Sunday Sermons | Evergreen Church

Jesus has so far presented Himself as Messiah to representatives of Israel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, with a mixed reception. John now turns to the conflict that begins in Jerusalem and does not end until the blind nation has put her Messiah to death—what is the purpose of the Sabbath?

Fresh from the spiritual awakening in Sychar among the Samaritans, Jesus returns to Cana of Galilee where He previously changed water to wine. Amid the expectation for more impressive wonders, He chooses here to act in hidden ways in order to downplay amazement and increase real faith. He still does.

Today’s culture esteems experts and values specialization. Yet people desire authenticity, not statistics. They want to know the story behind our lives. Jesus was adept at meeting individuals where they were emotionally and spiritually. He models evangelistic concern and persuasive encounter in daily conversation.

We live in a day of physical and spiritual fatigue…pandemic disease, cultural hostility, attacks on family life, corporate and political corruption, to name only a few causes. How can we endure? How can we be strong enough to face the challenges ahead? The answer for God’s people is the same as it has always been…“wait for the LORD.” What does this mean?

The gifts have been opened, the lights turned off, the decorations stored away. What now of Christmas? Is it a holiday to be enjoyed in passing and then left alone for another year? Or…is everything different somehow because of that special day? What comes after?

Following His interview with Nicodemus, Jesus leaves Jerusalem and declares the coming of His Kingdom to the people by affirming the Old Covenant as displayed in the ministry of John the Baptizer. The transition to the New Covenant is completed as the Baptist testifies to Jesus and the Apostle announces the terms of salvation.

As we celebrate his role as a pastor at Evergreen, Emilio Lartigue brings us a word from the Prophet Jeremiah.

Max Barnett fills our pulpit this day to share from his own life the importance of the Word of God. 

Listen in as Pastor Philip Jackson brings us a word from the Gospel of Matthew.  

The centerpiece of the gospel, John 3:16 is the high-water mark of God’s love for sinners shown at the cross. How poignantly it states that eternal life is not earned by begging, crying, praying, working, or joining! Salvation comes as a free gift when we believe what God has done in Christ Jesus.

The Church in twenty-first century America consists of a smorgasbord of entertainment options, self-help programming, and motivational speakers. Desiring to be like the “cool kids,” the Church has jettisoned Truth and replaced it with moral relativism and pop psychology. Today, as always, Jesus wants His Church back!

A non-negotiable part of God’s redemptive purpose is His determination to transform people into obvious representations of Jesus. But what does it mean to “be like Jesus?” We could make a long list of character qualities; but the longer the list, the less we grasp the goal. God offers us a simpler definition of Christlikeness.

Hope requires optimism, and Jesus was a radically optimistic leader. His passion for His followers and for their intended future made Him a wonderful person to be around. Never discouraged by their shortcomings, He lived each day in the promise of God’s plan for His people. This indefatigable attitude extends to the people of Evergreen even today.

John the Baptist is suddenly interjected into the gospel narrative as an example of one who follows God without reservation. He lives out his assigned mission. He points to Jesus in every aspect of life. The author, John, presents the baptizer, John, as the first example of one who believes in Jesus and lives daily by truth.

The entire Bible follows a single storyline: God is actively redeeming His chosen people and His precious creation in order to accomplish His original intention for humanity. The crux of this story is seen in one remarkable plot twist—God became man and lived among us!

As we begin our journey through John’s Gospel, we first need to examine the man, John, the disciple Jesus loved. His unique contribution, throughout a longer life than any of the original twelve, was to urge the church toward practical love as an expression of Christ life.

The ungoverned life is one wasted on small purposes—blundering through our days without direction, busy yet getting nowhere. Individual government is a biblical call to noble living, adopting the high standard of godliness in order to glorify Jesus Christ.

Just as the marriage union in the New Testament is intended to picture the marvelous relationship between Christ and His Church, so in the Old Testament God uses the ideal marriage bond to illustrate His desired fellowship with His people Israel. The way God describes a solid marriage is instructive, especially in today’s culture of “no fault” divorce.

Political parties differ over the desirable extent of the state’s role in the nation’s life, and whether taxation should increase or decrease. All agree, however, that the state should provide certain services which must be paid for, and this makes taxes necessary. What exactly is the biblical expectation?

Pastor Philip Jackson brings us a word from John 11 about how we respond to what God is doing in our lives. 

Ordained by God, government is not inherently a bad thing. In fact, government is necessary to the orderly conduct of human society. The frustration with our current political climate should be balanced by a review of the original purpose assigned by God to civil government. In short, what is it that our politicians are supposed to be doing?

The opening seven verses of Romans 13 contain the clearest and most specific New Testament teaching on the Christian’s duty to the state. Christianity impacts every aspect of life—including politics. So, what does a Christian citizen look like in today’s world?

God’s plan of salvation calls for strong churches that proclaim and live the reality of the transforming gospel so that it is attractive to the lost. The Enemy attempts to infiltrate and damage churches with a variety of strategies. These “church killers” must be confronted and put away. Eternity is at stake in every generation.

Proper human relationships are vital to the unfolding of God's redemptive plan. Accordingly, God establishes human society with social order, divinely-ordained expectations for government, liberty of conscience, and, most fundamentally, a proper family structure. Baptist theology affirms biblical models in these most practical arenas of human interaction. 

From the incarnation of the Messiah through the presence of Israel and the church throughout history, God's intention has always been to redeem both humanity and material creation from the damaging reign of sin and evil. All that God created has value and He will make all things right in His timing and according to His purposes.