Preacher: Tom Watson

Summary

In this message from elder Tom Watson, the church's recent pastoral sabbatical becomes a launchpad to explore the true meaning of Sabbath. Moving beyond simple rules, Tom presents a biblical framework for understanding Sabbath: its Model in God's creation, our Motivation in redemption from slavery to sin, and its ultimate Meaning as a sign of our sanctification.

The message zeroes in on this meaning, revealing God as "Jehovah Mekaddishkem"—the Lord who sanctifies—and calling us to find our identity not in our work, but in the finished work of Jesus, who gives true rest.

Key Points

• Sabbath is understood through its Model (creation), Motivation (redemption), and Meaning (sanctification).
• Our identity is found in Christ, not our roles or accomplishments.
• The ultimate meaning of Sabbath is that God alone is the one who sanctifies us.
• Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath who provides ultimate and present rest.
• We are called to work faithfully from a place of rest, not for it.

Reflect & Discuss

1. In what areas of your life (job, family, ministry) is your identity most tied to your performance?
2. How does knowing God as "Jehovah Mekaddishkem" (The Lord Who Sanctifies) change how you view your spiritual growth and failures?
3. What practical "weights" or sins can you lay aside this week to run your race with more endurance?

Main Passage: Exodus 31:12-17

Supporting Passages

• Deuteronomy 5:15
• Matthew 11:25-30
• Hebrews 4:9-11
• Hebrews 10:10-14
• Hebrews 12:1
• Philippians 3:20-21

Preacher: Brian Bone

Summary

God intentionally designed the local church as a greenhouse for our spiritual growth. This sermon from Ephesians 4 unpacks how God’s brilliant structure—leaders equipping members under the headship of Christ—is designed to mature believers into the full stature of Jesus. However, this powerful transformation isn’t automatic. It requires more than just attending a service; it requires us to actively connect with one another in authentic Christian love, marked by humility, patience, and an eagerness for peace.

Key Points

• God has a careful, intentional design for the local church.
• The primary purpose of the church is our spiritual growth and maturity.
• True growth happens when we connect with each other through Christian love.
• Christian love is characterized by humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and a desire for unity.

Reflect & Discuss

1. Do you view your role in the church as a consumer or as a contributing member of the body?
2. Which of the five qualities of Christian love is most challenging for you to practice in your relationships?
3. How can you more intentionally "invest deeply" in your church community this season?

Main Passage Ephesians 4:1-16

Supporting Passages

• 1 Corinthians 12
• Philippians 3
• Ephesians 1:3-4

Series: 1 John: That You May Know

Preacher: Brian Abernathy

Summary

Elder Brian Abernathy closes our series in 1 John by exploring the confidence we have in Christ. Using a personal story of unknowingly camping on a frozen pond, he illustrates how knowledge should fundamentally change our actions. John writes so that we may know we have eternal life, security in Christ, and a unique identity separate from the world. This firm knowledge builds to the letter's final, powerful command: "Keep yourselves from idols." This isn't just about ancient statues but about guarding our hearts from anything that steals our affection from Jesus, a crucial warning for a church in danger of losing its first love.

Key Points:

• True knowledge of God should transform how we live.
• As believers, we are sanctified, secure, chosen, adopted, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
• An idol is anything we love more than the Savior, even good things.
• We must actively cultivate an environment in our lives where our love for Jesus can thrive.

Reflect & Discuss:

1. What "idols" (comfort, work, success, relationships) compete for your affection and love for Christ?
2. How does knowing you are "sanctified and secure" in Jesus empower you to fight against idolatry?
3. What is one practical step you can take this week to "keep yourself from idols" and cultivate a deeper love for the Savior?

Main Passage: 1 John 5:13-21

Supporting Passages:

• Acts 19:18-19
• John 14:13-14, 16-18, 23, 26
• John 15:16-19
• John 16:23
• John 17:14-19
• Ephesians 1:16-18
• Ephesians 2:1-10, 13-19
• Revelation 2:1-7

Series: 1 John: That You May Know

Preacher: Pastor Brad Hillman

Summary

On whose authority can we base our faith? This message explores 1 John 5:6-12, establishing that God is the ultimate source of authority. Pastor Brad explains that we can have full assurance in our salvation because God Himself has testified that Jesus Christ is His Son—the true object of our faith. This divine testimony is confirmed through the water (Jesus' baptism), the blood (His death on the cross), and the Spirit (who indwells believers). The sermon challenges us to stop questioning God’s good authority and align every area of our lives—our thoughts, desires, and actions—with the truth that eternal life is found in the Son alone.

Key Points

• Jesus Christ is the object of the Christian's faith.
• God is the ultimate source of authority, and His testimony is greater than man's.
• God testifies that Jesus Christ is the Son of God through the water, the blood, and the Spirit.
• To reject this testimony is to question God Himself, but to believe in the Son is to have eternal life.

Reflect & Discuss

1. In what areas of your life (thoughts, desires, actions) do you tend to question God’s authority?
2. How does viewing God’s commands as loving protections, rather than mere restrictions, change your perspective on obedience?
3. When you face doubts, how can remembering God's threefold testimony (water, blood, Spirit) strengthen your assurance?

Main Passage: 1 John 5:6−12

Supporting Passages:

• Acts 17:24−25
• Hebrews 1:3
• Colossians 1:17
• John 10:10
• Exodus 20
• Matthew 28:18−20

Keywords: Authority, Testimony, 1 John, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Eternal Life, Faith, Holy Spirit, Salvation, Sanctification

Series: 1 John: That You May Know

Preacher: Pastor Jerod Beck

Summary In this message, Pastor Jerod Beck unpacks 1 John 5:1-5 to reveal our identity in Christ as “victorious overcomers.” Discover how being born of God is the exclusive source of a faith that conquers the world. This sermon explores the inseparable link between loving God, loving His people, and joyful obedience to His commands—which are not burdensome because He provides the divine power to fulfill them. We are not underdogs in this fight; in Christ, the victory is already ours.

Key Points

• Our salvation comes exclusively from God; belief is the result of being born of God.
• Genuine faith is demonstrated by a life of loving God, loving others, and obeying His commands.
• Because Christ has overcome the world, His commands are not burdensome.
• Our identity is a “victorious overcomer,” empowered by the Holy Spirit and supported by the Church.

Reflect & Discuss

1. In what areas do God’s commands feel like a “burden”? How does viewing yourself as a “victorious overcomer” change that perspective?
2. How can you more intentionally rely on the Holy Spirit and your church community this week to walk in the victory Christ has won for you?

Main Passage 1 John 5:1-5

Supporting Passages

• 1 John 2:15-17
• 1 John 4:7-8
• 1 Timothy 2:4
• James 5:16
• John 14
• Acts 2
• Hebrews 10

Series: 1 John: That You May Know

Preacher: Pastor Brad Hillman

Summary

What does it truly mean that "God is love"? Pastor Brad explains that this isn't just an attribute God has, but His very character. Using 1 John 4, he contrasts the world's definition of love with the biblical truth: God's love is self-giving, ultimately displayed by sending Jesus Christ. This message challenges the idea that we've done anything to deserve or earn God's love. Instead, we find our ultimate confidence in Christ alone, and our active love for others becomes the tangible evidence that we truly love God.

Key Points

• God is love; it's His very character.
• God ultimately displays His love in and through Jesus Christ.
• We've done nothing to deserve God's love.
• We find our ultimate confidence in Christ.
• Loving others is the tangible evidence of our love for God.

Reflect & Discuss

1. How has culture influenced your understanding of love? How does 1 John 4 challenge or correct that view?
2. The pastor warns against trying to "earn God's love." In what subtle ways might you be trying to prove you deserve His love through your actions rather than resting in Christ?
3. How does actively loving others give you confidence in your relationship with God? What is one practical way you can show this love this week?

Main Passage 1 John 4:7−21

Supporting Passages

• Acts 4:12
• John 14:6,15
• 1 Peter 1:14−16
• 1 Thessalonians 4:1−8
• Philippians 2:14−15
• John 6:44
• Romans 5:6−10

Preacher: Pastor Brad Hillman

Summary

We are all on a mission, but is it our own or God's? This message contrasts the world's temporary, circumstantial peace with the perfect, eternal peace found only through Jesus Christ. Once we have this peace, we are called to our ultimate mission: to proclaim the gospel to a lost and dying world. Discover how to prioritize, prepare for, pray for, and push through for this mission in the everyday places God has sovereignly placed you.

Key Points

• Everyone is on a Mission: The sermon begins by establishing that every human being lives for a mission of some kind. The crucial question is not if we are on a mission, but what mission we are on—our own, or God's.
• The Christian Mission is to Proclaim the Gospel: For believers, the mission given by God is to proclaim the gospel—the good news that peace with God is possible—to a lost and dying world.
• Peace with God is the Prerequisite for the Mission: Before one can effectively be on mission for God, they must first have personal peace with God. This true, eternal peace is only attainable through repenting of sin and placing faith in Jesus Christ, not through the temporary and circumstantial "peace" the world offers (e.g., financial security, safety measures).
• We Are Sent as Jesus Was Sent: Using John 20:21 as a key text ("As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you"), the sermon explains that our mission is an extension of Christ's mission, which was to seek and save the lost.
• We Must Intentionally Live Out the Mission: The sermon provides four practical ways for believers to engage in God's mission in their daily lives:
  • Prioritize the mission by leveraging the specific times, places, and relationships God has given us (our jobs, homes, hobbies, communities) as opportunities for the gospel.
  • Prepare for the mission by deeply understanding the gospel ourselves and by equipping those under our care (especially our families) to live on mission.
  • Pray for the mission, asking the Holy Spirit for guidance and asking God the Father to do what only He can do: save people.
  • Push Through the inevitable difficulties and persecution that come with living a godly life, finding strength in the hope we have in the living God.

Reflect & Discuss

1. Do you have true, lasting peace with God through Jesus, or are you seeking peace in temporary, worldly things?
2. What worldly missions (e.g., career, social media status, gaming) might be distracting you from God's mission?
3. How can you intentionally use the places God has put you (your job, neighborhood, gym) to share the gospel this week?

Main Passage: John 20:19−21

Supporting Passages:

• Luke 19:10
• John 14:27
• Acts 17:26
• 2 Corinthians 4:3−6
• 1 Timothy 4:10
• Ephesians 5

Preacher: Pastor Brian Lowe

Summary:

This sermon, "Prepared for You," explores Ephesians 2:1-10, highlighting humanity's former state of spiritual death and God's miraculous intervention. It delves into the "bad news" of our natural condition, the "good news" of God's rich mercy and love that brings us to life in Christ, and the "great news" that we are God's masterpieces, created for good works He prepared beforehand. The message emphasizes that God uses ordinary, faithful individuals living intentional lives to make an extraordinary impact on the world, all for His glory.

Pastor Brian Lowe, the Lead Pastor at Exodus Church in Belmont, NC, with over a decade of faithful ministry leadership, delivered this sermon. Beyond his pastoral role, Brian also spearheads the 23Project foundation, an organization dedicated to the advancement of the gospel by partnering with church planters and providing vital resources, including sabbatical funding and coaching, for pastors.

Key Points:

• Bad News: We were dead in trespasses and sins, following the world and the evil one, driven by our sinful passions and deserving of wrath.
• Good News: God, rich in mercy and great in love, made us alive with Christ, saving us by grace through faith—a gift, not by works.
• Great News: We are God's workmanship, His masterpiece, recreated in Christ Jesus for good works He prepared for us to walk in.
• God uses regular, redeemed people living intentional lives to change the world, ensuring all glory goes to Him.

Reflect & Discuss:

• How does understanding our past state of "deadness" in sin deepen your appreciation for God's mercy and grace?
• In what ways have you seen the "play" of the evil one (doubting God's Word, doubting God's character, desiring forbidden things) at work in your own life or in the world around you?
• Considering that you are God's "masterpiece," how does this truth influence your self-perception and purpose?
• What "good works" do you believe God has prepared for you, individually and as part of your church community, to walk in?

Main Passage:

Ephesians 2:1-10

Supporting Passages:

• Lamentations 3:22-23
• Genesis 3:1-6
• 2 Corinthians 5:17
• 1 Peter 4:10-11

Keywords:

Ephesians 2, grace, salvation, good works, mercy, dead in sin, God's workmanship, prepared works, Edward Kimball, Billy Graham, D.L. Moody, spiritual death, purpose, God's love, masterpiece, church, faith, Exodus Church, Belmont NC, 23Project.

Series: 1 John: That You May Know

Preacher: Pastor Mike Moore

In a world where it's hard to tell what's real, how can we discern what is from God? This message explores 1 John 4, revealing that the ultimate test of any spiritual teaching is its confession of Jesus Christ—fully God and fully man. We are commanded to test every spirit, not out of fear, but with the bold confidence that the Spirit in us is greater than the spirit of the world.

Key Points

• Discernment isn’t optional.
• Our enemy is real and seeks to deceive.
• Know who Jesus truly is through Scripture.
• Evaluate every influence.
• Don’t be afraid—Jesus wins.

Reflect & Discuss

1. In what areas of your life (media, teaching, etc.) do you need more spiritual discernment?
2. Why is the confession that “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” the critical test for what is from God?
3. How does the truth, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world,” empower you to face spiritual opposition without fear?

Main Passage: 1 John 4:1-6

Supporting Passages

• John 10:10
• Ephesians 2:19-22
• 2 Kings 6:16-17
• Revelation 19:11-16

Keywords

Spiritual Discernment, 1 John, Jesus Christ, False Prophets, Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Error, Antichrist, Fear, Authority of Scripture

Series: 1 John: That You May Know

Preacher: Pastor Brian Bone

When our hearts condemn us, how can we find assurance? This sermon explores 1 John 3:19-24, addressing the doubt that arises when we don't see the spiritual fruit we expect in our lives. Discover why doubt is a common but dangerous part of the Christian walk, as it creates distance from God. Learn the powerful antidote: looking away from our condemning hearts to a God who is greater, preaching the gospel to ourselves, and remembering the incredible privileges we have as His children, including confidence, answered prayer, and the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Key Points

• Doubt is a normal part of the Christian experience, but it's dangerous because it creates distance between us and God.
• When your heart condemns you, remember that God is greater than your heart and knows everything.
• Actively preach the gospel to yourself, recalling that your salvation rests on Christ's work, not your own.
• As a child of God, you have privileges: confidence before God, power in prayer, and the presence of the Holy Spirit to help you live a fruitful life.
• The Lord's Supper is a way to preach the gospel to yourself, remembering Christ's sacrifice.

Reflect & Discuss

1. In what areas of your life does your heart condemn you, leading to doubt?
2. How does the truth that "God is greater than our heart" change how you view your weaknesses and sins?
3. What is one practical way you can "preach the gospel to yourself" this week?
4. Which reward of being a child of God (confidence, power in prayer, or the Holy Spirit's presence) resonates most with you right now? Why?

Main Passage: 1 John 3:19-24

Supporting Passages:

• Mark 4:38
• Matthew 14:31
• John 21:3-6
• John 20:25-27
• Ephesians 3:11-12
• Hebrews 10:19-22
• Psalm 42:11

Keywords: Doubt, assurance, condemnation, faith, gospel, 1 John, salvation, confidence, prayer, Holy Spirit