In this continued message from Lessons for the Local Church, Pastor picks up examining the real problems facing today’s church—complacency, carelessness, compartmentalization, conformity, and carnality.

Looking back to the early church in Acts 2, we’re reminded that God’s design hasn’t changed: a faithful, Spirit-filled body grounded in doctrine, fellowship, worship, and prayer. Though challenges are real, so are the possibilities—and Jesus promised His church will prevail.

Are you just attending church, or truly part of what God is building?

This message from Acts 2 explores the birth of the New Testament church and God’s design for the local church. We examine its biblical purpose, confront common challenges facing churches today, and are reminded of the power and promise of the church as the body of Christ.

In this message we examine Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares—a powerful and sobering teaching about the present reality of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus reveals that while God sovereignly reigns over the world, His field currently contains both wheat and weeds—believers and unbelievers—growing side by side. Though they may look alike for a season, a day of harvest is coming when God will bring a final and righteous separation.

This sermon explores:

1. The meaning of the Kingdom of Heaven in the world today
2. The Savior’s wheat and Satan’s weeds
3. Why believers are not called to uproot the weeds
4. The certainty of a coming harvest and eternal consequences
5. The hope and future glory promised to the children of the Kingdom

Reminder: there are only two kingdoms, two kinds of people, and two eternal destinies. Our calling is not to judge the field, but to faithfully sow the gospel and trust God with the harvest.

What is the Kingdom of God really like—and how does it grow?

In this message preached at Central Baptist Church on Sunday, January 11, 2026, we walk through two powerful parables from Mark 4:26–32 where Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to seed sown into the ground and to a tiny mustard seed that grows into something far greater than anyone could imagine.

This sermon explores:

1. The Mystery of the Kingdom — how the gospel grows in ways we cannot fully explain, reminding us that salvation is God’s work, not ours.
2. The Magnitude of the Kingdom — how something that begins small and seemingly insignificant becomes expansive, influential, and life-giving.
3. Our responsibility as believers to faithfully sow the seed of the gospel and trust God with the results.
4. The assurance that God’s Kingdom provides shelter, protection, and hope for all who come under its shadow.

Whether you are a believer needing encouragement to keep sowing, or someone curious about the power and reach of God’s Kingdom, this message points us to the confidence, peace, and urgency found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Heart of the Matter

Mark 4:1–9

In this message from Mark 4, Jesus’ Parable of the Sower shifts the focus from the seed to the soil—the condition of the human heart. While the Word of God is powerful, living, and unchanging, its fruitfulness depends on how it is received.

This sermon explores four heart conditions Jesus identifies: the calloused, conditional, crowded, and cultivated heart. Speaking to both unbelievers and believers, the message challenges listeners to examine how God’s Word is shaping their lives and whether it is producing spiritual fruit.

A call to self-examination and spiritual renewal, this message urges every listener to cultivate a heart that hears, receives, and responds to the Word of God.

“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

On the Sunday after Christmas, we turn our attention to what happened next. In Luke 2:25–35, we meet Simeon—a righteous and devout man who waited his entire life to see God’s promised salvation. Holding the infant Jesus in his arms, Simeon declares a profound truth: salvation is not a thing, but a person.

In this message, we explore Simeon’s character, hope, praise, and prophecy, and we’re reminded that Jesus came not only as Israel’s comfort, but as a light to the Gentiles and the Savior of the world. Whether the past year brought joy or hardship, this passage points us to the sure hope, comfort, and assurance found in Christ alone.

Good News – A Savior Is Born

From Luke 2:1–11, this message reminds us that Christmas is more than a familiar story—it is God’s answer to humanity’s greatest need. After centuries of silence and waiting, the angel’s announcement to the shepherds declared good tidings of great joy: a Savior had been born.

This sermon explores why we need a Savior, tracing the problem of sin back to the Garden of Eden, and reveals the realities of who Jesus is—the Sinless, Selfless, Sacrificial, and Sufficient Savior. Born in humility yet fully God, Jesus came to rescue sinners and provide eternal redemption through His death on the cross.

The message concludes with a clear call to respond: Have you been saved? Have you called on Christ the Lord? Discover the hope, joy, and life found in the good news that unto you is born a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

Emmanuel — God With Us celebrates the heart of Christmas through Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:18–23, where God’s promise of a Savior is fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ. This message points us to the wonder of the season — that God came to dwell with us, bringing hope, salvation, and eternal life.