Whitehall Baptist Church

JOHN 5:25-30 | THE FINAL JUDGMENTS PART 2 ILLUSTRATION : A few years back, for my birthday, Tressa got me a message. But it wasn’t just any message, it was a deep tissue upper back and neck massage. Now I had never had anything like this before, but I wanted to make sure when I walked away that it felt…

JOHN 5:25-30 | THE FINAL JUDGMENTS PART 1 ILLUSTRATION : Did your parents have difference voices they used when you were growing up? Depending on how they said my name I could determine what was coming next. They could say my name in the form of a question which would tell me they were looking for me.…

JOHN 5:24 | YOU CAN TRUST HIM ILLUSTRATION : Have you ever heard someone speak, and you didn’t really know the person, but based on how they talked you just felt like they were trustworthy? For me, it’s a preacher named Alistair Begg. He pastor Parkside Church in Cleveland, OH for over 40 years until…

TEXT: GALATIANS 2:20 | CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST EXPLANATION : The act of crucifixion is an excruciating torture. During the time of Christ, the roman guards perfected this form of torture. The figured out the pays to ensure the greatest amount of pain and suffering on those one being crucified. In Rome,…

JOHN 5:19-23 | JESUS PROVED HE IS GOD ILLUSTRATION : My senior year in high school I needed one more science credit to be able to graduate. There were various classes I could have taken: Advanced Chemistry, Advanced Biology, even Advanced Physics. But there was another class that caught my eye… Forensic…

JOHN 5:15-18 | DON’T SURRENDER ILLUSTRATION : I was a teenager when the men of our church decided to have a paintball event. I remember he called out, “Do you surrender” After shooting him, I said, “I surrender” EXPLANATION : Jesus has just performed the miracle of healing this man of his inability to…

JOHN 5:1- 9 | WILT THOU BE MADE WHOLE ILLUSTRATION : Today is officially the start of the NCAA tournament as the selection of the 68 teams that will be part of the tournament are chosen. My Indiana Hoosiers are what they call on the bubble this year. There are a handful of teams that are just holding…

JOHN 4:27-30 , 39-42 | THE POWER OF A CHANGED LIFE ILLUSTRATION : Going to pizza with the teens That night changed my life! EXPLANATION : Over the past several weeks, we have walked through this story of the incredible interaction between Jesus and this Samaritan woman at a well. Last week we saw as…

JOHN 4:5-26 | JESUS AND THE BROKEN WOMAN ILLUSTRATION : I always look forward to the holidays. Tressa and I were talking the other night about different traditions we had growing up and ones we want to emphasize with our family now. For Tressa’s side of the family, there isn’t a bigger holiday than Thanksgiving.…

JOHN 4:5-26 | JESUS IS ALWAYS RIGHT ON TIME ILLUSTRATION : I hate running late. I spent years in church services that started 5 or 10 minutes later than they were supposed to start. Too often our Sunday school hour doesn’t start on time, and it’s usually my fault, and I hate it! Sometimes if something…

JOHN 4:1-4 | THE WORK OF CHRIST ILLUSTRATION : Last Monday night was an exciting night for me! My Indiana Hoosiers played in the National Championship! For the first time in our history, we won the Championship in Football. It is a celebration that will continue for months to come. We’ve probably all…

MATTHEW 22:37-40 | SERVE OTHERS, REACH PEOPLE ILLUSTRATION : Have you ever tried to learn to do something that didn’t come naturally? Learning to talk to people To some people this comes naturally. My mom has never met a stranger... I determined that I wanted to grow in this area and I became very intentional…

TEXT: MATTHEW 22:37-38 | LOVE GOD ILLUSTRATION : A couple weeks back our kids came how with a puzzle that had been loaned to them. We pulled out the card table for this great opportunity for some family time. And then I looked at the side of the box and it said 1000 pieces. We began to work through the…

Text: 2 TIMOTHY 4:6-8 | FINISH YOUR COURSE ILLUSTRATION: Dinner at Roy’s The pea pods The appetizer: Shrimp Skewers The Main Course: Lobster tail and Ribeye I ate the whole thing, there was nothing left. I finished my course! EXPLANATION: Paul was now being held in the Mamertine Prison It wasn’t like…

GENESIS 3:15 | ADAM AND EVE’S PERSPECTIVE ON CHRISTMAS ILLUSTRATION : I love Christmas I love everything about Christmas The lights The tree The gifts The get-togethers The songs I even like the claymations of the guy in the red suit and red hat. Many of my favorite memories surround this time of the…

JOHN 3:22-30 | THE CURE TO COMPARISON ILLUSTRATION : I married the queen of comparison. When it comes to shopping, she has never made an impulse purchase. For her the decision to buy something is scientific. She instinctively knows where every clearance rack is. I don’t know that she has ever paid full…

JOHN 3:16-21 | HINDSIGHT IS 20 /20 ILLUSTRATION : They say that hindsight is 20/20. You’ve probably heard someone say that before. Tressa and I had the blessing of getting away for about a week a few months back. And as part of our trip, I did something I don’t normally do… I scheduled our flight back…

JOHN 3:9-15 | REFUSE TO BELIEVE ILLUSTRATION : Have you ever refused to believe something? Tressa broke up with me the month before our senior year of college. But I refused to believe it. She made a decision I refused to participate in. For the first month of our Senior year, I was miserable. But finally,…

JOHN 3:1-8 | THE WIND OF THE SPIRIT ILLUSTRATION : Growing up I was fascinated with the wind. In particular, I was fascinated with tornados. I have shared before of my dreams to either be a NBA basketball player, a country music singer, or a Tornado chaser. When I was in 3rd grade we were given the assignment…

JOHN 2:13-25 | LESSONS IN JERUSALEM ILLUSTRATION : My high school basketball team My Junior year, our high school had one of the best teams in the history of our school There were 9 seniors on the team who had played together for years. So when my senior year came along there was an expectation that…

JOHN 2:1-11 | GLORIFYING OBEDIENCE ILLUSTRATION : There are some Christmas presents that you receive as a kid that you never forget. One of those for me was the year I received a magician set. I remember it came in a big black box and inside it there were a variety of items for various magic tricks.…

JOHN 1:40-51 | I WANT THAT ILLUSTRATION : When we go to the store with my kids there is a common statement the comes from the lips of my kids: I want that. They see the toys or the treats or the gum and they want it. And the truth is, very little changes as we get older. In your teen years it’s “I want…

JOHN 1:29-34 | THIS IS MY PURPOSE ME ILLUSTRATION : Things are created with a purpose. A basketball is created with a purpose A guitar is created with a purpose A pen is created with a purpose Now you can use these things that were created for other purposes than what they were created for. You can kick…