Sermons by Phil Pike

Jesus Our Substitute

Date: April 5, 2015

Who could ever imagine sending an innocent person to be beaten and put to death in the place of a violent murderer? Nothing about that would be fair! Yet that is exactly what Jesus did. He died on the cross even though He was innocent, and Barabbas was set free even though he was guilty. Barabbas is a picture of us all — guilty before God and facing His judgement. But Jesus stepped in and became our substitute, paying our debt and setting us free!

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The Danger of Dead Religion

Date: March 29, 2015

Jesus enters Jerusalem a few days before His crucifixion and examines the spiritual condition of the people. What He finds is a nation bustling with outward displays of religious activity, but beneath the surface, there is nothing but dead religion. He curses a fruitless fig tree as a sign of judgement against them, and then He throws the corrupt money changers out of the Temple for defiling His Father’s house. If Jesus were to examine our lives today, would He see a cold, dead heart beneath the outward religious appearance, or would He find fruit growing for His glory?

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Not the Savior We Wanted

Date: March 22, 2015

As Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, the crowds threw their coats on the road before Him and shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel!” They wanted a king who would rule their nation, but they didn’t want a King who would rule their hearts. When they realized that Jesus was not the kind of savior they wanted, they turned on Him and shouted, “Crucify Him!” What kind of savior are you looking for? One who will give you everything you want, or one who will reign in your heart?

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Fully Committed to God’s Will

Date: March 15, 2015

Have you ever had a task before you that you dreaded so much, you tried to find ways to delay it or to keep from having to do it at all? Maybe it was a difficult exam, a dentist appointment, or a meeting with your boss. But none of those events come close to the crushing pressure that Jesus faced as He made His way to the cross. So then, what caused Him to pick up the pace and walk boldly towards Jerusalem, straight into the suffering that awaited Him, and what can we learn from His example?

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Contentment in the Unfailing Provision of God

Date: February 22, 2015

We are constantly bombarded with advertising designed to make us discontent with what we have so that we will always feel compelled to pursue something more. This can easily send us on a never-ending quest for happiness and fulfillment; always thinking, “I’ll be happy when…” or “I’d be happier if…” In stark contrast to this, the Bible calls us to live a life of contentment, but is that even possible? Today’s message reveals the secret of being content, even in a world that isn’t.

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Comfort in the Promised Presence of God

Date: February 15, 2015

A child who awakens in a dark room in the middle of the night is often gripped with fear, yet all it takes to comfort him is the presence of his father or mother. The same darkness is still there, but the child’s heart is now at rest simply because he is not alone. As we walk through the dark seasons of life, we are easily filled with fear. The one thing that will bring true peace and comfort into those situations is knowing that Jesus has promised to always be with us to the very end of the world!

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Confidence in the Absolute Providence of God

Date: February 8, 2015

Just a quick glance at the headlines reminds us that we live in a world filled with trouble. Terrorism, wars, toppling governments, economic instability — it’s enough to make us want to run and hide. But even though we live in a world of fear, we do not have to live in fear! The Bible reminds us that God is in complete control of all things, and that nothing happens in the world at large or in our own lives that is outside of His providence. Knowing this truth will bring us peace even in the most troubling times of life.

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Giving Our Talents to God

Date: February 1, 2015

Have you ever said, “If I had a chance to live my life over, I’d live it so much better!” But why is it that we don’t go ahead and make those changes now with the one life we do have? The Bible tells us how to invest our life wisely so we don’t reach the end and realize we wasted it. Jesus has entrusted each of us with different “talents” and one day He will return to see how we invested them. Will we hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” or will He rebuke us for the way we managed what He gave us?

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Giving Our Treasures to God

Date: January 25, 2015

God sends so many blessings into our lives, but there is always a danger that those very blessings will be the things that draw our hearts away from Him. Because of this, the Bible warns us to never treasure anything more than we treasure God. We can become so consumed by our treasures that we refuse to let them go, and as a result, we will miss God’s mission for our life. Are you investing the blessings God gives you for His kingdom, or are you using them all for your own benefit?

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Giving Our Time to God

Date: January 18, 2015

What a tragedy it would be to reach the end of your life and still not know the purpose of it all; to live for 70 or 80 years and have nothing of eternal value to show for it! For the most part, we spend our lives pursuing temporary achievements and storing up temporary things, never realizing that one day they will all slip through our fingers like sand. We get so preoccupied with the present that we lose sight of eternity. We must pray that God will reveal to us the brevity of life and the seriousness of eternity, so that we will learn how to live a life of purpose.

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Giving Our Thoughts to God

Date: January 11, 2015

Someone once said, “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” Our thoughts are so important, they will ultimately determine the course of our lives. Romans 12:2 tells us that we will either be conformed to the world or conformed to Christ based on what we think about. It also tells us that we will either find God’s will or miss it based on what we think about. It is absolutely vital that we learn how to surrender our thoughts to God so that our lives will be shaped by His thoughts, not ours.

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Living in Response to God’s Mercy

Date: January 4, 2015

In a culture that constantly urges us to strive to get ahead, to climb the ladder of success, to never settle for second place… what motivation could there possibly be to completely surrender our lives to the will of someone else? This command of Jesus comes as a startling shock to our senses. Surely no one would ever demand such a thing! And yet that’s precisely what Jesus demands. Could there be any reason compelling enough to make us not only obey this command, but to do it willingly?

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