When Jesus began to preach, His message was clear: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The coming of the kingdom is good news, but it is also a summons. The King has come, and sinners are called to turn from sin and self and submit to His righteous rule.

This sermon from Matthew 4:17 considers repentance as a word of confrontation, action, and truth. The warning is urgent, the way of salvation is singular, and the hope of the gospel remains: repent and be saved.

In 2 Kings 2:1–19, Elijah’s ministry comes to an end and Elisha’s begins. Yet the work of God does not end with Elijah. The Lord is eternal, His Word remains unchanged, and His kingdom continues from one generation to the next.

This sermon calls the church to prepare faithfully for endings and beginnings. All men come to an end, each generation must invest in the next, and God’s people must affirm faithful calling and service for the ongoing witness of the gospel.

When Ahab took possession of Naboth’s vineyard, he may have thought the matter was settled. But God saw the murder, the theft, the excuses, and the rebellion. The Lord sent Elijah to speak plainly: Ahab had murdered and taken possession.

In this sermon from 1 Kings 21:17–29, Ben Smith shows why God’s people must be faithful to speak truth in every season. Biblical confrontation is not rooted in anger or malice, but in love, compassion, and the desire that sinners would repent and be restored to the Lord.

Noah stepped off the ark into a changed world marked by judgment and grace. His first act was worship—an altar built to the God who saves. Genesis 8:20–22 shows that true worship arises when we remember God, acknowledge our sin, and rest in His sovereign grace. This message calls believers to offer their lives wholly to Him.

The ark stood as both hope and warning. Repent and believe while the door of grace remains open.

Noah’s obedience flowed from a heart transformed by God’s grace. In a world shaped by self-autonomy, this message calls believers back to the joy of trusting and obeying the Lord.

In Genesis 6:1–8, The Depravity of Man examines humanity’s sin, God’s judgment, and the undeserved, initiating grace that saves. Learn how Noah and Enoch lived righteously, preached faithfully, and trusted God’s grace in a corrupt world.

In this message from Psalm 106, learn how confession, reflection on God’s faithfulness, and a God-centered perspective shape genuine, lasting thanksgiving.

Cain’s descendants built cities, developed culture, advanced technology, and prospered in ways the world would applaud—yet they lived every moment outside the presence of God. Their story reminds us that success without God is not success at all. Prosperity apart from Him may look impressive, but it cannot satisfy, it cannot save, and it cannot endure. In this episode, we explore how the busyness of building for nothing and the foolish confidence of worldly achievement can silently pull our hearts away from what matters most—and why true purpose is found only in a relationship with Christ.

In “Sin’s Ruinous Rule” (Genesis 4:8–16), Pastor Ben Smith examines Cain’s tragic story to reveal three warning signs of sin’s growing destruction—its mastery, its blindness, and its judgment—while calling believers to repentance and the redeeming grace found only in Jesus Christ.

In Right with God (Genesis 4:1–7), Pastor Ben Smith contrasts the offerings of Cain and Abel to reveal that true acceptance with God comes only through obedience, faith, and submission to His will. This sermon challenges today’s culture of self-worship and calls believers to honor God through a worthy offering and wholehearted surrender to Christ.

From the archives. Originally preached in September 2020, this sermon is from James 5:12-20, titled “Confess and pray.”

From the archives. Originally preached in September 2020.

The cost of faithful obedience does not negate the worthiness and value of Scripture’s commands. The difficulty or unpleasantness of a task does not mean that the task is unnecessary or a worthless pursuit.

Church discipline is hard, relationally taxing, and requires significant attention and energy from the church. This level of investment and cost was causing the Thessalonian church to grow weary, and some were surely tempted to give up or give in. In our day, many church members are weary from the excessive commitments they have made outside of the church. This leads them to be unprepared and with little tolerance or energy for the mental attention, emotional fortitude, and spiritual determination required for church discipline. Additionally, our culture places great importance on preserving the individual’s self-esteem, emotional stability, and autonomy. Any attempt to express judgment towards an individual is countercultural and generally rejected. The church is not immune to these cultural forces and is often tempted to compromise biblical fidelity for the sake of cultural acceptance.

In this passage, Paul pleads with the church to faithfully endure in church discipline, regardless of how difficult the task may be.

From the archives. Originally preached in September 2020.

What is your true treasure? Is it God's truth and God's glory or worldly pleasures and comforts? James 5:1-6 gives the church three warnings related to wealth.

From the archives. Originally preached in September 2020.

In this passage, James identifies the cause of conflict in the church and the resulting broken relationship with God and gives a clear solution – draw near to God through repentance.

To be useful to God, you must be set apart from sin and the world. And if you are to be used by God to rescue those who have swerved from the truth, you must reject the temptation to be quarrelsome and instead teach the truth with the gentleness and patience of Christ.

This passage has two commands required of those who desire to be ready for every good work and a good servant of the Lord.

As Paul concludes his letter, he gives some final warnings and instructions. His final warning can be broken into two parts, confrontation of sin and examining your faith to test if it is genuine. In this sermon, I preach on the first part concerning the confrontation of sin.

Confronting sin and church discipline is something that most Christians know should be happening, but they have not seen a healthy or consistent model of how it happens. And a more honest assessment may be that many Christians have no motivation to faithfully participate in church discipline because they enjoy the lack of accountability in their church.

Understanding this passage and how to confront sin requires understanding three principles of healthy, godly discipline:

1. Discipline is motivated by love.

2. Discipline is connected to worth.

3. Discipline is connected to church fellowship.

When I was a child, my parents would say something to me before administering discipline. They would say, “this hurts me, more than it hurts you.” To be honest, as a child, I could not understand how this could be true. Now as a parent, I both understand what they meant and have said these very words myself. Discipline is a necessary part of raising children. Discipline is an essential part of any kind of growth and development. However, discipline is never fun or enjoyable.

Godly discipline is born out of both sorrow and love. We should weep and have sorrow over sin while being ready to forgive when there is repentance.

Being great is a desire that is common to every generation and every culture. In Matthew 18:1-4 the disciples revealed that their concern about the kingdom Jesus promised to establish was who among them would be the greatest. The disciples were not immune to this desire to convert their relationship with Jesus into positions of importance in the kingdom He was establishing. They hoped to enjoy the highest and most important positions in His kingdom.

Their desire for greatness led them to ask Jesus who among them would be the greatest in the kingdom. However, the answer He gave was not what they expected. Jesus taught them to seek what matters and find greatness through repentance.