Living Way Reformed Presbyterian Church

In this evening message from Acts 8:26-40, Pastor Rockhill traces the account of Philip the evangelist and the Ethiopian eunuch, drawing out a single steady burden: that believers are called not to produce results but to be faithful with the Great Commission. Coming off his ministry in Samaria, Philip might have been discouraged, yet when the angel of the Lord directed him toward the desert road to Gaza, he simply arose and went—no questions, no complaints. Pastor Rockhill emphasizes that the fruit of evangelism belongs to God alone. We cannot convince or compel anyone to believe; only the Spirit convicts and converts. Our task is to be ready, prayerful, and willing to go wherever the Lord leads, trusting that He is preparing the hearts of those He sets in our path even as He prepares us. The sermon dwells on the Ethiopian reading Isaiah 53, the prophecy of the silent suffering Servant. Beginning at that very Scripture, Philip preached Jesus—His substitutionary death, His resurrection on the third day, and the forgiveness of sins. Pastor Rockhill reminds the congregation that faithful witnesses must know the Scriptures and the story of redemption that runs from Genesis to Revelation. The eunuch professed faith, was baptized, and went on his way rejoicing, carrying the gospel toward the ends of the earth. Pastor Rockhill closes by urging the flock to lay aside the fear of failure, to pray for opportunities, and to be faithful witnesses to the saving truth of Jesus Christ, all to the glory of God.

In this sermon on John 3:1-8, Pastor Rockhill considers Jesus' nighttime conversation with Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews. His central burden is the absolute necessity of the new birth: unless one is born again, he can neither see nor enter the kingdom of God. Pastor Rockhill sets the passage against the close of John 2, where many believed because of Jesus' signs, yet Jesus did not commit Himself to them because He knew their hearts were unchanged and still dead in sin. Working carefully through the text, Pastor Rockhill explains that to be born again is to be born from above, a spiritual birth wrought by the Holy Spirit alone. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but only the Spirit of God can impart new spiritual life. Drawing on Ezekiel 36 and 37, he shows how the sprinkling of clean water and the breath upon the dry bones picture regeneration, the sovereign transformation of a dead heart of stone into a living heart of flesh. The doctrine pressed home is the sovereign, gracious work of God in regeneration. Like the wind that blows where it wishes, the Spirit falls upon whomever God has appointed unto salvation, so that they truly believe in Christ. Salvation is therefore a gracious gift, entirely to God's glory. Pastor Rockhill applies this as both encouragement to true believers seeking assurance and a warning to false professors who rest in heritage, ritual, or works. He calls hearers to examine their hearts, cling to Christ, and boldly proclaim that sinners must be born again.

In this sermon the preacher takes up the demand of the Jewish leaders for a sign following Jesus' cleansing of the temple, exposing the futility of a faith that rests upon spectacle rather than a renewed heart. The central burden is that signs and miracles, however undeniable, cannot produce saving faith in those who have hardened themselves against God's self-revelation in creation, in Scripture, and supremely in His Son. Drawing upon Romans 1, the message shows that unbelievers actively suppress the truth they already possess, so that even were God to grant the sign they demand, they would still refuse to believe. Jesus, knowing what was in man, declined to perform on demand, offering instead the promise of the greatest sign of all, His resurrection, foreshadowed in the prophet Jonah, when He spoke of raising up the temple of His body in three days. The preacher carefully distinguishes the true faith of the disciples, who believed both the Scripture and the word of Christ, from the shallow belief of the crowds who marveled at miracles yet did not entrust themselves to Him for salvation. The application presses every hearer to examine whether his faith is mere admiration of Christ as a wonder-worker or genuine trust in Him as the crucified and risen Son of God. None, he warns, will see the kingdom apart from being born again by the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit.

Preaching from John 2:18-25, the minister takes up the religious leaders' demand for a sign after Jesus cleansed the temple. His central burden is that true faith never rests upon the spectacle of signs but flows from a heart transformed by the Holy Spirit. He observes that the leaders tacitly recognized the messianic character of the cleansing, yet their pride and self-righteousness hardened them against the One they should have welcomed. Their request for a sign was not honest inquiry but evidence of unbelief, for they had already witnessed a display of divine power and refused to repent. Drawing on Romans 1, the preacher reminds the congregation that God has revealed Himself in creation, in His Word, and supremely in His Son, so that sign-seekers who suppress this revelation would not believe even if granted their demand. He explains Jesus' cryptic answer, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,' as a figure pointing to His body and resurrection, the true sign of signs foreshadowed in Jonah. The leaders, focused on brick and mortar, twisted these words for years to come. The sermon closes by distinguishing the shallow faith of the crowds who believed in a miracle-worker from the saving faith of the disciples who believed the Scriptures and Christ's word. Believing that Jesus works wonders is not the same as trusting Him as the Son of God who bore the curse for sin. The application is searching and personal: men must be born again, their stony hearts made flesh, and rest by faith in the crucified and risen Lord for eternal life, to the glory of God alone.

In this message, Pastor Rockhill considers Jesus' cleansing of the temple as a further revelation of His glory and authority as the only begotten Son of God. Drawing on the account of Jesus driving out the merchants and money changers, he sets the scene within the Passover, showing how that feast pointed forward to Christ as the Lamb of God whose blood causes judgment to pass over all who trust in Him. The central burden Pastor Rockhill shares is the holiness of God and the reverence due to Him in worship. What began as a well-intentioned convenience for traveling pilgrims had hardened into corruption, greed, and the displacing of true worship, and Christ in righteous zeal purged His Father's house. Connecting this to Psalm 69 and Malachi 3, Pastor Rockhill shows Jesus as the promised Messiah who comes suddenly to His temple as a refiner's fire, and he warns that man's innovations always crowd out the simple worship God commands. He presses the doctrine that God must be regarded as holy, recalling Nadab and Abihu, and that Christ has authority to cleanse His own house. The application turns inward: Pastor Rockhill reminds us that believers are not called to overturn tables but to cultivate a holy zeal, purging sin from their own hearts and approaching God each Lord's Day to worship Him in spirit and truth.

In this evening sermon from Luke 18:1-8, the preacher unfolds the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge, drawing out Christ's central burden that His disciples ought always to pray and not lose heart. The sermon opens by observing how easily believers begin spiritual disciplines with energy yet falter when difficulties arise, and prayer is no exception. The unjust judge is described as a godless, corrupt man who feared neither God nor man, while the widow stands as a powerless figure with nothing but time and determination. Her relentless coming finally wears the judge down, and he grants her request out of selfish motives. The preacher then turns to the lesson Christ draws by contrast from the lesser to the greater: if even an unjust judge yields to persistence, how much more will the holy, faithful, and compassionate God avenge His own elect who cry to Him day and night. The sermon addresses why God often seems to delay, explaining that believers err when they try to impose their will and timing upon God, who is infinite in wisdom and works all things for His glory and their good. Sometimes delays expose hidden sin, cultivate patience, or teach dependence upon Him alone. The preacher closes by pressing Christ's sobering question — will the Son of Man find faith on the earth when He returns — urging hearers to examine whether their faith is the kind that perseveres in prayer through trial, persecution, and suffering until the Lord comes again in glory.

Jesus's first miracle of turning water into wine reveals His glory as the only begotten of the Father.

When Satan bets your skin will make you curse God, and even your wife and friends pressure you to break—will you hold fast to your integrity? Job did. So must we.

God is sovereign in salvation even setting divine appointments for those in need of the Gospel to hear and believe.

Proclaiming the Gospel is the ordinary means which God uses to bring people to faith in Christ. Faithful believers are called to bear witness to what the Lord has done in their lives and live out the Gospel for all to see, but they must ultimately show people where to meet Jesus by pointing them to the Word of God.

John the Baptist testifies that Jesus is both the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and the Son of God who became flesh and dwelt among us.

The Lord has given us the gift of prayer so that we might cry out to Him and be strengthened in faith in the day of trouble.

John the Baptizer was a voice crying out in the wilderness heralding the coming of the Messiah. His voice still cries out, calling people to repentance for the Lord Jesus is coming again.

Jesus reveals the fullness of God's glory.

The Word became flesh to dwell among us, identify with us, perfectly fulfill the law for us, and redeem us through His death on the Cross. This is the glory of the Incarnation.

Those who are made alive by God's grace are enabled to receive Christ and believe in His Name granting them the privilege of becoming children of God.

The True Light has come into the World. Rejected by the world. Rejected by His own people. How will you receive Him?

Abraham and his whole household received the sign of the covenant and enjoyed the outward blessings and privileges of being a part of the covenant community. Likewise, believers in Christ and those in their household ought to receive the covenant sign so they might enjoy the same blessings.

John the Baptizer is given a position of honor - but he was not the Light. He was sent to bear witness to the Light and to exalt the Light above himself.

The Word was in the beginning, the Word was with God, the Word was God, the Word is life, the Word is light and the Word is Jesus!

In this introduction to the Gospel of John we consider John's role as a witness to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

When we have difficult questions about what's going on in our lives - David and Jesus give us the example to take these questions to the Lord and humbly submit ourselves to the truth God has revealed in His word as we trust Him for the answer.

Psalm 36 gives a contrast between the wicked, dead in sin and the blessedness of those who've been redeemed and transformed by God's grace.

The Second Great Commandment calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Who is our neighbor? Everyone. So in God's grace be neighborly.

We're called to love the Lord our God with every fiber of our being and we demonstrate that love by obeying His commands found in the Moral Law, the 10 Commandments.

The Tenth Commandment calls us to be content and grateful for what the Lord has given us.

The Ninth Commandment calls us to not only speak and live out truth, but to know THE TRUTH God has revealed, Jesus Christ.

The Eighth Commandment calls us to remember that we and all we have belongs to the Lord and so we shouldn't be greedy and envious of what others have, lest we steal from them and ultimately steal from God.

The Seventh Commandment calls us to pursue purity in marriage, our bodies, and in our hearts.

The Sixth Commandment calls us to cherish the gift of life the Lord has given, putting to death the murder in our hearts and by our hands.