Posts with the tag “jam-patterson-sermon”

Devotional“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love…” Children naturally imitate what they see. They pick up our words. They copy our habits. They notice o...  Read More

Devotional“Be filled with the Spirit.” We can have powerful moments with God. A worship service can move us. A song can bring tears to our eyes. An altar call can remind us of God’s presence. A sermon...  Read More

DevotionalThis is where the conversation gets personal. It’s possible to spend your entire life learning about the Holy Spirit without actually learning to walk with the Holy Spirit. You can know the ...  Read More

Devotional“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.” Imagine the disciples before Pentecost. They had walked with Jesus. They had heard His teaching. They had witnessed His miracles. They had see...  Read More

Devotional“He lives with you and will be in you.” There is a massive difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing them. You can know facts about a person without having a relationship...  Read More

DevotionalAdam had a body before he had life. God formed him from the dust. He had eyes, but they couldn’t see. He had ears, but they couldn’t hear. He had hands, but they couldn’t move. He had a hear...  Read More

Devotional“The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Before there was a church, there was the Spirit. Before Pentecost, there was the Spirit. Before Moses, David, Abraham, or Israel, there was ...  Read More

DevotionalJesus is coming back. We don't know when. But we know Who is coming. That changes how we live today. Being ready doesn't mean obsessing over dates. It doesn't mean living in fear. It means l...  Read More

DevotionalThe church at Ephesus was doing many things right. They worked hard. They persevered. They rejected false teaching. They had discernment. From the outside, they looked like a strong church. ...  Read More

DevotionalJesus gave His disciples a serious warning. Many would fall away. Many would be deceived. Many would allow their love to grow cold. This should get our attention. Jesus wasn't only warning a...  Read More

DevotionalJesus repeatedly told His followers to watch, stay awake, and be ready. Why? Because spiritual sleep is dangerous. Most people don't suddenly decide to walk away from God. Drifting usually h...  Read More

DevotionalJesus knew His disciples were troubled. He knew they would soon watch Him be arrested, crucified, and taken away from them. But Jesus gave them a promise: “I will come again.” Notice that Je...  Read More

DevotionalPilate stood face-to-face with Jesus and asked: “What is truth?” But perhaps Pilate was asking the wrong question. Truth wasn't merely standing in front of him. Truth was standing in front o...  Read More

DevotionalOne of the strongest warnings from Sunday's sermon is this: “You can be religious and still reject the truth.” The religious leaders knew Scripture. They knew the Law. They knew the prophets...  Read More

DevotionalPeter faced a crowd. The religious leaders faced a crowd. Pilate faced a crowd. And we face crowds too. Sometimes the crowd comes through friends. Sometimes social media. Sometimes culture. ...  Read More

DevotionalPilate asked Jesus a question that humanity continues to ask: “What is truth?” We live in a world where truth is often treated as something we create rather than something we discover. We ar...  Read More

DevotionalWe often want truth to comfort us, but sometimes truth comes to confront us. The sermon makes an important observation: “Sometimes the thing that offends you is the very thing you need to he...  Read More

DevotionalWe live in a culture that often says: “Your truth is your truth.” “Everyone has their own way.” “As long as you’re sincere, it doesn’t matter what you believe.” But Christianity makes an exc...  Read More

DevotionalFor generations, the veil in the temple represented separation. Behind that veil was the Most Holy Place. It communicated something profound: Sinful humanity cannot simply walk into the pres...  Read More

DevotionalThomas wanted directions. “Lord, we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way?” Thomas was looking for a path. Jesus gave him a Person. Jesus didn’t say: “I will show you the wa...  Read More

DevotionalThere is something humbling about the word all.The Bible doesn’t say some have sinned. It doesn’t say bad people have sinned. It doesn’t say people who don’t go to church have sinned. It say...  Read More

DevotionalBefore we ever began looking for God, God was already reaching for us. That is one of the most beautiful truths in Scripture. We often think salvation begins with us. We think we somehow fou...  Read More

DevotionalPaul describes the fruit that grows in the life of a believer who walks in step with the Spirit—qualities that reflect the character of Jesus and mark a life genuinely shaped by the Spirit's...  Read More

DevotionalIn this verse, Jesus promises His followers that the coming of the Holy Spirit will bring supernatural power, and He immediately connects that power to a specific mission -- bearing witness ...  Read More

DevotionalPaul reminds believers that their bodies are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, who lives within them as a result of what God has done, not what they have earned.The temple in the Old Te...  Read More

DevotionalIn this passage, Paul describes how the Spirit intercedes for believers with a depth that surpasses human language, acting as a mediator who knows both the heart of God and the weakness of h...  Read More

DevotionalJesus told His disciples that His departure was not abandonment but preparation. He was making way for One who would be closer than a physical presence beside them—One who would dwell within...  Read More

DevotionalPaul does not soften his argument. If Jesus did not rise, he says, then everything—the preaching, the faith, the hope—is empty. Christianity does not survive the removal of the resurrection....  Read More

DevotionalPeter once warmed himself by a fire and denied three times that he even knew Jesus. That same Peter, weeks later, stood before the very authorities who had handed Jesus over to be crucified ...  Read More

DevotionalPaul does something remarkable in this passage. He does not simply assert that Jesus rose from the dead; he names witnesses and essentially invites investigation. More than five hundred peop...  Read More

DevotionalThe empty tomb is not a minor detail—it is a historical problem that every person must answer. Matthew records that even the enemies of Jesus acknowledged the tomb was empty. Their response ...  Read More

DevotionalBefore there can be a resurrection, there must be a real death. John records with careful detail the final moments of Jesus on the cross—the confirmation of death by soldiers who were traine...  Read More

Devotional “Grace and Truth, Fully Revealed”Jesus told His disciples that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father. This is one of the most remarkable statements ever made. If you want to know what...  Read More

Devotional"The Promises Fulfilled"Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the prophets were writing about Him. The suffering servant described in Isaiah 53 was rejected, despised, wounded, and crushe...  Read More

Devotional “The Word Made Flesh”One of the most staggering truths in all of Scripture is that God did not remain distant. He entered into human experience. Jesus became tired. He became hungry. He wep...  Read More

Devotional “The Evidence Demands a Response”John tells us that the signs Jesus performed were recorded with a specific purpose: so that we might believe. Faith is not a leap into the dark. It is a ste...  Read More

Devotional “The Question That Changes Everything”Jesus did not ask His disciples what they had heard about Him from others. He asked what they personally believed. That distinction matters. Faith is n...  Read More

DevotionalFaith is not the absence of thinking — it is the direction of trust. Everyone places their faith somewhere. The person who believes the universe created itself from nothing is exercising fai...  Read More

DevotionalIf the universe came from nothing and life is a biological accident, then human beings are simply complex arrangements of chemicals — and concepts like purpose, value, and meaning are illusi...  Read More

DevotionalScience can describe the mechanics of life, but it cannot answer the most fundamental question: where did the first life come from? Genesis 2:7 gives us a striking image — God forming man fr...  Read More