The Shepherd’s Call ::: I Will Fear no Evil
Sermons

The Shepherd’s Call ::: I Will Fear no Evil

To be saved does not mean to be pain-free. At least not this side of the resurrection. Receiving the gift of eternal life assures us of our ultimate destination in God’s presence but also ushers us into a journey where pain and suffering are part of the Shepherd’s call. As we grow in our commitment to the Shepherd’s way, we grow from faith into hope. It is in this part of the journey that we learn to embrace God’s sufficiency as he overcomes our deepest fears leading us through the valley of the shadow of our own mortality. Victory over our deepest fears is possible for as the psalmist declares “I will fear not evil, for you are with me.

The Shepherd’s Call ::: He Restores my Soul
Sermons

The Shepherd’s Call ::: He Restores my Soul

Conversion is our first step in the disciple-maker’s journey. We cannot give what we have not received. The Shepherd’s call is first a call to salvation where we turn our back to sin to embrace God’s life-satisfying sufficiency. Salvation is not about what we do for God but what he has already done for us.

The Waiting ::: Waiting for the King
Sermons

The Waiting ::: Waiting for the King

After the exile, the people of Israel lived under the domination of gentile nations. The Davidic throne was deposed, and the reality of the kingdom gave way to the promise that one day God would restore David’s throne through the coming of the Messiah. Many waited to see what seemed like an impossible promise. But in the fullness of time, God sent his son to make sure that his every promise would in him find fulfillment. The king would come not to satisfy the expectations of men but to make sure God’s will is done as it is in heaven.

The Waiting ::: Waiting Despite Our Failures
Sermons

The Waiting ::: Waiting Despite Our Failures

He had it all and lost it all. The story of God’s people in the kingdom of Israel is a series of ups and downs. Even the greatest kings have dark chapters. When we fail, we are sometimes tempted to quit and give up in our pursuit of hope. Beyond human performance, God’s promises lift our eyes to see beyond the horizon of our capacity to what only God can do. The God of the Bible is a God who succeeds where our efforts fail.

The Waiting ::: Waiting Against All Odds
Sermons

The Waiting ::: Waiting Against All Odds

Every name in the story of Christ’s genealogy from Abraham to David shows the obstacles that hope must face when hoping against all human odds to succeed. Whether it is infertility or a rebellious child, immorality or being foreigners in a foreign land, marginalization or obscurity waiting to be found, the hope of God’s people to be seen, heard, and known finds fulfillment as God calls us to become what we could not become on our own.

The Waiting ::: What Are We Waiting For?
Sermons

The Waiting ::: What Are We Waiting For?

Waiting is hard when we are under pressure or in need. Hope is the result of patiently waiting on God to fulfill his promises. Hundreds of years before the coming of Christ, Isaiah prophesied of the day when our every hope would be fulfilled in the coming of God himself. Beyond all doubt God’s people would be able to declare “Behold this is our God, we have waited for him that he might save us” Isaiah 25:9. Christ is indeed the fulfillment of this prophecy for he is Emanuel, God with us.

A Better Country | Dr. Brance Barker
Sermons

A Better Country | Dr. Brance Barker

Waiting is hard when we are under pressure or in need. Hope is the result of patiently waiting on God to fulfill his promises. Hundreds of years before the coming of Christ, Isaiah prophesied of the day when our every hope would be fulfilled in the coming of God himself. Beyond all doubt God’s people would be able to declare “Behold this is our God, we have waited for him that he might save us” Isaiah 25:9. Christ is indeed the fulfillment of this prophecy for he is Emanuel, God with us.

Ready for More ::: We are the Champions
Sermons

Ready for More ::: We are the Champions

Disciples grow into disciple-makers motivated not by what they lack but by what, in Christ, they have already received. We are in the process of becoming disciple-makers. For DFBC, this season is an opportunity to unite in love to display his glory to an unbelieving world.

Ready for More ::: No Way to Lose!
Sermons

Ready for More ::: No Way to Lose!

Sometimes the challenge for disciples to grow into disciple-makers may feel overwhelming. When Christ calls us to step up and face a challenging world this task may seem impossible. In this section of his prayer, however, Christ assures his disciples that because he has already overcome the world, we have what it takes to do what he has called us to do. In Christ, disciples growing into disciple-makers have assurance, calling, significance, and purpose. All of this, provided by Christ's calling that sets them apart from the world by the powerful provision of his word. God created the world with the power of his word and will rescue the world one person at a time by the power of the same word. Because God has already spoken, there is no way to lose!

Ready for More ::: Done Deal
Sermons

Ready for More ::: Done Deal

Christ’s work is finished and done. At the center of Jesus’ mission is hot burning passion for the glory of God. As these verses show, God is glorified when we are made alive in him. It is the Father’s lavish life-giving generosity through his Son that brought Christ down to do the Father’s will. We, his children are now the recipients of this generosity so that we may become just like him. We were given life so that we may also in turn give life.