Sermons by Phil Pike

Buried and Raised: The Death of the Old You

Date: October 19, 2025

What has the power to truly make a person new—not just a resolution to do better or try harder—but a total metamorphosis from the inside out? Romans 6 says the old you, the one enslaved to sin, had to die. And in Christ, that’s exactly what happened. When He was nailed to the cross and buried in the tomb, your old self died with Him. But you were also raised with Him into a new life, free to walk in His resurrection power. Christ now lives in you, equipping you with strength and victory that are not your own. That’s what baptism proclaims: not a cleaned-up version of who you were, but a new creation, born again, alive in Christ!

You’re Not Too Broken for Jesus

Date: October 12, 2025

So often we allow out worst failures, fears and scars of the past to define who we are and convince us that we’re too broken or too far gone for help. Yet Jesus doesn’t recoil from our mess; He steps into it with compassion and mercy, reminding us that grace is not for those who appear perfect, but for those who know they’re not. In Him, the untouchable becomes clean, the paralyzed soul walks again, and the outcast finds a home. He’s not waiting for you to be cleaned up or strong enough; He’s inviting you to bring every unhealed part of yourself to Him so He can make you truly whole.

Authority That Shakes the Darkness

Date: October 5, 2025

Our world is ravaged by sin and filled with broken people as far as the eye can see. Some days it feels like the kingdom of darkness is winning. But our hope stands firm in knowing that the same Jesus who healed diseases, calmed storms, and silenced evil spirits will come again to finish what He started. His displays of power on this earth were only a preview of the day when He will return to vanquish sin & darkness forever. The One who cast out demons will cast out Satan himself. The hands that restored the sick will make all things new!

Follow Me: The Call That Changes Everything

Date: September 28, 2025

When you open your heart and really listen to the words “Follow Me,” you realize Jesus isn’t merely asking you to add more religious activities to your existing priorities and plans. He’s calling you to reorganize your entire existence around His lordship and His purposes so that He becomes your focus. Yes, surrender has a cost — old ways abandoned, priorities redefined, identities reshaped. But in exchange, you’ll discover purpose and joy that no other path can give, and you’ll be transformed by His grace into something you could never become on your own! So, are you simply wearing the “Christian” label, or are you an actual follower of Christ?

When God Loves the People We Don’t

Date: September 21, 2025

You probably have a mental picture of what God’s blessings should look like, and who should receive them. The first century Jews were convinced that they would be the exclusive recipients of God’s grace when the Messiah arrived, and that their enemies would be excluded. But Jesus shattered their assumptions by announcing that God’s favor would flow outside their borders to the very people they despised. Upon hearing this, they were filled with rage and tried to kill Him! This ancient scene holds up a mirror to our own hearts: we readily accept God’s mercy for ourselves, yet quietly keep a list of those we consider unworthy. His love exceeds our man-made boundaries, and it always will. So, is there anyone you’re still overlooking?

The Distance Between Faith and Sight

Date: September 14, 2025

When desperation drives us to Jesus, we often arrive with our own desired outcome in mind. Yet what we want from Him pales in comparison to what He intends to do in us. Sometimes He calls us to trust His plan and His timing with nothing more than a promise hanging in the air. True faith is forged in that space between what He has said and what our eyes can see, and with each step of obedience, we are declaring that His word is more reliable than our circumstances and greater than our fears. Are you on that journey right now? Rest assured that taking Jesus at His word is never the wrong decision!

The End of Your Empty Pursuits

Date: September 7, 2025

You’ve been chasing fulfillment for as long as you can remember, through career wins, relationships, pleasure, approval, yet the thirst inside you lingers. It’s like drinking from a stagnant pond, hoping it will refresh you, only to end up emptier than before. And then Jesus steps in. Not with another quick fix or self-improvement plan, but with Himself—the Living Water. This isn’t about religion or rituals. It’s about genuine, abundant life rising up within you and spilling over to others. He’s inviting you to abandon the empty wells, quit reaching for substitutes, and receive the only water that can finally satisfy your soul.

More of Jesus, Less of Me

Date: August 17, 2025

In a world that urges you to climb higher, build your image, and expand your influence, life can feel like a competition where your worth is measured by how much you’re seen. But John the Baptist points to a better way. When the crowds left him for Jesus, he didn’t get angry or defensive—he was thrilled and said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” That wasn’t failure; it was freedom. Freedom from the treadmill of self-promotion, freedom from the desperate need to be noticed. When you stop striving to matter more, you’ll discover your truest purpose and deepest joy in making much of Jesus, rather than yourself.

God’s Grace Isn’t Just for You

Date: August 3, 2025

We like to imagine ourselves in a better moral category than the “worst” sinners, but God’s grace levels the field, shattering every self-made hierarchy and leaving only two groups: those who believe in Jesus and those who refuse. His promise—“whoever believes will be saved”—throws the door wide open, offering grace equally to you and to the one you’d least expect. In the end, we are all in need of God’s mercy, unable to justify ourselves by comparing our sins to others, and saved only by the gift of His Son.

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.

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?

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.