Harris Creek Baptist Church

Jesus commands his followers, when wronged, to not withhold from their enemy and to be different from their enemy; responding with generosity, prayer, and love; not because it will convert them but because we are children of a Father who loved us while we were his enemies.

Jesus maps out the only path to the kingdom of heaven in the Beatitudes; found among the poor in spirit, the pure in heart, and the peaceful in persecution; and this path runs directly counter to the world's values of self-promotion, compromise, and retaliation.

Marriage cannot be happy or healthy without Christ at its center; the biblical mindset of sacrifice and submission, the mission of sanctification through service, and the mystery of pointing to Christ and the church only work when Jesus is the emulsifier bonding two selfish people together.

Believers can drift into 'spiritual sleepwalking'; sinning as if unaware, the way one does in sleep; and Ephesians 5 gives three antidotes rooted in our identity as beloved children: walking in love, walking in the light, and walking in wisdom by the Spirit's daily filling.

Genuine change in a Christian's life begins in the mind; what you feed your thoughts becomes your desires and then your actions; and the truest evidence of that change is revealed not when life is easy but in what comes out of you when you're squeezed by trials.

True spiritual maturity is not measured by age or head-knowledge but is proven by the fruit of humility, gentleness, and patience, by actively deploying one's God-given gifts in the body, and ultimately by the unity it produces in the local church; unity is the real test of maturity, not personal growth alone.

Because Thomas was allowed to touch Jesus' resurrection wounds and believe, believers today should openly reveal their own wounds of sin so others can witness the resurrection power of Jesus in changed lives.

Throughout the Old Testament, God embedded shadows; sacrificial animals, the Day of Atonement, Passover, the scapegoat; that all pointed forward to Christ's substitutionary death on the cross as the one perfect, eternal sacrifice for sin.

Paul's letter to the Ephesians shows that the mystery of the gospel; God's plan to unite Jew and Gentile in Christ; is unveiled to the world not through spectacle but through the believer's suffering, service (even toward enemies), and verbal sharing of the good news.

God transforms a city not through political power or important people but by transforming individual persons through the gospel of grace, who then forsake their idols and carry that same message into every corner of their city, just as happened in Ephesus and is happening in Waco.

Abiding in Christ is not merely doing spiritual disciplines like Bible reading and prayer, but is proven by five observable marks from 1 John 2: apprehending the gospel, behaving like Jesus, illuminating truth with love, developing spiritually, and living today for eternity.

Abiding in Jesus is impossible without the Holy Spirit, who as our helper, convictor, and guide works in believers today just as Jesus promised in John 16, and we must learn to actively listen for and respond to Him.

Abiding with Jesus means being consciously present with him rather than merely doing Christian activities; using Mary's example in Luke 10, true abiding means sitting at his feet, listening to (not just hearing) him, and removing distractions, because his presence; not our productivity; is where the power is.

Sacrificial love is not a self-generated virtue but the fruit of abiding in Christ: because God has transformed believers by placing them in Christ and Christ in them, they are freed from control and empowered to love others through obedience, resulting in true, sustaining joy.

Doing Christian activities; praying, reading the Bible, serving, evangelizing; does not make someone a genuine disciple; only abiding in Christ (John 15's menno) produces real, lasting fruit, while activity without abiding produces fake fruit that looks real but cannot reproduce itself.

When facing daunting circumstances, whether you trust your own assessment of the problem or God's promise determines whether you see impossibility or opportunity; unbelief has real consequences, while a different spirit; trusting God wholeheartedly; produces different results.

Jesus is the scarlet thread woven through every major Old Testament story; from Adam and Eve to the prophets; and Christmas only makes sense when seen as pointing toward the cross and his eventual return; anyone who builds their life on any other thread will eventually watch it unravel.

Through the story of Joseph, God's sovereignty means obedience is not measured by whether outcomes feel fair or good, but even betrayal, slavery, and imprisonment become the very path through which God accomplishes extraordinary good; ultimately foreshadowing the unjust suffering and saving work of Jesus.

The binding of Isaac reveals that God tests faith to reveal and refine it, that genuine faith is proven through obedient action, and that the whole episode foreshadows God's greater faithfulness in providing his own Son Jesus as the sacrifice in our place.

The fall of Adam in Genesis 3 sets up humanity's need for a second Adam, Jesus, who exercises full authority, removes shame, and takes responsibility where Adam failed; making Christmas the fulfillment of the first gospel promise given in Eden.

Using Exodus 16's manna story, God provides exactly enough for each day, but we doubt his provision and hoard more than we need out of fear rather than trusting him for tomorrow; instead we should live generously as those who already have enough.

Peter closes his letter by naming three unavoidable obstacles of life; anxiety, temptation, and suffering; and gives a specific response to each: humble yourself under God's care in anxiety, resist the devil in temptation, and practice patience in suffering, because you belong to a Kingdom you're not home to yet.

Humility is the indispensable component that makes church leadership and membership actually work; without it, elders devolve into hidden sin and moral failure and members fracture into division and church-hopping, but with it, Christ's design for shepherding and submission functions as intended.

Because Christ's return is imminent and could happen at any moment, believers should not scramble to look busy but should already be living in continual readiness; praying with focus, loving without complaint, and using their gifts to serve the church and glorify God.

Because Christ has already triumphed over evil through his death, resurrection, and proclamation of victory even to fallen spirits, believers can live with confident assurance and peace amid present suffering, persecution, and world events, rather than anxious fear.

When we've been wronged, we get even not by revenge but by repaying evil with blessing; because spiritual maturity means loving God, knowing we're loved by God, and becoming a conduit of that love to others, even our offenders.

A marriage centered on Christ works when wives submit to their husbands by putting them first and husbands live with their wives in an understanding, sacrificial way; so that both spouses and onlookers see Jesus, not themselves, through the marriage.

Christians are foreigners and exiles at war for their souls in a world that isn't their home, and because God gave them grace they didn't deserve, they are called to do good to those who wrong them rather than fight back as the world does.

Because Jesus purchased believers with his own blood rather than gold or silver, Christians are called to a set-apart holiness that will make them look genuinely weird to the world, and that holiness must be prepared for in the mind, pursued knowing what it cost, and practiced together within a Word-centered community.

God blesses his people not as an end in itself but so that his grace, favor, and saving power would flow through them to reach others; true blessing begins with grace and bending the knee before God, then flows outward to make him known, praised, and revered among all nations.

God's ever-present protection and almighty power for his people (illustrated by Hezekiah's deliverance from Sennacherib) are the ground of real peace, and that victory is ultimately secured through Jesus Christ, the true 'champion' or go-between who fought sin and death on our behalf.

When the felt presence of God dries up, the biblical response is not despair but a threefold pattern: recognize that longing for God is normal, lament to God with both honor and honesty, and repeatedly preach hope to yourself by rehearsing what is true about God.

Psalm 19 shows that God has never stopped speaking; through creation, through Scripture, and ultimately through his people; and that before we can 'exhale' godly words and a godly life, we must first 'inhale' what God has revealed in the world and the Word.

True stability of soul comes not from performing for God or chasing success but from being planted daily in God's word, since sin always snowballs toward instability while the righteous; made righteous only through Christ's imputed righteousness; flourish like a tree planted by streams of water.

A wrong fear of man; caring more about people's opinions and reactions than God's; keeps us from a right fear of God, but Jesus teaches that since God alone controls eternal destiny and cares for us infinitely, we can be freed from fearing people and instead boldly share the gospel.

Three specific patterns; complaining, comparing, and seeking comfort; are what keep believers from walking in fear and trembling before God, as seen in Jeremiah's own struggle with his difficult calling in Anathoth.

The fear of God is not being afraid of him but the fear of being far from him, and this rightly-ordered fear produces three marks in a believer: trembling, listening, and worship.

The biblical fear of the Lord is not a soft feeling of 'awe' like admiring a sunset but a real, healthy terror rooted in God's holiness and power to kill, and only when we understand that fear can we grasp how good the gospel truly is and live in obedient, intimate relationship with God.

Motherhood is a role of both deep joy and deep pain that God uses to sanctify mothers, and no mother is meant to walk it alone; the church community, prayer, and trust in God's word sustain imperfect moms through every season.

When you find yourself off track from God, as Jonah did inside the fish, the path back involves three moves modeled in his prayer: crying out to God, thanking him for his remembered faithfulness, and committing to obey whatever he calls you to do.

The book of Jonah is not primarily about a man running from God but about a God who relentlessly pursues him; even in disobedience God's grace tracks us down, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus who was thrown into the storm of sin and death to calm ours forever.

On the cross, one criminal shows what true salvation looks like: acknowledging he's a sinner, recognizing Jesus as Savior, and simply asking Jesus to save him; proving salvation is a free gift received by faith alone, not earned by works or religious performance.

Preaching from John 15 on Palm Sunday, JP Pokluda argues that Jesus is the true vine and that genuine disciples cannot produce spiritual fruit through their own effort; they must be pruned by a loving Father and remain connected to Christ through love-driven obedience, with love itself being the fruit that proves authentic discipleship.

When Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me," he is not acting as an arbitrary bouncer but making the most loving and inclusive invitation possible; because every religion claims exclusivity, but only Christianity offers a Savior who died to open the way rather than demanding people earn their own way up.

Jesus's claim to be the good shepherd in John 10 reveals not the foolishness of the sheep but the faithfulness of the shepherd; because he is good, worthy of trust, and in authority, his people can delight in his care, follow his voice, and submit to his rule.

Jesus declares 'I am the gate' to show that false leaders and the enemy are thieves seeking to exploit and destroy God's people, while Jesus alone stands as protection and the sole entrance to a full, abundant life both now and eternally.

Jesus's declaration "I am the light of the world" means he alone is the source by which people truly see; his followers therefore refuse to stay in darkness, and everyone who has received his light is called to share it with others by simply pointing them to Jesus rather than lecturing them.

Jesus claims to be the Bread of Life, meaning he alone can ultimately satisfy the soul's hunger; worldly pursuits leave people empty, but believers already have access to him and need only cultivate appetite for him.

The Asbury outpouring is a genuine but not-yet-verified move of God best understood as an intensification of the Spirit's normal work that exalts Christ, and the church's response should be humility, prayer, seeking God's face, and turning from sin rather than skepticism or hype.

Real spiritual growth, healing, and wisdom come only through committed life-group community, not isolation; using Proverbs, the sermon shows that confession heals, correction keeps us on the path, and wise counsel from many advisors leads to success where self-reliance fails.

Our words carry the power of life and death, and because speech flows from the heart, only a heart transformed by encountering God's holiness and grace can produce truly wise, life-giving words instead of wasted or foolish ones.

In conflict, wisdom means fighting to understand, fighting to be gentle, and fighting to forgive; following the pattern of Christ who won by going low, becoming a servant even to death on a cross.

Guarding your heart means being vigilant about what you allow in through what you listen to, say, look at, plan, and are tempted by, because everything you do flows from your heart; and even Solomon, the wisest man, failed to guard his own heart with devastating consequences.

True wisdom is impossible without two prerequisites: a humble posture that admits you don't already have it figured out, and knowledge of Jesus, who is wisdom personified and the only one who can save fools rather than just improve them.

During seasons of grief and loneliness; even at Christmas; God is not absent but actively hears his people, draws near to the brokenhearted, and promises ultimate deliverance, which is why Jesus came as Emmanuel into a world (and a Christmas story) marked by real suffering.

Christians must consciously 'clothe' themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience before entering complicated family gatherings, bearing with others' brokenness and forgiving them, so that changed behavior; not arguments; becomes the evangelistic witness that shows family members the gospel.

Living for the accumulation of possessions; what the preacher calls the American dream; is foolish, breeds anxiety, and leaves a person eternally bankrupt, while trusting God's provision and generously investing in his kingdom brings purpose and peace.

The good life is found in giving generously, cheerfully, and faithfully rather than out of compulsion or reluctance, because generosity flows naturally from a heart that trusts God as provider, mirroring the gospel itself where God gave everything.

The good life cannot be found in isolation but only through deep, meaningful relationships marked by loving one another deeply, offering hospitality joyfully, and serving one another faithfully with our gifts, following the pattern Peter lays out in 1 Peter 4.

Because we ultimately work for the Lord and not for men, work should be done obediently and with sincere hearts, and its purpose is a future heavenly reward rather than money or human approval.

Because God the Father gave up his own Son for us, believers can have unshakable confidence in God: no one can oppose them, no one can condemn them, and nothing can separate them from the love of Christ.

Christian joy is not tied to circumstances but rooted in the hope that God works all things; even trials, suffering, and loss; together for the believer's good, conforming them into the likeness of Christ toward a glory that is as good as already secured.

Freedom in Christ preached from Romans 8:1-4 means three things: freedom from eternal punishment (no condemnation), freedom from the law's demand for self-achieved perfection, and freedom to live by the Spirit; not a license to keep sinning but a rescue from a flesh that cannot save itself.

Stephen's bold courage at his martyrdom was not a sudden act but the fruit of a lifetime of small, faithful steps of service, and that same pattern of faithfulness; stepping in, stepping up, and stepping out; is available to believers today through the Holy Spirit.

Perception management; managing what others think of us rather than living for God's approval; is a serious sin that God moved decisively against in the early church through Ananias and Sapphira, and it still infects the church today as people 'play church' while privately not pursuing Jesus.

Preaching through Acts 3's healing of the lame beggar, the point is that a changed life becomes the platform for proclaiming the gospel: gospel opportunities open through ordinary obedience, the gospel gives people more than they know to ask for, and miracles exist to make way for the message of Jesus' death and resurrection.

Acts 2:42-47 shows the first church as the standard for what Harris Creek should look like today: a community daily devoted to God's word and fellowship, sacrificially generous with possessions, and joyfully evangelistic, and these marks are best lived out through life groups.

At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to continue Jesus' mission by giving believers clarity to understand the gospel, courage to proclaim it despite fear, and conviction that leads sinners to repentance and life.

Drawing from Paul's fatherly example in 1 Thessalonians 2, uncommon fathers move beyond mere involvement to intentionally encourage, comfort, and urge their children toward Christlikeness, and this calling extends to every believer regardless of parental status.

Passing faith to the next generation; whether to your own children or to whoever God has given you to disciple; happens through three concrete means: setting the example by loving God wholeheartedly yourself, teaching them the way through your words, and surrounding them with reminders of God's word in daily life.

The Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 models what an 'uncommon mom' (and uncommon disciple) looks like: relentless pursuit of Jesus, personal responsibility for contending for her child's spiritual life, and faith that Jesus honors even when everything else about her seemed unqualified.

Because Revelation 19 reveals how the story ends; Jesus wins in glorious victory and Satan and his army lose; believers should stop fixing their eyes on present circumstances and instead live now in light of that certain future, prioritizing eternal things over temporary ones.

Satan's strategy, when he cannot destroy someone through outright rebellion, is to trap them in dead religion; self-righteous perception management that looks like faith but isn't; and the only cure for both rebellion and dead religion is Christ himself, whose resurrection proves that death has been defeated.

When believers or anyone confronts genuine evil or demonic power, the right response is not to fight it directly but to turn immediately to Jesus, who effortlessly overpowers Satan and sets even the most enslaved person free.

Satan can only do what God sovereignly allows, and God permits suffering as an opportunity to prove and grow genuine faith rather than to destroy it; our right response to attack is to stand firm through worship, gratitude, resisting sin, and maintaining hope.

Genuine life-group community requires deep, deliberate commitment; rooted in sincere love, tested by endurance through trials, and fought for through pursuing unity; modeled on Paul's instructions in Romans 12:9-18.

Because all Scripture is God-breathed, useful, and equips believers for every good work, a life group's health depends on centering itself; individually and collectively; on Scripture as its shared authority rather than any other common bond.

True Christian community requires authenticity; honestly confessing sin to God and to others; because hiding sin blocks both fellowship with the church and the ongoing purifying forgiveness God offers believers.

Indulgence; taking unrestrained pleasure in worldly things to cope with life; reveals whether we truly love God or love the world, since love of the world crowds out love of the Father and drags people toward wickedness and death.

Because God has forgiven believers an incalculable debt through Christ, they are called to forgive others from the heart rather than carry the weight of unforgiveness and anger, which damages both body and soul.

Gossip feels enjoyable and harmless but is a serious, divisive sin that fractures relationships and the unity Jesus prayed for; because it flows from an ungospeled heart, believers must actively starve it through practices like the 24-hour rule and speaking only what builds others up.

Comparison turns life into a competition that crushes relationships with God and others, but it is killed not by comparing ourselves to other people but by comparing ourselves to the holiness of God, which produces humility and points us back to the sufficiency of the gospel.

Spiritual apathy is a slow-killing disease we naturally drift toward unless we actively discipline ourselves toward maturity; we fight it by growing as disciple-makers, feasting steadily on God's word instead of staying on spiritual milk, and exercising our faith in real, tested obedience rather than mere church attendance.

Entitlement; focusing on what you feel you deserve rather than what God has already given; destroys gratitude and joy, and is only killed by adopting Christ's posture of servanthood: using everything we've been given to serve others rather than to secure honor for ourselves.

Busyness is a tool the enemy uses to rob believers of focus, empathy, and peace/joy by distracting them from the one better thing; learning from and prioritizing relationship with Jesus; the solution is not margin but prioritization of non-negotiable 'big rocks.'

True renewal is a repeatable process, not willpower-driven resolutions: believers must stop living like non-believers, deliberately put off the old self, renew their minds with truth, and put on the new self created to be like God, relying on the Spirit rather than self-effort.

On the Sunday after Christmas, Mason uses Acts 2; mirroring Luke's birth and Spirit-baptism narrative; to answer the 'what now' question of the season: the right response to God being Emmanuel is to repent, receive the Holy Spirit, and preach the gospel.

Every era of biblical history reveals something missing; a savior from sin, a way out of slavery, a spark of courage; until Jesus, God with us, comes to fill every void, meaning that for those who trust him, nothing is truly missing.

God's promise to Zechariah, fulfilled after 400 years of prophetic silence, shows that God keeps his promises even when we're prone to question them because of our disappointing present circumstances.

True wisdom means growing out of childish impulsiveness by becoming slow and gracious with words, steadfast in work regardless of feelings, and surrendered in worship rather than trying to control a life only God actually controls.

Because death is certain and life under the sun is brief, believers should stop chasing worldly bucket-list items and instead live wisely and joyfully in light of eternity, finding purpose in the good works God has already prepared for them.

Believers should approach human authority with humility rather than hostility and submit joyfully, resisting only when authority commands something sinful; because ultimately our submission is owed to Christ, who himself submitted unfairly to the cross for our sake.

Wisdom teaches us to view life's pains and problems not as things to escape but as instructors from God, calling us to learn from pain rather than numbing or fleeing it, to remain patient rather than provoked, and ultimately to surrender to God's sovereignty over both good and bad days.

Solomon's reflections in Ecclesiastes 4 show that isolation is bad and life is better together; envy, laziness, and greed drive us into isolation, while community brings productivity, care, comfort, and strength, and the church exists because Christ endured the ultimate loneliness of the cross so we could belong to his body.

God is sovereign over the seasons of life; including suffering that seems to make no sense; and will make everything beautiful in his own timing, not ours; the cross itself proves he can turn the worst situations into the best ones.

Solomon's own life; unmatched wisdom, wealth, and pleasure; proves that nothing 'under the sun' (education, achievement, rebellion, or being remembered) can supply lasting meaning; true meaning is found only beyond the sun, in Jesus Christ, the Logos who became flesh.

Genuine spiritual growth happens not in public displays of faith but in the secret, unseen practices of giving, praying, and fasting; these disciplines don't save you but they strengthen a faith that already exists.

The Christian life is a long marathon of faithfulness marked by real obstacles (sin and hindering distractions) and real opposition (resistance that produces spiritual growth), and the only way to endure it is not by self-effort but by fixing our eyes daily on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

Biblical community; not isolation; is God's design for helping believers stay ready for Christ's return, and it functions through identifying needs, selflessness, and shared rejoicing rather than through comfort or convenience.

The mark that authentically identifies a follower of Jesus is not labels, symbols, or credentials but sacrificial, inconveniencing love; love for God expressed as obedience and love for others expressed as putting their good above your own comfort.

Discipleship isn't a special sub-category for advanced Christians; it's the very essence of following Jesus, so 'disciples who make disciples' is as redundant as 'a lime tree that makes limes'; every believer, on the authority and commission of the risen Christ, is called to intentionally spend time helping others follow him.

When we are exhausted and overwhelmed to the point of despair, God does not remove the difficulty but draws near with a gentle whisper, meeting us in our discomfort and then calling us back out to our purpose.

Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel confronts us with the same choice God's people faced: stop wavering between the Lord and the false gods we serve; reputation, approval, money, pleasure; because false gods can never deliver but the one true God always does, no matter how stacked the odds appear.