Misty Creek Community Church Sermons

By Misty Creek Community Church

Christian Sermons from Misty Creek Community Church in Sandy Springs, GA.... more

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The podcast currently has 390 episodes available.

Misty Creek Community Church Sermons episodes:

February 06, 2023 "Is Your House In Order?" - 2/5/23 Sermon - Misty Creek Community Church
Is Your House in Order?
Matthew 25:14-30

In the Parable of the Talents, Jesus tells of a master who entrusts his estate and finances to 3 servants. He gives one 5 talents, another 2 talents and yet another 1 talent. Two of the servants put their master’s money to work earning interest and building his estate, while the servant with 1 talent buried his in the ground. When the master returned, he praised the 2 servants for using what they were given to build up his estate but the master had harsh and condemning words for the lazy servant who simply buried his talent in the dirt.

Jesus has given us all unique and individual abilities and talents and he expects us to use those talents to build his kingdom on earth. He has entrusted his kingdom to us, and as his ambassadors he commissions us to spread the gospel, to love others, to care for the church, to be salt and light to a dark world and to care for the poor, sick and less fortunate. Just like the master in the parable, Jesus is returning. Are you doing the good works that he’s entrusted to you?
Is your house in order?

I love y'all
doug
Misty Creek Community Church
Worship Pastor: Doug Allen
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28min
January 30, 2023 "Connecting with God through Prayer" (Teach Us to Pray, Pt.3) - 1/29/23 Sermon - Misty Creek Community Church
Teach us to Pray Part 3: A Nation Calls on the Lord
Connecting with God Through Prayer
Colossians 2:4-6, Luke 11:1-4, Romans 8:26

Several centuries ago, the famous Protestant reformer Martin Luther made a couple of interesting observations about prayer that are still helpful today.  Both of his observations are in the form of what prayer is not.

First, prayer is not telling God something that God otherwise would not know.  When we pray, we are not bringing God up to date on what is going on. As Jesus commented to his disciples, God knows what we need even before we speak. Prayer does not tell God anything.

Second, prayer is not a means of forcing God to do something that God otherwise would not do. Prayer is not leverage with God or a way to manipulate God.  What God does, God does because of who God is, because of God’s gracious nature.  Prayer does not make God do anything.  Even Jesus prayed, “Not as I will, but as you will.”  And in the Lord’s prayer, he asks us to pray, “Your will be done.”

What do you think about Martin Luther’s thoughts on what prayer is not? What do you think prayer is or does?

Here’s what prayer is: Prayer brings us closer to God.  We grow in faith as we develop our relationship with God. Relationships require good communication.  Prayer is conversation.  It is talking to God and listening to God. Prayer changes us. Prayer makes us aware of who we are, of who God is, of what we need, and from Whom we get what we need. It’s through prayer that God speaks, and we hear more clearly.

Prayer is a mystery. Just as we can never know and understand completely, we do not fully understand prayer.  It is more than we can grasp.  But we do know that prayer has power. Jesus reminds us in Luke 11:1-4 that prayer is something that we can learn how to do. Romans 8:26 reminds us that we do not have to have perfect ways to pray.  When we pray, God’s Spirit knows what is in our hearts and intercedes for us.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen
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28min
January 23, 2023 "The Power of Persistence" | Teach Us to Pray, Pt.2 - 1/22/23 Sermon - Misty Creek Community Church
January 22, 2023 Sermon:
Teach us to Pray Part 2: A Nation Calls on the Lord
The Power of Persistence
Luke 11:1-13, Luke 18:1-8

A hesitant driver, waiting for a traffic jam to clear, came to a stop on the expressway ramp. The traffic thinned, but the timid driver still waited. Finally, an infuriated voice came from behind shouting: “The sign says Yield, not give up.” The primary actors in Sunday’s parables neither yielded nor gave up. In fact, that really is the lesson of these parables: The Power of Persistence.

Jesus told two parables with almost identical messages about persistence. The stories are different only in their setting; they make the same point. The first story is recorded in Luke 11:5-13. Jesus told that parable just after he had taught his disciples to pray, using the prayer we call the Lord’s Prayer. We can imagine the parable answering a question from Peter, “Master, should we really bother God with small concerns like our daily bread?” Jesus answered such a thought, spoken or unspoken, with a story right out of the experiences of everyday life, the parable of the friend at midnight. Both Jesus and his listeners would have enjoyed the humor of this story.

In both instances someone—the reluctant neighbor and the unjust judge—did the decent thing because it was the least bothersome thing to do. They didn’t do it out of love or mercy or justice. They did it because they were badgered. Jesus is making the big point that resistance can be battered down by sheer persistence. He also makes the point that if it’s true with two not-so-admirable persons, how much more may we expect God to respond to us as we keep our needs before Him. Let’s glean some significant truths from the parable.

If goodness is produced by less than righteous, even evil powers, we can expect limitless goodness from God.
Both parables immediately follow the request of the disciples for Jesus to teach them how to pray.
So, Jesus is teaching us about prayer. And I believe he’s saying at least three things:

1. Sincere prayers are always answered.
2. Persistent prayers are always answered.
3. Prayers that voice our deepest needs in keeping with God’s will are always answered.

Note that Jesus does not picture either the unjust judge nor the reluctant neighbor as a symbol or a metaphor for God. He’s not teaching us about the nature of God—he’s teaching us about the nature of our praying. Sincerity, persistence, the voicing of our deepest need in keeping with God’s will. That’s what prayer is all about.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen
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34min
January 16, 2023 Teach Us to Pray Part 1: "A Nation Calls on the Lord" - 1/15/23 Sermon - Misty Creek Community Church
Teach us to Pray Part 1: A Nation Calls on the Lord
Matthew 13:31-35, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

The phrase “thoughts and prayers” has been spoken, texted and tweeted countless times since Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on “Monday Night Football January 2.” One ESPN analyst took the phrase to heart Tuesday, praying for Hamlin on live TV. As Hamlin remains in critical condition, Dan Orlovsky said a prayer for the Buffalo Bills safety during Tuesday’s edition of “NFL Live.” “God, we come to you in these moments that we don’t understand, that are hard, because we believe that you’re God, and coming to you and praying to you has impact,” Orlovsky said. “We’re sad, we’re angry, and we want answers, but some things are unanswerable. We just want to pray, truly come to you, and pray for strength for Damar, for healing for Damar, for comfort for Damar, to be with his family, to give them peace. If we didn’t believe that prayer didn’t work, we wouldn’t ask this of you, God. I believe in prayer; we believe in prayer. We lift up Damar Hamlin’s name in your name. Amen.”

Folks, our nation is ready to hear the story that shall set them free. A story of the present Kingdom and the future Kingdom. We are on the cusp of an awakening!

“We’ve a story to tell to the nations,
That shall set their hearts to the right.
A story of truth and mercy,
A story of peace and light.
For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And dawning to noonday bright.
And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth,
A kingdom of love and light.” (H. Ernest Nichol, 1896)

Do you believe that?
We come to the second petition in the Lord’s Prayer this Sunday, and it may take the greatest faith and the greatest imagination of all that we are taught to pray. So, we pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Have we any idea what we are praying when we ask for the kingdom of God to come and the will of God to be done? Come with me as we try to unpack this petition of the Lord’s prayer on January 15 at 10:30am.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen
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50min
January 09, 2023 "Christ Is Our Living Hope" - 1/8/23 Sermon - Misty Creek Community Church
Christ is our Living Hope
Isaiah 43:18-19 & Philippians 3:13-14

There’s nothing quite like tearing off the last page of a calendar and turning to a new year. It brings a clean slate, offering a new start with fresh possibilities. New Year’s resolutions will abound. New habits will be attempted. Once again, we will aspire to put our best foot forward. But before we do that, let’s remind ourselves of our back story. It’s an all too human thing to want to be better and to strive for more. We are created in the image of God. The inconvenient truth is that our ancient ancestors determined that bearing the image of God was not enough. They wanted to be God. They were reaching to be God’s equals. And maybe that’s our problem—reaching. Isn’t that where things went wrong?

When our ancestors reached for the forbidden fruit. It wasn’t an apple they were reaching for. They were reaching for equality with God. They wanted to be their own god. Then and now, sooner or later, it always leads to epic failure. You see, by definition, God has no equal.

We’ve been doing it ever since. That’s the essence of sin—not trusting in the trustworthy goodness of God. The minute we do that we set out on a course to find another god or worse, to become our own god. We make great humans, but terrible gods. And when we set out on a course to find other gods, we can become quite terrible humans.

We were not made to reach for God, but to bow before him. That’s the one place where we discover that God was reaching for us all along. That’s who Jesus is—the one who reaches to us, right where we are. Not only does he reach us, but he also restores his glorious image in us and remakes us into the people he created us to be in the first place. In short, he reminds us to think like God thinks and to act like God acts and to love like God loves.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen
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40min
December 26, 2022 "What Christmas is Not" - Christmas Day Sermon - 12/25/22 - Misty Creek Community Church
"What Christmas is Not"
Christmas Day Sermon - 12/25/22
Misty Creek Community Church
I pray that you have a blessed Christmas and may the revelation of Christ be manifest in your life and home in 2023. We are just a few days away from the celebration God’s greatest gift to the world. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:15. Come celebrate the joy, love, hope and peace of the season at Misty Creek, by joining us for some dynamic worship services.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen
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22min
December 26, 2022 "An Indescribable Gift" - Christmas Eve Sermon - 12/24/22 - Misty Creek Community Church
"An Indescribable Gift"
2 Corinthians 9:15
Christmas Eve Sermon
12/24/22 Misty Creek Community Church
I pray that you have a blessed Christmas and may the revelation of Christ be manifest in your life and home in 2023. We are just a few days away from the celebration God’s greatest gift to the world. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:15. Come celebrate the joy, love, hope and peace of the season at Misty Creek, by joining us for some dynamic worship services.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen
...more
15min
December 19, 2022 "The God of Peace!" (4th Sunday of Advent) - 12/18/22 Sermon - Misty Creek Community Church
The God of Peace! (The Fourth Sunday of Advent)
John 14:27 and Philippians 4:6-7

Is this the season of Advent or the season of Anxiety? Are you anticipating the arrival of our Savior or are you anxious about all that the holidays bring?
What is peace? I have mostly thought of peace as the absence of something else, like conflict, strife, enmity, or war. I mostly think of peace as the absence of war. Truth is, the absence of war, from nearest of kin to nations, is mostly the presence of some form of truce. It is just old conflict buried like landmines across the field of our inmost being—quietly waiting to be triggered when someone steps on the tripwire. Some are thinking, "Sounds like the holidays at our house." So, what is this peace we speak of? Now that you ask me, I'm not sure I know what real peace is. Is it a "state of being" as some make it out to be? Is it the flexed threat of war withheld, as signaled by all those protesting placards, "No justice! No peace!" Give us justice or we will give you war. That's just another name for the revolution of vengeance; another tired version of the Pax Romana.

Peace is beyond understanding. It doesn't fit into the calculus of war at all. Just like the opposite of love is not hatred, but indifference; so, the opposite of war is not peace but truce.
What if the truth is more like, "No Peace. No Justice."? The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. It means something like all of the broken and dislocated pieces of creation, our relationships, and our lives put back together again by God into a divine integration and wellness. Peace is one of the deepest essences of agape—the love of God. Notice what happens when Jesus, who was supposed to be dead and buried, walks into the most broken and despairing rooms in history to greet the eleven most wanted men in the country.

Note how he greets them: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again, Jesus said, “Peace be with you! . . . ” (John 20:19–21) Is it any wonder he is referenced by the prophets as the Prince of Peace.

What is your faith concerning peace?

What is your experience?

Where do you need peace in your inmost being? Where was it broken?

Where do you need the peace of Jesus in your relationships? How will you open yourself to the Prince of Peace today?

Grace and Peace,
Stephen
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25min
December 12, 2022 "The God of Joy!" (The 3rd Sunday of Advent) - 12/11/22 Sermon - Misty Creek Community Church
The God of Joy! (The third Sunday of Advent)
Luke 1:39-56

This passage in Luke’s gospel contains Mary’s song. It is one of the most famous songs in Christianity.
It has been whispered in monasteries, chanted in cathedrals, recited in small churches by evening candlelight,
and set to music with trumpets and kettledrums by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is a song of joy, a song of praise!

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear!
As Mary entered the house, Elizabeth heard her greeting and was filled with the Holy Spirit; And she was told by the Lord why Mary was there. Notice in verse 42 the first word that filled Elizabeth’s lips – it is "blessed." Notice that she did not say that Mary was blessed ABOVE women but AMONG women, and that was certainly true. While we don't want to ascribe to Mary that which only belongs to God, neither do we want to minimize her place in the plan of God.

If you are familiar with the story: You will know that Elizabeth & Mary could not be more different. Elizabeth is elderly, well on in years. Mary was a teenage girl/young woman. Elizabeth was barren all her life, unable to have children until late in life. Mary has conceived a child early, in fact too early, as a single (engaged) woman. Elizabeth is respectable, married to the priest Zechariah. Mary will cause a scandal, unmarried and pregnant. Elizabeth lives in the south Judean hill community. Mary lives in the north, in Nazareth (a place of nobody’s). Elizabeth’s life is settled and comfortable. Mary’s life, at this point in time could not be more unsettled. Yet, these two women are joined together by a common experience: Both of them are carrying special babies: Elizabeth is carrying John the Baptist. Miracle child because he is the child of her old age; He is also a child filled with the Holy Spirit from before he was born. Mary is carrying Jesus the Messiah. Miracle child because he is the Son of God.

These two women are brought together by a Spirit-birthed joy. Until they meet, each is troubled, scared. Alone, they are entering places they never imagined. But now they share the experience of an unexpected pregnancy; A first child for each. And they spend three months of seclusion together. Sunday, we will hear their story.

Grace & Peace,
Stephen
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39min
December 05, 2022 "The God of Love" (2nd Sunday of Advent) - 12/4/22 Sermon - Misty Creek Community Church
“When did Christmas get so complicated?
Mark 1:1-8

When did Christmas get so complicated? Funny thing is, "Christmas" is still the same as it's always been, the celebrating of our Lord and Savior at His birth. Anything outside of that lies the complication whether in thought or deed! For many of us Christmas is about making lists. Checking them twice. Decking the halls. Dashing through the snow. What if we rethink what we’re celebrating? What is we start decking the halls with love? Focus on comforting others and sharing the greatest gift of all. This Sunday I want to offer a few of my suggestions on how we can make Christmas less complicated and more focused on the God of love. I hope to see you in person at 10:30am or on Facebook Live!

Grace & Peace,
Stephen
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26min

FAQs about Misty Creek Community Church Sermons:

How many episodes does Misty Creek Community Church Sermons have?

The podcast currently has 390 episodes available.