Chesapeake Church Sermons

Issues | A Church that Won't Join In

Sunday, April 14, 2024 - Revelation 2:8-11 | To fit in the world around us, and more so to get ahead, it would seem the best course of action is just to jump in and go with the current. But when a church starts swimming against the current of the community around them, all sorts of new issues can arise. What to do then?

Issues | A Church that Lost its Mission

Sunday, April 7, 2024 - Revelation 2:1-7 | The Ephesian church was passionate about doctrine. They were fierce about defending right beliefs! But what happens when the head stops meeting the heart, and the heart stops moving the hands and feet? Truth should lead to action and the issue of the Ephesian church is they had stopped living publicly for Jesus.

On A Mission | The Hope of Israel

Sunday, March 24, 2024 - Revelation 2:8-11 | To fit in the world around us, and more so to get ahead, it would seem the best course of action is just to jump in and go with the current. But when a church starts swimming against the current of the community around them, all sorts of new issues can arise. What to do then?

On A Mission | The Sea & the Serpent

Sunday, March 17, 2024 - Acts 27:1-28:10 | Images and symbols have incredible power across all human cultures, and in the biblical mind no symbols more embody the reality of evil than the sea and serpent. But nothing threatens, let alone stops, Jesus from keeping His Word and bringing the message of salvation to very heart of the kingdoms of this world.

On A Mission | For the Good of the World

Sunday, March 10, 2024 - Acts 25:1-26:32 – We all want peace and calm in our lives and, therefore, naturally resist anything new that messes with that. The powers of this world feel threatened by the Gospel and attack it.  But in front of the kings and rulers of this world, Paul makes the closing argument that the Gospel is good news FOR the world.

On A Mission | The Gospel on Trial

Sunday, March 3, 2024 - Acts 22:30-24:27 – An innocent man handed over by the religious leaders to Roman officials for trial, accused of blasphemy and treason. Sound familiar? Paul’s trial in Jerusalem gives him the chance to demonstrate to the powers (and to us) the superiority of the Gospel over all rival claims.

On A Mission | Responding to the Spirit

Acts 21:1-22:29 – Ever have those moments where you sense God wants you to do one thing, but logic, experience, or even the advice of others suggest otherwise? While Acts 21-22 may seem like a travel log at first, Paul’s journey back toward Jerusalem provides us a valuable lesson on how to listen for the Holy Spirit and follow in obedience and trust.

On a Mission | Leading the Church

Sunday, February 18, 2024 - Acts 20:1-38 – Like a ship without a captain or a plane without a pilot, the church will struggle and fall into disaster without godly leadership who are humbly grounded in God’s truth and ensure the entire body is as well. What should a church expect from her leaders and how can they support them? Paul shows us the model.

On a Mission | But Who Are You?

Sunday, February 11, 2024 - Acts 18:18-19:41 – It can be easy to treat the Gospel as an insurance policy that covers our eternity or a supplement that is just designed to make our lives a little better. Paul’s journeys to the city of Ephesus show us, however, the fullness of what God has for our daily lives as we see what full devotion to Jesus produces in our homes and in our communities.

On a Mission | Open or Closed

Sunday, February 4, 2024 - Acts 17:1-18:17 -Often what stands in the way from growth and learning is that we’re closed off to the possibility of thinking in new ways about ourselves or the world around us. But the Gospel is a direct challenge upon every single one of us, a message that will either bring us closeness with our Creator or judgment and death.

On a Mission | But God

Sunday, January 28, 2024 - Acts 15:36-16:40 - Convinced that God wants him to do one thing, Paul’s journeys take a dramatic turn (literally!) to places, people, and circumstances he wasn’t expecting. And despite personal conflicts and suffering Paul once again experiences the sure victory of the Gospel and its power to grant true freedom.

On a Mission | Law, Grace, & Mission

Sunday, January 21, 2024 - Acts 14:21-15:35 - As modern Americans we take our “rights” seriously and believe my personal freedoms must be protected at all costs. But Paul writes that while all things may be permissible, not all things are beneficial to the life of the church. The Council of Jerusalem, therefore, is a major event in the history of the church as these early believers sought out how to live fully in the freedom of Christ while loving one another inside and outside the church.

On a Mission | And Also to the Greek

Sunday, January 14, 2024  - Acts 13:1-14:20 - As we pick the story back up we rejoin Saul (now Paul) and his call to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We see as he takes his first missionary journey that though the context and locations may change it’s the same message of Jesus that confronts the same idolatry and objections in each of our lives.

Are You Here?

Sunday, December 31, 2024 - Philippians 1:3-11 – Sometimes in relationships, whether it be due to exhaustion, hurt, or just apathy, we find ourselves just going through the motions. We’re here, without actually being here. Church can be just the same way, where we’re in the routine, but not actually committed with all our mind, strength, soul, and body. Where do we need to be as Chesapeake Church? Where are we going and how are we going to get there? Let’s find out how to get fully bought in...

Christmas at Chesapeake | This is Christ the King

Sunday, December 24, 2023 - Luke 1 & 2 – The world is packed full of all sorts of symbols and shows of power. In gender, athletics, politics and more, we see claims of authority and demands for loyalty. But in Christmas, we’re invited into a totally different look, gazing not to monuments or thrones but to a lowly feeding trough and what lies within. This, here, is the true King!

Finding Hope, Faith, Joy, & Peace In His Coming | Finding Peace in His Coming

Sunday, December 17, 2024 - Luke 1:39-56 – From wars, famines, natural disasters, economic turmoil, political and social division, the world seems pretty messed up. Very little feels safe and secure and, worst, we feel so helpless and powerless to do anything about it. But God’s promises reveal to us His plans to topple the proud and mighty and exalt the hurting and the lowly. Jesus is coming back to heal this broken world and make all things new, and that is our PEACE.

Finding Hope, Faith, Joy, & Peace In His Coming | Finding Joy in His Coming

Sunday, December 10, 2024 - Luke 3:7-18 – It’s said that it’s the most wonderful time of the year and we should all feel joyful, merry, and bright. What is JOY, though, and from where does it come? And what does thinking about the salvation and judgment of God have to do with any of it? Or with Christmas? It turns out that when we fix our eyes on the right things and prioritize the things of God in our lives we might just get a little joyful as a result.

Finding Hope, Faith, Joy, & Peace in His Coming | Finding Faith in His Coming

Sunday, December 3, 2023 - Luke 3:1-6 – Faith is a word we hear being used and applied to many aspects of our lives. We are often told to “have faith” or “act in faith.” It can be difficult for us to even define faith, let alone understand how faith is supposed to function in our lives. Fortunately, God shows us through His Word exactly what faith is, and how it is to inform our actions.

Finding Hope, Faith, Joy, & Peace in His Coming | Finding Hope in His Coming

Sunday, November 26, 2023 - Luke 21:25-36 – Whether it be because of global events around the world or crises and struggles in our own life, it can be hard to feel optimistic. But the advent season is a time to remember Jesus doesn’t call us to put on a good face or try to find the brightside in life. Rather, we are to remember His promises and His works, having confident HOPE that He is coming back to finish what He started.

Unstoppable

Sunday, November 19, 2023 - Acts 11:1-12:24 - Church isn’t always easy or peaceful. We often face both internal and external challenges that can lead us to lose hope, or doubt God’s plan. But by His Spirit, Jesus is always with us and ensures that nothing can stop the flourishing and multiplying of the Kingdom of God.

Unstoppable | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Sunday, November 11, 2023 - Acts 9:32-10:48 - Just as the world God made is diverse and multicultural, so too the Church has been made to be the same. Through a series of unlikely visions and associations, Jesus makes this very point to Peter, and in doing so carries His mission beyond one ethnic group to the rest of the earth.

Unstoppable | De- (& Re-) Constructed

Sunday, November 5, 2023 - Acts 9:1-31 - Do you ever feel so sure about something that there’s nothing anyone could do to change your mind? Or the opposite, have you ever had a life-changing moment that shook you to your core and made you question everything? The story of Saul, Ananias, and Barnabas remind us that God can do anything and call us to the same. May we be receptive to His leading and be willing vessels for His service.

Unstoppable | The Gospel Is For All

Sunday, October 29, 2023 - Acts 8:2–40 - Sometimes we can be slow to get the message, or, more often with God, our obedience to His calling is delayed. But in His faithfulness to His promises and mission, God will get us to where we need to be for His glory! The expansion of the church to new peoples is just that kind of story that we can hold up as a mirror to ensure that our mindset and our actions are right in line with Him.

Unstoppable | It Will Be Done

Sunday, October 22, 2023 - Acts 6:1-8:3 - What feels random or a setback in our lives is still always under God’s control and direction. He has never abandoned His perfect plans for His people or His world and won’t stop now! Looking back, then, through history we can see constant examples of this and, therefore, have our faith strengthened for whatever He calls us to today.

Unstoppable | Where the Spirit Is

Sunday, October 15, 2023 - Acts 4:23-5:42 - Our faith is most often exposed (and refined) in the face of trials and hardships. Our resolve to Jesus’ mission is even more so tested when we face opposition. But the early church knew where to look when things got hard and through their prayers the Holy Spirit produced a community of love, grace, and holiness.

Unstoppable | No Other Name

Acts 3:1–4:22 - Many things have power and influence over us today. Sometimes we might not even realize the hold they have on us, but the Name of Jesus is a confrontational claim and challenge to every authority and influencer of this world that there is only one way to a life full of meaning and joy. We must decide, then, where our deepest loyalties and allegiances lie.

Unstoppable | The Beginning of the End

Acts 2:1–47 -     The beginning of the church signals that the end of this age has come. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, God is now bringing all of His plans to completion and has even invited His people to join in that work. In reflecting on the birth of the church on Pentecost, we should all have the same response, “What now must we do?”

Unstoppable | Still Here

Acts 1:1-26 -     You often think when someone leaves that’s the end of their part in the story. But in the Bible the ascension of Jesus is just the beginning! The Book of Acts is just that – the acts of the risen and ascended Jesus by the Holy Spirit in the Church. Luke opens, therefore, these records by showing us how the story of God continues on, not just then, but still today!

Symbols | Communion: Looking To Jesus In The Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 11:17-34 – How can so much be packed into just one little symbol? Understanding just what Communion is enables us to see then why Jesus said He desired to share this meal with His disciples, and desired to share it with every disciple He’d ever have! The Lord’s Supper is a gift where we join together as Jesus’ followers to look afresh to Him.

Symbols | Baptism

This Is My Story | Testimony: Ricky Brown

Luke 15:11-32 – A man had two sons: one who was lost and desperately needing rescuing and forgiveness, and another who couldn’t show forgiveness and, thus, was truly lost. Come hear an incredible story of redemption from one of our members as we will each find ourselves amazed by the limitless love and grace of heavenly Father.

This Is My Story | Honduras Teams

The Bible teaches us that each local church is called to proclaim the saving work of Jesus Christ in their own communities and to the ends of the world, and for over the last decade that commission has led us as Chesapeake Church to focus, in part, on bringing the full blessing of the Gospel to the people of Honduras. This Sunday will be an exciting time of testimony as we hear from our most recent teams just what God has been doing!

Ephesians | Embody

Ephesians 6:10-24 – God’s great big plans have a great big Enemy. But God’s victory is already sure and determined! Our part now, then, is to be fully reliant on Jesus, taking our marching orders from Him and finding the strength of victory in Him alone.

Ephesians | The Home & The Workplace

Sunday, August 13th, 2023 -  For many of us, parenting and our jobs can feel vain and monotonous. It’s the same routine every day over and over, and for what?! But the new world which Jesus has ushered in changes the meaning of daily lives, especially the home and the workplace. Here is where the reality of the Kingdom of God should be most on display to one another and to a non-believing world.

Ephesians | The Feeling Is Mutual

Sunday, August 6th -  Submission tends to be a word we bristle at. Yet when it comes to relationships, followers of Jesus are called to willing, mutual submission. Christ gave us the blueprint and the apostles gave us directions. Now we’re charged with applying submission in the   closest relationship we have: marriage.   

Ephesians | A Life Lived Differently

Sunday, July 30, 2023 -  All of Scripture makes a clear case that the people of God are a called out people.  God’s people  move differently, live differently, love differently, parent differently, serve differently.  As a devoted follower of Jesus, and one who has been bought back and redeemed by His blood, it literally changes everything, including the way we live our life. 

Ephesians | Put on Your New Self

Sunday, July 23, 2023 - When a person joins an organization, they obligate themselves to live and act in accordance with the standards of the group. God expects conformity in the church, however it is not a forced legalistic conformity to external rules and regulations, but a willing inner conformity to holiness, love, and the will of our heavenly Father.

Ephesians | Your Worthy Calling

Sunday, July 16, 2023 - As the church, we are all united in one Body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father. As individuals we all have the responsibility to live in a manner worthy of our calling by being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians | If You Know You Know

A prayer for the church: strength, faith, and knowledge. Sounds basic enough, but there is much more to these traits for followers of Jesus because they don't mean for us what they mean to the rest of the world. They're all initiated, held together, and fulfilled by God - a reality that goes beyond human understanding and yet the comprehension of which is imperative to the Christian life. We need the Holy Spirit in order to truly know and embody this prayer.

Ephesians | The Witness of the Church

Sunday, June 2nd, 2023 -  God not only has a plan for the whole world but He has revealed it through the Scriptures to us. He desires for us to enjoy a relationship with Him by even being a part of that plan! Our purpose as a church, therefore, is to understand that plan and be transformed by it, that through us God would continue to redeem people from every tribe and tongue.

Ephesians | Who We Are

Sunday, June 25th, 2023 -  In a world so divided it’s easy to wonder if peace is possible on earth. But the Bible shows that real peace comes only from above. Jesus is humanity’s peace with God and, thus, peace with one another. Only He can bring us all in our diversity to true and lasting unity in the church.

Ephesians | Who You Are

Sunday, June 18, 2023 -  It’s commonplace to be told to “be true to yourself.” People seem constantly on a mission to define one’s identity. But the key isn’t looking within. Instead, when we understand the great big story that God is telling in creation, then can we see not only our place in it but who and Whose we are.

Ephesians | You Know More Than You Think

Sunday, June 11th, 2023- Being God’s own possession should mean more man than calling ourselves Christians and going to church on Sunday. The Apostle Paul prays that through the Holy Spirit we would know God better and through that relationship have spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Ephesians | The Big Picture

Sunday, June 4th, 2023 -  As the Author of all things, God has always had a perfect plan for this world and has already started to bring it to completion! Only by understanding and celebrating the larger story can we hope to understand everything that’s going on in our own smaller stories, and so observe God at work in and through our lives.  

By Faith

Sunday, May 28th, 2023 -  At some point we must all bridge the gap between what we can see and understand and the longing in our souls that tells us there's more than meets the eye. Scripture is filled with people who trusted a God they could not see and took actions they didn't understand. What would lead people to live like that? How can we find ourselves walking in their footsteps?  

Asking For A Friend | What Is God's Design For Sex?

Sunday, May 21, 2023 - Human companionship is inherent to who we are. On top of that, God has also clearly designed us all to be sexual creatures. What’s the purpose of sex and romantic relationships? Is it just for fun and pleasure or to ease loneliness? Only by returning to the basics of God’s design and purpose for sex can we not only find clarity for the questions and debates of society today, but, more importantly, we can understand God’s purpose and design for our particular lives.

Honoring Our Parents

Sunday, May 14, 2023 -  We all have parents... for better or for worse. The Bible shows us, though, how the very concepts and calling of motherhood and fatherhood find their core in the character of God. By better understanding Who He is can we, then, better understand our calling as children in the biological family and in the family of the church.  

Asking For A Friend | What About Church Hurt?

Sunday, May 7, 2023 -  We as human beings do not like to experience hurt.  But God uses our hurt to reveal the truth of Who He is.  In the Body of Christ, some of us have dealt with church hurt and hypocrisy in the church. When that happens, spiritual trauma enters: How do we understand and work through Christian hypocrisy and church hurt?

Asking For A Friend | Why Does God Allow Bad Things To Happen?

Sunday, April 30, 2023 -  If God is good and He is all-powerful then why does He allow suffering to happen? Is He maybe not good or loving? Or maybe He’s not able to stop bad things? The so-called “Problem of Evil” isn’t just an academic question but one that resonates deeply with every single one of us. Each of us have asked, or are asking, “Why?”.

Asking For A Friend | What Happens When We Die?

Sunday, April 23, 2023 -  From the moment we enter this world we begin dying. No matter what or when that is how each of our stories in this life will end. What happens when we die? Is there an afterlife? And, if so, what will it and our place in it be like? Come with your questions as we enjoy a unique experience with a live Q & A about death, heaven, and hell.