Solid Rock Church Sermons

In this sermon, we looked at a new command Jesus gave to His disciples in John 13:31-35. After washing the disciples' feet and telling them to do the same for one another, Jesus gives them the command to love one another. He calls this a new command because He has given them a living example of the specific kind of love He has for His followers. Additionally, from this point forward, the outworking of this new command to love one another will be a primary way by which Jesus’ followers are identified once He’s gone. Before Jesus is arrested, His followers could be identified by being with Him physically; going forward, Jesus will be reflected in the disciples’ love for one another. As His disciples today, we are called to have this same love for one another. The primary identifying marker of His church is the sacrificial love shown for one another. 

In this sermon, we looked in John 13 at a specific command Jesus gave to His disciples. After taking the place of a servant by washing the disciples' feet, Jesus tells them to do the same for one another. More than a command to physically wash each other’s feet, Jesus was calling His disciples to an inner humility and heart attitude of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience toward one another. Jesus calls us to do the same today. When each member of the church adopts this servant heart attitude toward one another, we experience the joy of living in authentic Gospel community.

In this final sermon in the 2021 All In series, we looked at how Israel anchored itself in God's Word as His people moved into their new land. In Joshua 8, the people of Israel had come to the place in their journey where they could finally fulfill what God had commanded them through Moses in Deuteronomy 27. They reached the area of Shechem where God commanded them to stop and read His Word out loud. In this place, they set up an altar, gave their offerings, and anchored their hearts in Him. As we move into our new building, we must be anchored in God’s Word as well. In order for Solid Rock to continue being Solid Rock, the Word of God must be our primary focus in determining what we preach, what we sing, and how we worship together as the Body of Christ.

In this sermon, we looked in Joshua 7 at how God disciplined the nation of Israel for the hidden sin of one man and called them to consecrate themselves before continuing their mission to take possession of the promised land. We also looked in the New Testament where God instructs His people about how consecration works. In Colossians 3, God calls the Church to take off the old self, by putting sin to death, and to put on the new self, by believing and walking in the Truth of the Gospel. The Gospel calls believers to walk in the light by wholeheartedly owning and confessing sin. This means that believers are called to radically own their sin and walk in transparency with one another rather than hiding in shame or pridefully defending ourselves. The sign of a growing and maturing believer is the consistent readiness to radically own sins and ask forgiveness from God and others in order to be consecrated to be more like Jesus.

In this Mother's Day sermon, we looked at how God displayed His powerful love and mercy through the story of Rahab in Joshua 6. On the surface, this story just seems like part of the logistics in how God conquered Jericho. However, when you look closer at Rahab and the way God displayed His mercy toward her because of her faith, we find a powerful message of hope for the church today. After the spies first entered Jericho and encountered Rahab, we learn that she had heard about the nation of Israel and all of the powerful things God had done for them. Rahab feared the Lord and believed He was powerful and good to His people. Although she was unworthy, God chose to spare her life, cleansing her of unrighteousness and adopting her as a daughter in His family. This Mother’s Day, we’re reminded that while motherhood is a very high calling, the first and highest calling for all women is to be daughters of God. All who are in Christ have been washed clean by the sacrifice of Jesus and adopted into His f

In this sermon, we looked at how God prepares the hearts of His children to receive His promises. In Deuteronomy 8, God gave the nation of Israel specific instruction about how to enter into the promised land, with their hearts postured in humble gratitude and obedience and ready to give God all the praise for fulfilling His promise. God tells Israel to not forget how He has guided them on their journey and provided for them at each step of the way. One of the important lessons that God taught the nation of Israel is that man does not live off of bread alone. Through God’s miraculous provision of manna, water, and protection, He more than showed them, and us, that we need more than what we can provide for ourselves. In Joshua 5, God calls Israel to stop and share in a Passover meal before moving ahead into the promised land in order to remember and celebrate God’s provision over the past 40 years. As a church, we stopped today to take communion and mark the beginning of an intentional time of aski

In this sermon, we looked at Psalm 19:7-14 which highlights the beauty and importance of God's Word. Because of God’s intimate involvement in the writing of the Bible, we see His character and perfection reflected. Every part of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, proclaims Jesus and it is because of the centrality of Christ in the Sacred Scriptures that we can see His beauty come forth and shine through each page. The whole of the Bible is sweet and good for us because it displays the glory of our King. It also shows us the snares of this world and how to live as believers: Not as people seeking to earn our salvation but as people living under the mercy and grace of God.

In this sermon, we looked at John 13:1-11 when Jesus displayed the love of God toward us by humbly washing the feet of a group of selfish, half-hearted disciples, one of whom had already decided to abandon Him. John tells us that, in Jesus’ certainty that it was time for His death, resurrection, and ascension, He showed this intentional act of love toward His disciples. While Peter was resistant at first, his conversation with Jesus transformed him from not wanting his feet to be washed at all to wanting Jesus to bathe his whole body. Through this dialogue, we see that Christians are every day becoming in practice what we already are in Christ: cleansed from all of our sins and unrighteousness. Jesus washed the disciples’ feet as a tangible and powerful demonstration of His love for us. When we turn to Him in faith, He is faithful and just to take even the worst sinners and wash us clean from all unrighteousness.

In this sermon, we looked in John 12:35-42 at Jesus' invitation to walk in the light by believing in Him. Despite the many miracles and signs that Jesus had performed, John tells us that most of the Jews did not believe in Jesus because their hearts were hardened and they loved the glory of man more than the glory of God. Those who did believe in Jesus feared being rejected by their fellow Jews so they wouldn’t confess their belief publicly. All of this helps us have a better understanding of what it means to believe in Jesus with a Biblical faith. Unlike the modern-day version of faith that is more like wishful thinking, Biblical faith produces trust, confidence, and loyalty. It’s not enough to simply say, “I believe in Jesus”; each of us must evaluate our faith and ask if we believe in Jesus with true Biblical faith.

In this sermon, we looked at Jesus' response to a group of non-Jewish worshippers who wished to see Jesus and speak with Him. In John 12:20-32, we see that even before the cross, Jesus was drawing the nations to Himself. Jesus responds to this request from the Greek worshippers by pointing to the necessity of His upcoming death and resurrection. He uses a farming metaphor to explain that unless He is put to death, buried, and comes back to life, no lasting fruit will come from His time on earth. However, through the resurrection, God will multiply His Kingdom, reminding us that God’s plan for salvation has always included nations beyond Israel. The promise of the Gospel is this: anyone who calls upon the name of Jesus will be saved, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or social status. When we profess Jesus as our Savior and our King, God forgives our sins, renders us as righteous, and adopts us into His family as citizens of His Kingdom.

In this sermon, we looked at the significance of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. In John 12:12-16, we see that Jesus chose to enter Jerusalem the way in which a king would enter their capital city after a significant victory. Ironically, on this same day all over Israel, Jewish fathers were separating one lamb from their flocks and bringing them to Jerusalem to be slaughtered for Passover later that week. While Jesus entered the city as a victorious king, He also entered the city as the Passover lamb that was being led to the slaughter for the sins of the world. As the people gathered along the streets, they laid palm branches and cloaks on the ground and shouted, “Hosanna!” This term, meaning “God, save us,” was both an expression of adoration and desperation. As His people, this should also be our declaration each time we gather in His name: “Jesus, we love you and we need you!”

In this sermon, we looked at how God set up His Church with specific roles for every member in order to see His Church flourish and grow into a beautiful reflection of Christ. In Ephesians 4, Paul explains that leadership roles in the local church exist in order to equip members to serve and minister. Rather than leaving the work of ministry in the hands of church leaders, every member is involved in the ministry of the church based on their specific gifting and calling. This is God’s only plan and design for the local church. When the members of the local church serve and minister to one another, there are three powerful results: The whole church grows and matures together to become a reflection of Christ to the surrounding community, the members will be protected from false doctrine and evil schemes from the devil, and the members will walk in truth and love with one another.

In the second sermon of the Serving All In series, we looked at how all believers have been gifted by the Holy Spirit to be "all in" serving the local church. In 1 Corinthians 12, we see that every Christian has been given a spiritual gift and an area to serve within their local church. When Christians serve the way God has gifted them, their serving will be more than busywork or simply volunteering to accomplish tasks; every act of service, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, that is empowered by the Holy Spirit is intimately connected to the work God is doing to expand His Kingdom and call people to salvation. When Christians serve according to their spiritual gifts, eternity is impacted and their serving becomes a powerful tool through which Christ is vibrantly glorified.

In this first sermon of the Serving All In series, we looked at Philippians 2:1-8 in which Paul calls all believers to find their full joy in being of one mind and one heart. The only way to achieve this is for each member to exchange their personal interests for the interests of others. This requires humility, seeing others as more significant than yourself, and seeking to serve others rather than to be served. Paul says that this should be the mindset of the Church because this is the character of Christ and we are in Christ. When we have this Christlike mind and heart toward one another, our joy will be magnified and lead the church to continue becoming even more unified in heart and mind.

In this sermon, we looked at John 12:1-8 when Mary anointed Jesus' feet with expensive burial oil. Just one week before the cross, this was another prophetic moment indicating that Jesus' death was drawing near. Through the unfolding details of the story, we find Judas upset because the perfume wasn’t sold and money given to help the poor. Jesus says that Mary did the right thing because the poor would always be with us. Jesus wasn’t telling His followers to turn a blind eye toward the poor; He was validating Mary's decision to express her devotion to Jesus through a sacrificial act of worship. When we turn our hearts toward Jesus with full devotion, He recalibrates our love for everything and everyone else. When we love Jesus first, we are better able to love not just the poor, but all those around us.

In this sermon, we looked at a prophetic moment that took place among the religious leaders after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. While occupied by the Romans, the Jews were allowed to continue living in their homeland and practicing their religion as long as they didn’t violate the rules the Romans set for them. As more people began to believe in Jesus, the Jewish leaders became fearful that His following would catch the eyes of the Romans and put the Jewish nation in jeopardy. Caiaphas, the high priest who would eventually send Jesus to the cross, convinced the Jewish leaders that they needed to kill Jesus in order the save their nation. According to John, God was speaking prophetically through Caiaphas to remind us that He would bring together the Jews and Gentiles into one family as “the children of God.” While this moment solidified the Jewish leaders’ plot to kill Jesus, it’s also a beautiful reminder that it’s only through Jesus’ triumph over death that we

In this sermon from the Gospel of John, we looked at how Jesus unveiled His glory as the Son of God through raising Lazarus from the dead. Because death is the result of sin, Jesus’ sorrow for the suffering of His friends was intermixed with anger at the evil of sin and death. This miracle reminds us that what we need most, power over sin and death, in found only in the person of Jesus. He isn’t one of many options; Jesus is our only option and our only hope. Without trust in the resurrection of Jesus, our lives are shackled and bound to sin and death and we are powerless to overcome. However, when we place our faith and trust in Jesus, He unbinds our shackles, freeing us from our shame. When we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us from every sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

In this sermon, we looked at how Jesus glorified Himself through Lazarus’ resurrection. In John 11, Jesus allows Lazarus, one of His close friends, to die in order to raise him from the dead four days later. During a conversation with Lazarus’ sister, Martha, Jesus says that her brother will rise again. Martha is fully aware of the resurrection in the last day but she doesn’t realize that Jesus is speaking of the power to resurrect Lazarus right then. Jesus wants Martha to see that He is the author and sustainer of life and the only one who holds power over life and death. This means that when we follow Jesus, we entrust our life and death into His hands. As His followers, we live in constant pursuit of dying to selfish motives, trusting that Christ is bringing new life out of death every day.

In this sermon, we looked at how the love and glory of God is displayed in the suffering of His people. In John 11, Jesus intentionally allowed Lazarus to die from a serious illness in order to raise him from the dead in front of the disciples. When Jesus’ disciples heard they were going to travel to where Lazarus was located, they were concerned it would lead to their own deaths. Though the disciples were afraid of dying at the hands of the Pharisees, Jesus told them that He was glad for this experience that they may believe. The death of Lazarus served the greater purpose of helping the disciples to see Jesus’ deity more fully when he showed His authority over life and death. Through the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, we learn that God’s love for His people is an intimate, brotherly love that allows suffering in order for us to see Jesus more clearly, ultimate leading to deeper belief and trust in Him.

In this sermon, we looked at the confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees in John 10:30-42. This portion of John's Gospel demonstrates that Jesus intended for it to be clearly seen that He was the Son of God. Despite their best efforts, the Pharisees were unable to trap Jesus in blasphemy or convict Him of breaking any of God’s Laws. To the contrary, Jesus referred to Psalms 82 to deconstruct their case against Him and pointed out that His works actually bore witness that He had been consecrated and sent into the world by the Father. Jesus did the works of God because He and the Father are one. All of this continues to build John’s case that Jesus is more than a man; He is the Christ, the Son of God.