North Side Baptist Church

What if the battles we face every day -- in our relationships, our minds, our culture, and our world -- are not just personal struggles but part of something far larger and more significant than we realize? Drawing on the opening chapters of Ephesians, we explore the stunning truth that spiritual warfare is a cosmic conflict waged in an invisible realm but felt in every corner of our visible lives. Paul's declaration that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places is not abstract theology -- it is a battle map. It tells us where the fight is happening, who holds ultimate authority, and what resources we have been given. The resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ, seated far above every ruler, authority, power, and dominion, establishes that the war has already been won. The enemy is defeated, not dormant. Understanding this changes everything about how we face each day.

What does it truly mean to believe in Jesus -- not as a cultural inheritance, but as a living, transforming commitment? That question sits at the heart of this message, and it cuts right through the comfortable assumption that growing up around Christianity makes someone a Christian. Drawing from the powerful 'I Am' statements in the Gospel of John, we are invited to hear Jesus define himself on his own terms -- as the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd, the way, the truth, and the life. Each of these declarations is not merely poetic language; each one is an exclusive claim about where life, meaning, and salvation are actually found. The central passage, John 11:25-26, where Jesus declares himself the resurrection and the life, becomes the lens through which we examine whether our faith is genuine or simply inherited. The message challenges us to ask a deeply personal question: do we have two lives? A physical birth and a spiritual one? If we cannot point to a moment or season when we moved from knowing about Jesus to being all in with Jesus, this message calls us to honest reflection and, if needed, a first real step of faith.

Dr. Dean Saberhagen, Dean of the School of Evangelism and Missions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, shares us practical tools to move everyday conversations toward the good news of Jesus.

What happens when someone society has written off walks into a room and becomes the most spiritually alive person in it? That is exactly the tension we find ourselves sitting in when we explore Luke 7:36-50. A woman known publicly for her sin enters a formal dinner party, uninvited to the table, and does something so extravagant and so vulnerable that everyone in the room is unsettled -- everyone except Jesus. While the religious host quietly judges both her and Jesus, she is pouring out perfume, washing feet with her tears, and offering a kind of worship that no one at that table had thought to give. The central lesson here is both convicting and freeing: the depth of our love for God is directly connected to our awareness of how much we have been forgiven. When we truly grasp the weight of what has been lifted from us, judgment of others becomes almost impossible to sustain. This story invites us to ask ourselves honestly -- are we more like the woman at the feet of Jesus, or the host at the head of the table? And whichever we are today, there is a place for us in this story, because Jesus speaks to both.

How can doubt actually lead us to greater faith in Jesus?

How can we demonstrate the love of Christ to the most vulnerable among us?

How does Jesus' compassion bring hope and life to the outsider? 

How can we guard against a self-righteous heart that looks religious but ends up rejecting Jesus?

How does encountering Jesus change the way we view our brokenness? 

How does encountering Jesus change how we respond to offense? 

This week's sermon explored the profound truth that while America was founded by seekers pursuing happiness, our deepest needs can only be met by seeking Jesus with our whole hearts. Through the powerful story of the paralytic man and his four faithful friends in Mark 2:1-12, we discovered that being part of the crowd around Jesus is not the same as being a disciple of Jesus. The paralytic's friends demonstrated radical faith by literally tearing through a roof to get their friend to Jesus—removing every obstacle that stood in their way. Jesus responded not only by healing the man's physical paralysis but by addressing his greater need: the forgiveness of his sins. This encounter reminds us that Jesus has both the authority and the desire to forgive our sins and transform our lives completely.

We continue through our summer series on encounters with Jesus. This week's message challenged us to examine a fundamental question: When God calls us to obey Him, how do we respond?

How does Jesus provide hope for the hopeless and how can we be the messengers of that hope? 

How does Jesus bring life and hope to those who are unwanted? 

How can Jesus lead us to change our worry into trust? 

How do we practically live out a life of being everyday missionaries in our world?

Why should every Christ-follower be on mission with God in the world? 

How does growing toward spiritual maturity lead us to be more faithful witnesses for Jesus in the world?

How does understanding our current culture position us to be a witness for Christ in the world?

How does understanding our current culture position us to be a witness for Christ in the world?

What does it look like for us to join God in His eternal mission and to take the good news of Jesus into every realm of culture?

What does it look like for us to join God in His eternal mission and to take the good news of Jesus into every realm of culture?

How should our faith be lived out in the relationships that we have with other believers? 

How should our faith be lived out in the relationships that we have with other believers? 

How do we intentionally and strategically walk in wisdom?

How do we intentionally and strategically walk in wisdom?

How do we intentionally and faithfully love others well? 

How do we intentionally and faithfully love others well? 

How does Jesus' comeback on Easter Sunday Morning show us how we can comeback as well? 

How does Jesus' comeback on Easter Sunday Morning show us how we can comeback as well? 

What, if any, is the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead? 

What, if any, is the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead? 

What is the significance of the two tombs and how do they speak to the promise of hope? 

What is the significance of the two tombs and how do they speak to the promise of hope? 

What does the cross mean and how does it change everything for us? 

What does the cross mean and how does it change everything for us? 

What does it look like to grow up in Christ and how is that lived out every day as the church?

What does it look like to grow up in Christ and how is that lived out every day as the church?

How do we walk in unity as the church and what does that look like in everyday relationships? 

How do we walk in unity as the church and what does that look like in everyday relationships? 

What does it mean to lift others up in intercessory prayer and how should we do it? 

What does it mean to lift others up in intercessory prayer and how should we do it? 

What is the mystery of God revealed to the world in and through the gospel of Jesus Christ? 

What is the mystery of God revealed to the world in and through the gospel of Jesus Christ? 

What does it mean to be a part of the church and who makes up this community of faith? 

What does it mean to be a part of the church and who makes up this community of faith? 

What does salvation in Christ look like and how does it change us? 

What does salvation in Christ look like and how does it change us? 

How does Paul encourage the church in Ephesus and how might we be encouraged today?

How does Paul encourage the church in Ephesus and how might we be encouraged today?

A special online service due to inclement weather. Dr Thomas kicks off our new series "We Are The Church" with a message from Ephesians Chapter 1.