Podcast
Deer Run Sermons
Hosted by Deer Run Church · EN
Sermon from Deer Run Church
16episodes
Episodes
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The Gospel is... Personal
5d ago00:41:10Tap to summarizeThis powerful exploration of the gospel begins with a sobering truth: we were dead. Not sick, not struggling, but genuinely dead in our transgressions and sins. The message walks us through Romans 1:16-17 and Ephesians 2:1-10, revealing that our spiritual death was both devil-inspired and driven by our own sinful desires. We lived under the influence of the prince of the power of the air, indulging in the lusts of our flesh. But here's where the gospel becomes breathtaking: God, being rich in mercy and motivated by His great love, made us alive together with Christ. He didn't just heal us or improve us—He resurrected us. The gospel isn't about our works or intellectual understanding; it's about Jesus Christ who was born and raised to be King. When we grasp the depth of our former deadness, we can truly appreciate the magnitude of our salvation. We're not just saved; we're seated with Christ in the heavenly places, living in His power. This transformation isn't something we accomplished through religious activity or right theology—it's entirely God's gift through faith. The challenge before us is recognizing that faith, hope, and love in our society all flow from the gospel. When we cut down the tree, the fruit stops growing. Our calling is to let this resurrection life transform us first, then overflow into our families, churches, and communities.
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Perseverance vs Efficiency
2w ago00:31:05Tap to summarizeIn a world obsessed with speed and shortcuts, we're challenged to embrace a countercultural truth: spiritual formation cannot be rushed. Drawing from Romans 5:3-4, we discover that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance builds character, and character leads to hope. These aren't isolated experiences but interconnected links in a chain—remove one, and the entire structure weakens. The sermon confronts our AI-conditioned minds that seek efficiency in everything, revealing how this mindset becomes destructive when applied to our relationship with God. Through the story of Jairus's daughter in Mark 5, we see Jesus deliberately pausing during an urgent mission to restore a woman's dignity, demonstrating that what we perceive as interruptions, God sees as ministry. The agricultural imagery from Galatians 6 reminds us that harvests cannot be rushed—we must plant spiritual seeds and remain faithful through the growing season. This message calls us to resist the temptation to manufacture spiritual depth through formulas and checklists, instead embracing the slow, sometimes painful work of allowing God to refine our character through perseverance.
Transcribe →Authentic vs Fake
3w ago00:29:46Tap to summarizeIn this exploration of faith in our modern world, we are challenged to examine what is authentic versus what merely mimics the kingdom of heaven. The central question confronts us directly: as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly capable of creating content, images, and information that appears real, how do we guard against becoming desensitized to what is fake in our spiritual lives? The sermon draws us back to Genesis, reminding us that we are created in the image of God—Imago Dei—a reality that cannot be replicated by any technology. Through the story of Satan's conversation with Eve in Genesis 3, we see how information can be manipulated, how half-truths become powerful deceptions, and how focusing on debating information rather than leaning into relationship with God leads us astray. The powerful truth emerges: our faith is not primarily about information but about relationship. While AI excels at providing data, it cannot pray, repent, or bear God's image. Our identity is secured not in what we can do or produce, but in who we are in Christ—chosen, loved, adopted children of God whose lives are hidden with Christ in God. This message calls us to recognize the many things in our lives that try to mimic the kingdom of heaven—success, finances, influence—and to return to the authentic relationship that defines us.
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Being Present
4w ago00:29:56Tap to summarizeThis message centers on a profound truth that challenges our busy, achievement-oriented lives: our presence will always outweigh perfection when it comes to our relationship with Jesus. Through the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10, we're invited to examine what truly matters in our faith journey. Mary chose to sit at the feet of Jesus, leaving behind her tasks and responsibilities, recognizing that being with Christ is more important than working for Christ. This isn't about dismissing our responsibilities, but about understanding priorities. The sermon beautifully connects this ancient story to modern motherhood and leadership, reminding us that few things are more damaging to a Christian's life than trying to work for Christ without first communing with Christ. If Christ is the vine and we are the branches, everything flows from our connection with Him. The message extends to legacy-building through Deuteronomy 6, where Moses instructs the Israelites to impress God's commands on their children in everyday moments. It's not about grand gestures or perfection, but about bringing Jesus into the ordinary, mundane moments of life. The illustration of the Magic Castle Hotel demonstrates how small, intentional moments create lasting impact. Similarly, our faith legacy isn't built through perfection but through faithful presence in the small moments, creating opportunities to encounter Jesus in daily life.
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Shine
May 300:38:12Tap to summarizeThis message challenges us to examine what it truly means to be light in a darkened world. Drawing from Matthew 5:14-16, we're reminded that being light isn't something we achieve through our own efforts, but rather something grace has already made us through Christ. The sermon explores a fascinating twin metaphor where salt represents our call to resist conformity and decay, while light represents our positive mission to illuminate truth. What makes this particularly convicting is the question: are we actually shining, or have we allowed our lights to dim? The message identifies technology addiction, unconfessed sin, spiritual apathy, and cultural conformity as major dimmers in our generation. There's a striking comparison between incandescent bulbs running on batteries versus being plugged into a power source, illustrating how we cannot shine in our own strength but must remain connected to Jesus, our true power source. The call isn't to perform good works to earn salvation, but to let our transformed character naturally overflow into beautiful, admirable actions that point others to God. Ultimately, we're challenged to live with integrity when no one is watching, practice honesty in a culture that bends truth, show patience when others are harsh, and let go of bitterness that steals our witness. Our shining isn't about us at all, it's about glorifying our Father in heaven.
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Compassion Sunday 2026
Apr 2600:24:38Tap to summarizeThis timely message invites us to move beyond merely feeling compassion to actively living it out. Drawing from the life of Jesus, we're reminded that true compassion is not passive observation but intentional action. The scripture from Lamentations 3:22-23 anchors us in the truth that God's compassions never fail and are new every morning, setting the foundation for how we should extend compassion to others. Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus moved with compassion in three distinct ways: providing spiritual nourishment to those who were lost, meeting physical needs like feeding the 4,000, and bringing healing to the outcasts of society. The story of Everett Swanson serves as a modern parable of obedience—one man who responded to the question 'What are you going to do?' and whose simple act of helping one child grew into a global movement impacting over 2 million children today. This challenges us to examine our own lives and ask where God is calling us to move from observation to action, from feeling to doing, from comfort to sacrifice. The message beautifully illustrates that we cannot do everything, but we can all do something, and that something, when placed in God's hands, multiplies exponentially to transform families, communities, and nations.
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When the Spirit Interrupts
Apr 1900:33:29Tap to summarizeThis powerful message challenges us to reconsider our relationship with interruptions, particularly those orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. Drawing from Acts 13:1-3, we explore the remarkable story of the church in Antioch, where divine interruption transformed the course of Christian history. While we often schedule our lives to avoid disruptions, the Bible reveals that God's greatest work frequently comes through unexpected moments that derail our carefully laid plans. The Antioch church was engaged in worship and fasting when the Holy Spirit interrupted their gathering, calling Barnabas and Saul to missionary work. What makes this story even more remarkable is the congregation's response: they didn't shift into frantic planning mode but deepened their worship, eventually releasing two of their most valuable leaders. This teaches us three essential responses to divine interruption: we must be ready to change, we must include others in spiritual discernment, and we must grow in patience and openness. The message reminds us that God's main disguise is often interruption itself, and if we build too many protective walls around our schedules and plans, we may inadvertently prevent the very work God wants to accomplish through us. Perhaps the real chaos in our lives isn't the interruption but our resistance to it.
Transcribe →Changed the World
Apr 1200:28:11Tap to summarizeThis powerful message challenges us to reimagine what it means to be church in our generation. Drawing from Acts 11 and 13, we explore the revolutionary story of Antioch—the first truly multicultural church that shifted from consuming ministry to commissioning it. What made Antioch extraordinary wasn't their building or their programs, but their willingness to be a launch site rather than a landing pad. Born from persecution yet sustained by divine grace, this community broke through ethnic barriers, remained teachable under sound doctrine, stayed spiritually alive through prophetic gifts, and gave generously beyond their own needs. The Spirit interrupted their worship to send out their best leaders—Barnabas and Paul—and they didn't resist. They prayed, laid hands on them, and released them. As we consider our own building expansion and mission, we're invited to ask ourselves: Are we gathering just to consume, or are we equipping to send? The intricate details of our faith—the disciplines, the accountability, the generosity, the training—may not always feel dramatic, but they're what prevent us from becoming just another social gathering. Like Ignatius of Antioch who willingly faced lions rather than compromise his mission, we're called to risk everything for the sake of making Jesus known, both in our neighborhoods and to the ends of the earth.
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The Morning That Changed Everything
Apr 500:30:49Tap to summarizeThis powerful Easter message challenges us to move beyond simply celebrating resurrection as a once-a-year event and instead embrace it as a daily reality that transforms how we live right now. The central question cuts deep: would we have been at the tomb awaiting the resurrection? While Jesus clearly predicted His rising three times in the Synoptic Gospels and multiple times in John, not a single disciple was there to witness it. This reveals a sobering truth about the gap between what we say we believe and how we actually live. The empty tomb isn't just historical fact—it's an invitation to experience resurrection power today.
Transcribe →The King Who Came Humbly
Mar 2900:30:05Tap to summarizeThis Palm Sunday sermon challenges us to examine the parade we're standing in and the expectations we bring to Jesus. Drawing from Matthew 21 and Philippians 2, we're confronted with a profound truth: Jesus deliberately chose a donkey, not a war horse, making a radical statement about the nature of His kingdom. The crowd shouted 'Hosanna' meaning 'save us now,' but they wanted salvation from Rome while Jesus came to save us from sin and death. This disconnect between expectations and God's reality is still alive today. We might cry out for Jesus to fix our circumstances, restore our finances, or heal our relationships, all good desires, but are we equally passionate about Him transforming our hearts and forgiving our sins? The sermon forces us to wrestle with an uncomfortable question: what would make us leave the parade? When Jesus doesn't meet our expectations, when the cross becomes real instead of just the crown, will we stay? The road to the crown goes through the cross, and we must become who He set us free to be rather than trying to make Him who we want Him to be.
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