Solid Rock Church Sermons

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked at how our spiritual gifts must be rooted in love toward one another in order to be beneficial to the Church. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul reminds us that our spiritual gifts are simply like a noisy or clanging symbol without the foundation of love. The Bible defines love as a sacrificial commitment that is directed toward the object of love. How we engage in using our spiritual gifts should reflect the love we have for one another in Christ.

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked at how God orchestrates spiritual gifts among the members of the church in a way that reflects His oneness, accomplishes His purposes, and serves the common good of the church. God has orchestrated the coming together of the members of the church in a way that allows us to accomplish more for the Kingdom than we could on our own. Our oneness also allows us to divide one another’s grief and multiply one another’s joy. When the church walks in loving unity, we complement one another in a way that allows our image bearing of God to shine at its brightest.  

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked at how the Gospel sets moms free from the burden of not being good enough. In Matthew 11:25-30, Jesus invites the those who are weak and helpless to come to Him in order to find rest for their souls. We were reminded that we don’t become close to God by impressing Him with how many tasks we complete, how smart we are, or how amazing our Pinterest-perfect our lives are.  In His great love, God chooses to reveal Himself to us despite our inability to be "good enough".  When you are feeling inadequate and like a failure as a mom, Jesus says, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” We find rest for our souls when we encounter Jesus at the cross. This is where Jesus meets us in our inadequacy and trades our not good enough for His more than good enough.

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked at the Biblical for understanding our individual and unique spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. Paul reminds the Church that the Holy Spirit empowers every believer with specific spiritual gifts according to God’s will. Spiritual gifts are given to believers to serve the common good of the Church, not the personal preferences or ambitions of the believer. Each spiritual gift is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit and equally supernatural, valid and necessary for ministry in the Church to thrive.

This past Sunday, we began our Gifts of the Spirit sermon series. In 1 Corinthians 12:1-3, Paul begins by calling the church spiritual gifts are a supernatural product of our salvation. The Holy Spirit of God opens the ears of those who hear the Gospel in order that they might believe. Spiritual Gifts are a supernatural outworking, or fruit, of our salvation. The presence of spiritual gifts is a confirmation of the Lordship of Jesus in our lives. 

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked at how God makes us alive through the power of the resurrection. According to the Apostle Paul, apart from Christ we are physically alive but spiritually dead. It’s only through the power of the resurrection at work in us that we are made truly alive. God doesn’t wait for us to get our lives together because He knows that we can’t. God makes us alive, even when we are dead in our trespasses. He meets us in our fallenness, rescues us from darkness, and makes us alive together with Christ; this is why the resurrection means everything. Through our faith in the resurrection of Jesus, God awakens our souls from the dead and makes us alive in a new and right relationship with Christ.

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked in Isaiah 42:5-9 at God’s calling for Israel to become a lighthouse of hope to the world. God spoke to Israel out of His authority as the creator of the universe. He reminded them that He is the Lord and that He was going to rescue them from darkness and send them into the world to be the conduit of light through which He would rescue the nations. In the same way, God has called Solid Rock to be a light of hope in a dark and fallen world. In the Gospel, God has given the church a new covenant that opens the eyes of the blind, sets prisoners free and rescues people from the darkness of this present world.

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked at how God faithfully guided the nation of Israel across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land in Joshua 3 and 4. We read how God’s promise and presence stopped the waters of the Jordan River and allowed the nation of Israel to cross over on dry land. We also saw that crossing the Jordan was just the beginning of the impossible journey that faced the Israelites. What God was doing in Israel’s journey was bigger than crossing a river; He was setting a trajectory of faith and worship for future generations that would impact the nations. Through Israel’s story, we learned that the challenges we encounter when we follow God’s will for our lives are not a change in God’s plan; they are part of God’s plan. The challenges that God leads us through in life help us to see Him more accurately, trust Him more deeply and follow his lead in our lives more obediently. We were reminded that what God has done at Solid Rock over the last 24

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked at what it means to be a ‘sent’ church. In Psalm 67, God issues a clear invitation for the nations to praise, be glad, and sing for joy because of God's amazing salvation.  This is the mission of the church: to make God’s ways known on earth and to proclaim His saving power among the nations. The mission of God doesn’t exist for the church; the church exists for the purpose of accomplishing the mission of God. As a church, our mission is to lead people into a vibrant, life-changing relationship with Jesus through gathering in worship, growing together in community and living the mission in our everyday lives. We exist to be part of God’s mission to build a Kingdom of image bearers, from every tribe, tongue and nation, who declare together with one voice, “Great is the Lord!” This is why Solid Rock is on the earth and why we have been planted by God in this community.

This past Sunday, we continued the ‘Sent’ sermon series by looking at Jesus’ response to the Pharisees and Scribes in Luke 15. Jesus was being criticized for showing hospitality toward people who had been identified within the culture as being unclean or sinful. Jesus responds to this criticism with three parables. In each of these parables, we find a very similar theme: heaven rejoices when one sinner repents. Whether it was illustrated by one sheep, one coin, or one son, Jesus believed that one sinner was worth it. Jesus showed hospitality toward sinners because He believed it was worth it if one sinner was saved.

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked at how Jesus calls the most unlikely people to become His most influential leaders. When Jesus called Saul, who later becomes known in the Bible as Paul, he was one of the leading persecutors of the church. While traveling with legal authorization to terrorize the church and arrest Jesus’ followers, Saul was radically stopped in his tracks by Jesus. As Saul was struck with blindness, his friends helped him into town where Jesus then called another unlikely person, Ananias, to go to Saul and pray with him. Despite the danger of being arrested, Ananias went to pray and Saul regained his sight and became a faithful follower of Jesus. Saul knew he had encountered the risen Christ and he immediately began to proclaim that Jesus was the Son of God to anyone who would listen. Both Saul and Ananias serve as perfect examples of how Jesus calls the most unlikely people to live a ‘sent’ life.

This past Sunday, we began our ‘Sent’ sermon series. Our desire is for God to begin stirring a passion in our church that will normalize the Biblical calling to live our lives on mission, sent by God into the world to share the Gospel with those who are not yet saved. This is what we mean by living a ‘sent’ life. There is a world of people around us who are dying and set to spend eternity in hell, separated from the good and glorious presence of God. They have no hope unless someone is sent to them and shares with them the Good News of the Gospel. We are God’s chosen method by which He saves the world. Living a ‘sent’ life means that, as you go into the world, you live your life with the primary mission to share the hope of the Gospel.

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked at God’s design and purpose for discipleship. Matthew 28:18-20 reveals that there is no authority in heaven which can challenge the will of Jesus, and there is no authority on earth that can call the will of Jesus into question. No power on earth or in heaven can rival His authority. Therefore, we can trust His command to be disciples and make disciples for Christ. Being disciples of Jesus means surrendering our lives and embracing the life that Christ gives. This is the only way to true life. As Bonhoeffer said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” This death happens daily as we, by the grace of God, strive to be more like Christ.

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked at the unique calling of church leadership. The primary roles of church leadership are divided into elder and deacons. Elders, a synonymous title with pastors and overseers, are Godly men who serve in humility and wisdom to lead the church in Godly character and shepherd hearts through prayer, counsel, teaching Biblical doctrine and decision making. Deacons are Godly men and women who set the example for other believers by acting as lead servants, helping to organize and lead the ministries of the church. Both elders and deacons are expected to exhibit the character traits of Godliness in their everyday lives. Churches aren’t meant to be organizations that are led by gifted elders and staff who do the work of ministry; churches are meant to be thriving communities of gifted members, equipped by church leadership to do the work of ministry. When each member is serving out of this equipping, the church is built up with a unified faith, centered on the person an

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked at what it means to be a church member. In John 13:34-35, Jesus called his followers to be distinguishable by the way they love one another. The New Testament goes into great detail to define what Jesus fully meant by “love one another,” with at least 42 ways that the members of the church are to love one another. These are explicit Biblical commands of Jesus that create a culture of truth and grace among the members of the church. Devotion to the Biblical distinctions of the church and these “one another” commands is where a person crosses over from being an attender to connecting to the Biblical community in a devoted covenant relationship. A church membership covenant is a mutual agreement in which believers express their devotion to Christ and one another in a way that promotes unity, permits accountability and establishes the Biblical expectations for believers which allows for Christ-centered relationships to flourish and grow in love

In our first week of The Body of Christ sermon series, we looked at how the Bible outlines clear distinctions of the Christian church. Jesus established much of the doctrine of the church through His life and teaching and then commissioned His disciples to go make disciples of the nations, as a mission to establish the church. Through His teaching, we learned that the true Christian church is the distinct, called-out assembly of those who profess that Jesus is the Son of God and follow His teachings. Although Jesus’ disciples were His first followers, it was the Holy Spirit who actually inaugurated the church at Pentecost and guided the disciples in their mission to launch the church. The distinctions of the Christian church include believing that Jesus is the Son of God, baptism, Biblical teaching, communion, prayer, fellowship and living the mission in everyday life.

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked at how, in the midst of his suffering, Job holds on to the hope that God would redeem his story. Half way through the story, we find Job longing for God to step in and write a better story with his life. At the end of the story, God reveals Himself to Job instead of offering explanations or giving Job immediate relief form his suffering. After Job begins to see God for who He is, Job repents and turns to God to worship Him for His infinite power and wisdom. We see that turning to God in repentance leads us to find the consolation of His mercy and the comfort of His acceptance. When we turn to God and ask for mercy, He gives it generously. Job longed to see God more than He longed to find relief or an explanation for why he was suffering. Job discovered that seeing God’s glory is better than hearing God’s explanation. Job found something better than redemption; he found the Redeemer. Whether or not God does anything in our lives, He is worthy to be worsh

In the sermon this past Sunday, we looked at the first half of God’s response to Job. In chapters 38-40, God calls Job to collect all of his good deeds and ready himself for questioning. God begins by revealing his power over all of creation, the sin of the wicked, and the darkness of death. He also reveals how all of creation exists in submission to God’s sovereign power. Then God asks Job to compare himself to God: Who is more Holy? Who has more power? Who has more glory? Who has the ability to judge sin? In the end, God reveals that Job doesn’t compare to the majesty and power of God and he is hopeless to save himself. All of this points us to Jesus. Through Jesus’ perfect life, He displayed the holiness and righteousness of God. Through His miracles, He displayed his power over creation. Through his death, He displayed God’s righteous anger poured out on all sinners and, through his resurrection, He displayed His power over sin and death. Through everything, Jesus display

In the sermon on Sunday, we looked at the connection between worshipping God and finding true wisdom. In Job 26, Job gives a summary of what man can do with his wisdom: Man can cut channels deep into the earth, and put an end to darkness, in order to bring precious metals and gems to the light. However, despite man’s best efforts, Job confessed that true wisdom cannot be found in the things of earth or within man’s own strength. God holds the knowledge of what man cannot understand. Only God cuts channels deep inside the heart of man, putting an end to the darkness inside hearts and bringing to light things that are precious. When we worship God in awe and reverence, we are declaring that God is superior to us in all things. Therefore, when He speaks, we are inclined to listen and to release our grip on the pride of our own wisdom. Our minds and hearts are then postured to receive wisdom from God. This section of the book of Job ends with a call to worship God for His incomprehensible and unsea

Last Sunday, we began the year with a new sermon series - Worthy of Worship: The Book of Job. Job was a wealthy and successful man with a large family. Job’s fear of the Lord empowered him to turn away from evil and worship God. His worship was rooted in seeing who he was in comparison to God. Satan accused Job of only worshipping God because of his many blessings and proposed that if God removed his blessings, Job would cease to worship. With God’s permission, Satan stripped away all that Job had to be thankful for. Job responded in grief and worship. Job’s grief revealed how much he cared about the things God had blessed him with and He was completely broken for what was lost. However, Job acknowledged that he didn’t bring anything into the world, he was not entitled to anything and everything he had was a gift from God. Today, we often worship God only when we are happy with what He is doing for us. We sit and wait to be moved and our worship is dependent on whether or not God do