Shady Grove Sermons

 So What is Ash Wednesday all about? Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent—a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, repentance, self-reflection, and preparation for Easter. It calls us to remember three key truths: We are fallen • We are frail • We are forgiven. I. We Are Fallen (Genesis 3 – The Fall) • God created a perfect world with one prohibition (the forbidden tree). • Pride led humanity to disobey: we assumed God was withholding something good. • Sin immediately brought blame (Adam blamed God indirectly via Eve; Eve blamed the serpent). • Core of fallenness = pride and self-focus ("I" language dominates after the fall). • Sin curves us inward—self-obsessed, away from God. • Pride fills us with ourselves, leaving no room for the Holy Spirit. • Lent invites us to lean into our sinfulness rather than deny or blame-shift. • Fasting helps: it denies self, shifts focus back to God, and heightens awareness of Jesus (Matthew 6 & 9). II. We Are Frail (Genesis 3:1...

 Hope That Fuels Nonconformity 1 Peter 1:13-16 Hearers of the WORD • Picture of the Christian life as a grueling race with a promised victorious finish line. • Peter's audience: suffering exiles needing real hope, not escape. • After praising God's salvation (vv. 3-12), Peter pivots with "Therefore" to call for response. I. Prepare Your Mind for Action and Set Your Hope Fully on Future Grace (v. 13) • "Gird up the loins of your mind" = prepare mentally for the race (ancient tunic analogy briefly explained as "rolling up sleeves for action"). • Be sober/alert: serious about faith amid persecution, temptation, and opposition. • Rest hope completely on the grace revealed at Christ's coming (future focus amid present trials). II. Live as Obedient Children: Be Holy in All Conduct (vv. 14-16) • Holiness (hagios): set apart for God + morally pure; God makes us holy positionally at salvation, then calls us to live it out practically. • ...

Salvation Angels Long to See I Peter 1:4-12 HEARERS OF THE WORD Theme: For the follower of Christ to choose to believe that the same God who provided hope for these early Christians will also strengthen us in our journey as we pilgrim through this temporary world.  I. The Purpose of Trials in the Christian Life (vv. 6–7) Statement of Truth: Every moment of pain and suffering leaves us with a choice to make:  Will we become bitter or better? II. The Believer's Joyful Response Amid Trials (vv. 8–9) a. Love for unseen Christ  b. Belief that produces inexpressible and glorious joy  c. Present experience of future salvation ("receiving the end result") III. Salvation in Three Tenses a. Past: "You have been saved" (Eph 2:5; 1 Pet 1:3) b. Present: "You are being saved" / refined (1 Cor 1:18; 1 Pet 1:6–7) c. Future: "You will be saved" / full salvation of souls (Rom 5:10; 1 Pet 1:9) IV. The Privilege We Have That Even Prophets ...

Feeding Our Souls on Christ 1 Corinthians 11:17–34 The Grove, February 2, 2026 Hearers of the Word Today we approach the Lord’s Supper I want us to focus on this moment today and seek to treasure Christ in this communion. In a few moments, may this table become an act of worship—not through ritual alone, but because our hearts declare: He is worth remembering. I. Introduction & Redefining Worship Today it is fitting to consider the place of communion. Importantly, the New Testament never calls the Lord’s Supper “worship,” nor does it label any church gathering as “worship.” No New Testament service is ever described that way. This matters because we often misuse the word. We say “worship” to mean this Sunday event—especially the singing—and treat everything else (offerings, prayers, Scripture, communion) as something different. That habit is misleading. The New Testament radically redefines worship: it is first an inner reality of the heart, then expressed in all of life. Worshi...

Hope Rooted in Faith 1 Peter 1:1-8 Hearers of the Word: I. The Nature of Our Inheritance (Verse 4) • Incorruptible • Undefiled • Unfading • Reserved in Heaven Theological Significance: Assures future glorification, resurrection bodies, and reign with Christ (Revelation 21:7). A lifeline against despair in persecution or a broken world. II. Protection and Security of Believers (Verse 5) Key Words: Kept/Protected by God's Power Through Faith:  God's omnipotent power (dunamis) shields the inheritance, channeled through human faith (dia pisteos). III. The Balance of Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility Statement of Truth: Salvation is not dependent upon us to initiate or maintain because God is a saving God and a keeping God. IV. Joy Even in the Fire (vv. 6–9) Peter uses the powerful image of gold being refined by fire to illustrate how God uses trials in the Christian life. Just as fire purifies gold, making it more valuable and radiant, the "fiery...

Hope in the Midst of Suffering  1 Peter   The Grove, January 11, 2026 Hearers of the Word: Have you ever been in the middle of a storm—whether it’s personal pain, uncertainty about the future, family struggles, health challenges, or even facing opposition because of your faith—and found yourself asking, “How do I keep going? Where’s the hope? Where’s the light at the end of this tunnel?” If that’s you today, you’re not alone. The Apostle Peter wrote his first letter to people who were asking exactly those questions. He wrote around 64–67 AD to scattered believers across five Roman provinces—Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. These were “elect exiles,” pilgrims of the dispersion, living in a time when following Jesus could cost you your livelihood, your home, your reputation, and even your life under growing Roman persecution. Peter doesn’t downplay their suffering. The word “suffering” appears 17 times in this short letter. Yet in the middle of real pain, he...