By Every Word - Sermons & Teaching Archive from Vernon Johnson

Vernon Johnson
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  • Christianity
  • Updated Semiweekly

By Every Word is a podcast featuring the sermons and teachings of Vernon Johnson, rooted in the truth of Scripture and the call to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. From deep biblical insights to practical discipleship, each sermon invites you to live not by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Whether you’re seeking encouragement, clarity, or a renewed passion for Christ, this archive of sermons is here to strengthen your faith and equip you for the journey ahead. Contact vernon [at] christianhillschurch.com

  1. Sep 27

    Every Altar Alters You // Genesis 12 & 13 // 9.27.26

    Abraham is called the father of faith. He's also the man who told his own wife to lie about their marriage so Pharaoh wouldn't kill him. This message walks through Genesis 12 and 13, and asks the question most sermons on Abraham skip: what does it cost the people around us when we manage a crisis instead of trusting God with it? This is a sermon on Genesis 12:10-20 and Genesis 13, covering Abraham and Sarah's journey from Canaan to Egypt and back, the famine that sent them there, Abraham's decision to pass Sarah off as his sister, Pharaoh's household struck with disease, and Abraham's return to the altar at Bethel before he lets his nephew Lot choose the better land. It traces a pattern across Genesis, seeing something good and taking it, back to the garden of Eden, and forward to Genesis 15's covenant ceremony and Hebrews 10's teaching on Christ's finished sacrifice. If you're searching for a sermon on trusting God in difficult seasons, biblical faith and fear, why bad things happen after God calls you, the story of Abraham in Egypt, or what the Bible says about worship and trust, this message speaks directly into that tension. It also touches on Peter's denial of Christ, Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and what it looks like to be sincere in worship one moment and gripped by fear the next. Key themes: Trust and worshipFear-driven decisionsFamine and scarcityGenesis 12, 13, and 15Hebrews 10:11-14Altars in the Old TestamentAbraham and Sarah in EgyptLot's choiceThe gospel in the Old TestamentOnce-for-all sacrificeScripture referenced: Genesis 12:1-13:18, Genesis 15, Hebrews 10:11-14. By Every Word is a podcast for people who want to slow down and actually read the text, not just skim the highlights. New messages released regularly.

  2. Sep 10

    Don't Die in Harran // Gen 11:27-32 + John 15 // 8.30.26

    (including Ashley Johnson) There's a deck in Vernon's old neighborhood that sat unfinished for twenty years. Every board in place except two. Nobody plans to stop at 99 percent, but somehow that's where the story ends. This week, Vernon and Ashley finally tell their congregation what they've been sitting on for months. It starts in Genesis 11, with a family that set out for Canaan and settled in Haran instead, and it ends with the biggest news of their lives: they're leaving Christian Hills to plant Extended Grace Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. This episode is the real thing, recorded live the morning they told their church family. You'll hear the tears, the laughter, the fourteen years of history behind the decision, and the question they leave everyone sitting with: where's your Haran?

  3. Jun 28

    Get In // John 7:37-39 // 6.28.26

    Most of us are comfortable standing near the things of God. We can talk about faith, attend church, and know the right answers while never stepping into the life Jesus offers. In this message from John 7 and Ezekiel 47, we explore the ancient invitation of God to come and drink deeply from His Spirit. From Ezekiel's vision of a river bringing life to the Dead Sea to Jesus' declaration at the Feast of Tabernacles, Scripture reveals a God who meets thirsty people and transforms them into channels of healing for others. The invitation isn't to stand on the riverbank and observe. The invitation is to get in.

  4. Apr 12

    Guard it or Set it // Luke 5:27-32 // 4.12.26

    What if the most controversial thing about Jesus wasn't his miracles, his teaching, or even his disciples, but who he chose to eat with? In this message from Christian Hills Church, we walk through Luke 5:27-32 and the story of Levi the tax collector, the man everybody had written off, who Jesus called to follow him in two words. We'll look at why the Pharisees were so scandalized by Jesus' table, why their theology of holiness as a fortress got the direction of holiness completely wrong, and what it means that Jesus saw holiness as contagious, not fragile. This is part of our ongoing Pull Up a Chair series, exploring the meals of Jesus and what they reveal about discipleship, mission, and the kind of church we're called to be. Along the way we'll ask the hard question: if Jesus walked into your week and looked at your guest list, would he recognize his own ministry in it? Key passages: Luke 5:27-32, Luke 7:34, Luke 15:1-2 Topics: evangelism, hospitality, discipleship, the Pharisees, table fellowship, holiness, friend of sinners, Levi/Matthew, Christian community, the local church, sharing meals, loving your neighbor, reaching the lost Big Idea: Jesus was called a friend of sinners. It was meant as an insult. Two thousand years later, it's the reason any of us are in the room, and it's the reputation our churches ought to fight for.

  5. Mar 1

    Jesus Visits the Jericho Mafia Boss | Zacchaeus & Luke 19:1-10

    We're more followed, more friended, more liked, and more alone than we've ever been. The U.S. Surgeon General has called loneliness a public health epidemic, and the data backs it up. So what's the answer? In this message from our 'Pull Up a Chair' series, we walk through Luke 19:1-10, the story of Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector of Jericho, and discover that Jesus' primary strategy for transformation wasn't preaching from a stage. It was pulling up a chair at someone's table. We explore what it meant for Jesus to eat with the most despised man in town, why the word 'seek' in Luke 19:10 changes everything we think about the gospel, and what happens when someone who's been found becomes a finder. Key topics: the loneliness epidemic, the power of shared meals, Zacchaeus and Jesus, Luke 19:1-10, what it means to seek and save the lost, and how hospitality becomes a gospel practice. Part of the 'Pull Up a Chair' series on biblical community and radical hospitality.

  6. Feb 1

    Go Out and Fill the House // Luke 14 // 2.1.26

    (sound issues) How did Jesus actually spend His time? When you look closely at the Gospels, nearly half of Jesus’ life unfolds around tables and meals. Not sermons. Not stages. Tables. In this message from Luke 14, we explore Jesus’ most uncomfortable dinner party and His radical vision for hospitality. As Jesus eats with Pharisees, heals on the Sabbath, confronts pride, and tells the parable of the Great Banquet, He exposes how easily faith becomes safe, transactional, and exclusive. This sermon challenges the way we think about status, humility, and who belongs at the table. Jesus doesn’t just describe God’s kingdom as a feast, He invites outsiders in and calls His followers to do the same. If your guest list looks comfortable, familiar, or strategic, Luke 14 asks a hard question: does it look anything like God’s? Key themes include: Jesus and table fellowship Luke 14 explained Biblical hospitality The Parable of the Great Banquet Pride, humility, and social status Who Jesus invites and why Faith, busyness, and misplaced priorities Making room for the overlooked God’s table will be filled. The question is simple: will you fill yours? Pull up a chair.

  7. 12/08/2025

    What Do You Do When Hope Feels Dead? | Hope Beyond Hope | Romans 4:18 & Jeremiah 33

    When was the last time you prayed a bold prayer? Not "God, bless this food." But something risky. Something that would actually hurt if God didn't come through. If you're honest, it's been a while. Because you've been burned before. You've hoped, prayed, believed—and nothing happened. The marriage didn't heal. The prodigal didn't come home. The diagnosis didn't change. And now you're done making lists with God because hope without proof is just a setup for disappointment. But here's the question: What if the problem wasn't that God didn't show up? What if you were hoping in the wrong thing? In this message, we dive into the stories of Abraham and Jeremiah—two men who had nothing external to convince them to hope. Abraham's body was dead. Sarah's womb was dead. Jeremiah was imprisoned while his nation collapsed. And yet, they hoped. Not because their circumstances improved. But because they knew the character of the God who spoke. We'll unpack: Why faith is only as good as what you put it inWhat Viktor Frankl discovered about hope in AuschwitzWhy the empty tomb changes everything about how we hopeA simple daily practice to rebuild hope when it feels dead (Remember and Watch)If you're out of hope, this message is for you. Because your hope doesn't hold because you believe hard enough. Your hope holds because God is faithful. Key Scriptures: Romans 4:17-19, Jeremiah 33:14-15, Psalm 130:5-6 Sermon Series: Advent 2024

  8. 11/17/2025

    Unhurried: Lord of the Sabbath // Mark 2:23-3:6 // 11.16.25

    What would happen if we didn't forget the Sabbath?

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About

By Every Word is a podcast featuring the sermons and teachings of Vernon Johnson, rooted in the truth of Scripture and the call to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. From deep biblical insights to practical discipleship, each sermon invites you to live not by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Whether you’re seeking encouragement, clarity, or a renewed passion for Christ, this archive of sermons is here to strengthen your faith and equip you for the journey ahead. Contact vernon [at] christianhillschurch.com

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