Burnt Hickory | Sermons

It’s the beginning of Advent, a time to celebrate God with us through the birth of Jesus as we look towards Christmas. Pastor Matt will walk through scripture in this sermon series not only looking at the miraculous birth, but also how it affected those around Jesus and how it should affect us as believers today. We begin by looking at Joseph’s faith and how it was tested in his response from the angel of the Lord telling him to marry Mary as planned. We learn that sometimes, it’s God who shatters our dreams to give us better ones. We often don’t see or perceive the fact that God is working, and we need to trust in Him and His plan. We also learn that how we respond to God in a time of crisis reveals a lot about our walk with Him.

As a Christian, you’ve probably asked the question: how much good does prayer do? Today, as we conclude the Wisdom From The Master sermon series, we are going to explore what it means to pray persistently. We study in Luke as Jesus teaches us about knocking on the door of a friend and of the widow who kept asking for justice. When we pray desperately, boldly, persistently, and trustingly, we will see our prayers answered. And even when God is not answering, we must keep praying. We also learn that many times God answers our prayers by giving us what we would have asked for if we knew what He knows.

We look at one of the most well-known parables Jesus taught this week as we study wisdom from the master, the parable of the Good Samaritan. When we study Luke chapter 10, we see that an expert in the law, or a religious person, was trying to trip up Jesus and capture him in a battle of wits. What we see is the Maker of the Universe turning this simple question of “who is my neighbor” into a wonderful lesson for us as Christians. Many of the largest problems in our lives as believers are not gross iniquities, but gross interferences. We choose not to do anything for those in need. We see in this story that two religious people encounter the poor man on the road, but only the Samaritan stopped, saw him, and took action for him. We should see our world through the loving eyes of Jesus and take action for the vulnerable no matter what their circumstances are.

This week during Missions Sunday, we get to hear from our mission partner Oleg as he shares what’s ben happening in Ukraine during the war. Even though trauma is everywhere around, and the future is so uncertain, people are sharing the gospel and ministering to emotional and physical needs. Learn about how Radooga Ministries is caring for children in the midst of war and turmoil.

Special Guest: Oleg Vasilevsky.

We can only live wisely in the present through clear thinking about the future. This principle guides us through continuing our study through the book of Luke in our sermon series called Wisdom From The Master. This week we dive into Luke chapter 12 as we learn from Jesus what it means to be ready for his return. We need to keep our lamp burning and live as a faithful and active steward as we wait and watch. We also see what it means to not be faithful in stewarding what God has given us. Pastor Matt gives us 3 practical tools for ready living: to be aware of your calling, to be confident in Jesus’ return, and to be faithful to your charge. Learn about how you can be ready living and be found a faithful steward as Jesus has commanded us.

Greed isn’t about our possessions, but a reflection of the fallen condition of our hearts. As we study wisdom from the master through Luke, we learn that it’s possible to appear to be living for Jesus but still be consumed by greed. Jesus teaches us to be on guard against all kids of greed, and that life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Through this bible study, we learn the symptoms of greed as well as the biblical cure for greed. We should be reminded of the biggest gift of all which we’ve already been given, God’s grace.

God’s heart is not for you just to attend church, its for you to belong to and be with the church. This week, we look at what it means to be a member of a church through the lens of scripture. The Greek word for church is Ekklesia, which derives from Ek – out of and Kaleo – to call, which translates to the called-out body. We are to live together as a called-out community. The bible shows us that God speaks to and through the church and we are the hope to the world as we carry the gospel. Not only is church important for you, but it also holds the power to impact the world and generations to come.

What does it mean to be a true follower of Jesus? We dive into scripture as we continue our sermon series in Luke looking at the wisdom of the master. We study Jesus’ teachings about carrying our cross and following him in order to be his disciple. What does it mean to take up my cross? We see that our beliefs need to be inline with Jesus and our will has to be aligned with his. We have to fully embrace the great commission and we must accept Jesus’ mission as our own as we are called to follow him.

We continue our sermon series called Wisdom of the Master by looking at Luke 8 at the healing of the sick woman and the raising of Jairus’ daughter. In both of these stories, we see a parallel that no one is too messed up, unclean, or too insignificant to get Jesus’ attention. And conversely, no one is too good, powerful, or religious to need Jesus. From both sides of these principles, we see the gospel unfold through the Master. As we read scripture, we can be amazed and know we can never underestimate Jesus’ desire and love for us. Through His sacrifice and becoming sin on our behalf, we are saved.

Do you have a healthy fear and love for Jesus? That’s what we seek to answer as we look into the gospel of Luke at more wisdom from the master. We study chapter 8 when Jesus calms the raging storm and, in an instant, everything is calm. The disciples were struck with fear, not from the storm, but from the master who could calm it just with words. We examine our faith as we gather principles from Jesus like fear does not drive out love, and when we rightly fear Jesus, we have no need to fear anything else.