew 25:1-13 builds on last Sunday's sermon on the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, reminding us that the Church includes genuine and counterfeit believers. Likewise, in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, Jesus describes two types of Christians. Some may appear to have saving faith, but they do not have enduring faith. Jesus challenge...

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 13:24-30, and 36-43. In the Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43), Jesus teaches us how to respond to the devil's influence within and upon the church. In the parable, we learn that Satan actively places those who serve his evil purposes among and around those who make up Christ's church throughout the world. Perhaps to our surprise, Jesus commands us here to temper our...