Calvary Chapel South Messages

In 1 John 4:7-21, Pastor John teaches on what it means that God is love and why John keeps returning to the theme of loving one another. God’s love is shown in Jesus, who became the propitiation for our sins, the sacrifice that fully satisfied God’s judgment against sin. Because that wrath was poured out on Christ, believers can trust God’s discipline as the care of a good father rather than feari...

In Luke 15, Pastor Kevin teaches through the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, all pointing to one theme: heaven rejoices when what was lost is found. The shepherd seeks, the woman searches, and the father waits, then runs to meet his returning son with compassion instead of a lecture. Kevin also looks at the older brother, who never left home but was lost in his legalis...

How do we know what's truth from God and what's a convincing lie? Pastor Gerrit takes us through John's warning in 1 John 4 to not believe that everything spiritual is from God, even if it claims to be. John emphasizes the necessity of a right view of Jesus for something to be true.

Jeff Kinley teaches through 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 on the rapture, the moment Jesus returns to gather his people. Paul says this hope rests on the resurrection: because Jesus rose, those who have died in Christ will rise too. Christ descends with a shout, an archangel’s voice, and the trumpet of God, and believers living and dead are caught up to meet him. The word itself comes from the Greek har...

In this message from 1 John 3:10-24, Pastor Elliot teaches that the way we live reveals whose family we belong to. John says a child of God practices righteousness and loves in deed and truth, following the example of Christ, who laid down his life for people who did not deserve it. Because Jesus finished the work on the cross, a believer can answer condemnation with the gospel and turn toward God...

Pastor Gerrit teaches through Luke 14:25-35 on the cost of being a disciple of Jesus. He starts with what it means to be a disciple, then looks at why Jesus used such strong language about loving family, carrying a cross, and giving up everything. Along the way he explains the parables of the tower builder and the king going to war, and shares examples of what the true cost looks like. The message...

Pastor Bobby Cruz teaches through 1 John 2:28-3:10, examining what it means to be called a child of God. John writes that God's love gives us a new identity, one we receive as a gift rather than earn by being good. Because Jesus came to take away our sins, those who belong to him begin to change, and the pattern of their lives starts to show it. Everyone stumbles, but a life of unrepentant re...

Pastor Gerrit teaches through Luke 14:1-24, where Jesus uses a Sabbath dinner party to show what humility looks like. He heals a sick man in front of religious leaders who were looking for fault, then tells guests not to chase the best seats and tells hosts to invite those who cannot repay them. The excuse makers who decline the great supper miss the feast entirely, while the poor and the lonely f...

Guest Speaker Pastor Arron Moon teaches 1 John 2:18-27 on how to recognize false teaching and stay anchored in the true gospel. John writes that many have come who deny who Jesus really is, and that anyone who rejects the Son does not have the Father. The real Jesus is fully God and fully man, sinless, crucified, risen, and the One who saves through faith. Because of what He did, every believer re...

Pastor Arron Moon of Refuge Fellowship in Chiang Mai, Thailand, teaches from 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 on keeping a Christlike countenance when the day falls apart. Using stories about a broken water pump, lost church keys, and a long tarmac delay, he shows how our reactions can either open a door for the gospel or leave a trip wire in someone's path. Paul's answer is to act in the now, remem...

Sam Vargas teaches through 1 John 2:12-17, looking at spiritual maturity and where our affections are placed. John writes to little children, young men, and fathers. New believers are reminded that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake, not because of their performance. Growing believers find strength as God's word abides in them, fighting from a victory Jesus already won. Those who...

In this message on Galatians 4:4-7, Pastor Gerrit teaches on adoption and God's heart for the fatherless. God did not adopt polished, grateful children. He adopted rebellious, broken people, and he did it by moving toward us in Jesus, who became human to redeem us. Through his Spirit we can call God Father, and as his children we become heirs who receive God himself. Because we have freely re...

Pastor Jared teaches through 1 John 2:3-11, showing how a person can know that they truly know God. John wrote to a church facing false teachers who dismissed God's word, and he gave a plain test: real knowledge of God shows up in a life that wants to obey him and love others. That desire is not a burden to earn approval. It grows out of experiencing God's love and the Spirit of Christ l...

In Luke 13:22-35, Pastor Gerrit examines Jesus's teaching on the narrow gate and what it really means to be saved. When someone asks Jesus how many people will make it into heaven, Jesus redirects the question inward: the real issue is not how many are saved, but whether you are. He explains that entering the narrow gate calls for wholehearted, urgent pursuit, that knowing about Jesus is not...

We begin a new study through 1 John, with Pastor Gerrit walking through why the letter was written and what it means to walk in fellowship with God. The passage centers on Jesus as the eternal word of life, made known to us so that we could know him personally rather than from a distance. It explains that sin breaks that fellowship, but walking in the light and honestly confessing sin opens the do...

Pastor Kevin teaches through Luke 13 about repentance, Jesus’ compassion, and the freedom found in Christ. Jesus corrects the assumption that suffering is always a sign of greater sin and calls everyone to repent and turn to God. Through the healing of a woman who had been unable to stand upright for 18 years, we see Jesus caring for human need while confronting cold, rule-focused religion. Jesus...

Pastor Kevin teaches through Luke 12, where Jesus calls his followers to stay ready for his return, ready like servants waiting for a master coming home from a wedding. The passage paints readiness as active watching, not fear, an alert and joyful expectation rather than anxious guessing about timing. Jesus also calls his listeners to be wise and faithful with what they've been given, since a...

Guest speaker Joe Dallas unpacks what he calls three "comfortable myths" that creep into Christian thinking: comfortable love, comfortable truth, and the comfortable cross. He explains why biblical discernment works like the church's immune system, why love means wanting others to walk in truth rather than just feel at ease, and why following Jesus was never meant to be easy. Drawin...

Guest speaker Joe Dallas shares his testimony of coming to faith at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa in 1971, walking away into a season of open rebellion, and being brought back through repentance in 1984. He talks honestly about silent struggles, the danger of hiding sin instead of confessing it, and how a church family that refused to shame him helped him grow into who God called him to be.

Pastor Gerrit introduces the book of First John, written by the apostle John to give believers real assurance that they have eternal life in Jesus. Before reading the letter aloud in one sitting, Gerrit walks through why John wrote it: to warn against false teachers, call Christians to love one another, and remove doubt about where they stand with God. The letter keeps returning to a few simple tr...

Pastor Kevin teaches through Luke chapter 12, unpacking Jesus' warning against hypocrisy and his call to live openly and honestly before God. Jesus tells his followers not to fear those who can only harm the body, but to trust the God who numbers every hair on their head. The passage turns to a warning about covetousness, showing how the desire for more can quietly crowd out real dependence o...

In 1 Kings 22, Pastor Gerrit walks through two kings heading into battle unequally yoked, one faithful and one wicked. Jehoshaphat of Judah joins forces with Ahab of Israel against Ramoth Gilead, but the true prophet Micaiah warns of disaster while four hundred yes-men promise an easy victory. This message traces how partnering with someone who doesn't share your convictions pulls you in the...

Pastor Gerrit teaches through Luke 11:37-54, where Jesus sits down to a Pharisee's dinner without the expected handwashing, then delivers six sharp warnings about religious hypocrisy. Jesus brings to light how easy it is to look clean on the outside through legalism while the heart stays full of greed and self interest.

This message from Pastor Paul walks through 1 Kings 20 and 21, tracing King Ahab's story as a picture of God's patience with people who don't deserve it. Even after Ahab let Israel drift into idolatry under his wife Jezebel's influence, God still gave him victory over an invading army and made sure he knew it was the Lord who did it. The passage also covers the murder of Nabbat...

Pastor Gerrit teaches through Luke 11:29-36, on why Jesus refused to give the crowd another sign. Instead of more proof, he points them to the sign of Jonah, his own death and resurrection, and exposes the deeper problem: hearts that stay closed even with every reason to believe. Using the Queen of Sheba, the people of Nineveh, and the image of a lamp and a healthy eye, Jesus shows that spiritual...