Creekside

The Great Commission is not a job for professionals. Chaz Austin walks through Matthew, Mark, and Luke to show why disciple-making is a personal charge to every Christian, not something you outsource to a preacher, a missionary, or a check in the collection plate.

Main text: Matthew 28v18-20

Outline:

- Kingdom Commission is a prescribed message

- Kingdom Commission is a personal mandate

- Kingdom Commission is a planetary mission

- Kingdom Commission is a progressive mentorship

When was the last time you sat down with someone and shared Jesus? When was the last time you intentionally discipled a younger believer? Those two questions frame a lesson on what Jesus actually entrusted to His followers in Matthew 28v18-20, Mark 16v15-16, Luke 24v47, and Acts 8v1-4. Disciple-making is a prescribed message about both sin and the Savior, a personal "go me" assignment, a mission to every nation including our own backyard, and a lifelong mentorship that does not end at baptism. The closing illustration of the SS United States, a warship built for battle that drifted into comfort, becomes a warning against a church that does the same.

Originally Aired: 2026-05-31

Speaker: Chaz Austin

3949 Lithia Pinecrest Rd.

Brandon, FL 33596

Chapters:

0:00 Lesson: Matthew 28v18-20

2:13 Kingdom Commission is a prescribed message

8:14 Kingdom Commission is a personal mandate

12:36 Kingdom Commission is a planetary mission

17:03 Kingdom Commission is a progressive mentorship

22:35 Illustration: the SS United States

25:55 Closing prayer

Jesus closes the seven letters with two very different churches: faithful Philadelphia, who receives an eternal promise, and lukewarm Laodicea, who receives a loving rebuke. The warning is for any Christian tempted to coast.

Main text: Revelation 3v11-22

Outline:

- Satan's four tactics: pride, power, pleasure, possessions (Matthew 4)

- Philadelphia: three promises and three names for the faithful (Revelation 3v11-13)

- Laodicea: lukewarm, self-sufficient, and spiritually blind (Revelation 3v14-17)

- Jesus' counsel: gold refined in fire, white garments, and eye salve (Revelation 3v18)

- The compassionate rebuke and the door He still knocks on (Revelation 3v19-22)

Even good churches can be undone when their hearts drift, so the same Jesus who praises Philadelphia for endurance also tells Laodicea He would rather they were cold than indifferent. The lesson works through Laodicea's three civic boasts (wealth, black wool, eye salve) and shows how Jesus turns each one back on their spiritual condition. There is no "secret agent" Christianity; a faith no one can see has already failed. The invitation closes with the narrow gate of Matthew 7 and the voice of the Shepherd at the door.

Originally Aired: 2026-05-27

Speaker: Mr. Reeves

3949 Lithia Pinecrest Rd.

Brandon, FL 33596

Chapters:

0:00 Lesson: Revelation 3v11-22, Satan's four tactics

7:33 Philadelphia: three promises (Revelation 3v11-13)

11:38 Three names given to the faithful

18:58 Laodicea: the lukewarm church (Revelation 3v14-17)

23:55 Neither cold nor hot

29:55 "I am rich and have need of nothing"

34:53 Jesus' counsel: gold, garments, eye salve (Revelation 3v18)

45:47 Jesus stands at the door and knocks

46:20 The narrow gate and the broad way (Matthew 7v13-14)

47:11 Closing invitation

Sharing the gospel is only half the work. The harder, gentler half is inviting someone to respond and then trusting God with the outcome. This final lesson in the conversational evangelism series walks through Paul at the Areopagus to show how to move graciously from talking about Jesus to putting the ball in the other person's court.

Main text: Acts 17v16-34

Outline:

- Evangelism will not be easy, so accept the awkwardness and opposition (John 15v18-25)

- Identify the open doors where someone's life meets a spiritual need (Acts 17v16-23)

- Share the gospel clearly and concisely in about 60 to 90 seconds (Acts 17v24-31)

- Leave the door open and give the person room to think (Acts 17v32-34)

- Extend a clear invitation they are free to decline, then trust the Spirit (John 6v44)

Paul looks, listens, and links: he notices the idols, affirms the Athenians' search, and connects their unknown god to Jesus. The lesson frames four foundational truths of the gospel (creation, authority, our brokenness, and the rescue God sent) and points to 1 Corinthians 15v1-8 for anyone unsure how to put the gospel into words. It also names the three ways people respond to the message: mockers, mullers who are still thinking it over, and movers who come along and believe. Throughout, the charge is to treat every person as someone made in God's image rather than a project, to guard the relationship over the result, and to stay ready to give an answer with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3v15-17).

Originally Aired: 2026-05-24

3949 Lithia Pinecrest Rd.

Brandon, FL 33596

Chapters:

0:00 Lesson: Acts 17v16-34

3:30 Evangelism will not be easy

11:01 Identify the open doors

17:21 Share the gospel clearly and concisely

22:18 Leave the door open

28:04 Types of invitations and three rules

33:41 Closing prayer

Graduations. Weddings. Funerals. We all carry a quiet list of the things we hope people will say about us. But whose praise are we really living for?

This Sunday evening we listen as Jesus describes John the Baptist and asks the crowd a piercing question: "What did you go out to see?" Not a reed shaking in the wind. Not a man in soft robes. A prophet, and more than a prophet. Through four portraits, we'll ask what kind of person we're becoming, and whether we'd rather be famous before men or faithful before God.

From Sir Nicholas Winton, the "British Schindler" who saved 669 children and never sought the credit, to a weary missionary reminded "you are not home yet," this is a call to live so that all who come behind us find us faithful.

Scripture reading: Matthew 11v1-11.

Join us tomorrow evening. The applause of heaven outlasts the applause of earth.

3949 Lithia Pinecrest Rd.

Brandon, FL 33596

We say we follow Jesus. But what does that actually require of us?

This Sunday we work through eight calls hidden inside one invitation: to be with Him, listen to Him, submit to Him, think and teach and live like Him, die like Him, and finally go to Him. Each one asks for something real.

From Garibaldi offering his troops "hunger, thirst, and death," to a missionary family in Assam who sang "No turning back" with their lives on the line, we'll ask the honest question: how serious are we, really? And how easily would we give up?

Scripture reading: John 1v35-51.

Join us tomorrow morning. Bring a friend, bring your questions, and come ready to decide where you stand.

Originally Aired: 2026-05-24

Speaker: Rex Dutton

3949 Lithia Pinecrest Rd.

Brandon, FL 33596

A study through the seven churches of Revelation, finishing the letter to Sardis and opening the letter to Philadelphia.

Main text: Revelation 3v2-13

Outline:

- Sardis: strengthen the things that remain (Revelation 3v2)

- The four-step plan for renewal: remember, hold fast, repent, watch (Revelation 3v3)

- The faithful few in Sardis and white garments (Revelation 3v4-5)

- Philadelphia, the faithful church, and the key of David (Revelation 3v7-8)

- Christ knows their works and sets an open door (Revelation 3v8-9)

- The promise of protection and the crown (Revelation 3v10-11)

A dying church must wake up and strengthen what is left before the lampstand is removed, while a faithful church holds fast to the open door that Christ alone can shut. The lesson walks through Sardis's call to remember, hold fast, repent, and watch, then turns to Philadelphia where small numbers and modest means are no obstacle to the work of God. Along the way the speaker draws on Psalm 119v105, Matthew 28v18, John 14v6, Romans 8v38-39, and 2 Timothy 4v7-8. Illustrations include nursing a campfire spark, a rotted oak tree, a three-generation pot roast, mission work in Honduras, and Olympic medals boxed in the attic. The aim is practical: read the word for yourself, give every activity a real spiritual purpose, and hold fast so no one takes your crown.

Originally Aired: 2026-05-20

3949 Lithia Pinecrest Rd.

Brandon, FL 33596

Chapters:

0:00 Lesson: Revelation 3v2-13

0:20 Sardis: strengthen the things that remain (Revelation 3v2)

8:22 Four-step plan for renewal (Revelation 3v3)

17:02 The faithful few and white garments (Revelation 3v4-5)

24:10 Philadelphia, the faithful church (Revelation 3v7-8)

30:06 Christ knows their works and the open door (Revelation 3v8-9)

42:25 Kept from the hour of trial and the crown (Revelation 3v10-11)

50:46 Closing thoughts

A charge to fifteen graduating students walking out of the youth group and into a world where roughly 72% of churched young people abandon their faith by their early twenties. The preacher uses Paul's language of ambassadorship to argue that awareness changes behavior, and that these graduates already know enough to refuse to become a statistic.

Main text: 2 Corinthians 5v20

Outline:

- Awareness shifts behavior, and you can't unsee the truth

- Be aware of your Authority as Christ's ambassador (2 Corinthians 5v20)

- Be aware of your Alignment in the race God has marked out (Hebrews 12v1-2)

- Be aware of your Anchor, the hope that does not put us to shame (Romans 5v5)

- Don't be a statistic, prove the math wrong (John 17v18; 1 Peter 3v15)

Three A's frame the charge: Authority, Alignment, and Anchor. The graduates are sent out not as casualties waiting to happen but as ambassadors carrying the culture of their home country with them. The lesson moves from hidden-image puzzles and odd statistics into the sober Barna and Lifeway data on young people leaving the church, then lands on the hope of the resurrection as the only anchor that holds when the storms of culture hit. The closing call is plain: step into the world awake, ready to give a reason for the hope you have.

Originally Aired: 2026-05-17

3949 Lithia Pinecrest Rd.

Brandon, FL 33596

Chapters:

0:00 Lesson: Don't be a statistic (2 Corinthians 5v20)

0:03 Awareness shifts behavior, you can't unsee the truth

7:04 Authority: you are Christ's ambassador (2 Corinthians 5v20)

8:51 Alignment: run the race marked out for you (Hebrews 12v1-2)

11:18 Anchor: a hope that does not disappoint (Romans 5v5)

13:56 Don't be a statistic, prove the math wrong

15:23 Closing prayer

Seventh lesson in the Methods of Evangelism series, focused on telling your own story the way Paul told his in front of King Agrippa.

Main text: Acts 26v1-20

Outline:

- Be curious and listen instead of lecturing

- Show respect and find common ground (Acts 26v1-3)

- Your before: own who you used to be (Acts 26v4-11)

- Your encounter: name Jesus and tell what happened (Acts 26v12-18)

- Your after: the changed life that points back to the King (Acts 26v19-23)

Acts 26 gives us a clean three-part pattern for sharing faith in conversation: a before, an encounter with Jesus, and an after. Paul does it standing in chains in front of a king, and he does it with respect, transparency, and the name of Jesus on his lips. The lesson opens with George, a gang member who walked into a Billy Graham crusade in 1959 planning to kill the preacher and walked out a believer, and works through how to map your own story the same way. Practical reminders close the lesson: drop the church jargon, be vulnerable without exaggerating, ask permission, end with an open question, and keep the focus on the King.

Originally Aired: 2026-05-17

3949 Lithia Pinecrest Rd.

Brandon, FL 33596

Chapters:

0:00 Lesson: Acts 26v1-20

1:04 Billy Graham, the MCG, and George's story

11:58 Respect and common ground (Acts 26v1-3)

13:50 Your before: transparency (Acts 26v4-11)

21:18 Your encounter: tell the Jesus story (Acts 26v12-18)

28:45 Your after: the changed life (Acts 26v19-23)

35:35 Practical do's and don'ts

37:37 Closing Q&A

On graduation Sunday at Creekside, Kyle Lewis preaches his first sermon before heading off to Florida State, and Keegan opens with a charge to the graduates. Every step into a new season is Peter stepping out of the boat onto the water, and the question is whether we keep our eyes on Jesus when the wind picks up.

Main text: Matthew 14v22-31

Outline:

- Opening charge to the graduates: salt, light, point the way (Matthew 5v13-16)

- A strong foundation of faith (Hebrews 11v1)

- A reconciliation of our doubts (Job 23v3-4; Matthew 6v34)

- A complete surrender to Jesus Christ (Matthew 14v30)

Kyle works through Peter walking on the water as a picture of every major transition: leaving home, starting college, a new job, loss, a new baby. Faith is not the absence of fear or full certainty. It is conviction about what we cannot yet see, which means doubt and unknowing come with the territory. The moment Peter looked at the wind instead of Jesus, he sank, and the only honest prayer left was "Lord, save me." This is a sermon for graduates and for anyone whose next step feels like walking on water.

Originally Aired: 2026-05-17

Speaker: Kyle Lewis

3949 Lithia Pinecrest Rd.

Brandon, FL 33596

Chapters:

0:00 Lesson: Matthew 14v22-31

1:17 You are salt, light, and point the way (Matthew 5v13-16)

9:36 A strong foundation of faith (Hebrews 11v1)

13:02 A reconciliation of our doubts

15:02 A complete surrender to Jesus Christ

17:06 Closing prayer

Sardis had the reputation of being alive, but Jesus said it was dead. This Wednesday devotional works through the closing promises to Thyatira and then the hard letter to Sardis, where a church coasting on past glory is told that if it is not growing, it is dying.

Main text: Revelation 2v26-28; Revelation 3v1-6

Outline:

- Finishing Thyatira: the promise to the overcomer (Revelation 2v26-28)

- The rod of iron and the potter's vessels (Revelation 2v27)

- The morning star and why Jesus would not give his people something bad (Revelation 2v28)

- Sardis: the church with a name but no life (Revelation 3v1)

- Living on past reputation is spiritual atrophy

- The way back: be watchful and strengthen what remains (Revelation 3v2)

The teacher pulls in the Olympic swimmers who once burned thousands of calories a day and "turned into us" once they stopped training, and the weightlifter's rule that atrophy comes two to three times faster than gain. The Churches of Christ cannot live off the reputation of the 1950s and 60s, and a comfortable Christian cannot live off the faith they had ten years ago. Comfort and contentment are the door Satan walks through. The way out is to keep working, get out of the comfort zone, sit closer, welcome people who do not look like us, and trust that even what looks frozen and dead can be cultivated back to life.

Originally Aired: 2026-05-13

3949 Lithia Pinecrest Rd.

Brandon, FL 33596

Chapters:

0:00 Lesson: Revelation 2v26-28; Revelation 3v1-6

1:57 Power over the nations

6:18 The rod of iron and the potter's vessels

18:04 The morning star

23:56 Sardis: a name but no life

33:33 Living on past reputation

44:46 Be watchful and strengthen what remains