Solid Rock Church Sermons

In this week's sermon from Habakkuk in our Story of Redemption series, we looked at what it means to trust God enough to be honest about our confusion and doubt. Following Habakkuk's journey from the desperate cry, "How long?" to the declaration, "Yet I will rejoice," we were reminded that faith is not the absence of doubt but the courage to bring our questions into our covenant relationship with God. We saw that God's kindness is not always expressed through quick relief, but through His faithful presence. Because of this, we were encouraged that we do not have to clean up our questions or rush our grief in order to draw near to Him. We can bring our disappointment, our doubt, and even our frustration into His presence, trusting that He is at work in ways we cannot yet see.

In this sermon, we looked at the story of Nahum and were reminded that God's justice and God's love are not opposites but work together for the healing of His world. We saw how Nahum speaks to a weary and wounded people, assuring them that God is not indifferent to their suffering and that evil will not have the final word. God's judgment was revealed not as impulsive anger, but as love's settled response to deep-rooted evil—a picture of a God who is slow to anger, yet unwilling to allow injustice to endure forever. We were then pointed to Jesus, where justice and mercy meet fully at the cross. The good news of redemption is that the judgment Nahum announces is ultimately absorbed by Christ, so that sinners can take refuge in God and the wounded can trust that evil will one day be fully brought to an end.

In this sermon, we looked at Jonah 2 and were reminded that God meets us even in the depths of our distress. We saw how Jonah's prayer from the belly of the fish reveals that salvation often begins when we stop running, let go of control, and honestly cry out to the Lord. What Jonah initially experienced as punishment, he came to recognize as God's mercy—using desperation to expose his helplessness and draw him back into relationship. As Jonah remembered who God truly is—powerful, holy, kind, and attentive—his heart began to move from self-reliance toward surrender. We also saw how Jesus points to Jonah's story as a foreshadowing of the Gospel. The good news of redemption is that God is still rescuing people today, not because they have their lives together, but because they call on the name of the Lord and discover that salvation belongs to Him.

In this sermon, we studied the book of Micah and learned that God’s plan for redemption doesn't move forward through human strength, status, or self-reliance, but through human weakness, humility, and trust. Micah shows us that Israel's broken leadership would lead to defeat and a deep longing for a better King. God promises that this King would come from an unexpected place, Bethlehem, and would be both humble and eternal. Jesus fulfills this promise as the Shepherd King who cares for His people, carries their pain, and lays down His life for them. Even in seasons of waiting and suffering, our peace is not found in the absence of struggle, but in the presence of the Shepherd who absorbs judgment, heals what is broken, and gathers our scattered stories into His redeeming care.

This service was pre-recorded as we continued our Story of Redemption series. Due to inclement weather, we worshipped together from our homes rather than in person. Today's message was a good reminder that while we may be physically apart, we remain united as the body of Christ, trusting God to meet us wherever we are and to speak through His Word. Click here for our service video!

In this sermon, we looked at the book of Amos and explored how God's justice and kindness ultimately meet in the person of Jesus. Through Amos, we saw that God refuses to ignore injustice and rejects worship that overlooks sin or harm. The book of Amos exposes a tension we all live with: we long for justice when wrong is done around us, yet we struggle when that same standard of justice is applied to our own hearts. We studied how Amos makes it clear that God's justice must be satisfied, but he does not provide the solution. The Gospel reveals the answer. At the cross, God pours out His justice fully on Jesus. Christ bears our sin, satisfies God's righteous judgment, and removes our condemnation. Because God's justice has been satisfied, we are reminded that God now meets our sin, wounds, and regrets with mercy, forgiveness, healing, and restoration.

In this sermon, we walked through the book of Joel and God's promise to restore nearness with His people through the Holy Spirit. We were reminded that when sin broke communion with God in Genesis 3, Scripture began pointing forward to a renewed relationship between God and His people. In Joel 2:28, God promises to pour out His Spirit, revealing His mercy and His desire to dwell with His people and renew them from within. We saw how this promise is fulfilled through Christ and poured out at Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit now indwells every believer—opening hearts to the gospel, giving new life, sealing believers with a guaranteed inheritance, and equipping them for the good of the church and the mission of Jesus. Ultimately, we learned that redemption is not just God fixing what is broken, but God drawing near to restore relationship with His people.

In this sermon, we explored the story of Hosea and the shocking beauty of God's covenant love revealed through a lived parable of betrayal, pursuit, and redemption. Hosea's marriage to an unfaithful wife exposes our own tendency to wander—trusting other loves to give us what only God can. Yet instead of rejecting His people, God relentlessly pursues them, pays the price to redeem them, and restores them from shame to belonging. The story of Hosea ultimately points us to Jesus, the true and faithful Husband, who meets our unfaithfulness not with condemnation but with compassion. At the cross, Jesus pays the ultimate price with His own blood, reclaiming us as His own and inviting us home—not merely forgiven, but renewed, restored, and securely loved.

In this sermon, we looked at Ephesians 4 and explored God's heart for the Church. The Church is not a human invention, but God's Spirit-filled people—united as one body and sent on mission together. We explored the distinctives that mark the church universal, or the one Church made up of all who follow Jesus, and how God equips each person with a purpose, so that together we grow in unity, maturity, and Christlikeness.

In this sermon from Luke 2, we were reminded that true joy is not something we manufacture, but good news God announces. God sends a heavenly messenger to ordinary, fearful shepherds, showing us that the joy found in Jesus is offered to all. The angel's message centers on the identity of the Child—Savior, Christ, and Lord—revealing that lasting joy flows from who He is and what He has done, not from changed circumstances. As we close our Advent series, we remember that the joy of Christmas is not something we summon; it is something we receive—the Savior who has been born for us.

In this sermon, as we continue our Advent series, we reflected on Jesus' teaching that true joy is not found in the absence of sorrow, but in the transformation of sorrow through His presence. In John 16:20–24, Jesus prepares His disciples—and us—for a life in which weeping and rejoicing coexist. He promises that our sorrow will turn into joy, not be ignored or replaced by it. We confronted the idol of comfort, which offers quick relief but often keeps us from the very places where God forms deep, lasting joy. Jesus invites us into a joy that cannot be taken away—a joy rooted not in our circumstances, but in Him. This joy allows us to live with eyes open to the sadness of the world while remaining anchored in the hope of the resurrection. As we depend on Jesus through prayer and honest engagement with our sorrow, we discover a joy that endures, grows, and ultimately prevails—joy that holds space for sadness.

In week two of our Advent series, we explored how Habakkuk stood in the middle of a collapsing world and still declared, "Yet I will rejoice." His joy wasn't rooted in circumstances but in the unchanging character of God. At Christmas, we see the fulfillment of that hope in Jesus—Immanuel—who stepped into our broken, hurting world to offer a joy that isn't fragile, circumstantial, or threatened by loss. When we name our losses and anchor our hearts to Jesus rather than our circumstances, we discover the unshakable joy He was born to bring—a joy no one can take away.

In this sermon, we looked at Psalm 16 and were reminded that the joy we often chase through moments of anticipation can leave us uncertain, disappointed, and still wanting more. But true joy—lasting joy—comes from a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus. In his presence, we receive a joy that does not fade and does not leave us lacking. As believers, we can rest knowing that joy comes from Jesus himself, and in him our souls finally find a joy that fully satisfies.

In this sermon, we looked at Daniel 7 and saw "one like a son of man" who came with the clouds of heaven and was presented to God, the Ancient of Days. This Son of Man was given dominion, glory, and an everlasting kingdom where all people and nations serve him. This Son of Man is Jesus—fully human and identifying with our struggles, yet fully God and sinless. Jesus took on the title "Son of Man" from Daniel 7 to fulfill his mission of redemption for all who come to him in faith. Through his life, death, and resurrection, the Son of Man ascends to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, where he is given dominion, glory, and a kingdom that never ends.

In this sermon, we looked at Ezekiel 34 and saw the heart of a God who refuses to abandon His people to unfaithful shepherds. While Israel's leaders were like shepherds who took advantage of the flock, God promised to come to us Himself, to search for the lost, bind up the wounded, and bring His sheep home. That promise is fulfilled in Jesus, the True Shepherd. He sees the weary and helpless and moves toward them with compassion. He seeks the wandering, carries the broken, and lays down His life for His sheep. Where others take, He gives. Where others wound, He heals. Jesus is the Shepherd who came looking for us, and when He found us, He healed our wounds and led us home.

In this sermon, we looked at Lamentations 3 and saw that even in the ashes of Jerusalem's ruin, the author of Lamentations rediscovers an unchanging truth: when everything falls apart, God's compassion remains. His love doesn't end when we reach the end of ourselves, and His mercy rises like the morning sun after the darkest night. Waiting becomes the place where faith grows, not because our circumstances change, but because God meets us there. In Jesus, we see the fullest expression of this truth: the Savior who gave His cheek to those who struck Him, carried our griefs, and was cast off so that we could be brought near. His compassion doesn't remove our suffering; it redeems it by transforming our lament into living hope.

In this sermon, we are reminded that Jesus shows up with kindness in the midst of our suffering. In John 11:17–44, He arrives at Lazarus's tomb, and He doesn't stand at a distance from our suffering—He steps into it. Jesus listens to Martha's frustration without rebuke, meets Mary's tears with His own, and enters the tomb of death to bring life. His delay was not indifference but intentional love, revealing that His kindness is not measured by how quickly He fixes our pain but by how He joins us in it. Jesus weeps before He works, showing that the heart of God is not cold toward our sorrow but deeply moved by it. When Jesus shows up, He doesn't just change our circumstances—He restores our hope.

In this sermon, we studied John 11:1–16 and were reminded that God's silence is not His absence—it's an expression of His deep and intentional love. When Mary and Martha urgently called for Jesus to heal their brother, He stayed where He was. What seemed like indifference was actually driven by deep affection. Jesus loved them too much to offer a quick fix; instead, He wanted to reveal resurrection power rather than temporary relief. While they waited and grieved, He was orchestrating a greater story—one that would reveal God's glory and strengthen their faith. In the end, His delay shaped the sisters' trust, stretched the disciples' courage, and set the stage for a miracle that displayed His authority over death. God's silence is never wasted; it’s the soil where His glory grows and our faith matures.

In this sermon, we studied the book of Jeremiah, where God reveals how Israel had become a deceitful bride, chasing after lesser loves while He remained the faithful husband who pursued her still. In the midst of judgment, Jeremiah pointed to a coming hope on a day when God would raise up a Righteous Branch from David's line, a King who would reign with wisdom, justice, and righteousness. That promise is fulfilled in Jesus, the true and faithful King who took our sin upon Himself so that we might stand in His righteousness. Through His blood, the new covenant was established, not written on stone, but written on our hearts and brought to life by the Spirit. This is the gospel story: the faithful Husband redeeming His unfaithful bride, restoring what was lost, and writing His love into the very fabric of our hearts forever.

In this sermon, we took a closer look at the book of Isaiah to see how God's plan to redeem His people was foretold long before the cross. In Isaiah 53—the most quoted Old Testament passage about Christ—we studied the vivid picture of the Suffering Servant written 700 years before Jesus came. We see that He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows who understands our pain; that He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities, bearing the punishment we deserved so we could be made whole. Isaiah reminds us that Jesus' death and resurrection were not accidents, but the sovereign plan of God to redeem a people for Himself. The story of redemption in Isaiah 53 assures us that Jesus took our place, walks with us in our suffering, and fulfills every promise in His perfect time.