Wilderness Church

In this message, Lead Pastor Travis Wright walks through Ephesians 5:15–21, exposing how many of our biggest regrets don’t come from intentional rebellion—but from quiet carelessness. Paul’s call to “walk carefully” confronts the subtle drift that happens when we stop paying attention to our time, our thinking, what fills and controls us, and how we relate to one another.

This sermon explores the sharp contrasts Paul lays out in Ephesians: wisdom vs. foolishness, careful living vs. careless drift, drunkenness vs. Spirit-filling, and self-centered living vs. Spirit-shaped community. Travis shows how carelessness is the default—but wisdom is always a choice.

As the final message of 2025 in the Rooted + Rescued series, this teaching challenges listeners to examine where carelessness may have crept in and invites the church to step into 2026 walking intentionally—filled with the Spirit, rooted in Christ, marked by worship, gratitude, humility, and mutual submission.

In this message, Lead Pastor Travis Wright walks through Ephesians 5:1–14, where Paul calls believers to “walk in love” and “live as children of light.” Using a headlamp-in-the-dark illustration, Travis highlights the contrast between the darkness of our culture and the identity believers now carry in Christ. The sermon explores how counterfeit love, deceptive words, secret sin, and spiritual drift dim the light God has placed within us — and how the gospel awakens us to a new way of seeing, living, and loving. Paul’s invitation rings out clearly: “Awake, O sleeper… and Christ will shine on you.” This message challenges listeners to step out of the shadows, embrace their identity as God’s beloved children, and take the next faithful step in the light of Christ.

In this episode our guest speaker, and friend, Ken Brumley points out the story in scripture on the man laying beside the Pool of Bethesda trying to be healed. The interesting this about this story isn't the folklore or the fairytale belief on the power of the pool, but instead the emphasis in this story comes from a simple question that Jesus asks the man.

"Do you want to be well?"

This question usually wouldn't require deep thought or contemplation, but if we allow it these words of Jesus can reveal the layers of our heart and the ways that we try to fix ourselves.

In this Thanksgiving message, Lead Pastor Travis Wright revisits key themes from Ephesians 1–4 to show that gratitude is not a seasonal feeling but a transformational way of life for followers of Jesus. Drawing from the historical context of Thanksgiving being established during the Civil War, Travis highlights how gratitude has always been God’s remedy for divided nations and divided hearts. The sermon walks through Paul’s reminders of what God has already done for us—blessing, saving, uniting, strengthening, and transforming us—and shows how gratitude grows not from our circumstances but from our identity in Christ. This message invites listeners to slow down, refocus, and intentionally practice thankfulness as a pathway to peace and a powerful expression of worship.

Sometimes we become oblivious to the roles that certain emotions or feelings play in our life. We know that we feel them, but we miss how those emotions can become a driving force in how we act, respond, talk, and trust. In this episode Operations Pastor Jarrod Hill talks through how feeding into our emotions, especially fear, can cause us to sink in our faith. If you struggle with allowing fear to control the way you live, you are not alone! You can feed your faith and starve fear by choosing to act in faith, praise God despite your circumstance, and calling out to God in all situations.

In Rooted + Rescued, Part 11: A New Way to Love, Lead Pastor Travis Wright walks through Ephesians 4:30–32, showing how following Jesus means taking off the old self—anger, bitterness, and rage—and putting on the new self of kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Through a mix of humor, honesty, and real-life stories (including one from duck hunting season), Travis reminds us that bitterness doesn’t need a reason—it just needs a place to grow—and that even justified anger can grieve the Holy Spirit when it hardens our hearts.

This message calls believers to live free from resentment and to reflect the forgiveness they’ve already received in Christ. A forgiving church, Travis explains, is a Spirit-filled church. Real transformation begins when we release old grudges, walk in grace, and let the Spirit fill our lives with compassion and love.

In Rooted + Rescued, Part 10: A New Way to Talk, Lead Pastor Travis Wright unpacks Ephesians 4:25–29, showing that when grace transforms your heart, it should also transform your speech. Paul teaches that words reveal the condition of the heart—so followers of Jesus must learn to “talk like someone who’s been made new.” Travis explores how honesty builds trust, unresolved anger poisons relationships, and integrity gives our words weight.

This message challenges listeners to use their words as tools for construction, not demolition—to speak life, not rot. In a culture driven by gossip, sarcasm, and outrage, the people of God should sound different. Transformation isn’t just visible—it’s audible. When we are truly rooted in grace and rescued by Christ, our conversations begin to echo His tone: full of grace, truth, and life.

You can’t live a new life with your old mindset. In this message, Travis unpacks Paul’s challenge in Ephesians 4 to stop thinking like the old self and begin living with a renewed mind. Using vivid analogies—from muddy trails to highway habits—Travis illustrates how transformation begins internally before it ever shows up externally. This isn’t behavior modification; it’s heart renovation through the Holy Spirit. Learn how to put off the old, be renewed in your mind, and put on the new life created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

In this message, Travis unpacks what it really means to grow up in Christ. Ephesians 4 shows that spiritual maturity isn’t automatic—it’s the destination of every believer and every church. Real growth leads to unity, stability, truth spoken with love, and a body where every part does its work. Through honest confession, real-life stories, and everyday analogies, this sermon explores the difference between simply growing older and actually growing up in faith. It challenges us to move from consuming to contributing, from attending to belonging, and from membership to partnership—living as a connected body that reflects the fullness of Christ.

In this message from the Rooted + Rescued series, we look at how Christ designed His church to grow—not through hierarchy or performance, but through equipping and participation. Ephesians 4:7-12 reveals that every believer has received grace to serve, and that church leadership is one of the gifts Jesus gives to help the body mature. Travis walks through what these leadership gifts look like today, why they exist, and how unity is protected when we view leaders not as celebrities to idolize or critics to target, but as servants who equip others to lead, love, and build the church. It’s a practical, hopeful reminder that when the saints do the work of ministry, the church doesn’t just grow bigger—it grows stronger.