Sunday Sermons | Evergreen Church

Identifies as the “Amen,” Jesus speaks to this church as the indisputable witness of their condition. His glory is not at all reflected in this congregation, and He is disgusted by their pride. Yet, even now, He offers hope.1. Problem: Spiritual Lethargy (vv.14-16) 2. Product: Self-Sufficiency (vv.17, 18) 3. Promise: Divine Discipline (vv.19-22)

With perfect judgment, Jesus evaluates the church in Philadelphia and finds no complaint there. This congregation of saints provides a solid model of a healthy church. Divine praises for the present always come with divine promises for the future.

The downward spiral beginning with the Ephesian church’s loss of its first love for Jesus and continuing with Pergamum’s worldliness and Thyatira’s toleration of sin, reaches a new low at Sardis. Christ here declares the hope and plan for revival to a dying church.

This letter is the longest of the seven, though addressed to the church in the smallest of the seven cities. It has an important message for today: false doctrine and sin are not to be allowed—even under the banner of love, toleration, and unity.

Worldliness is the preoccupation with or interest in things of no eternal value. Cultural compromise is the next downward spiral for a church that loses its first love. Authentic Jesus-followers understand that they do not belong to this world, so they must not act like this world.

Throughout history, a seemingly paradoxical truth is that greater persecution of the church produces greater purity and strength in the church. Smyrna is one example. Such authentic followers receive only good words from the Master.

What are the motives that move Evergreen forward? As we complete the Year of Salt and Light, we must ponder the question: Why do we do what we do? Just as the Sermon on the Mount calls the individual Jesus follower to continually examine personal motives, the Living Lord regularly examines the motives of churches as well.

Studies confirm what we already know—our lives suffer from too much noise. Hundreds of advertisements assault us daily. The stress of activity and the urgencies of distraction frazzle us. As we rush from one task to another, we yearn for five minutes of peace. Why? Because God creates each one of us with a need for the discipline of quiet.

People in the western world, where the shepherding of flocks is normally done by driving sheep with dogs, may find it hard to grasp the intimacy seen in biblical shepherd passages. Here, the shepherd is pictured as having a personal attachment to the sheep, and the sheep are portrayed as recognizing the shepherd’s voice and responding. The rewards for this unique relationship are both satisfying a...

As God works through His people to bring salt and light to the world, He promises to share His glory with them. But in their sinful hearts, they can be tempted to forget who is truly changing the world around them. The test for Evergreen is not whether temptation will come; it is a matter of when. The only thing more predictable than the temptation is the certainty that God will provide an escape...

"Paul's prayer reveals the need of the believer to have discernment of what God has already given them. Though the Ephesians were faithful and loving, Paul knew they still needed spiritual understanding and insight. He prays that their hearts would be opened to grasp their hope, their value, and the power available to them in Christ. We are called to move beyond surface-level faith into a...

The closing verses of Mark are often stigmatized as spurious by NT authorities, both ancient and recent. This closing feels different from Mark’s typical style; yet verse 8 would seem to be an awkwardly abrupt ending. These verses, however, provide exactly what is desired--resurrection scenes parallel to the other gospel accounts. What did Mark intend? How should we proceed?

Easter is the crux of the Christian faith. Everything believers hold dear rises or falls with the truthfulness of this claim to resurrection after death. This event is so far out of our normal experience, we may doubt it in our mind…but our heart, nevertheless, suspects it is true.

Death by crucifixion is one of the cruelest and most degrading forms of punishment ever devised by human perversity, even in the eyes of the pagan world of old. Josephus described it as “the most wretched of all ways of dying,” and the shudder caused by the cross as an instrument of execution is still reflected in the English word “excruciating.”

Contemporary news stories confirm that the Bible is, in fact, more relevant today than ever before. Events from 2000 years ago read like the New York Times. Yet, for people of faith, resurrection and new life are always right around the corner. The King overcomes even when rejected by the elite and the masses.

As the night before the cross continues to unfold, both Peter and Jesus are on trial in their own ways. Peter dismally failed his test; Jesus triumphed in His. In the providence of God, this text applies to Christians of all generations and in every situation in which faith is challenged.

Both the private and public aspects of the passion of Christ now play out as a supernatural drama. The certainty of Jesus stands in marked contrast to the evil hearts of His opponents and the fearful hearts of His followers. He must walk the rest of this journey alone...for us.

The Last Supper shared with Jesus was clearly the celebration of the Passover, occurring on Thursday evening. Emotions run high as a traitor is revealed, a promise is declared, and an over-confident heart is exposed. This inherited meal reveals the heart of our Christian faith.

“Extravagance” is not a word normally associated with worship. Yet, at a crucial moment in the passion of Jesus, He commends an unnamed woman for her outrageous act of worship on His behalf. Worship transforms broken lives into fragrant blessings for our Lord.

With a jigsaw of OT quotations, Jesus transitions from upcoming judgment on ancient Judaism to final judgment of all creation. He prepares His followers for the imminent events of the Passion by assuring them of the ultimate victory to come. Atonement is no longer found symbolically in the Temple, but fully in the cross and crown of Jesus Christ!

With only private instruction of the disciples remaining, Jesus seizes on a question about the destruction of the Temple to prepare His followers in every generation to be alert, but not panicked, about end times. His purpose here is not to give details about the future but to provide assurance of His return and to promote faithfulness in the present.

Paul tells us in Philippians to 'work out our salvation with fear and trembling'. But Paul is not just telling us to think about it harder or more often. Paul is telling us something way more radical than that. He's telling us to work it out of ourselves with action. He wants us to know that we can do this, because God is working in us.

In the final day of public teaching, Jesus affirms His standing as Messiah, criticizes the leaders who will soon secure His death, and highlights the simple faith of a mostly unseen widow. He tears down the traditional models of godliness and promotes a new model to be emulated in the Church.

Today, Pastor Taylor Gabbert wraps up our 2026 Winter Bible Study with a deep dive into 2 Peter 3.

Pastor Taylor Gabbert continues his series through the book of 2 Peter. Today he examines what the apostle has to say about false teachers in the church.