Sermons by Phil Pike

Christmas Eve 2014

Date: December 24, 2014

When we were children, most of us had things handed down to us. Perhaps we had clothes from an older sibling handed down to us, or toys they had outgrown. That first Christmas 2,000 years ago truly was a hand-me-down Christmas. God handed down His Son to a sinful world. Jesus humbled Himself and was made a little lower than the angels in order to come and save us. This Christmas, you may receive all the gifts you’ve ever wanted, but have you ever received the one Gift you really need?

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An Unexpected Surprise

Date: December 21, 2014

For generations the people of Israel waited for their Savior to come, but when He did come, He was not the Savior they wanted. Instead of being born to royalty, He was born to a poor couple from the middle of nowhere. Instead of being a powerful king, He was a humble servant. Instead of being a mighty military leader, He taught everyone to love their enemies. Jesus truly was an unexpected surprise. And even after they put Him to death on a cross, He still had one more unexpected surprise that no one could have believed until they saw it for themselves!

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An Unwanted Gift

Date: December 14, 2014

Imagine spending weeks searching for the perfect gift for someone you dearly love, paying an outrageous price to purchase it, carefully wrapping it in just the right paper, then giving it to them with great excitement, only to have them throw it in the trash can! Surely no one would ever respond to such extravagant kindness in such a cruel way. Yet the Bible tells us that God gave the gift of His Son to the world, and they rejected Him. John 1:11 says, “He came to his own, but his own did not receive him.” What have you done with the gift of Jesus? Are there areas of your life where He is still unwanted?

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An Unwelcome Announcement

Date: December 7, 2014

Mary and Joseph didn’t ask for this! They were quite content making their plans and living their lives. Things were going along just fine. And then, without warning, along came God and dropped a bombshell in their lap, telling them that all their plans would be laid aside so that God could use their lives for His plans. They could have been angry. They could have fought back. But instead, they both submitted themselves to God’s will, and their lives were never the same. How do we react when God drops an unwelcome announcement into our lap and asks us to put our lives on hold for Him?

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Forgetting God

Date: November 30, 2014

The Bible tells us that the Israelites repeatedly forgot God, despite all the miracles they had seen, and despite all the blessings God had given to them. It’s easy for us to read that and say, “I would certainly never forget God!” Yet, if we take an honest look at our lives, the truth is, we forget God all the time in ways we might not even realize. Today’s message warns us of the subtle dangers of forgetfulness, and encourages us to give thanks to God for all His goodness to us.

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Identity Recovery (Embracing the Truth)

Date: November 23, 2014

The world puts all kinds of labels on us to define who we are: smart or dumb, pretty or ugly, popular or unpopular, successful or failure. The truth is, all of those labels are lies! We are not defined by any of those things. Jesus met many people whose lives were shaped and limited by the negative labels society had placed on them, but His transforming power set them free from those lies and gave them a brand new identity in Him. Don’t allow other people to define you. Find your identity in Christ alone!

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Credit Check (Silencing the Lies)

Date: November 16, 2014

None of us would put much value on a single sheet of paper. And yet a piece of paper once sold for almost $750,000… not because of the paper, but because of whose name was on it. It was a letter signed by Abraham Lincoln. The same is true with us. We ourselves are worthless jars of clay, but because Christ has put His name on us, we now have incalculable value! We have value, not because of who we are, but because of whose we are. It’s time to stop basing our worth on our own identity, and start discovering the real value we have been given in Christ!

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Identity Crisis (Believing the Lies)

Date: November 9, 2014

In moments of raw honesty, it is startling to discover the negative words people often use to describe how they see themselves: ugly, fat, unloveable, stupid, worthless. Still others use words like depressed, lonely, unwanted, fearful, addict, hopeless, etc. And the sad reality is, these are actual terms used, not just by unsaved people to describe themselves, but by Christians! It’s time for the church to expose the lies Satan is telling us and discover the truth about who the Bible says we really are in Christ!

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Identity Theft (The Ultimate Deception)

Date: November 2, 2014

People have many false views of who God is. It seems that everyone has created their own version of God; a “god” they are comfortable with. They choose the parts about God they like and ignore the parts they don’t. But God’s true identity cannot be changed to suit us. He alone is God, and we cannot fashion Him into our own image. Until we have a right understanding of who God really is, everything in life will be off course, and we will never know how to really live. Do you truly know who God is?

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Dedicating Ourselves to God

Date: October 26, 2014

What is the highest ambition you have for your children? Is it that they would make you proud, or reflect well on your family, or become successful or wealthy or famous? Or is your greatest desire for them that their lives would glorify God? Today we share in a brief parent/child dedication service, followed by a sermon that challenges us all to make sure we have first dedicated ourselves to God, and then to make sure we have given everything we possess to be used for His ultimate glory. Is there anything or anyone you are still unwilling to let go of for God?

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You’ve Been Forgiven. Live Like It!

Date: October 12, 2014

When you think about your plans for the future, what percentage of those plans revolve around you, your needs, your dreams, your happiness, your money, your comfort? How is it possible that those of us who call ourselves followers of Christ are so preoccupied with our own agenda rather than being totally consumed with His agenda? Because of what Christ has done for us, we have been called to live our lives entirely for Him. What would it take to move you from where you are to that kind of life?

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Seeing Your Pain as Part of God’s Plan

Date: October 5, 2014

When difficult or painful circumstances come into your life, do you ever stop to consider that they may have been divinely orchestrated by God to bring about His ultimate purpose in your life? Many Christians see hard times as a sign that God has abandoned them or that He is not being kind to them. But the Bible teaches us that God is at work even in the worst moments of our lives, and if we will surrender them to Him, He will bring about a life of fruitfulness for His glory!

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