Calvary Hill Sermons

An altar. A place outside the camp. A city still to come.

In this sermon Pastor James O'Dell, using Hebrews 13:7–16, shows how the text takes us from the place where Jesus suffered to the city his people are waiting for. Along the way, it shows us what to do with the days in between. Remember the people who taught you God’s Word. Let grace strengthen your heart. Follow Jesus when it costs you. Sing his praise, do good, and share what you have.

At the center of it all is Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. And the invitation to follow him is something we hear together: Let us go to him.

Have you ever looked at a child and immediately known who their parents were? Sometimes the resemblance is unmistakable. The same eyes. The same smile. The same mannerisms.

But what about the family of God? When the world looks at us, can they recognize whose children we are?

In Hebrews 12, we're reminded that through Jesus Christ we have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken. But what should the people of that kingdom actually look like?

In this sermon Pastor Neil Sandlin, using Hebrews 13:1–6, answers that question with two defining characteristics: Love and Holiness.

Kingdom love isn't merely something we talk about. It's demonstrated in the way we love our brothers and sisters, welcome strangers, and stand beside those who are suffering.

Kingdom holiness isn't merely a religious ideal. It's revealed in the way we honor marriage, pursue sexual purity, handle money, and find contentment in God's provision.

And underneath it all stands one extraordinary promise:

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” — Hebrews 13:5

Our King doesn't simply command us to love and live differently. He has demonstrated perfect love and holiness through Jesus Christ, and he promises to remain with his people forever.

The question isn't simply whether we claim to belong to God's kingdom. It's whether our lives increasingly reflect the character of our King.

The people of an unshakable kingdom should increasingly resemble their unshakable King.

Every kingdom we build eventually shakes.

Empires rise and fall. Nations gain power and lose it. The things that seem permanent in one generation can disappear in the next. But Hebrews 12 points Christians toward something entirely different: “We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.”

In this sermon Pastor James O'Dell, using Hebrews 12:18–29, discusses howthe writer brings us to two mountains—Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. One reminds us of the terror of approaching a holy God under the old covenant. The other announces the incredible privileges that belong to those who have come to Jesus, the mediator of a better covenant.

We have come to the heavenly Jerusalem. We have been welcomed into the people of God. We have come to Jesus. We have come to blood that speaks a better word—mercy, forgiveness, and peace.

But grace does not make God less holy.

The God who welcomes us to Zion is still a consuming fire. So Hebrews calls us not to refuse the God who is speaking, but to hear His Word, trust His promises, and worship Him with gratitude, reverence, and awe.

One day everything that can be shaken will be shaken. Earthly kingdoms will fall. The present order will pass away. But Christ and His kingdom will remain.

So don’t turn back. Don’t give up. Whatever following Jesus costs you, He is worth it.

There are moments in the Christian life when people begin to struggle under the discipline of the Lord. The road gets hard. And sometimes the person struggling doesn’t need a lecture. They need someone beside them saying, “Come on. Let’s keep going.”

In this sermon Pastor Neil Sandlin, using Hebrews 12:12–17, discusses how the author turns our attention from simply running our own race to noticing the people running beside us. The Father lovingly disciplines His children, training us through hardship and producing holiness in us. And because God is committed to bringing His children home, He calls us to help one another along the way.

Strengthen the weary. Clear the path for the wounded. Pursue peace and holiness. Watch for those who are drifting. And don’t trade the inheritance God has promised for something that only satisfies for a moment.

Hebrews begins the chapter by telling us to look to Jesus. But with our eyes fixed on Him, we also need to look around.

Who is tired? Who is limping? Who is drifting? Who needs someone to remind them that the kingdom ahead is worth more than what is immediately in front of them?

God is bringing His children home—and one of the ways He does that is through His children helping one another get there.

Keep running. Help somebody else keep running. No one runs alone.

What if the hardest parts of your race aren’t evidence that God has abandoned you—but evidence that He is training you to finish?

Hebrews 12 opens with an unforgettable picture: the Christian life is a race. Behind us stands a great cloud of witnesses whose lives testify that God can be trusted. Before us lies a course uniquely set for each of us. And at the center of it all stands Jesus—the One upon whom we must keep our eyes.

In this message, Pastor James O'Dell, using Hebrews 12:1–11, discusses the fact that the people of Hebrews 11 were not spiritual superheroes. They were ordinary, weak, sometimes frightened people who learned that God would give them the grace necessary to endure whatever He called them to face.

Now it is our turn to run.

That means laying aside the sin—and even the good things—that weigh us down. It means refusing to take our eyes off Jesus when the race becomes difficult. And it means learning to see suffering differently: not as random pain or evidence that God has forgotten us, but as the loving discipline of a Father who is training His children for holiness.

The race God has given you may look completely different from someone else’s. But the God who sustained Abraham, Moses, the prophets, the apostles, the martyrs, and generations of believers before us has not changed.

So when you’re tired, keep running.

When you’re hurting, keep looking to Jesus.

When you don’t understand the course, trust the One who set it before you.

Because the Father isn’t wasting your suffering. He is using it to produce endurance, character, holiness, and the “peaceful fruit of righteousness” in those who are trained by it.

You have a race to run. Keep your eyes on Jesus.

What does victory look like when God doesn’t deliver you from the fire?

Hebrews 11 is filled with stories we love—kingdoms conquered, lions silenced, fires quenched, armies defeated, and even the dead raised to life. But halfway through verse 35, everything changes.

Some escaped the sword. Others died by the sword. Some received the miracle. Others endured without one. Same faith. Different stories.

So how can Hebrews call both of them victorious?

The answer is hidden right at the turning point of the passage: resurrection.

In this message from Hebrews 11:32–40, Pastor Neil Sandlin walks through the text three times and ask three questions:

What does faith do? Same Faith, Different Stories.

What does faith see? Same Hope, Better Resurrection.

Where does faith take us? Same Promise, One People.

The people of Hebrews 11 discovered that faith doesn’t always mean God changes your circumstances. Sometimes He gives you strength to remain faithful in them. And they could endure because they were looking beyond this life toward “a better resurrection.”

The resurrection changes what you’re willing to lose.

Because of Jesus, the Christian possesses a victory that suffering cannot take, the sword cannot take, and even the grave cannot take.

The worst thing this world can do to you is not the last thing that will happen to you.

Death doesn’t get the final word.

Resurrection does.

What gives someone the courage to stand when everything around them says, “Give in”?

In this sermon Pastor James O'Dell, using Hebrews 11:23–31, introduces us to people whose faith gave them the courage to choose God when obedience was costly. Moses’ parents defied Pharaoh to protect their son. Moses walked away from the wealth and privilege of Egypt to identify with the people of God. Israel stepped into the Red Sea. Joshua marched around Jericho. Rahab risked everything because she believed the God of Israel was the true God.

None of those choices made sense if this present world was all they could see.

But faith sees something more.

In “The Fortitude of Faith,” we discover that biblical faith produces courage—the kind of courage that trusts God more than it fears earthly powers, chooses the reproach of Christ over the treasures of this world, perseveres when the future is uncertain, and obeys even when God’s instructions seem impossible.

Moses had experienced everything Egypt could offer, yet he “considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt.”

Why?

Because “he was looking to the reward.”

That same faith sustained believers centuries later, including young Scottish Covenanter Margaret Wilson, who faced death rather than renounce Christ. And it is the same faith God calls His people to live by today.

The question is not whether following Christ will ever cost us something.

The question is whether we believe Christ is worth the cost.

What does it look like to build your life around a promise you may not fully see in your lifetime?

Abraham left home without knowing where he was going. Sarah trusted God for what seemed impossible. Isaac and Jacob passed the promise to another generation. Joseph died in Egypt still believing so deeply in God’s future that he gave instructions about his bones.

Hebrews 11:8–22 tells the story of people who lived in tents while looking for a city with foundations. They enjoyed God’s gifts in the present, but they never confused the temporary with home.

In “A Better Promised Land,” Pastor Neil Sandlin discusses the truth that biblical faith changes what we want, looks toward the world to come, makes us pilgrims in the present, and moves us to act on what God has promised.

The Christian hope is not escape from God’s creation. It is resurrection and new creation—a world made right, where God dwells with His people and death is finally defeated. And the resurrection of Jesus is our guarantee that this promised future is coming.

Abraham died. Sarah died. Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph died.

They died—but the promise didn’t.

So live here. Love your family. Enjoy God’s gifts. Serve your neighbor. Make memories.

But leave a lot of boxes packed.

Because this isn’t where we’re staying.

What does it actually mean to live by faith?

Hebrews 11 is often called the “Hall of Faith,” but before introducing us these people, the writer first shows us what faith is and why it matters.

Faith is more than agreeing that something is true. It is trusting God’s Word so deeply that it changes the way we live. It gives us assurance about what we hope for, conviction about what we cannot yet see, and strength to endure when life is hard.

In this message, Pastor James O'Dell demonstrates that biblical faith is not blind faith. It rests on the truth of God, receives His promises as certain, and responds in obedience.

Abel shows us faith that worships. Enoch shows us faith that walks with God. Noah shows us faith that works, obeying God even when the fulfillment of His promise is still far off.

The Christian life is a life of patient endurance. Trials will come. Suffering will come. Waiting will be part of the journey. But God has not left His people without what they need.

He gives us faith.

And through that faith, we keep trusting, keep obeying, keep walking, and keep waiting for the One who has promised to come.

What could you possibly trade Jesus for that would actually be better?

After spending ten chapters showing us the supremacy of Christ—our better Priest, better covenant, better sacrifice, and better hope—the writer of Hebrews gives one of his strongest warnings yet: Don’t throw it away.

Hebrews 10:26–39 confronts us with the terrifying reality of abandoning Christ, but it also speaks directly to tired Christians who are tempted to loosen their grip. Remember what you already know. Remember what you have endured. Remember that you possess “a better possession and an abiding one.” And above all, remember that the Coming One is coming.

In this message, Pastor Neil Sandlin discusses three reasons to keep holding fast to Christ:

Because there is nothing else. Because you already know He is better. Because He is coming.

The Christian life isn’t about never struggling, never doubting, or never growing tired. It’s about continuing to trust the One who is worth holding onto.

Whatever the world offers you, it cannot forgive your sin, bring you into the presence of God, or save your soul.

So don’t trade what is eternal for what is temporary.
Don’t shrink back.
Don’t throw away what’s better.