Living Way Reformed Presbyterian Church

Steve Rockhill

The newest sermons from Living Way Reformed Presbyterian Church on SermonAudio.

  1. Oct 18

    The Wise and Foolish Builders

    In this evening message, Pastor Rockhill continues his study of the parables of Jesus, turning from Luke to Matthew's record of the wise and foolish builders in the closing words of the Sermon on the Mount. His central burden is that genuine saving faith is never mere profession but is demonstrated by a life of obedience to the will of the Father. Drawing on the sobering warning that precedes the parable, he reminds the congregation that even those who prophesy, cast out demons, and perform wonders may still hear Christ say, "I never knew you." Pastor Rockhill shows that both the wise and the foolish man hear the same words of Christ; the difference lies in whether they believe and obey. The wise man builds upon the rock of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only foundation that can withstand the storms of trial, suffering, and the final judgment. The foolish man, concerned only with outward appearance and his own glory, builds upon sand, and his house collapses in great ruin. The doctrine pressed home is that true faith rests wholly upon Christ and bears the fruit of love and obedience by the power of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Rockhill applies this searchingly, calling each hearer to examine whether they merely hear with the ears or truly receive the word in the heart. As the congregation prepares to come to the Lord's table, he urges them to build their lives upon the sure and certain rock of Christ, that their faith may remain secure when the storms inevitably come.

  2. Oct 18

    Walking on the Sea

    In this morning sermon from John 6:15-24, Pastor Rockhill draws the congregation to the central purpose of John's Gospel: that readers would believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and in believing have life in His name. Following the feeding of the five thousand, the crowd sought to seize Jesus and make Him an earthly king, and He withdrew to the mountain to pray while His disciples set out across the sea. Pastor Rockhill unfolds the great sign of Jesus walking on the water in the midst of a violent storm. Drawing on the parallel accounts in Matthew 14 and Mark 6, he shows how this miracle, together with the boat's immediate arrival, confirmed to the disciples that their faith was not misplaced and that Jesus possesses divine power over nature itself. His words, "It is I, do not be afraid," reveal Him as both Son of God and Prince of Peace. The central burden of the message is that Christ draws near to the fearful and anxious to bring His peace, and that believers, indwelt by His Spirit, need not fear the storms of life. Pastor Rockhill also teaches from Jesus' own practice the importance of resting the body and refreshing the soul, especially on the Lord's Day. He closes with a searching application: many today seek a false Jesus who entertains and gratifies earthly desires without calling for repentance. Pastor Rockhill urges each hearer to examine which Jesus they are seeking, pressing them to trust the crucified and risen Christ of the gospel.

  3. Oct 11

    The Sign of Provision

    In this sermon from John 6:1-15, Pastor Rockhill takes up the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels, the feeding of the five thousand, and presses home its enduring significance as a sign. His central burden is that this abundant provision was never meant merely to fill empty stomachs but to reveal that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and ultimately the true bread of life whom the Father sends to sustain His people forever. Pastor Rockhill draws out two challenges the sign sets before every hearer. First, to those who profess faith in Christ, do they truly believe the Lord will provide? He shows how Jesus tested Philip and Andrew, who looked only at their meager resources and the impossibility before them rather than at the power of the One who had already turned water into wine. Second, when the Lord does provide, do we rightly acknowledge what it reveals about the living God, or do we misunderstand and take it for granted as the crowds did? Connecting the passage to the Passover and the manna in the wilderness, Pastor Rockhill explains how God pours out persistent, undeserved love even upon the ungrateful, leaving them without excuse. The crowd grasped that Jesus was the promised Prophet and Messiah, yet sought to seize Him by force as an earthly, bread-providing king rather than a Savior from sin. He closes with pastoral application from Romans 8:32: since the Father has already given His own Son, the bread of life, believers may rest in confidence that He will surely supply every need, laying aside fretful worry and trusting His gracious promise.

  4. Oct 4

    Answered Prayer

    In this evening message from Acts 12:1-17, Pastor Rockhill considers the dramatic deliverance of Peter from Herod's prison and the fervent prayer of the church that surrounded it. He sets the scene against a shifting tide of persecution, as the Roman authorities, in the person of Herod Agrippa I, take up the sword against Christ's people, martyring James and seizing Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Pastor Rockhill's central burden is that God truly hears and answers the fervent prayers of His people. While Peter lay chained between soldiers in a maximum-security cell, the church gathered to pray—not as a last resort, but as their first line of defense. He draws on James 5, that the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, and on Peter's peaceful sleep as a picture of confidence in a sovereign Lord. The account exposes the believers' own surprise when the answer came: Rhoda's joy, the gathering's disbelief, and their astonishment when Peter stood knocking at the gate. Pastor Rockhill gently rebukes the doubt that so often accompanies even faithful prayer, reminding hearers that the God of the impossible delights to work beyond what we imagine. The application is pointed and pastoral: believers are called to pray persistently, confidently, and without doubt, trusting that God answers according to His holy and perfect will—always for our greatest good and His glory. What a privilege, Pastor Rockhill urges, that we may bring our petitions before a God who hears, cares, and acts.

  5. Oct 4

    The Son's Witnesses

    In this message from John 5:31-47, Pastor Rockhill takes up Jesus' response to the religious leaders who had charged Him with blasphemy for claiming equality with God. His central burden is that God has provided abundant, undeniable witness to the identity of Jesus as the eternal Son, so that those who reject Him are left entirely without excuse. Pastor Rockhill unfolds these witnesses, moving from the lesser to the greater. He begins with the "lesser" yet true witness of John the Baptist, that burning and shining lamp who pointed to the Lamb of God, and then turns to the greater witness of the Father Himself. The Father testifies through the mighty works and signs Jesus performed and through the Scriptures, which from Moses onward bear witness to Christ. Pastor Rockhill stresses that the Old Testament everywhere testifies of the coming Messiah, and that true searching of Scripture leads the heart to Jesus for life. The doctrine is sharpened by a sober diagnosis of unbelief. The leaders did not believe because they had no love of God in their hearts, because they craved the honor of men rather than the honor of God, and because they trusted in Moses and their own law-keeping rather than in Christ. Pastor Rockhill shows that Moses and the law, rightly understood, point to the one perfect law-keeper and accuse those who reject Him. By way of application, he calls believers to rest in God's truth without anxious self-defense, to discern when to shake the dust from their feet, and above all to humble themselves before these witnesses and come to Christ for eternal life.

  6. Sep 27

    Father and Son at Work

    Preaching from John 5:19-30, Pastor Rockhill addresses the modern skeptical charge that Jesus never claimed to be God. His central burden is to show that although Christ never uttered the exact words "I am God," both His works and His words plainly reveal His divine nature to any audience familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures. Pastor Rockhill traces how Jesus, having healed on the Sabbath, deepens rather than softens the claim of His deity. The Son does nothing apart from the Father, not as a mere puppet but in willing, loving submission, for the Father and the Son are one God. Their common work flows from a perfect, mutual love. Jesus then claims two works that belonged to God alone: giving life and executing final judgment. As the fountain of life, the Son grants eternal life to whom He will, raising the spiritually dead through the Word applied by the Spirit, and as the Son of Man of Daniel 7 He is the perfect, righteous Judge of all the earth. He unfolds the sovereignty of God in salvation, showing the one work of the triune God in regenerating sinners, and points to the coming resurrection with its two outcomes, life or condemnation. Pastor Rockhill closes with a searching pastoral appeal built on the two calls of the Son: the gracious gospel call to repent and believe today, and the sober summons to stand before the Judge at the last day. Far better, he urges, to hear Christ's voice now in faith and pass from death into everlasting life for the glory of God alone.

  7. Sep 27

    The First Christians

    In this evening message from Acts 11:19-30, Pastor Rockhill presses a single searching question upon the congregation: what does it mean to be a Christian? Drawing from the account of the scattered believers who carried the gospel to Antioch, he shows that the name first given to the disciples there marks not merely a label but a life visibly conformed to Christ. Pastor Rockhill traces four marks of true Christianity from the passage. Believers were diligent in sharing the gospel with all who were in need, breaking through old prejudices to reach Jew and Gentile alike. In Barnabas, the encourager, he sets before the flock the calling of every saint to build up and strengthen one another, and he notes the early seeds of Presbyterial oversight in the church's care to see all things done decently and in order. In the year-long teaching ministry of Barnabas and Saul, he reminds hearers that every Christian is called to be a disciple and learner. Finally, in the famine relief sent to Judea, Pastor Rockhill highlights the church's mercy ministry, as Gentile believers generously served their suffering brethren. He underscores the unity of Christ's one body, where the members bear one another's burdens. Applying the text to a day of rising hostility toward the faith, he urges believers not to wear Christian merely as a name but to live it out through gospel witness, encouragement, discipleship, and self-giving love, that the watching world may know them as true disciples of Jesus, to the glory of God alone.

About

The newest sermons from Living Way Reformed Presbyterian Church on SermonAudio.