Solid Rock Church Sermons

In this sermon, we looked at the eternal security that Jesus give to those who are truly saved. In John 10:22-31, the Pharisees asked Jesus to tell them if He was the long-awaited Messiah who would reign over Israel, defeating their enemies and establishing God’s eternal Kingdom of peace and righteousness. Jesus responded by telling the Pharisees that He came to give the security of eternal life to the people who believe in Him. This made the Pharisees angry because, according to Jesus, they weren’t included in this eternal security because they weren’t willing to follow Jesus. The good news of the Gospel is that true believers, whose lives are rooted by faith in Christ, are eternally secure in the Father’s hand. 

In this sermon, we looked in John 10:1-18 at the contrast between Jesus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees were trying to lead people to heaven through their own system of religion that required paying the substantial price of self-sacrifice and carrying the heavy burdens of guilt and shame. Jesus tells the Pharisees that He is the only one who can lead the people to abundant life and points out the primary difference between Himself and the Pharisees: The Pharisees will abandon the sheep when the wolf comes but Jesus, the Good Shepherd, will lay down His life and take it up again in order to defeat the enemy of death. Like the Pharisees, we often lean on our own understanding and trust in what makes sense to us instead of trusting in the Good Shepherd. As Christians, we are called to know and follow the voice of our Good Shepherd, trusting that He is the only one who can lead us to abundant life.

In this sermon, we looked at the peace that Jesus brought into the world through His birth. In Luke 2, the angel announces to the shepherds that the Messiah has been born and He has come into the world to bring peace to those with whom God is pleased. Isaiah 9:6-7 describes this peace as the peace that has no end and Philippians 4:4-6 describes this peace as the peace that surpasses understanding. Different from the worldly concept of peace that comes and goes based on our circumstances, the peace of Jesus doesn’t fade or diminish. Additionally, the peace of Jesus surpasses our understanding because it’s not rooted in us or the things we can see; it’s rooted solely in our faith in Jesus. Christmas is the celebration of the Son of God who came near to bring us the peace that transcends any difficulties we may face in this life.  

In this sermon, we looked at how Christmas serves as a reminder that what we already have in Christ gives us enough reason to rejoice, even if God doesn’t change our struggles and hardships. In Psalms 69, David describes the desperation of his suffering and calls on the Lord to respond. While David asks for deliverance, he also asks for the Lord to sustain him if the situation doesn’t change. David’s hope wasn’t solely in the situation getting better or easier; his hope was for God to draw near and commune with him in a time when life seemed unbearable. David asked for God to show up as his redeemer to pay the ransom for his life. All of this points to the birth of Jesus. Christmas is the celebration of God coming near to us in our brokenness rather than hiding his face in embarrassment of the mess His children have made. The ultimate Christmas gift is God sending Jesus to be our redeemer, paying the ransom for our lives.

In this sermon, we looked at how we are compelled to rejoice because of the hope we have in Jesus. In 1 Peter 1, Peter writes to Christians who were losing hope in the midst of suffering and hardship. While Peter was honest with God’s people about the suffering they were experiencing, he also reminded the Church that our various trials in life do not kill our ability to rejoice because our hope remains alive. During the Advent season we, too, are reminded of our living hope. Living hope is the unwavering certainty and assurance, rooted in the finished work of Christ, the compels us to rejoice as we wait patiently on the Lord to fulfill His promises, even in the midst of difficult or uncertain circumstances.

In this sermon, we continued our "A Weary World Rejoices" Advent series by looking in Jeremiah 33 at God's Christmas promises to His people. God's people were living in a very tumultuous world during Jeremiah's time. They were weary from all of the political struggles and oppression they were experiencing and God seemed far off and unresponsive to the injustices Israel was facing. In the midst of their suffering, God faithfully reminded His people of His promise that the coming Messiah would bring righteousness and justice into the world. However, God’s people couldn’t see their own injustice toward God. They were eager for God to send His vengeance against His enemies, not realizing that their disobedience meant that they, too, were enemies of God. Much like the people of Israel in their tumultuous times, we can often fail to see that the greatest injustices in the world start in our own hearts. Before we go to God to heal the injustices we see in the world, we must first ask for God to forgive a

With this sermon, we began our Advent series, “A Weary World Rejoices.” Today’s world can often drain us and make us feel weary. This redirects our hearts’ attention away from Christ, causing us to rely on our own understanding and strength to persevere or simply just survive. Hebrews 4 tells us that, when hardships tempt us to find rest apart from Jesus, He will help us in our time of need. As believers, we can draw near to Jesus as the one true source of rest. He has made a way for us to draw near to Him and receive the rest that only comes from a personal relationship with Him. In the midst of our broken world, let us continually approach Jesus with confidence and find our rest in Him alone.

In this sermon, we looked at the Gospel promise that Jesus takes away God’s judgement against those who humble themselves before Him and acknowledge that He is the Lord. In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was blind from birth in order to open his spiritual eyes and lead him to salvation. In contrast to the religious leaders who stand in their religious pride and self-righteousness, the blind man goes from not knowing who Jesus is to believing that He is the Messiah. Although the man was born physically blind, it is the religious leaders who are truly blind. Like the man who was healed, it’s only when we humble ourselves in faith, acknowledging Jesus as Lord, that we are healed from our spiritual blindness.

In this sermon, we looked at the cost of following Jesus. Through the story of the blind man who Jesus healed in John 9, we see that even though our salvation is given to us as a free gift, following Jesus comes with a cost. Jesus healed the man’s blindness as a free gift but the man then had to make a decision: Would he risk everything in order to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ? When we’ve been saved by Jesus, He takes His rightful place in our hearts as our greatest treasure, calling us to forsake all other treasures. The man who was born blind had to let go of his acceptance from the Jewish community, even risking his relationship with his parents, in order to publicly express his faith in Jesus. We, too, must consider the cost of following Jesus. For many of us, it may require letting go of comfort. For others, it may require letting go of important relationships or possessions. For some, it may even mean enduring persecution and suffering. However, regardless of the cost for all who follow J

In this sermon, we looked at how spiritual blindness keeps us from seeing the works of God in our lives and in the world around us. In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. When Jesus’ disciples assume that this man’s blindness is due to the sins of his parents, Jesus tells them that the blindness was allowed by God so that His works might be displayed. The Pharisees hear that Jesus healed the man of his blindness and, with arrogance and self-righteousness, they accuse Jesus of breaking God’s Law on the Sabbath and completely miss an opportunity to see the works of God. Jesus healed the man’s physical blindness in order for God’s light to open our spiritual eyes to see His works and glorify Him. In order to avoid suffering from the same spiritual blindness of the Pharisees, we must guard our hearts against self-righteousness and open our eyes to the mighty works of God.

In this sermon, we looked at the primary factor that distinguishes Christians from non-Christians. While the evidence of true saving faith can reveal itself in many ways, the primary evidence of true faith is found in who a person believes Jesus to be. In John 8:48-59, the Jews reveal that they truly don’t understand who Jesus is when they accuse Him of being demon possessed. As the conversation continues, and the Jews compare Jesus to Abraham and the prophets, Jesus doesn’t build a case to prove He is higher than Abraham; He simply tells them that before Abraham existed, “I am.” This present-tense wording reflects Jesus’ existence before Abraham and sets Jesus apart as transcendent and unable to be compared with any human being. In each of our lives, everything hinges on this one question: Who do you believe Jesus to be?

In this sermon, we looked in John 8, when Jesus challenged the true spiritual identity of the Jews who claimed to believe in Him. While some Jews had begun to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, they were still relying on their spiritual heritage from Abraham to validate themselves as children of God. However, Abraham was not saved by his family ties but by faith in God’s promise. Just as Abraham was saved by faith, they too must be saved by faith. Jesus challenged their claim to be children of God by pointing to their disbelief of the Truth. The primary identity marker of God’s children is that they live by faith, believing and trusting in God’s Word.

In this sermon, we looked at John 8:31-38 when Jesus proclaimed that if we will abide in His Word, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free from our slavery to sin.  Jesus proclaimed this to a crowd of Jews who had already placed their faith in Him. However, when the people heard these words, they argued that they were not enslaved to anyone. Jesus explained that we are all slaves to whatever we obey; our actions reveal the identity or our true master. It’s only through the life-long journey of abiding in the Word of God that we are able to experience true freedom. Jesus has come to set us free from our slavery to sin and adopt us into His kingdom as sons and daughters. 

In this sermon, we were reminded that Jesus is not from our world. In obedience, Jesus left the perfect presence of God to come into our broken world where sin leads to spiritual death. Throughout His ministry, Jesus repeatedly emphasized our great need for salvation and His plan to reconcile us to Himself. In John 8:21-30, Jesus warned his listeners that their unbelief and denial would lead them to “die in their sin.” When we wholeheartedly believe in Jesus, the Son of God, He rescues us from sin and death, forever reconciling us to God.

In this sermon, we looked at John 8:12-20 in which Jesus tells His followers that He is the light of the world and that, if they truly believe in Him, they will follow Him. The Pharisees, who were experts in the law, begin to question Jesus from a legal perspective, asking Him to name witnesses that validate His claim to be the Son of God. In verses 19-20, Jesus exposes the real root of the problem for the Pharisees: they don’t know Him nor do they know His Father. The problem wasn’t that they didn’t know a lot about God, the problem was that they didn’t know God personally. In this passage, we see the Light of the World who draws us to Himself that we may believe and truly come to know Him as we walk with Him daily.

In this sermon, we looked in John 8:1-11 when the Pharisees bring a woman before Jesus. They claim that this woman had been caught in adultery and ask Jesus what to do with her. The Pharisees hoped to corner Jesus and force Him to condemn her to death so His followers would turn away from Him. Instead of condemning the woman for her sins, Jesus exposes the sins of the Pharisees. In this encounter, we’re reminded that Jesus is the only one qualified to dispense punishment for sin and we are transformed when we receive His grace. Jesus forgave this woman, ending the conversation with the command, “Go and sin no more.” Jesus has enough grace to forgive even our most shocking sins and He expects our hearts to be wholly transformed when we truly experience His amazing grace.

In this sermon, we looked at what Jesus meant when he said, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink." In this simple invitation, Jesus outlined the Gospel. With gentle honesty, Jesus told the crowd that they had all broken the law of Moses, but they were also invited to come to Jesus to drink of His forgiveness. After this, the religious leaders started debating whether or not Jesus was born in the right town to be the Messiah. Ironically, if they had taken time to ask, they would have discovered that Jesus’ place of birth lined up exactly with the prophesies regarding the Messiah and that the very evidence they were using to disprove Jesus’ identity actually proved it. It wasn’t that Jesus didn’t possess the credentials or proof that He was the Son of God as predicted by the Prophets; it was because of the hardness of their hearts that the religious leaders rejected Jesus despite His simple invitation to come to Him for salvation. His invitation extends to us today: that we wo

In this sermon, we looked at how Jesus lived His daily life in complete submission to the unfolding plan that His Father had for Him. In John 7, Jesus' brothers encouraged Him to make a public appearance in Jerusalem but He refrained from traveling there at that time because it would have put Him directly in the crosshairs of the Pharisees’ plot to arrest Him and have Him killed. Jesus knew that His public entry into Jerusalem would start the unfolding of the final week of His time on earth, ending with His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. In response to His brothers’ encouragement to travel to Jerusalem, He said, “My time has not yet come.” In other words, Jesus was telling His brothers, “I trust my Father’s plan for my life.” Like Jesus, we are called to wholeheartedly trust our Father and His plan for our lives.

In this sermon, we looked at how Jesus challenged the large crowd that was following Him to consider whether they were following Him because of who He claimed to be or because of what they wanted from Him. Up to this point in Jesus’ ministry, many people were leaving their homes to follow Him. Jesus tells the crowd that unless they eat His flesh and drink His blood, they won’t receive eternal life. Rather than pressing in for more understanding, many of the people turned away from following Jesus and went back home. Jesus then turns to the twelve disciples and challenges them as well. They reply that they have no one to return home to because they have staked their lives on the Truth that Jesus is the Holy One, the true Son of God.

In this sermon, we looked at Jesus’ claim to be the only way by which a person can get into heaven. In John 14, Jesus makes it clear that our entry into the Kingdom of Heaven is not something that can be bartered for or purchased by us. Our entrance into heaven is already paid for by His death and resurrection and Jesus has invited us to enter through the only way possible: faith in Him alone.