Graham Emmanuel Baptist Church Sermons

What's the point of holidays? For Americans, holidays are chances to remember, reflect, and rejoice in what God has done for their country and the world. The same should be true for Christians. God's people should honor Him by remembering, reflecting on, and rejoicing in what God has done for them. In Exodus 23:10- 19, God called His people to celebrate Him by celebrating special days and feasts. Even though those feasts are no longer required under the New Covenant, join us to learn how believers should honor God by celebrating Him in their lives.

The phrase “social justice” comes with much cultural confusion. Is it good or is it bad? The Bible reminds us that, no matter how the world may pervert justice, God is the author of justice and demands that His people conduct themselves in a just society that imitates Him according to His commands. Find out what that means by joining us in our expository study of Exodus 22:16-23:9.

What do verses about dead oxen in ditches and burnt crops in fields have to do with today? Quite a lot. We live in a world of sin, which means we live in a world where wrongs need to be made right. Who has the authority to do this? And how does this draw us closer to God? Find out on Sunday.

Jesus said that to love your neighbor as yourself is “like” loving the Lord with all your heart. How can this be? Far from being an irrelevant chapter about outdated laws, Exodus 21 beautifully outlines how a love for God is shown in the treatment of other human beings. Honor, respect, justice, and kindness are shown to be more than mere morals but necessary characteristics of the community of God's people. Join us to learn more. 

Altars were built by people of the Old Testament to show their personal love for God and desire to worship Him. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—among many others—worshipped God in this personal way. But what makes worship worthy? And is God okay with any kind of worship? Join us to look in Scripture at God's instructions for those who wish to worship Him, and what God demands of worthy worship.

After God declares the Ten Commandments to Israel, the people respond with fear—but not in response to the commands, but because of the display of God's power on the mountain. The Bible speaks often of God's fearfulness, but how can a good God be a fearful God? What is the point of God being fearful? And how should God's people response to His fearfulness? Join us to find out.

Christianity is a dead religion if Christ remains dead. The truths of the Gospel have no power if Jesus is powerless over the grave. The Resurrection of Christ is a sign of hope for every promise of God, but in this life and the life to come. Join us this Resurrection Sunday and find out from the oldest book in the Bible why the resurrection of the Savior shows His worthiness to redeem, to rule, to raise, and to reign with His people.

The crucifixion of Christ was more than an example of love, it revealed God's justice, holiness, and wrath — and also His abundant mercy and grace. Understanding the Cross is crucial to understanding Christianity. Join us for an expositional look at one of the most famous chapters in Scripture to see why Christ alone is the only worthy Lamb to take away the sins of the world.

Jesus' most repeated question in the Gospels is, “Have you not read?” Everything Jesus did was done intentionally to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament, from His birth, to His life, to His death and resurrection. It's not enough to simply accept the historical Jesus, one must submit to the Word of God, which Christ fulfilled.

Jesus commanded that God's people must be perfect and that their righteousness must exceed even that of the Pharisees. How can this be, since all people sin? As we study the life of Christ in preparation for Easter, join us and see why the entire counsel of Scripture points to the necessity of Jesus' fulfillment of the Law as the basis of salvation for all who believe.  

Jesus is the only one worthy to save sinners from God's wrath. There was no other way for God to redeem people enslaved to sin other than sending Jesus to be born in human flesh, to live under the law, to die a condemned death, and to rise on the third day. In this Easter series, we look systematically at God's Word to understand why each aspect of Christ's life was necessary to fulfill the Gospel. Join us in studying God's Word to see how the incarnation of Christ is a central part of the Easter story.

In Romans 1:18–3:20 we learn that we cannot be right with God by keeping His law. In fact, the purpose of God's law is to show us that we fall short of His righteous standard (Romans 3:19–20, 23). Yet, because God loves us, He has made a way that we can be right with Him. Join us to find out how we can be right with God and where our righteousness must come from!

In God's tenth and final command in the Decalogue, He emphasized the importance of contentment. A lack of contentment is shown is covetousness. Join us and find out why God commands more than just outward obedience from His people, but an obedience of the heart that delights in Him alone!

Satan is called the Father of Lies (John 8:44), which is why it's no surprise that falsehood is one of his most common strategies in dividing the people of God. Thankfully, God warns against the dangers of speaking falsely of each other, starting at Mount Sinai. Join us and found out why God demands that people speak of each other in a truthful manner.

Does stealing matter? Although it may feel tempting to justify petty theft, fraud, and deception, wrongly taking what belongs to someone else goes against God's holiness and runs counter to what it means to be God's people. Find out why. 

In a world where promiscuity is promoted, lewdness is loved, and sexual sin is tolerated for the sake of self, find out why God hates adultery and why committing adultery is not just a grave sin against other people but against God Himself.

Yahweh is a God of life. He is also a God of justice. Because of that, the penalty for taking an innocent life is severe. Find out why God cares so much about human life, and how the protection of human life is honoring to God's image and His attributes.

Only one group of people are mentioned specifically in the Ten Commandments, and they are parents. In the first command directed towards how God's people treat other people, God begins by commanding His people to honor their fathers and mothers. Find out why this command is so important and how, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, it is treated literally as a matter of life and death.

God gives the first positive command of the Decalogue—not of what His people should not do, but what they should do: keep the Sabbath. What is a Sabbath? Why is it important? And what does it look like for God's people in the modern world today? Join us and find out.

God's Ten Commandments are more than just commands. They're ten principles about who He is and what it looks like to be His holy people. After declaring that His people shall have no other gods, and that they shall not dishonor Him by making idols, God continues by stating that His people shall not dishonor His name. Find out why God's name is so important and how to bear His name in a worthy manner.

As God speaks directly to the people of Israel on Mount Sinai and gives the conditions of His covenant with them, He makes clear that those who make and worship idols cannot be His people. The same is true for God's people today. What is an idol? Why are idols bad? Join us as we study God's Word in Exodus 20 to find out.  

Now that God has given the purpose of His covenant to His people, for them to be His holy and treasured possession, and now that the people have obediently consecrated themselves at Mount Sinai, God now gives the words of His covenant to Moses, beginning with what is famously called, “The Ten Commandments.” Find out why these “Ten Words” are much more than commandments, and what they mean for God's people today.

Before God gives the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai, He commands that Israel be consecrated. Another word for “holy” to be consecrated means to be pure and set apart, and the consequences are literally life and death. Find out why God calls Christians to be consecrated and what it means to live a holy life for Christ on Earth.

As Israel arrives at Mount Sinai, God makes a covenant with the people. This covenant promises that if the people obey His Word, they will be His people and represent His glory and holiness to each other and to the entire world. For those in Christ Jesus who by faith have been “grafted in” to God's plan that started with Israel, it means that the Church, likewise, has been saved for a purpose. Join us to find out how to live out that purpose as a church.

During Moses' visit with his father-in-law, Jethro advises Moses not to lead God's people alone but to do so with the help of other spiritually qualified men. Jethro says that this will help Moses to endure and ultimately bless God's people by giving them longevity, unity, and peace. These same principles are true for the church today, and are exactly why God still has His people, the Church, led by a plurality of shepherds.

After returning to Mount Sinai, where Moses first encountered God while shepherding his father-in-law's sheep, Moses reunites with his father-in-law Jethro and shares all that God has accomplished in rescuing the Israelites. In response, Jethro receives the good news with rejoicing, belief, and worship. Find out how God's salvation demands a response, and what that response should look like for all people.

The people of God engage in their first battle after the Amalekites attack them at Rephidim. But, instead of going into battle depending on their own strength, Joshua and the men of Israel fight in dependence on God's strength. Join us to see how this battle illustrates the need to have the kind of faith in God that is willing to rest in dependence of His power to save.

For the final time before reaching Mount Sinai, God's people grumble against Him and put Him to the test. Find out how God once again shows that He is a God worth trusting in, and how He provides for His people in a way that is personal and present with them. Most of all, find out about the true Rock and Water of life that God gives, His Son Jesus Christ.

After God gave His people water, they complained again about no food. Remarkably, God doesn't smite them but serves them! Find out how God's sufficient provision shows the kind of God He is and how His people should respond with faithful submissiveness that trusts and rests and remembers what God has provided, ultimately salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.   

Immediately after praising God, Israel begins grumbling against Him. As Moses leads the Israelites into the wilderness, their need for water becomes great, which reveals their even greater need to depend on the Lord by following His Word faithfully. Join us and find out why God allows suffering so that He makes people realize their need to depend on Him.  

Since the days of the prophets, to the age of the New Testament, through the times of Martin Luther and the Reformation, until now, God has saved His people through faith alone. The question is, what is faith? What must happen in one's heart and life to respond to God's grace with the kind of faith that saves? Join us as Pastor Stephen offers a systematic look at what the whole counsel of God has to say about saving faith, starting in Romans 1:16-17.   

There are many kinds of faith, but only one that saves. In the letter to the Hebrews, God encourages suffering Christians with examples from the Old Testament of saving faith. No other example of faith is described more explicitly than that of Moses in Hebrews 11:24-26. In this passage, discover the inner workings of saving faith, and what happens in the human heart when it decides to trust Christ as Lord and Savior.

After God glorifies Himself by victoriously defeating Egypt and saving Israel, Moses and Miriam lead the people in a song of praise in reaction to who God is and what He's done. In doing so, they explain why God is to be praised and how He is to be praised, giving a model for worship for all of God's people everywhere.

God glorifies Himself by delivering His people out of the presence of the Egyptians. By parting the waters of the Red Sea, God shows why He delivered His people, how He delivered His people, and how His people should respond.  

God has redeemed Israel, His “firstborn” from slavery in Egypt and while traveling out of Egypt He has instructed them on how to consecrate and remember His redemption through the feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread and the dedication of the firstborn. Now, as they journey to the Red Sea, God miraculously leads Israel with a pillar of fire and cloud, and in doing so reveals the nature of how God leads His people.

God gives the final of three messages before His people cross the Red Sea into the wilderness. Each message focused on remembering an aspect of God's salvation from Egypt—the Passover remembered God's sacrifice, the feast of Unleavened Bread remembered God's salvation, and this final lesson on the consecration of the firstborn focuses on the passing along of God's salvation to subsequent generations. In fact, the firstborn itself is a symbol of salvation. Found out why.

God gives the second of three lessons to His people after delivering them from slavery in Egypt after the death of the firstborn. After giving instructions for who can and cannot partake in Passover, God now gives instructions on the Feast of Unleavened Bread and will conclude by giving instructions on dedicating the firstborn. All three lessons touch on an element of God's salvation from Egypt, and point to God's salvation from sin. In instructions on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, God explains that doing so is part of the process of consecrating the firstborn to Him. Join us and find out how the way parents lead their families impacts the spiritual future of their children.

After God has provided a sacrifice, and after God has saved His people, God now gives instructions on how that salvation should be shared with others. To do so, God calls for strict adherence to the Passover to ensure that His people set themselves apart from the rest of the world, while also allowing all nations of the world to be identified as His people. Join us to find out how this impacts the way the Church conducts itself in worship and missions.

With the Passover and the striking of every firstborn in Egypt, God finally gives freedom to the Israelites and delivers them from Egypt. But what does it mean to have freedom from God, and how does one receive it? The historical true story of the Exodus illustrates the spiritually true story of the Gospel. Join us and find out the true meaning of spiritual freedom, and how it only comes by responding to God's grace with faith, and results in obedience.

As God prepares to deliver His people from slavery in Egypt, he gives them two festivals, each one intended to illustrate His spiritual work. The Feast of Passover illustrates God's saving work through the ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God, while the Feast of Unleavened Bread illustrates God's sanctifying work as He now calls His people to live as saved people by rejecting the impurities of sin in their life. Join us for this fascinating study on a Jewish tradition that illustrates eternal principles.

After warning Pharaoh of the first nine plagues, God chooses to announce His final plague to the Israelites themselves. As a result of His Word of warning, God expects His people to respond with faithful obedience. Join us to see in Scripture how God used the Passover to point to His ultimate plan of salvation through His son Jesus Christ.

Pharaoh made a threat to Moses and failed to keep it, but as God shows through the ninth plague of bringing darkness over Egypt, whether to bless or to curse, God always does what He says, and His words should be treated with the full weight of reality.

Today, we talk about the concept of Zeal: The unquenchable desire to seek God and honor Him. We talk about how it was lost in the fall of man, how it's regained through repentance, and ultimately how it's seen in the childlike faith that Jesus calls us to have.

In the eighth of God's ten plagues against Egypt, He brings locusts, but this time, not just so that Pharaoh can know that Yahweh is God, but specifically so that the Israelites and their families will know that Yahweh is God. This emphasis on the family shows how God has bigger things in mind than just proving His power to a pagan Pharaoh, but showing His sovereignty to His promised people so that they may share it with their families forever.

Before God unleashes His seventh strike on Pharaoh and Egypt, God takes time to explain exactly why He is bringing suffering to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Surprisingly, none of the reasons God gives concerns punishment. Instead, God explains that His plagues reveal His might and mercy and are intended to make His name known and revered in the nations of the world.

Pharaoh's heart grows harder and harder, and in return, God's plagues grow mightier and mightier. After showing His sovereignty over life and the animal kingdom, God now shows His sovereignty over bodily health and disease, as He brings pestilence to Egypt's animals and boils on its people. In doing so, God shows that He does what He says, and that the sign of a soft and upright heart to God is one who not only hears what He says but responds accordingly.

As Pharaoh refuses to obey God, God continues to display His power. By sending more pestilence to Egypt in the form of frogs, gnats, and flies, God not only shows His power over all living creatures but also His sovereign might over those with heavy hearts who refuse to submit to Him. Find out the tell-tale sign of a hard heart and how God is both mighty and merciful in the face of rebellion.

Psalm 33 gives a crash course on praise. It perfectly explains how to praise God, why to praise God, and even gives an example of what proper praise looks like. In one of Pastor Jay's favorite Psalms, study with us exactly why God should be worshipped and the biblical examples the Lord gives of worship.  

As promised, God begins to show His might by unleashing miraculous signs and wonders against Egypt. These signs do more than just reveal the weakness of Pharaoh or his fictional gods, it reveals the sovereignty of God over all facets of life, including life, nature, and the Universe. As God reveals His first sign by turning all the water of Egypt into blood, He shows Himself to be the God of life who both gives and takes away.

God begins to reveal His Power in visible ways in Egypt. As Pharaoh continued to harden his heart against God's command to let His people go, God began to prove His authority and the power of His words by powerfully performing a miracle through Aaron's staff. Join us and find out why God's power is meant to show the reliability of His promises, and why Christians should avoid pursuing false displays of power like Pharaoh's magicians did.

At a low point in the Exodus story, all that Moses does in obedience to God seems to result in favor, yet as much as Moses pleads, God continues to demand further obedience. This low point is broken up with a pause to tell the family history of Moses and Aaron. This genealogy, which is one of many genealogies used to tell God's story of redemption in Scripture, shows how the evidence of God's faithfulness is revealed through the preservation of families.