Wayside Chapel Sermons

Sometimes we ask God to take away what hurts, and the answer doesn’t come the way we hoped. This week, Pastor Jason looks at 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 and the truth that our wounds and weaknesses don’t mean God has abandoned us. When the thorn stays, His grace stays too.

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Outline

The Thorn That Stayed

Sometimes we pray, ask, and even plead with God to change our circumstances, and the thorn remains. That doesn’t mean we lack faith or that God has forgotten us. We can be honest about our pain while continuing to trust Him, even when we don’t understand what He is doing.

The Grace That Sustains

Paul asked God for relief, but God promised him grace. His grace isn’t only what saves us; it’s what carries us when our own strength runs out. God may not give us every explanation we want, but He promises that His grace is enough for us right now.

The Strength Found in Weakness

Weakness isn’t something we have to hide from God. It can become the place where we learn most deeply that the strength carrying us isn’t our own, but Christ’s. Becoming more like Jesus doesn’t mean becoming more self-sufficient; it means becoming more dependent on Him.

Pastor Cameron walks us through Romans 6 and the truth that Jesus has broken sin’s hold on us and set us free to live differently. That means we don’t have to keep going back to the same things that once held us captive. Because of Jesus, we can turn away from the old ways that lead to death and learn to walk in the new life He has given us. Grace meets us where we are, but it also changes where we’re going.

OUTLINE

Romans 6:1-11 | A New Identity

Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, our relationship with sin has fundamentally changed. Sin may still tempt us, and old patterns may still feel familiar, but it is no longer our master. In Christ, we are dead to sin and alive to God.

Romans 6:12-23 | A New Allegiance

Because sin no longer owns us, we have a choice about the direction of our lives. We can continue giving ourselves to the things that lead toward death, or we can offer ourselves to God and learn to live in obedience to Him. Our new identity in Christ leads to a new way of living.

The “easy yoke” Jesus offers isn’t another burden to carry. Pastor Jason continues our Become series by looking at the gift of spiritual disciplines, not as ways to perform for God, but as rhythms that create space for the Spirit to work in us. As we learn to walk in the way of Jesus, we discover the abundant life He invites us into.

COME DRINK

Jesus invites us to come to Him with our thirst and receive before we try to pour ourselves out for others. We were never meant to live like canals, constantly giving from our own strength. We come to Jesus first and allow His life to overflow through ours.

COME LEARN

Jesus invites us to take His yoke and learn His way of living. Spiritual practices aren’t about performance; they are rhythms that help us continually return to Jesus and make room for the Spirit to work in us.

BE FORMED

We are all being shaped by something. As we keep coming back to Jesus, the Spirit slowly forms us over time. Like a rock shaped by the steady current of a river, we are changed not through our own striving, but by continually placing our lives in the flow of what God is doing.

What if becoming more like Jesus isn’t about trying harder, but learning to stay close to Him? In this message, Pastor Jason continues our Become series in John 15, where Jesus invites us to abide in Him. As we learn to live from that place of connection, God produces the fruit. Join us as we look at what it means to live with a daily dependence on Jesus, receive what we need from Him, and trust Him to produce the fruit in our lives.

STAY CONNECTED

A branch doesn’t produce life on its own; it receives life by staying connected to the vine. In the same way, becoming more like Jesus isn’t something we can produce through our own effort. We keep turning toward Him, depending on Him, and allowing His life to shape ours.

STAY LOVED

Jesus doesn’t ask us to earn His love or prove that we deserve it. He invites us to live from the love He has already given us. As we learn to receive that love and remain close to Him, obedience becomes a response to being loved rather than an attempt to earn it.

Have you ever looked at your life and thought, “I really thought I’d be farther along by now”? Pastor Jason continues our Become series by looking at Galatians 6:7-10 and why becoming more like Jesus is often slower and messier than we expect. Join us as we talk about what it looks like to keep taking faithful steps, trust God when we can’t see what He’s doing, and not give up when change feels slow.

SOW FAITHFULLY

Becoming more like Jesus happens through thousands of small, ordinary choices. As we keep in step with the Spirit, those choices may feel insignificant in the moment, but over time they shape who we are becoming.

WAIT PATIENTLY

There is often a gap between the seeds we sow and the growth we can see. Just because change isn’t visible doesn’t mean God isn’t at work. We can trust Him with what is happening beneath the surface.

DON'T QUIT

Following Jesus can feel slow, messy, and discouraging, especially when we find ourselves struggling with the same things again. But growth isn’t always a straight line. Keep taking the next faithful step, trusting that the God who began the work in us will be faithful to finish it.

Why do we hide the parts of ourselves we don’t want others to see? Pastor Jason continues our Become series by looking at Romans 7:15-25 and the false self we create to protect what’s underneath and the freedom Jesus offers us to come out of hiding. Join us as we discover what it looks like to stop managing what everyone sees and let Jesus meet us where we really are. We’re glad you’re worshiping with us today!

There can be a gap between what we believe about Jesus and who we are actually becoming. We can know the right things, believe the gospel, and still find ourselves stuck in the same patterns, struggles, and habits. And when we recognize that gap, our instinct is often to try to fix ourselves, whether by waiting for God to suddenly change us, working harder to earn change, or relying on our own willpower. But none of those were ever the plan.

The truth is, we are all being formed by something. The question is what is shaping us and who we are becoming as a result. The good news of the gospel is that change really is possible. Jesus didn’t come only to forgive us, but to make us new and form us into people who look more like Him. We don’t change through our own strength, but through the power of Christ and the work of the Spirit within us.

OUTLINE

Ways We Try to Fix Ourselves

When we recognize the gap between what we believe and who we’re becoming, we often turn to magic, merit, or willpower. But lasting change was never meant to come from waiting passively, earning our way forward, or simply trying harder.

What’s Actually Forming You

We are all becoming someone, whether we realize it or not. If we aren’t intentionally being formed by Jesus, the world around us will gladly shape our desires, habits, and lives for us.

Through Christ, You Can Change

Change is possible, not through our strength alone, but through the power of Christ and the work of the Spirit. The gospel doesn’t just forgive us; through Christ, God is forming us into people who look more like Jesus.

The gospel doesn’t just change our relationship with God; it changes our relationship with one another. In Christ, we’ve been welcomed into a family we had no claim to and brought near by His grace. At the cross, Jesus tore down the walls that once separated us and made us one. And because we have been welcomed so freely, we become people who make room for others. We don’t rebuild walls of hostility, prejudice, or division. Instead, we reflect the heart of Jesus by drawing near to one another and welcoming others with the same grace we have received.

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The Problem We Can’t Forget (v.11–12)

We weren't just dead in sin; we were also outsiders. God overcame our alienation to bring us near.

The Gospel We Can’t Forget (v.13–18)

The cross doesn't only reconcile us to God, it reconciles us to each other.

The Goal We Can't Forget (v.19–22)

The end isn't just me and Jesus and a few of my friends; it's a new, unified people.

As Pastor Jason concludes our series, we’re turning to Revelation 21:1–5 and looking ahead to the everlasting hope God has promised us. Throughout this series, we’ve seen that even in a world broken by sin, God has always had a plan for redemption and restoration. One day, He will make all things new, and we will dwell with Him in a new heaven and a new earth, no longer marred by sin. What a glorious hope!

In this message, Pastor Jason traces God’s plan of redemption from Eden to Christ, showing how every promise points to the God who refuses to abandon His broken world. Through Ephesians 2, we see the heart of the gospel: though we were dead in sin... BUT GOD.....rich in mercy and great in love, made us alive in Christ and is making us new. Because we have a God who won't abandon us in our brokenness, we have hope!