What are you feeding your conscience?

In this powerful message, Pastor Tommy Boring teaches from Philippians 4 about the importance of strengthening and protecting the inner man. Our conscience is a God-given part of us that helps recognize right and wrong, but it can be shaped by whatever we continually allow into our lives. If we expose ourselves to enough worldly influences, compromise can become normal. But when we fill our hearts and minds with the Word of God and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, our conscience can become stronger and more sensitive to righteousness.

Pastor Boring explains that our conscience should never be molded by popular opinion, culture, personal desires, or the behavior of those around us. God’s Word must be the standard. Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that the Word of God is powerful enough to pierce into the deepest parts of our being, discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Using the picture of “Miracle Grow” for a plant, this sermon challenges us to ask what we are using to nourish our conscience. Philippians 4 provides practical ways to strengthen the inner man:

• Stand fast in the Lord and remain faithful.

Philippians 4:7 promises that the peace of God will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Verse 8 then gives us a pattern for disciplining our thoughts and filling our minds with things that honor God.

The world constantly works to redefine right and wrong, but God’s standard has not changed. Our conscience needs to be strengthened so that when we are tempted to compromise, that inner voice will recognize it and respond to the truth of God’s Word.

A dusty Bible, neglected prayer life, ungodly influences, and a lack of worship can all affect the condition of the inner man. But there is hope. Through God’s Word, prayer, faithfulness, worship, service, unity, self-control, and obedience, we can nourish the conscience and become more spiritually grounded.

The part of you that lives forever needs to be fed the right things. Don’t allow the world to shape your conscience. Give your inner man some “Miracle Grow” through the Word of God and let the Holy Spirit strengthen you to stand for what is right.

If this message speaks to you, take time to examine what you are allowing to influence your heart and mind. Feed your conscience with the things of God.

A season of hardship can reveal where our roots are planted. In “When the Heat Comes, Will Your Leaves Stay Green?”, Pastor Tommy Boring brings a powerful message from Jeremiah 17:7-8 about trusting and hoping in the Lord when life becomes difficult.

Using the picture of a tree planted by the waters, this sermon reminds us that trusting God does not mean we will never face heat, drought, trouble, or adversity. It means that when those seasons come, we have a source of life that the circumstances around us cannot take away. A tree with roots reaching toward the water can remain green and continue bearing fruit even when everything around it is dry.

Pastor Boring begins with Psalm 63 and David’s deep thirst for God, emphasizing the importance of seeking the Lord and pursuing His presence. Just as Peter was able to walk on the water while his eyes were on Jesus, believers must keep their focus on God rather than allowing circumstances, fear, or the enemy’s lies to determine their outlook.

The message also points to Joseph as an example of someone who remained rooted in God through incredible adversity. Joseph experienced betrayal, slavery, false accusations, imprisonment, and being forgotten, yet God was with him through every season. His circumstances changed repeatedly, but his source never changed. Because his hope remained in God, Joseph continued to grow and eventually saw God’s purpose fulfilled.

Jeremiah himself understood what it meant to endure difficult circumstances. Even when persecution and hardship made him want to stop, God’s Word remained like a fire in his bones. His calling and purpose were greater than the difficulties surrounding him.

Pastor Boring challenges us to consider where we have placed our trust. Money, possessions, government, careers, security, and other worldly things cannot provide the peace, strength, or eternal hope that comes from God. The promises of God do not become true because we believe them. They are already settled, and our responsibility is to trust the One who made them.

When the heat comes, will your leaves stay green?

The answer depends on where your roots are planted. Those who trust and hope in the Lord can remain spiritually alive, continue to bear fruit, and endure seasons of drought. God has never failed, and He will remain faithful through every trial.

This sermon is an encouragement to deepen your roots in God’s Word, seek Him daily, and learn to trust Him even when you cannot understand what He is doing. Whatever season you are facing, stay planted by the water. Keep trusting. Keep hoping. Keep seeking God. He will help you make it through.

What happens when we repeatedly ignore the voice inside that tells us something is wrong? In “Seared With a Hot Iron: What Happens When You Ignore Your Conscience,” Pastor Tommy Boring delivers a timely message about the God-given conscience and the danger of allowing it to become defiled, hardened, or seared through continued disobedience and exposure to ungodliness.

Drawing from 1 Timothy, Romans, Titus, Hebrews, and other passages, this sermon examines the importance of maintaining a good conscience. God has given humanity an inner moral awareness, but Pastor Boring reminds us that the conscience itself is not the ultimate standard. The Word of God is the final authority, and our conscience must be continually shaped, corrected, and strengthened by Scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

A healthy conscience acts like a moral compass. It convicts us when we sin, warns us when something is wrong, and can lead us toward repentance. In John 8, those who accused the woman caught in adultery were convicted by their own consciences and left one by one. But what happens when a person repeatedly refuses conviction? Every time we ignore what we know is right, it can become easier to ignore the next warning.

The message warns of a defiled conscience and a seared conscience, describing how stubbornness, rebellion, hypocrisy, and continual exposure to ungodliness can weaken our sensitivity to sin. What once troubled the heart can eventually seem normal. The more the conscience is ignored, the greater the danger of reaching a place where conviction no longer has the same effect.

Yet this sermon also brings a powerful message of hope. No matter how damaged or marred a conscience may seem, God is able to restore what sin has damaged. Hebrews reminds us that the blood of Christ can purge the conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Through salvation, repentance, God’s Word, and the work of the Holy Spirit, hearts and consciences can be renewed.

Pastor Boring challenges believers to consider what they are allowing to shape their hearts and minds. Are we feeding our conscience with the truth of God’s Word, or are we allowing the world to redefine what is right and wrong? Conscience and the Holy Spirit should work together, guiding us toward truth, repentance, and a closer walk with Christ.

The invitation is clear: Don’t ignore the conviction of God. Don’t keep pushing away the voice that calls you to repentance. Every tug of the Holy Spirit is an opportunity to turn, be forgiven, and allow God to make your heart right again. If your conscience is burdened, defiled, or wounded by sin, the blood of Jesus Christ is still able to cleanse and restore.

What can earn you a place in heaven? According to Elder Roger Best’s message, “The Ticket Stamped in Jesus’ Blood,” the answer is not found in good works, church attendance, financial giving, or human effort. Drawing from Titus 3:1-7, this sermon emphasizes that salvation is not earned by works of righteousness, but comes through the mercy, grace, and saving power of Jesus Christ.

Elder Best reflects on the importance of obeying God’s direction, even when that means preaching a message again because more people may need to hear it. The central truth of this message is clear: heaven cannot be bought, earned, or worked for. The only hope of salvation is through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit and the precious blood Jesus shed on the cross of Calvary.

Using the image of a ticket “stamped in Jesus’ blood” and marked “paid in full,” the sermon points to the Lamb’s Book of Life and the necessity of a personal relationship with Christ. Good deeds have their place, but they cannot save the soul. Salvation requires coming to Jesus in repentance and faith, trusting in His finished work.

The message also highlights the amazing love of Christ. Jesus willingly endured suffering, rejection, and the cross because of His love for humanity. Even when believers fail and fall, God’s mercy remains available to those who come to Him seeking forgiveness. His grace is not a license to sin, but a reminder that no one stands before God worthy on their own merits.

Elder Best closes with a serious call to examine your heart. Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Have you personally experienced the conviction and saving grace of Jesus Christ? The invitation is open, and salvation is available through the One whose blood paid the price in full.

The ticket to heaven is not purchased with money or earned by works. It was paid for at Calvary.

Sometimes we need to stop and remember what it felt like when we first discovered the wonder of salvation. In this powerful message, Pastor Tommy Boring challenges believers to examine whether they have grown comfortable with the greatest gift God has ever given and whether the joy, gratitude, and awe of being born again are still alive in their hearts.

Drawing from Galatians 3 and 4, along with 2 Peter 1:12-13, this sermon emphasizes the importance of being reminded of truths we already know. Peter understood that God’s people need continual stirring and renewal. The same gospel that changed us when we first believed should still move us today.

Pastor Boring reminds us of Jesus’ words to His disciples when they rejoiced over the power they had experienced. Jesus directed their attention to something far greater: that their names were written in heaven. We can become so accustomed to church, preaching, worship, and the blessings of God that we lose the wonder of what it means to actually be saved.

The message explores the two incredible gifts described in Galatians 4. First, God sent His Son. Jesus came in the flesh, lived a perfect and sinless life, and willingly gave Himself on Calvary as the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins. His death purchased redemption and made adoption into the family of God possible. Salvation was not something humanity could manufacture through religion, good works, family heritage, or human ability. God provided exactly what we needed.

Second, God sent the Spirit of His Son into the hearts of those who belong to Him. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, the guide, and the evidence of God’s presence within the believer. His work produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

This sermon also addresses the danger of losing our first love. Hardship, grief, disappointment, and the cares of life can affect our joy, but they do not change the reality of what Christ has done. Believers are called to rejoice, remember, and continually stir up their hearts concerning the salvation they have received.

Whether you have walked with Christ for years or are hearing the gospel for the first time, this message points back to the simple and profound truth that God loved the world enough to give His Son. He has made a way for sinners to be redeemed, transformed, adopted, and filled with His Spirit.

Have you lost the wonder of your salvation? Perhaps today is the time to remember what God has done, renew your gratitude, and allow the Holy Spirit to stir your heart again.

Sometimes the greatest obstacle in our walk with God is not something we need to gain, but something we need to let go. In “Cast it Aside,” Pastor Tommy Boring challenges believers from Hebrews 12:1-3 to identify the weights and sins that hinder their spiritual race and to lay them aside so they can run with patience and keep their eyes on Jesus.

Hebrews 12 points us to the “great cloud of witnesses” described throughout Hebrews 11. Men and women such as Abel, Abraham, Moses, and Rahab believed God even when circumstances seemed impossible. Their faith reminds us that victory does not require carrying unnecessary burdens. It requires trusting God and continuing forward.

Pastor Boring emphasizes the difference between sin and weight. Sin must be confessed, repented of, and forsaken, but there are also weights that may not necessarily be sinful yet still hinder our walk with God. These burdens can steal our peace, joy, spiritual strength, and effectiveness. God wants us to recognize them and cast them on Him because He cares for us.

The message examines some of the weights identified in 1 John 2:16, including the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life. Pride can produce anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, and self-exaltation. The lust of the eyes can lead to envy, jealousy, discontentment, and covetousness. The lust of the flesh can pull us toward ungodliness and unrighteousness. Each one can slow us down in the race God has called us to run.

The sermon also addresses burdens that can come through physical problems, difficult circumstances, relationships, work, aging, and the problems of others. Even when certain circumstances cannot immediately be changed, we do not have to allow them to become weights that control our hearts. Pastor Boring points to the Apostle Paul, who endured tremendous suffering while continuing to serve God. Paul learned contentment instead of allowing his hardships to stop his race.

Another important warning is that complaining can become a weight. Difficult people and unpleasant circumstances may remain, but believers are challenged to choose whether they will allow those situations to steal their joy and effectiveness.

Ultimately, laying aside our weights is a daily decision. We may find ourselves picking up the same burdens again and again, but God’s invitation remains the same: cast it on Him. He is able to carry what we cannot.

The message calls us to examine our hearts honestly, identify whatever is slowing us down, and surrender it to God. Instead of simply hearing the Word, we are challenged to become doers of the Word. Lay aside the sin. Lay aside the pride. Lay aside the fear, frustration, bitterness, and burdens that keep us from running well.

Most importantly, look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. He endured the cross and despised the shame for the joy that was set before Him. When we keep our eyes on Christ and cast aside what hinders us, we can continue running the race God has placed before us.

A genuine work of God should never leave us sitting still. In “A Call to Get Stirred,” Pastor Tommy Boring challenges believers to examine whether the Holy Spirit is truly stirring their hearts and moving them to action for the things that matter eternally.

Using Acts 17 and Paul’s experience in Athens, the message focuses on the moment when Paul saw a city completely given to idolatry and his spirit was “stirred in him.” Paul did not simply notice the darkness around him and move on. His burden led him to speak, preach, pray, and point people toward the true God and the salvation found through Jesus Christ.

Pastor Boring makes an important distinction between being emotionally moved and being spiritually stirred. People can be affected by music, movies, circumstances, politics, and countless other things, but the question is whether there is something within us that can be stirred by the Holy Spirit. If we are truly born again, the Spirit of Christ should move us toward prayer, worship, obedience, compassion, witnessing, and a greater burden for lost souls.

The message challenges Christians to consider what truly bothers them. We can become deeply concerned about politics, prices, gas, laws, and everyday problems while remaining unmoved by people who are living without God and facing eternity without hope. Paul was stirred by the spiritual darkness surrounding him, and believers today should be stirred by the darkness around us as well.

Being stirred is not simply an emotional experience. Stirring should produce action. It should cause us to pray more, seek God more, study His Word, stand for truth, reach out to others, and become usable vessels in His hands. The church cannot afford to remain spiritually asleep while there is still a world that needs to hear the Gospel.

Pastor Boring also points back to the great spiritual awakenings of the past, when men and women became stirred by God and allowed that burden to influence those around them. The challenge is whether we are willing to wake up, get involved, visit, call, pray, witness, and stand in the gap for those who need Jesus.

The sermon brings the challenge home with a personal question: Who is praying for your loved ones? Who is crying out for their souls? Who is willing to stand in the gap? We should ask God to awaken our hearts and restore the burden we once had for people who are lost, hurting, and drifting away from Him.

Most importantly, Pastor Boring reminds us that there must first be something within us to stir. The call begins with being born again and having the Holy Spirit within. There is no substitute for salvation. For the believer, the prayer is simple: “God, stir this up in me today. Help me be a witness for You and Your kingdom.”

May God wake us from spiritual sleep, give us a burden for souls, and stir us to make a difference while there is still work to do and a Gospel to share.

There are moments in life when fear, uncertainty, and trouble make us wonder if we can keep going. In “The Hand That Holds You,” Pastor Tommy Boring brings a comforting message from Psalm 139 about the unfailing presence, guidance, and protection of God.

Psalm 139 reminds us that God knows everything about us and is everywhere we could possibly go. His knowledge reaches our thoughts, words, motives, and struggles, yet He still chooses to lay His hand upon us. Even when we try to hide our failures or run from His presence, God knows where we are and continues to reach for us.

The message focuses on the powerful truth that God’s hand does more than comfort us. His hand leads us, holds us, corrects us, and keeps us. Jesus promised that His sheep hear His voice, follow Him, and have eternal life. No one can pluck them from His hand, and they are also secure in the Father’s hand. What an assurance for the child of God. His hands never fail, never tremble, and never let go.

Pastor Boring explains that God’s hand can also become heavy when we are walking in sin. Like a shepherd pulling a wandering sheep away from danger, God’s correction is an expression of His love. His chastening is designed to bring us back to repentance and righteousness. We may resist His guidance, but His purpose is always to protect and restore us.

The Good Shepherd leads His people beside still waters, restores the soul, directs their paths, and walks with them through the valley of the shadow of death. Isaiah 41:10 gives another powerful reminder that God strengthens, helps, and upholds His people with His righteous right hand.

A personal experience involving the unexpected playing of the song “He’ll Hold My Hand” became a meaningful reminder of the central truth of this message. Whether we are worried, afraid, discouraged, struggling, or facing uncertainty, God is still holding our hand. He will hold us through the good days and difficult days, through life and even through the journey of death.

The message closes with an invitation to make sure you are truly in God’s hand. Salvation begins with being born again, confessing our sin, and trusting Jesus Christ. If you belong to Him, you can rest in this promise: He will lead you, He will hold you, and He will never let you go.

There is a danger in thinking we are stronger, wiser, or more spiritual than we really are. In this challenging sermon, Elder Dustin Parks preaches from Luke 18:9-14 about humility, self-righteousness, and the sobering truth that we are all only one step away from backsliding.

The message begins with the Pharisee who thanked God that he was not like other people. Elder Parks warns against the same spirit taking root in our own hearts. Church attendance, positions, knowledge, wealth, appearance, or years of service do not make one person more valuable to God than another. Our righteousness is not something we can manufacture. We are dependent every day on the grace and mercy of God.

“We’re all one step from backsliding” is not a call to fear, but a call to humility and watchfulness. No matter our position in the church or how long we have served God, we are still capable of falling. Peter boldly declared that he would never deny Jesus, yet he denied Him three times. Elder Parks emphasizes the importance of crucifying the flesh daily and keeping our focus on where we stand with God rather than measuring ourselves against others.

The sermon also challenges the way Christians can judge people based on age, appearance, wealth, abilities, or background. God is no respecter of persons. A pastor is not better than a singer, an older saint is not better than a young believer, and someone who does not fit our idea of what a Christian should look like is not beyond God’s reach. God looks on the heart.

Jesus repeatedly showed compassion to people others might overlook. The man who had been lame for 38 years, blind Bartimaeus, and others who were considered insignificant were not rejected by Christ. Before salvation, we were all sinners in need of mercy. We were all lost, broken, and without hope apart from Jesus. That truth should produce humility, compassion, and a willingness to see others through the eyes of Christ.

Elder Parks reminds us that our lives are being watched by those who are lost. When Christians judge others over outward appearances or make people feel unwelcome, they can become a stumbling block. Instead, the church should demonstrate the love, forgiveness, humility, and grace of Jesus Christ. We all have mistakes. We all fall short. We all need the Lord.

This message is a call to examine our own hearts before examining someone else’s life. Instead of asking, “How are they doing?” we should ask, “Where am I with God?” Instead of comparing ourselves with others, we should humble ourselves before Christ, confess our failures, and keep walking in His grace.

No one is too young, too old, too broken, too different, or too far gone for God to save. The same Jesus who saved us can save anyone. Let us stop acting as though we are different from everyone else and start showing the world the love of the One who saved us all.

What happens when we stop trying to be seen and start making sure Jesus is seen? In this powerful sermon, Pastor Tommy Boring preaches from John 3:22-30 and John 12:32 on the life-changing truth, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John the Baptist gives us a powerful example of what it means to live for the glory of Christ. He understood that everything good comes from God, that his purpose was to point people to Jesus, and that his joy was found in seeing Christ increase. John refused to take the place of the Bridegroom. Instead, he faithfully served, stood for truth, and directed attention away from himself and toward Jesus.

Pastor Tommy reminds us that every gift, ability, blessing, opportunity, and breath comes from God. We have nothing to boast in except Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. The flesh wants recognition, praise, and glory, but the Christian life calls us to surrender ourselves so that Christ can be lifted higher.

The message also points back to Moses lifting up the brazen serpent in the wilderness. Those who looked upon it lived. Jesus would later explain that He must be lifted up, and that when He is lifted up, He will draw people unto Himself. Our responsibility is not to manufacture salvation, manipulate people, or draw attention to ourselves. We are called to lift up Jesus and allow His power to work on hearts.

To truly lift Jesus up, we must get low. Humility is not weakness. It is the place where God can work through us. When we decrease, Christ becomes more visible. When we get out of the way, people can see their need for Him. When our lives point away from ourselves and toward Jesus, His glory becomes the focus.

John’s example challenges us to point up, set Christ above ourselves, stand for Him even when it costs us, and continually decrease so He can increase. We may be called old-fashioned, different, or out of touch, but our calling is to remain faithful to Jesus regardless of the world’s opinion.

This sermon is a challenge to examine our hearts and ask: Am I lifting up Jesus, or am I lifting up myself? Am I seeking His glory, or my own? Am I willing to surrender my plans, pride, and desires so that Christ can be seen more clearly through my life?

There is hope in Christ alone. Not in ourselves, not in a preacher, and not in a church. The answer is Jesus.

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”