Sermon Podcast

Hope is the confident expectation that there's more to come. Have you lost hope? When you feel betrayed, trust in the voice of God. When you feel like less than enough, focus on eternity with God. When you're tired of waiting, hold tight to the promises of God.

Busyness creates anxiety, division, and pride. Are you too busy? What's the solution to busyness? Start your day in God's presence. Stop trying to earn God's approval (which is based on who He is, not on what you can or will do). Schedule God's priorities.

Jealousy troubles our hearts, hides the truth, removes our joy, impacts our actions, and focuses on what we may lose rather than what God has given. What's the cure for jealousy? Avoid the comparison trap. Celebrate when others are doing well. Pursue humble contentment.

We all have an enemy who wants to steal our trust in who God is. What's stealing your Christmas, and what can you do about it? Exchange your pain for joy, your chaos for peace, your discouragement for hope, your weakness for power.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. You can know about the shepherd without knowing the shepherd. How can you truly know the Shepherd? Follow the voice, rely on the strength, and accept the love of the Shepherd.

Everyone starts life in the dark. How does Jesus, the Light of the World, change your life? Light defeats what is dark, exposes what is true, heals what is broken, and revives what is dead.

Jesus is the Bread of Life. From this statement Jesus alone satisfies our cravings, strengthens our weakness, and saves from death, no matter the situation we are in.

What does a good leader look like? Leaders always look beyond appearance. Leaders always go first, desire to learn more, pour into others, and examine their own lives.

Training is always better than repairing. How do we train for godliness? We stay faithful to the Gospel. We keep our eyes focused on eternity. We expect the pain and never give up. And we realize that our integrity is far greater than our words.

Jerry Falwell, Sr. once said, "Nothing of eternal significance is accomplished apart from prayer." How should we pray and who should we pray for? Pray with thanks and for all people. Pray for all who are in authority. Pray for confidence in sharing the Gospel. And pray for godly men to lead the church in worship.

Do you feel like you're wasting your time? If we truly want to stop wasting our time, we need to stay focused on the truth and stay amazed by the Gospel.

Everybody wants more than they currently have. Being rich with God means that our faith is greater than our worries, our gratitude is greater than our grumbling, our generosity is greater than our greed, and our eternal home is greater than our earthly home.

What can we learn from the parable of the Good Samaritan? Love God supremely, and love everyone else the way you love yourself. How do we love everyone else? We remove the labels, pray for courage, extend amazing grace, and recognize true compassion.

The forgiven forgive. the Bible reminds us over and over about forgiveness. Forgiveness is not minimizing the pain, allowing the pain to continue, or a one-time event. Forgiveness is rejecting the opportunity to get even and giving control to God. Forgiveness is choosing to receive God's healing instead of God's judgment. And forgiveness is given to someone without receiving it or being asked.

Do we understand who God truly is? The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. God is all-powerful. God cares for us and pursues us. God is the Good Shepherd.

The parable of the farmer and the seed can help us understand the condition of the heart. Every heart can become hardened, superficial, and divided. Or the heart can become fruitful by following Jesus daily, speaking of Jesus regularly, and helping others live like Jesus.

How do we, like the prodigal son, come home to the Father? We remember the unconditional love of the Father. We receive the generous heart of the Father. We realize the joy we bring to the Father.

We must intentionally seek to hear from God because of the importance of His voice and the loudness of our times. Pursuing God is essential to hearing God. God communicates through His Son Jesus. We hear God's voice through the Bible and prayer. And hearing God's voice has more to do with our hearts than our ears.

We tend to overestimate our ability and underestimate God's power. We all need help when we're tempted, troubled, and tired. Help is available. Complete surrender is more important than self-control. And close connections are more important than isolation.

If happiness is the goal in life, then right and wrong are subjective, I'm tempted to worship pleasure and possessions, God only exists to serve me, the search for meaning will never end, and I live for myself. What's better than happiness? Being holy is better than being happy. And being joyful is better than being happy.

The truth about pain: Pain is the result of sin, does not discriminate, and has a purpose. What is the purpose of pain? Pain makes us partners with our Heavenly Father. Pain proves where our faith lies. And pain prepares us for our future.

The truth about the heart: The heart is stubborn, hardened, rebellious, deceitful, and follows what it wants. How do we have a change of heart? We need a change of dependence, a change of desire, and a change of direction.

The Christian life is a constant battle, and we can be victorious. We need to know our real enemy. We need to fight alongside God's people and with God's armor. And we need to stay alert and always pray.

God uses relationships to make us more like Himself. Marriage is a picture of God's image, His grace, and His heart. The family is a picture of God's authority.

Sin's path versus God's path: How do we get on God's path? We must throw off old behavior. The Spirit renews our thoughts and attitudes. And we put on new behavior.