Sermon Archive

Sermon Archive

If you want to learn more about the good news of Jesus or have a Bible study, please feel free to contact us any time. Looking for even more sermon content? Check out our podcasts and YouTube channel any time…

Faith IRL: Faith for the Long Haul (James 5:7-20)

Starting is exciting. Finishing takes endurance. But what does faith look like when the road gets long, prayers seem unanswered, and life doesn’t go according to plan? In this final message of our Faith IRL series, Gordon Dabbs explores James 5:7–20 and the kind of faith that keeps going—even when life gets hard. Discover what it means to wait patiently, trust God’s faithfulness, pray through every season, and pursue those who have wandered from the faith. The good news? Faith…

Faith IRL: Living With Open Hands (James 4:13-17)

We make plans, set goals, and try to control what comes next. But the truth is, we have far less control over our lives than we think. In James 4:13–17, we’re reminded that life is fleeting, tomorrow is never guaranteed, and our future ultimately belongs to God. So what does it look like to live with open hands—surrendering our plans, trusting God’s wisdom, and following the leading of the Holy Spirit? In this message, Bryan Borden challenges us to examine…

Faith IRL: The War Behind the Words (James 4:1-10)

Why do we fight? Whether it’s tension in our families, disagreements at church, or conflicts in our everyday relationships, the real battle often goes much deeper than the words we exchange. In this message from our IRL (In Real Life) series, Paul Conway explores James 4:1–10 and reveals how our outward conflicts often expose an inward struggle. James challenges us to examine our desires, confront our divided hearts, and discover the transforming power of God’s grace. The fight you can…

Faith IRL: Wisdom Made Visible (James 3:13-18)

We live in a world that puts enormous energy into appearances—the right image, the right angle, the right filter. But according to James, real wisdom isn’t about looking impressive. It’s about the kind of life we produce. In “Wisdom Made Visible, Preaching Minister Gordon Dabbs, Ph.D., explores James 3:13–18 and the difference between wisdom that merely sounds good and the wisdom that comes from above. Godly wisdom is humble, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, and visible in…

Faith IRL: Tongue Tied (James 3:1-12)

“Watch your mouth.” Turns out, our moms were onto something. James reminds us that something as small as the tongue can steer a life, start a fire, heal a wound—or create one. Our words carry enormous power, whether they’re spoken face-to-face, sent in a text, or posted online. But James takes us deeper than simply learning to have a better filter. What comes out of our mouths reveals what’s happening in our hearts. Jesus didn’t come merely to make rude…

Faith IRL: Faith That Works (James 2:14-26)

What does real faith actually look like? James 2 gives us a challenging answer: living faith doesn’t just believe—it moves. It serves. It obeys. It gets its hands dirty. In this message by Preaching Minister Gordon Dabbs, Ph.D., from our IRL: In Real Life series, we explore one of the most debated passages in the New Testament: “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Are we saved by faith or by works? And how do James…

Faith IRL: No Favorites (James 2:1-13)

We live in a world that is constantly ranking people—by success, appearance, wealth, influence, background, and even how easy they are to like. But James says the church should be different. In James 2:1–13, we’re confronted with a challenging truth: favoritism isn’t just a manners problem—it’s a gospel problem. Grace changes the way we see people. When we remember how much mercy we’ve received from Jesus, we become people who are eager to extend that same mercy to others. In…

Faith IRL: Do the Word (James 1:19-27)

It’s possible to know a lot of Bible and still resist what God is asking us to do. James gives us a challenge that is simple, direct, and more than a little uncomfortable: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” God’s Word hasn’t completed its work when we hear it, study it, underline it, or even agree with it. The Word completes its work when we live it. In this message from James 1:19–27, Preaching Minister Gordon Dabbs,…

Faith IRL: The Temptation Trap (James 1:12 – 18)

Temptation always shows you the bait. It never shows you the trap. James reminds us that temptation is something every one of us faces—but it doesn’t have to control us. In this message by Preaching Minister Gordon Dabbs, Ph.D. from James 1:12–18, we look at how temptation works, why our vulnerable moments matter, and how making the right decisions before temptation arrives can change everything. We’ll also look at Jesus’ own experience with temptation and discover a powerful truth for…

Faith IRL: When Life Gets Real

Faith is easy to talk about when life is going according to plan. But what happens when the pressure hits? In the opening verses of James, we discover a faith built for real life—for unexpected trials, unanswered questions, financial pressure, strained relationships, and seasons when we simply don’t know what to do next. James reminds us that God can use the pressure we didn’t choose to produce a maturity we couldn’t gain any other way. In this message from James…
Banner graphic: stylized white dove shape on brown background with olive branch and green text reading “Psalms for a Fractured World.”

The Cost of Unity

We live in an age of fragmentation. Politics, culture, preferences, and opinions constantly sort us into opposing camps. But the church is called to be different—a place where people who might never have chosen one another learn to love one another because of Jesus. In Psalm 133, David describes unity with two surprising images: holy oil and refreshing dew. Unity is sacred. Unity gives life. And unity offers a divided and exhausted world a glimpse of something better—the Kingdom of…
Banner graphic: stylized white dove shape on brown background with olive branch and green text reading “Psalms for a Fractured World.”

A Community Set Apart

Unity sounds wonderful—until actual people are involved. In a world that constantly sorts, labels, and divides us, Psalm 133 offers a beautiful vision: God’s people living together in harmony. But Christian unity does not mean uniformity. It means different people, with different backgrounds, preferences, personalities, and convictions, learning to belong to one another because Jesus has made us one. In this message, P:reaching Minister Gordon Dabbs, Ph.D., explores what it means for the church to become “A Community Set Apart”—a…