Sermons by Phil Pike

Respectable, Religious… and Lost

Date: July 27, 2025

Nicodemus had climbed the ladder of religious success—mastering the Scriptures, meticulously following the rules, achieving status—only to discover that none of those efforts mattered to God. He came to Jesus expecting affirmation, but instead, Jesus dismantled his entire system with one staggering truth: Unless you are born again from above, you will never get into the kingdom of God. No amount of moral effort, theological knowledge, or religious devotion could bridge the gap. And the same is true for us. The question isn’t whether you’ve earned God’s approval—it’s whether you’ve surrendered to His grace and been born again.

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Confronting Dead Religion

Date: July 20, 2025

It’s deceptively easy to let our walk with Christ slip into autopilot—showing up at church, tossing some money in the plate, trying to look the part—while our hearts drift further from Him. In Jesus’ day, the religious elite had reduced temple worship to a mere transaction. Sacred space became marketplace noise. So Jesus made a whip and drove them out, declaring they had desecrated His Father’s house. But now we are the temple, and every day our choices reveal who truly reigns in our hearts. So ask yourself—what tables need overturning in your life? What clutter needs clearing so worship can be real again? What would it look like to love Him not just with your lips, but with your life?

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Stop Trying to Be Good Enough!

Date: July 13, 2025

When Jesus turned water into wine, He intentionally chose the clay jars reserved exclusively for ceremonial washing—symbols of human effort to achieve purity. But instead of water, He filled them with wine, pointing to His blood, which is the only thing that can truly cleanse us. Are you still trying to make yourself right with God through church attendance, giving to charity, or being a good person? No amount of effort can save you. Faith alone in His shed blood can wash away your sins. It’s time to stop your endless striving and simply put your faith in Jesus. He is the only One who can make you clean.

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What Are You Seeking?

Date: July 6, 2025

We’re all chasing something—success, money, approval, a sense of peace. And because sin runs through every human heart, even our noblest pursuits can be laced with selfish motives. It’s even possible to follow Jesus for the wrong reason! Some come to Him hoping that He’ll magically fix all their problems. Others follow because it’s expected—family tradition, social pressure. ⁠But the real question is: What are we truly seeking? Are we following Christ to get something from Him, or because we’ve been so overwhelmed by His grace that we can’t help but offer Him everything?

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Staying True When it Costs Everything

Date: June 15, 2025

We all face times of testing when doing what’s right costs more than we imagined, and compromising the truth looks like the easy way out. But these aren’t accidents; they’re proving grounds. When Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted by the devil, He didn’t waver or despair. He stood His ground, anchored in the solid truth of God’s Word. You, too, will be led into the wilderness. And there, stripped of comfort and clarity, what you truly believe will surface. The question isn’t if you’ll be tempted, but whether you’ll hold fast to the Word when it matters most. Because in the wilderness, your identity isn’t proven by performance, but by trusting who God is.

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Jesus’ Baptism: Anointed by the Spirit

Date: June 8, 2025

Though sinless and in no need of repentance, Jesus insisted on being baptized to identify with us, the broken and guilty. He waded into our mess, not to excuse our sin, but loving us enough to meet us in it. The Holy Spirit descended, anointing Him with divine power for the mission ahead. If the perfect, holy, Son of God refused to function without the Spirit, do we actually think we can? So, the real question is, are you relying on your own strength, or desperately depending on the Holy Spirit? You weren’t made to muscle your way through this life. You were made to walk as Jesus walked: surrendered, empowered, and led by the Spirit.

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Jesus’ Baptism: Affirmed by the Father

Date: June 1, 2025

Why was Jesus baptized, even though He had no sin to repent of? First, it marked the beginning of His public ministry and vividly foreshadowed how it would end—with His death, burial, and resurrection. Second, it was God’s public affirmation that Jesus is “the Son of God,” a title reserved for the promised Messiah. This was no ordinary baptism. It was a line drawn in the sand for every watching eye, every questioning heart, and every doubting demon that the Messiah now stood in their midst. Some fell down in worship. Others clenched their fists in rage. Jesus’ baptism was both a declaration and a commitment, setting Him on an unshakable path to the cross, where the symbolic He enacted would become the brutal and beautiful reality that sets every captive free!

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Why Good People Need to Repent

Date: May 25, 2025

When John the Baptist appeared on the scene preaching a fiery message of repentance, the religious elite bristled at the idea that they needed cleansing. Confident in their own goodness, they saw no need for heart change. But John’s words pierced their polished exterior, exposing unclean hearts that no amount of religious performance could cleanse. And his message still confronts us today, challenging our instinct to justify ourselves rather than repent. No matter how much good we think we’ve done, the truth remains: we must all repent before God. Are you still relying on your efforts or reputation to get to heaven?

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The Quiet Power of a Life with God

Date: May 18, 2025

The story of Jesus’ early life reminds us that who you become matters far more than what you achieve. For nearly thirty years, Jesus lived in obscurity—no miracles, no sermons, just ordinary life in a small town. And yet, Scripture tells us those were the years when He grew in wisdom, strength of spirit, and in favor with God and man. Could it be that God values the mundane more than we do; that He does His deepest work in the silence, not in the spotlight? In a world obsessed with visibility, Jesus shows us that real spiritual growth happens in the shadows—in ordinary obedience, unseen faithfulness, and steady intimacy with the Father. Your greatest growth won’t occur in what you do, but in how deeply you abide in Him.

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How Will You Respond to the Truth?

Date: May 11, 2025

Matthew chapter 2 is more than a historical account, it’s a mirror revealing how we respond to Jesus, the ultimate Truth. Like the wise men, you may be searching for truth and meaning, but haven’t yet found what satisfies. Or like Herod, you might reject truth because it threatens your control or your pride. Or perhaps, like Joseph, you’ve encountered Jesus and now you live to protect and obey the truth at all costs. The question isn’t if you’re responding to Him, but how. Are you still seeking, stubbornly resisting, or surrendered to His truth? The choice you make reveals not just your journey, but your destiny!

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More Than Forgiven!

Date: April 20, 2025

Christ’s death on the cross paid the price for your sins, but His resurrection declared you justified. It’s more than forgiveness—it’s as if you had never sinned at all. The resurrection isn’t just a truth to believe in; it’s a reality to live in. His victory at the empty tomb frees you from condemnation, performance, and fear. You no longer need to carry the crushing weight of guilt—Jesus paid for it in full. You’re not on the outside looking in—you’ve been invited into His presence. You don’t have to strive for approval—you are fully accepted and loved. So live today in the freedom of what Christ has already accomplished. Stop striving—start standing. Stop doubting—start resting. Don’t just say, “Christ is risen.” Live like it!

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The Shocking Genealogy of Jesus

Date: April 13, 2025

Some people use their family name to boast about wealth, power or prominence. But the genealogy of Jesus shatters expectations. God’s raw, unfiltered family album includes prostitutes, pagans, adulterers, and murderers—people who wouldn’t be welcome in most churches! But God didn’t airbrush their stories; He wove them into His redemptive plan, proving that Jesus didn’t come for the perfect, but for the broken. In these names, we see ourselves—flawed, faltering, yet invited into a family where we are forgiven and made whole through faith in Him. That means your failures, your shame, your past don’t disqualify you. They make you the kind of person He came for. The genealogy of Jesus reminds us that grace doesn’t find good people to reward; it finds broken people to restore. And if He could use those people, He can surely use you!

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