Solid Rock Church Sermons

In this sermon, we looked at the peace that Jesus brought into the world through His birth. In Luke 2, the angel announces to the shepherds that the Messiah has been born and He has come into the world to bring peace to those with whom God is pleased. Isaiah 9:6-7 describes this peace as the peace that has no end and Philippians 4:4-6 describes this peace as the peace that surpasses understanding. Different from the worldly concept of peace that comes and goes based on our circumstances, the peace of Jesus doesn’t fade or diminish. Additionally, the peace of Jesus surpasses our understanding because it’s not rooted in us or the things we can see; it’s rooted solely in our faith in Jesus. Christmas is the celebration of the Son of God who came near to bring us the peace that transcends any difficulties we may face in this life.  

In this sermon, we looked at how Christmas serves as a reminder that what we already have in Christ gives us enough reason to rejoice, even if God doesn’t change our struggles and hardships. In Psalms 69, David describes the desperation of his suffering and calls on the Lord to respond. While David asks for deliverance, he also asks for the Lord to sustain him if the situation doesn’t change. David’s hope wasn’t solely in the situation getting better or easier; his hope was for God to draw near and commune with him in a time when life seemed unbearable. David asked for God to show up as his redeemer to pay the ransom for his life. All of this points to the birth of Jesus. Christmas is the celebration of God coming near to us in our brokenness rather than hiding his face in embarrassment of the mess His children have made. The ultimate Christmas gift is God sending Jesus to be our redeemer, paying the ransom for our lives.

In this sermon, we looked at how we are compelled to rejoice because of the hope we have in Jesus. In 1 Peter 1, Peter writes to Christians who were losing hope in the midst of suffering and hardship. While Peter was honest with God’s people about the suffering they were experiencing, he also reminded the Church that our various trials in life do not kill our ability to rejoice because our hope remains alive. During the Advent season we, too, are reminded of our living hope. Living hope is the unwavering certainty and assurance, rooted in the finished work of Christ, the compels us to rejoice as we wait patiently on the Lord to fulfill His promises, even in the midst of difficult or uncertain circumstances.

In this sermon, we continued our "A Weary World Rejoices" Advent series by looking in Jeremiah 33 at God's Christmas promises to His people. God's people were living in a very tumultuous world during Jeremiah's time. They were weary from all of the political struggles and oppression they were experiencing and God seemed far off and unresponsive to the injustices Israel was facing. In the midst of their suffering, God faithfully reminded His people of His promise that the coming Messiah would bring righteousness and justice into the world. However, God’s people couldn’t see their own injustice toward God. They were eager for God to send His vengeance against His enemies, not realizing that their disobedience meant that they, too, were enemies of God. Much like the people of Israel in their tumultuous times, we can often fail to see that the greatest injustices in the world start in our own hearts. Before we go to God to heal the injustices we see in the world, we must first ask for God to forgive and heal our own injustices against Him. Only then can we care for the oppressed and engage in the injustices of the world from a platform of compassion and humility, instead of vengeance or hate, because we recognize that Jesus died for our injustices too. As believers, we can rejoice in the name of Jesus, the One who brings righteousness and justice to our world.

With this sermon, we began our Advent series, “A Weary World Rejoices.” Today’s world can often drain us and make us feel weary. This redirects our hearts’ attention away from Christ, causing us to rely on our own understanding and strength to persevere or simply just survive. Hebrews 4 tells us that, when hardships tempt us to find rest apart from Jesus, He will help us in our time of need. As believers, we can draw near to Jesus as the one true source of rest. He has made a way for us to draw near to Him and receive the rest that only comes from a personal relationship with Him. In the midst of our broken world, let us continually approach Jesus with confidence and find our rest in Him alone.

In this sermon, we looked at the Gospel promise that Jesus takes away God’s judgement against those who humble themselves before Him and acknowledge that He is the Lord. In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was blind from birth in order to open his spiritual eyes and lead him to salvation. In contrast to the religious leaders who stand in their religious pride and self-righteousness, the blind man goes from not knowing who Jesus is to believing that He is the Messiah. Although the man was born physically blind, it is the religious leaders who are truly blind. Like the man who was healed, it’s only when we humble ourselves in faith, acknowledging Jesus as Lord, that we are healed from our spiritual blindness.

In this sermon, we looked at the cost of following Jesus. Through the story of the blind man who Jesus healed in John 9, we see that even though our salvation is given to us as a free gift, following Jesus comes with a cost. Jesus healed the man’s blindness as a free gift but the man then had to make a decision: Would he risk everything in order to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ? When we’ve been saved by Jesus, He takes His rightful place in our hearts as our greatest treasure, calling us to forsake all other treasures. The man who was born blind had to let go of his acceptance from the Jewish community, even risking his relationship with his parents, in order to publicly express his faith in Jesus. We, too, must consider the cost of following Jesus. For many of us, it may require letting go of comfort. For others, it may require letting go of important relationships or possessions. For some, it may even mean enduring persecution and suffering. However, regardless of the cost for all who follow Jesus, the treasure of knowing Him as Lord is worth far more than anything else we could ever attain in this world.

In this sermon, we looked at how spiritual blindness keeps us from seeing the works of God in our lives and in the world around us. In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. When Jesus’ disciples assume that this man’s blindness is due to the sins of his parents, Jesus tells them that the blindness was allowed by God so that His works might be displayed. The Pharisees hear that Jesus healed the man of his blindness and, with arrogance and self-righteousness, they accuse Jesus of breaking God’s Law on the Sabbath and completely miss an opportunity to see the works of God. Jesus healed the man’s physical blindness in order for God’s light to open our spiritual eyes to see His works and glorify Him. In order to avoid suffering from the same spiritual blindness of the Pharisees, we must guard our hearts against self-righteousness and open our eyes to the mighty works of God.

In this sermon, we looked at the primary factor that distinguishes Christians from non-Christians. While the evidence of true saving faith can reveal itself in many ways, the primary evidence of true faith is found in who a person believes Jesus to be. In John 8:48-59, the Jews reveal that they truly don’t understand who Jesus is when they accuse Him of being demon possessed. As the conversation continues, and the Jews compare Jesus to Abraham and the prophets, Jesus doesn’t build a case to prove He is higher than Abraham; He simply tells them that before Abraham existed, “I am.” This present-tense wording reflects Jesus’ existence before Abraham and sets Jesus apart as transcendent and unable to be compared with any human being. In each of our lives, everything hinges on this one question: Who do you believe Jesus to be?

In this sermon, we looked in John 8, when Jesus challenged the true spiritual identity of the Jews who claimed to believe in Him. While some Jews had begun to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, they were still relying on their spiritual heritage from Abraham to validate themselves as children of God. However, Abraham was not saved by his family ties but by faith in God’s promise. Just as Abraham was saved by faith, they too must be saved by faith. Jesus challenged their claim to be children of God by pointing to their disbelief of the Truth. The primary identity marker of God’s children is that they live by faith, believing and trusting in God’s Word.