December 10, 2017
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Matthew 2:1-12
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christmas
What is it about this song “White Christmas” that stirs us so? Isn’t it the desire to have the perfect Christmas? To experience the wonder and expectation that we once felt as a child? Don’t you desire to have the perfect Christmas? Don’t you feel the pressure to make it happen? To spend more money than you have in order to give your kids everything on their list? You decorate your house. You cook and clean. Because you want a “White,” a “Perfect,” Christmas. This longing for wonder and beauty, this longing for the eternal is in every human heart. It’s what moves us to dream of something perfect and lasting. It’s what moves us to worship.
In the book of Matthew the story of the birth of Jesus was told within the political backdrop of the times. Jesus was the one prophesied to be King, but He came in the most unexpected way. And from the beginning there was a battle between His Kingdom and the false king that usurped His Throne. The challenge for us is to remove our worship from the false king and to put our worship on the true King, Jesus Christ. After all, it’s His birthday we’re celebrating. Not ours.
August 20, 2017
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Matthew 4:18-22
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three commitments
In the book of Matthew, Jesus challenged the disciples with a simple commitment: “Follow me.” Jesus called them to a relationship with Him. He called them to be Jesus-followers. Of course, this meant leaving everything else behind. It was such a simple commitment, yet it led to a radically better life. We can answer this same simple commitment to follow Jesus and experience the better life He promised.
May 14, 2017
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Matthew 16:13-26
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identity
How do you answer the question, “Who am I?” For many of you, you’ve tied your identity to your name, “I’m John or I’m Susie.” Others might say, “I’m a father or mother, or I’m a husband or a wife, I’m a son or daughter, I’m a teacher, I’m a nurse, I’m a coach, I’m a dog-lover or cat-lover. How do you answer the question? In Tim Keller’s book, Making Sense of God, he describes two ways that people have found their identity. One, he calls the “traditional path,” where the individual finds identity from the community in which they are born and grow up. The second path, Keller calls the “modern” or “secular” approach. This is the new emphasis on looking “inward” to find the true self, where one’s desires and dreams are to dictate one’s identity.
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus told His followers that they must lose their former sense of self in order to find their true identity in Christ. The only way that we can discover our true, God-given identity is by losing our former one and finding our true identity in Christ. How can we find our true identity in Christ? The text gives three steps to finding your true identity in Christ.
February 12, 2017
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Matthew 28:18-20
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disciple making, discipleship
Disciple making begins with being a witness for Christ, sharing the gospel and inviting others to attend church with you. But why don’t more Christians witness? Recent statistics state that “86% of people who visit were invited by a friend or relative.” Yet, “only 2% of church people have invited an unchurched person to church with them.” What kind of a disciple are you? Do you want to be a disciple who makes disciples?
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus commissioned his disciples to be disciple-makers. We call this the Great Commission. Christ made being a disciple and making-disciples inseparable. If you want to be a disciple of Jesus, you will be a disciple-maker. In Christ’s Great Commission, he taught them how to make disciples. We can obey Christ’s call to be disciples who make disciples.
[Note: Pastor Gary was visiting the Rocky Mount campus, Eastgate Community Church, this Sunday. This campus did not have the ability to record video of his message, so only audio is available for this sermon]
February 5, 2017
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Matthew 16:24
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discipleship
In the book of Matthew, Jesus described what it meant to answer the call to come after Him and be one of His disciples. We can answer the call to be a disciple of Jesus.
January 8, 2017
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Matthew 6:25-33
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worry
Services were cancelled January 8th, 2017 because of inclement weather, so Pastor Gary and Robin took the opportunity to do a Facebook Live service with some songs and a devotion from that morning’s One Year Bible reading in Matthew.
Check out the live stream of comments and reactions on the Facebook Live video
December 18, 2016
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Matthew 2:1-13
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christmas, movies, popular culture
We all know this Christmas classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! This children’s book was written in 1957 by Dr. Seuss. In 1966, an animated Christmas cartoon was released based on the story, and in 2000 a Ron Howard Film, starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch was released. But did you know that there really was a “Grinch” who tried to steal Christmas? His name was… King Herod.
December 6, 2015
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Matthew 1:18-25
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christmas
In Matthew’s gospel, he showed that the birth of Christ was the fulfillment of the Old Testament’s promises. Writing to a predominantly Jewish audience, he desired to give them the hope that they had long awaited. We too can experience this hope that we have been truly searching for. In today’s passage we will study the fulfillment of God’s promise to send His Son who is Emmanuel, God with us. Today we will see three ways to experience “God with us” in our lives.
October 18, 2015
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Matthew 20:25-28
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discipleship, generosity, three commitments
In the book of Matthew, the mother of James and John asked Jesus for seats of authority for her sons on either side of Jesus. Jesus told her and all the disciples that following Him was not a call to be great in the way the world sees things. He said that the greatness they were called to was called servanthood. He told them to follow His example of service by being willing to contribute all that they had in serving God. Jesus gives us the same charge to be servants and contribute to His Kingdom. In today’s message we will see in God’s Word three commitments in order to contribute to His Kingdom.
September 20, 2015
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Matthew 6:13
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prayer
Justin Norden concluded our sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer with the Outward Movement, the part of the Lord’s Prayer where we ask God to protect us and use us as he leads us. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen.”