Solid Rock Church Sermons

In this sermon, we looked at Acts 6:1-8:4 and saw how Stephen was persecuted for his faith in Jesus and how God used his suffering to bless others. Stephen was one of the chosen men appointed to oversee the distribution of food among the widows in Acts 6. Despite faithfully serving the community, some of the religious leaders falsely accused him and arrested him. In the face of these charges, Step...

In this sermon, we looked in Job 2:1-13 at the suffering of Job and the comfort we can have from knowing that God is always in control, even when we don't understand the reason for our suffering. Because God is sovereign, we can know that our suffering is never meaningless and is always "preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." We also looked at how we can walk with othe...

In this sermon, we looked at the suffering Joseph endured at the hands of those around him. Joseph's own brothers sought to harm him, other people lied about him, and there were still others who forgot about him over the course of his difficult trials. Through all of this, God was with Joseph. In each instance, God preserved Joseph's life, blessed his endeavors, and gave him favor with those aroun...

In this sermon, we looked at the how the prophet Daniel suffered under ungodly leadership. From the time he was born through his time in exile, the kings who ruled over him were most often in opposition to God's will. However, when confronted with the expectation to disobey God, Daniel stood firm in his convictions. In Daniel 1:8-16, God mercifully granted him favor among the leaders despite Danie...

In our opening sermon of the Suffering Saints series, we looked at the suffering of Adam and how all suffering began with him. Genesis 2:15-17 describes how God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden and entrusted him with the responsibility of caring for it. God allowed Adam to eat freely from all the trees, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which would lead to death, but Adam and Eve...

In our Father’s Day sermon, we looked at how Jesus taught about the Father's love for us through a parable in Luke 15:11-24. In this parable, Jesus introduces us to a kind father who provided well for his family and was generous with his children. One of his sons asks for, and receives, his inheritance early then leaves his father's home. After living recklessly and losing everything the fat...

In this final sermon of our 2 Peter series, we looked at the Apostle Peter's view of the sacred Scriptures. In 2 Peter 1:16-21, Peter passionately affirms the credibility and reliability of his message as an eyewitness of Jesus Christ's majesty. He declares that he didn't follow cleverly devised myths but was an eyewitness of Christ's transfiguration, during which he saw the glory of God firsthand...

In this sermon, we looked at Peter's encouragement to the exiled Christians in Asia Minor to ignore the skeptic false teachers who deliberately overlook the promises of God. Peter tells these suffering Christians to remember that God is not bound by time and, in His patience, God is allowing more people to come to repentance. While God's patience is prolonging the suffering of some, the big promis...

In this sermon, we looked into 2 Peter chapter 2 at Peter's warning against false teachers who will infiltrate the church and lead people astray by promising freedom while actually leading them into captivity. Peter says that these false teachers will preach destructive heresies and, ultimately, deny Jesus as Lord. He also warns that these false teachers will take advantage of "unsteady souls," lu...

In this sermon, we looked at Peter's call for Christians to continue pursuing godliness and spiritual growth even in the midst of persecution and suffering. Drawing from the spiritual reality that Christians are partakers in God's divine glory, Peter calls Christians to add to what we already have in Christ by pursuing and practicing Christ-like qualities. He reminds us that God is restoring us ba...

In this sermon from Luke 1, we looked at the fulfillment of prophecy through the promise of the coming Messiah. Luke writes of the unmerited favor given to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and shares her song, in which she praises God for all He has done for her and all those who fear Him. Through Mary’s beautiful song, we are reminded that the promises of God are true and that His unmerited favor...

In this first sermon of our 2 Peter series, we looked at Peter's call for persecuted Christians to find their strength in knowing God more deeply. Peter begins by reminding these Christians that God’s grace and peace are multiplied to them through knowing Him. This knowledge is more than knowing a lot about God; the Greek word Peter uses implies a full knowledge of God that can only come fro...

With this sermon from 1 Peter 5:12-14, we finished our 1 Peter series by looking at how the Christians in Asia Minor were called to stand firm in the true grace of God in the midst of their suffering. Peter calls those who are weak and suffering to be strong by finding strength in what God is doing in them, not what they can do for themselves. Peter tells them that the strength to stand firm is po...

In this sermon from 1 Peter 5:6-11, we were reminded that we are not of this world. We were created for Eden, and God is faithfully redeeming us unto Himself. As we live in the tension of this world, awaiting the new Eden, Peter encourages us to humble ourselves under God's mighty hand and cast our anxiety on Him. This reminder helps us to not focus on the things of this world but on God's soverei...

In this sermon, we looked at the heart-attitude and role of leadership in the local church. In 1 Peter 5:1-5, Peter calls the elders of the church to have a specific heart-attitude, that reflects the heart of Jesus, toward their role as church leaders. Peter reminds these leaders that their influence over the church doesn’t come from force or power, but from their own submission to Jesus as...

In this sermon, we looked at how Jesus’ closest followers kept their distance as He went to the cross. As Jesus died on the cross and cried out, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit,” we see just how much Jesus trusted His Father. In contrast, Luke 24 tells us that all of Jesus’ acquaintances, and the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watch...

In this sermon from Luke 19, we looked at how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey, fulfilling ancient prophesy and signaling to the Jews that their King had arrived to set them free. However, as soon as Jesus arrived, His intentions were misunderstood. The Jews thought Jesus was there to lead a revolt and set them free from the Romans and they were excited that God finally sent the King to...

In this sermon from 1 Peter 4:12-19, we began by looking at God's declaration that those who are in Christ are His "beloved." Peter reminds us that God's love for us doesn't change just because we encounter suffering and hardship. This is important because Peter's encouragement to suffering Christians is to not be surprised or caught off-guard in suffering. Instead, Peter encourages us to rejoice...

In this sermon, we looked at Peter's call for us to follow the example of Jesus by living righteously in the midst of persecution. As believers, we are able to reject sin and suffer for righteousness because we have freedom in Jesus and our former life doesn't define us. This shift in the way we live may surprise people but Peter reminds us that we will all give account to God for our actions. Wha...

In this sermon, we looked at 1 Peter 3:8-22 where Peter sums up the instructions he has given to the believers exiled in Asia Minor. Peter tells them to have unity of mind in the things of Christ and other virtues that will help them support each other in the suffering they are experiencing in an unbelieving society. He instructs them not to repay evil to those who speak evil of them or insult the...

In this sermon, we looked at the calling for Christians to honor one another in marriage, even in times of suffering and persecution. In 1 Peter 3:1-7, Peter writes to a group of Christians who have been exiled yet calls them to continue working toward a God-honoring marriage. Similar to Paul’s marriage instructions in Ephesians 5, Peter calls wives to submit to their husbands and for husban...

In this sermon, we looked at how 1 Peter 2:13-25 challenges the way we treat those who disagree with us or mistreat us. Peter writes to Christians who are being persecuted by the oppressive Roman government. After reminding them of their identity in Christ, Peter now calls them to submit to this pagan authority and to do good. While believers' citizenship is in heaven, we don’t have license...

In this sermon, we looked in 1 Peter 2:1-12 at Peter's calling for believers to put off their old identity, which is rooted in the flesh, in order to live according to their new identity, which is rooted in the Word of God. Peter tells these exiled believers that their suffering is a reflection of the suffering of Christ because He, too, was rejected by men, but chosen and precious to God. He remi...

In this sermon, we looked at 1 Peter 1:13-25 to see Peter's first commands for the Christians who were suffering persecution in Asia Minor. Building from the opening doxology in verses 3-9, Peter roots his instructions for the Church in what is already true about them: They have been born again into a living hope and an inheritance that is untouched by death, unstained by evil, and unimpaired by t...

In this sermon, we looked at Peter's call to rejoice in the midst of suffering and persecution because of the living hope and eternal inheritance we have been given in Christ. In 1 Peter 1:3-9, Peter reminds believers that we have each been supernaturally regenerated as a new creation: the old has been buried with Christ and we have been born again to walk in new life. The same power that worked t...