The Sycamore Message

How Do I Become A Member Part 3

The Sycamore Church How Do I Become a Member? Pt. 3 Pastor Eric Burton Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026   How Do I Become a Member? We’ve been talking the last few weeks about what it means to be a member of the church. We have come to discover it’s more than a roll call. It’s a spiritual buy-in to Jesus Christ. We learned in week one of our series that the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Acts 2:47. He added to an assembly that provided protection and community, but more importantly, this salvation: Delivers from the penalties of the Messianic judgment. Delivers from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance. You have to be saved. But what does that mean? Sin is not just bad behavior; it’s a trespass against God, our neighbors, and ourselves. Sin is more than bad thoughts; it’s the position of being separated from God. Regretfully, people don’t know they are separated from God. It’s a change of view. Astigmatism is when light coming into the eye is bent or fractured and blurs the vision. In the beginning, Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened when they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good AND evil. Their eyes were opened, or fractured, so they saw more than one thing. Before, their eye was singular, knowing only the love of God. But sin opened their eye, or fractured their vision, to see good and evil—multiple things. We need Jesus to fix our eyes. Matthew 6:13: Pray like this… “And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” In Matthew 4, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted, but He overcomes Satan. Now He is saying, when you pray, pray that you overcome like I overcame: “Don’t yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:22: The eye is the light of the body. If the eye is healthy, the whole body is full of light. But if the eye is “evil” (meaning distracted, fractured, double-minded, worried, and anxious), the whole body is filled with darkness or is unhealthy. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep is that darkness? How deep does it go? It’s a change of thinking. People don’t know what sin is until they know what is right. The apostle said it like this: “It was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, ‘You must not covet.’” (Romans 7:7) God’s Word sheds light on my life and showed me I was wrong and there was a better way. It didn’t call for me to change my behavior; it called for me to change my thinking. Romans 12:2: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” The best modification of behavior is not a change of action, but a change of thinking. It’s a change of heart. Nicodemus was a member of a religious group, and he believed Jesus was sent by God. Proximity and knowledge don’t save you. We need Jesus to change our thinking and our heart. You must be born again! Romans 2:28–29: “For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit.” Colossians 2:11: “When you came to Christ, you were circumcised, but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting of your sinful nature.” Jesus isn’t coming back for a building full of people enjoying life together. He is coming back for a people that are saved—a bride that He will present as blameless and without spot because they have been washed by the Word of God.

How Do I Become A Member Part 2

The Sycamore Church September 27, 2026 How Do I Become a Member? Part 2 Pastor Eric Burton Sunday, September 27, 2026 Why Church Membership Matters We believe church membership is important because: People want to join our church but do not know how. People do not know they are part of our church. People are part of our church but do not act like it. We want to clarify and define what it means to become a member of the church. We are revising our Next Steps class—formerly known as Connect4—as Discover Syca(more). Membership begins with discovering what our church is about and then making a clear decision about whether you want to be a member or an attender. We will love you either way and welcome you no less. You may be asking, “Am I a member?” Your next step is to complete Discover Syca(more). Scripture as Our Guide 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” We have a code of conduct that allows us to carry out God’s plan for the church, as the church, and through the church. This code helps us: Teach truth. Recognize what is wrong—you cannot recognize wrong until you have heard the truth. Correct what is wrong. This is where we lose people. Teach people to do what is right. 1. Connected Members Are Protected “You can’t disciple an unconnected person.” —Who said that? Proverbs 18:1 (NKJV): “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment.” When we are not connected, we do not let people get close enough to teach us the truth about ourselves. 2. Members Can Be Trusted Membership is important because it lets us know whom we can trust with God’s people, ministry, and resources. We want you to go through Discover Syca(more) so that you understand our heart and our method of operation. 3. Members Can Be Corrected Membership lets us know whom we can pastor and disciple. Paul gives instructions on how to correct those in the church and remove those who do not want to be corrected. 1 Corinthians 5:1–5: “Turn him over to Satan!” What does that mean? It means removing him from the protective fellowship of the congregation. It causes a person to deal with the consequences of their sinful nature. It protects the whole body of Christ so that others are not infected. The church was bragging about its liberty. Proverbs 3:11–12: Jesus corrects those he loves. “My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.” Malachi 1:2–3: “‘I have always loved you,’ says the LORD. But you retort, ‘Really? How have you loved us?’ And the LORD replies, ‘This is how I showed my love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob, but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into a desert for jackals.’” Why not Abraham, to whom God gave the promise? Or Isaac and Esau? God chose to use Jacob and Esau to demonstrate his love. The first time God refers to Jacob and Esau, he refers to them as nations, not individuals. Beware if we do not see or sense God’s correction in our lives. When was the last time we allowed the Scriptures to teach and correct us? 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” Correction never leaves us hobbled; it leaves us equipped.

How Do I Become A Member

How Do I Become a Member? A biblical picture of belonging, baptism, purpose, and participation Pastor Eric Burton The Sycamore Church Sunday, September 20, 2026 The Big Idea Church membership is more than putting your name on a list. It is being joined to Christ, added to His body, and showing up to serve. Believe the good news about Jesus. Repent and be baptized. Belong to the body of Christ. Use your gifts so the whole body grows. Acts 2:40–47 More Than Signing Up Membership is not a “no commitment” subscription. At a club, your attendance may affect only you. In the church, your presence matters because God has given you something to contribute to the body. Being a member means being added, signing up, and showing up. How Are We Added? “Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.” Acts 2:41 The Lord is the One who adds people to the church. Baptism marks our entry into the body. Every believer shares the same Spirit. See also 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Acts 2:47. The Church Gathers The church is an assembly of believers in a common place. Assembly is not passive—it points to action. Change does not happen because you signed up. Change happens when you get up and show up. Come out of the old way of living. Step into a new way of life. Participate in what God is doing through His people. Who You Join Matters Paul challenged the Corinthian belief that choices made with the body did not affect the spirit. His point is direct: “Your bodies are actually parts of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 6:15–17 Who you connect to affects you. The person joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Every Member Has a Function “If the foot says, ‘I am not part of the body because I am not a hand,’ that does not make it any less a part of the body.” 1 Corinthians 12:15 Your place in the body is not determined by self-evaluation. Your function matters even when it feels unnoticed. Do not underestimate the position God has given you. Your Gift Helps the Body Grow “As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy, growing, and full of love.” Ephesians 4:16 Membership is an opportunity to use what God has entrusted to you. Use your gifts well to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:10 What Did Peter Proclaim? God affirmed Jesus through miracles. God raised Jesus from the dead. David believed in Him. The prophet Joel foretold the outpouring of the Spirit. Jesus has poured out His Spirit. God has made Jesus both Lord and Messiah. Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Your Next Step Believe. Repent. Be baptized. Belong. Serve. Jesus is still adding people to His church today. Where is God calling you to show up and use your gift?

Ordered Steps

Pastor Nelson Hight

Humility of Humanity

Key Verse: Philippians 2:1-11 This message was spurred out of a question I was asked a few weeks ago. What effect has grace had on your life since you’ve been saved? We can get removed from our own story of where Jesus brought us. We know we’ve all sinned and we know everyone is a sinner, but somehow we think that’s referring to others instead of each other. Today let's look at Philippians 2:1-11 The Apostle Paul is experiencing hardship but begins chapter 2 saying if there are any benefits in Christ, it’s when I see your faith lived out and changing lives. If there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Then make me truly happy… by having the attitude of Christ. Paul gives a guide of how to remember what Jesus has done for you by the way we treat others. Don’t be selfish; Be Humble. We’ve heard it said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Paul states it more emphatically by saying “esteem (think of) others as better than yourselves.” In Greek, the middle voice is a distinct grammatical category (unlike English) where the subject of the verb is both the agent and the recipient of the action, or acts for their own benefit or interest. Esteeming others doesn't diminish you. Paul's strong verbiage is saying think of others’ needs as more important than yours. In doing so, you will be blessed. You can’t esteem others without being esteemed. You are the agent and the recipient. What you do to others will be done to you. James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. Philippians 2:9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names. It’s easy to esteem others as greater than you when you realize your own moral littleness. It’s not too difficult to esteem others when you remember where Jesus brought you from. You may already be picturing someone that’s difficult to esteem. So the Apostle Paul offers some help by saying remember Jesus. Be Human To be human is to be humble. Humanity by nature has limitations. Jesus intentionally became human so he would know our limitations. Jesus limited himself in order to connect to us. Main qualification for a priest was they had to be human. Hebrews 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God. We needed someone like us to help us get close to God. If people are going to know about Jesus, it’s because of what He has done for me. It takes a man to help a man. Hebrews 2:14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Have Feelings We forget what other people are going through because we forgot we used to be there. Hebrews 4:15 (KJV) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities… “Let this mind be in you” Philippians 2 Paul isn’t talking about the brain, he’s talking about the heart. It’s not thinking, it’s feeling. We have to feel again to bring the gospel to life. Jesus humbled himself and became like us so we could get to the Father. Humility sometimes involves getting used so that others can see the Father. . Paul says God didn't just change himself into a man, but he conveyed the love of God The gospel has to be more than saying Jesus loves you as a version of evangelizing. It has to be like the Apostles John said: 1 John 1:1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. Humility took on a human form to reach us and save us. The Gospel needs a humble human form to reach people. Jesus is the savior but if we’re going to reach people with the gospel we have to humble ourselves, esteem them and connect. So I ask you like it was asked to me, What effect has grace had on your life since you’ve been saved? When is the last time you humbled yourself, esteemed others, showed your humanity so people could see Jesus?

Ruth Part 4: Redefining Family

Redefining Family In our sermon series on Ruth, we have seen a complex and textured story of a family that has experienced the unthinkable. Naomi and Ruth have been forced to redefine their ideals of family in order to survive. We’d like family to be simple and buttoned up. There’s always what God intended and then there’s what He works with. Death, disagreements, divorce, affairs, adoption, foster care, weird uncles, move-in parents, move-in adult children. Sin and brokenness have forced us to redefine family. We see in the book of Ruth that plans don’t go as planned. The main theme of this book is redemption from unlikely places. Last week, Angel taught us that Ruth is working for a man named Boaz that’s wealthy. He’s attracted to her but can’t marry her. The rules of engagement are such that the next of kin has first rights. We found out there is a next of kin besides Boaz and this is where we pick up today. Ruth 4:1–4 Cultural Context The Jewish people had redemption built into their culture. There was a Year of Jubilee every 50 years when things were given back. If you had fallen on hard times and had to sell your land or home, it would be returned during the Year of Jubilee. Redeeming also involved purchasing a family member’s land to preserve a relative’s name. Redeeming was a duty to preserve a family’s name. Redemption simply means bringing something back to its original purpose or owner. Redemption was a concession for a reset. Don’t you wish you could have a reset when life got katywampus? Deuteronomy 25:5–6: “If two brothers are living together on the same property and one of them dies without a son, his widow may not be married to anyone from outside the family. Instead, her husband’s brother should marry her and have intercourse with her to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law. “The first son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother, so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel.” Boaz wants to redeem the land and marry Ruth, but the marital rights belong to the next of kin, whose name is never given to us. So Boaz goes to sit at the city gate, a public place where legal proceedings would take place. He sees the next of kin and gathers ten elders to join him as witnesses. He lays out the proposition to the kinsman-redeemer, and it all sounds good and convenient until Boaz says, “Of course, you also have to marry Ruth—not Naomi, but Ruth.” Ruth 4:5–6 The kinsman-redeemer refuses his right because it “might endanger my own estate.” The heir who would be born would not be his. This speaks a great and difficult truth to me. Redemption isn’t always convenient. Reference Deuteronomy 25:7–10. If a brother refused to marry his dead brother’s widow, she would shame him by removing his sandal, taking away his right to redeem the land. To redeem was to make the wrong right—to take an unfortunate situation that wasn’t planned and fix it. There are unfortunate things that have happened to us that we didn’t plan. When we started out, divorce wasn’t in the cards. A miscarriage wasn’t my hope. Foster care wasn’t a consideration. Adoption wasn’t my first choice. Our spouse dying wasn’t the plan. All of a sudden, we find ourselves displaced from family in a new place. We find ourselves forced to redefine what family is. Sometimes the person I’m closest to isn’t even related to me by blood. Our perfect picture gets derailed by a mishap. Ruth and Naomi’s lives were derailed by misfortune. What makes it more complicated is that Ruth is NOT part of their tribe. She is outside the promise and bloodline of Abraham. We can already see that family is being redefined.  Redeemer can also mean avenger. When life treats us badly, we want to avenge the wrong. But God says, “Vengeance is Mine.” He is our avenger! Things can go from bad to worse when we try to be our own redeemer. Redemption isn’t always convenient; it may mess up your plans. We don’t always get to pick who’s in our family. This next of kin didn’t want to accept Ruth as his wife because she might bear a son that would inherit the very land he was buying. He said, “it might endanger my own estate.” If Ruth has a son the land would go to him.   When the next of kin won’t redeem Naomi, he removes his sandal to signify that he is forfeiting his right to claim the land. Your sandals represented your legal claim to property.   Reference Deuteronomy 11:24–25. Let’s move on… Ruth 4:9–10 A son had to be born to redeem the land… I said, a Son had to be born to redeem the land! Boaz is going to give Ruth a son—not to carry on his name, but to carry on the father’s name. The men speak a blessing over Boaz and Ruth. Ruth 4:11–12 Perez was born into a messed-up family. Perez was a twin who was supposed to be born second but came out first, and the midwife named him Perez, which means “breaking out.” Perez was really an unexpected mistake who became an ancestor of King David and Jesus. You may feel like your life is misplaced and doesn’t line up with everyone else’s perfect family. But God has a way of redefining family! God is redefining what it means to be part of the family. Naomi Is Redeemed! Boaz marries Ruth, and they have a son. But notice what the women of the city said to Naomi. Ruth 4:14–15 You thought family looked like having lots of sons, but He gave you a daughter-in-law who was better than seven sons. Life may have thrown your thought train off track, but we’re redefining family through redemption! God wants you to be part of the family today.

Ruth Part 3: But Wait...There's More

Ruth 3: But Wait… There’s More   Miracles are God working beyond the ordinary. Providence is God working through the ordinary. “As it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz…” Ruth 2:3     We get to read Ruth’s story backward, but she had to live it forward. You don’t have to understand everything God is doing to be faithful with what He’s asking you to do.   DO WHAT IS YOURS TO DO “So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother-in-law.” Ruth 3:6    Ruth trusted God, but she still moved. Pray. Seek wisdom. Make the plan. Take the next step. “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.”Proverbs 16:9. Being strong enough to do your part also means being humble enough to know when your part is done.   TRUST YOUR REDEEMER WITH WHAT YOU CANNOT SETTLE “Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.” Ruth 3:9. Ruth was strong, courageous, capable, and faithful. But Ruth could not redeem Ruth. Eventually, every one of us encounters something we cannot settle for ourselves. My strength has a limit. His doesn’t. My understanding has a limit. His doesn’t.   BE FAITHFUL WITH THE BARLEY Boaz sent Ruth home with six measures of barley and said: “You must not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.” Ruth 3:17. Don’t despise the barley because it isn’t the breakthrough.   “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.” Zechariah 4:10. Sometimes God gives us enough grace for today while something else is still unresolved. Until suddenly comes, be faithful with the barley.   WAITING IN CHAPTER 3 “Then Naomi said to her, ‘Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.’” Ruth 3:18. Ruth didn’t know Chapter 4. She knew the character of the one who told her he would handle it. And we know the character of our Redeemer. Boaz was willing to go to the gate for Ruth. Jesus went to the cross for us. Our Redeemer settled what we could never settle for ourselves.   UNTIL SUDDENLY COMES… Make your plans and give them to God. Do what is yours to do. Be faithful with what He has put in your hands. When your part is done, trust your Redeemer with what only He can settle. If all you have today is barley, don’t despise it because it isn’t the breakthrough. If suddenly hasn’t come yet, don’t assume God isn’t moving. If you cannot see His hand, trust His character. My hope is not in suddenly. My hope is in my Redeemer.   Until suddenly comes, I’ll be faithful with the barley. God is faithful. God is still working. And if I can’t see it yet? BUT WAIT… THERE’S MORE

Ruth Part 2: It Just So Happened

The Sycamore Church Sunday Sermon Notes Ruth, Part 2: It Just So Happened Pastor Eric Burton Sunday, Aug. 16 Scripture: Ruth 2:1–3, 11, 20 This week, we’re going to look at what kind of woman Ruth was. We’ll discuss work ethic and dignity. 1. A Certain Kind of Woman Ruth means friendship. We saw last week—and continue to see this week—that Ruth’s friendship fostered loyalty. Loyalty is staying true to vows that aren’t convenient. Loyalty is staying the course when you have the chance to leave. She didn’t know it yet, but she was living by faith. She was believing in a God she did not know. Even when things didn’t go her way and she had justification to leave, she chose to stay. Vows are personal promises we make that don’t include others doing anything. Covenants, however, involve two parties and often last beyond convenience. We are going to see that the vows Ruth made ultimately became a covenant: another party became involved, and God reciprocated what Ruth was promising. This is the kind of decision we need to make with God: a vow that includes faith, a faith that moves God, and a God who moves on our behalf. Ruth is willing to work despite being a widow without the promise of an inheritance or livelihood. The apostle Paul speaks of widows in 1 Timothy 5:9–15. 2. The Low-Hanging Fruit Ruth decides to find work to support herself and her mother-in-law. She tells Naomi that she is going into the fields to gather what has been left behind. This customary work principle allowed the poor and the foreigner to keep their dignity. They weren’t looking for a handout, but a hand up. Ruth wants to know why Boaz is being so kind to her because, as she says of herself, “I am only a foreigner.” Leviticus 19:9–10: “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.” This law reinforced tzedakah—justice, not merely charity—by making support for the poor a structural, rather than only voluntary, part of agricultural life. Charity can sometimes feel easy because it releases us from a sense of obligation; we give a dollar and feel excused. Justice requires active involvement. Charity can divide the haves from the have-nots, but justice is for all. 3. And As It Happened As Ruth is working, a rich man named Boaz asks who she is, and the foreman tells him. The foreman knows her reputation. Boaz knows her reputation. But Ruth does not know Boaz. Ruth 2:8–11: Boaz tells Ruth to stay in their field and remain with the young women. He shows her how to find the best place in the field, instructs his workers to be kind to her, and invites her to have water. Ruth is overwhelmed by his kindness and falls at his feet to thank him. She is trying to reconcile the favor she has been given, but she does not know that Boaz already knows her. Verse 1: There was a rich man in Bethlehem who was a relative of Elimelech, Ruth’s late father-in-law. Verse 3: It just so happens. Her values and principles have brought her to the right place. When you have a right heart, your feet will follow. Psalm 37:23: “The Lord directs the steps of the godly; He delights in every detail of their lives.” Get on the right path, and God will direct your steps. You may have thought your life choices were random. Ruth went to work in the field hoping to find favor. What she didn’t know—mikreh, an unforeseen event—was that the field belonged to her next of kin. The steps of a good person are ordered by the Lord.

Ruth Part 1: Coming Back Changed

Pastor Eric Burton | Sunday, August 9, 2026 Key Scripture: Ruth 1:1–5, 13, 20–22; 1 Corinthians 15:20 A Little Context for the Book of Ruth Ruth is significant because it is the first book of the Bible named after a woman. Ruth is not Jewish, and at the beginning she is not yet a worshiper of God. The story takes place during the time of the judges, when God raised up men and women to confront Israel’s sin. As in Judges, we see God carrying out redemptive work through unlikely people. Throughout this series, we will see God use the most unlikely person to bring redemption to a woman—and ultimately to the world. Although the book is named after Ruth, chapter 1 centers on Naomi, a woman who feels God has dealt bitterly with her. Her story begins much like Job’s: with tragedy. When Tragedy Strikes Ruth 1:1–5 Life is good when tragedy strikes. Naomi loses her community, her husband, and her sons. Chapter 1 Summary After all her loss, Naomi is left with her two daughters-in-law. She hears there is food back in Bethlehem and decides to return. Naomi tells both women to go back to their mothers, but neither wants to leave her. Naomi Comes Home Empty Ruth 1:20–22 Naomi comes from Bethlehem—a name that means “house of bread”—yet famine forces her to leave. In verse 21 she says, “I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty.” She feels empty-handed and ineffective. The people who gave her identity and purpose are gone, and the source of her livelihood is gone. In verse 13 she says, “Things are far worse for me than for you, because the Lord himself has raised his fist against me.” In verse 21 she says the Lord caused her to suffer and sent tragedy upon her. Like Job, Naomi believes God has testified against her and allowed her suffering. The Benefits of Being Empty Empty makes you hungry for God. Empty gives God room to fill you with His provision. Empty gives God room to receive the glory. When Naomi returns, her town is excited, but the people do not know what she has endured. They celebrate the Naomi they remember without realizing she is no longer the same. She is angry and disappointed with God for how she believes He has treated her. Life has changed her so deeply that she changes her name from Naomi, meaning “my delight,” to Mara, meaning “bitter.” Some of us want people to stop calling us what we were years ago. We are no longer the sweet, innocent idealists we once were. We feel God has dealt with us, and life has changed us. Coming Back at the Right Time It is humbling to come home empty. We may set out with great aspirations, believing we are too big for our city or that our town is a dead end. We leave for greener pastures, full of ourselves—but God brings us home empty. I am thankful that God brings us back. Naomi returned changed, but she returned at the right time. Ruth 1:22 says they arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest. The barley harvest was the first harvest of the year—a season of celebration and first fruits that points us toward Christ. “But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.” — 1 Corinthians 15:20 Final Takeaway We may think we are useless after losing what once gave us identity. But if we let God empty us, we can come back changed. We can sit full of ourselves, yet God wants to empty us of ourselves. We often want to leave worship feeling full, but perhaps we need to leave empty so God can fill us with something better. Naomi left full, but she came back changed at the very moment new life was beginning. You may be bitter because of what life has brought, but you came back at the right time—a time of harvest.      

Stirred Not Shaken

John Barnett

Interns Rising

The Sycamore Church Interns Rising Speakers: Grace, Sky, Branson, Brayden, Alonna, Oliver, Carter July 19, 2026 Grace Sherwin:  Luke 22:54-62 John 21:15-19 Romans 5:8 Romans 8:28 Sky Dean: Mark 4:35-41 Psalm 89:9 Psalm 107:29 Branson Barnett: Mark 5:25-34  Hebrews 11:6 James 2:17Brayden Barnett:  Proverbs 18:21  Mark 10:46-52 Alonna Snyder:  Mark 5:25-34• Matthew 17:20 Oliver Burton:  Romans 5:3-5 Carter Bell:  John 5:1-8  Luke 12:35-38  Proverbs 19:23

The Great Physician

The Great PhysicianYou do not want to miss service next Sunday! It’s our first Young Communicators service. Story of Larry Miller led the Jordan shoe brand department at Nike. In 1965, when he was 16, he shot another young man in a gang rivalry.  Thrity-four years later, he landed as the president of the Jordan brand at Nike. But he was always afraid his past would catch up with him. He suffered with migraines and nightmares of getting arrested again… He finally told his daughter and Nike.  As soon as he told them, the headaches and nightmares stopped.   Luke 5:17-26Matthew 9:32-33As long as we are alive, we consist of body and spirit. Spiritual experiences can impact people so deeply that they transform them physically.  And I’ve seen physical trauma change the spirit of a person so deeply that they become bound and imprisoned by invisible bars. I’ve seen the spirit of infirmity convince people they will never be well. The Jewish people saw their sin and sickness as synonymous. Let me clear, not all sickness is because we sinned, but I have seen sin cause sickness. It’s been said we are not our sin, but I would push back on that because I’ve seen people become their sin.  I have seen it reduce them to a shell of who they used to be. We can see their view of sin and sickness in John 9 where Jesus heals a blind man.  The disciples asked who sinned, this man or his parents. It was prophesied that when the Messiah came, he would take away the sins of the world.   This means he was going to make right the wrongs that sin incurred on the world. Sin was the reason for the breakdown of men and families, or health, our nations, even the land we walk on.  Sin made the world sick.  Luke, who was a physician, implied that Jesus was the great physician. He records Jesus’ words  in Luke 5:31: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” We see that Jesus connects the need for a physician to helping those who are sinners.  Psalm 103:3: “ He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.”Sickness is  spiritual. Jesus once healed a man that was demon-possessed and mute. Matthew 9:32 says Jesus cast out the demon, and then the man began to speak. Jesus was addressing the spiritual to get to the physical.  We have been conditioned to address the symptoms of people but not the cause.   Jesus heals the paralyzed man in Luke 5 to show he has the power to forgive sins.  Christ’s healing in our lives isn’t just to give us comfort or convenience but wholeness.Jesus is able to bring this wholeness to our lives because he took the prescription meant for us. The unbelievers said in Matthew 27:42: “ He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him!”They thought his condition was because of his own sin. They didn’t realize it was our disease and sin that put him on the cross.   Isaiah 53:4Our sin affected his body. But the wounds of his body are now the prescription for our sin. How do I get this healing? Like sin, we have to admit we are sick.  Healing and repentance are connected through confession. The admittance of sickness and sin. Jesus asked those who wanted healing what they wanted.  The admittance that you are sick is the beginning of faith. James 5:16 tells us to confess, pray, and there will be healed. Joanne’s story of freedom that brought healing.2 Chron. 7:14: Seek His face and pray. He will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.

Freedom Sunday: Citizen of Heaven

Summer of Sabbath: Rest and Restoration

Summer of Sabbath: Rest and Restoration Rev. Tim Barber June 28, 2026 ========== We have often confused rest with comfort. Over the years, our idea of convenience has changed. We remember a time when life was not as easy as it is today — telephones attached to walls, window fans instead of air conditioning, feather mattresses, and drive-in theaters where you battled the heat and mosquitoes. Today, we enjoy reclining seats, climate-controlled buildings, and vehicles designed for comfort.The problem is that we have connected rest with having perfect conditions. We think rest comes when everything is quiet, peaceful, and nothing interrupts us. Our definition of rest has become, “Leave me alone. Don’t bother me. Let me rest.”But the rest God designed is much deeper than comfort.The Sabbath was created by God as a gift. It was designed for rest, trust, and restoration. But religious leaders added man-made restrictions and turned something God intended as a blessing into a burden. The story of manna reminds us that Sabbath was about trusting God’s provision. God provided enough on the sixth day so His people could rest on the seventh day.When we look at creation, we see God’s divine order. Adam was created on the sixth day, and his first full day was a day of rest in the presence of God. Before Adam ever worked, he rested. Before he fulfilled his assignment, he spent time with his Creator.We often get the order wrong. We think we must work hard so we can finally rest. But God’s design is that we rest so we can be restored and prepared for what He has called us to do.Rest does not mean inactivity. Even when we sleep, our bodies are still working. Healing and restoration are taking place. In the same way, even when we do not understand what God is doing, we can trust that He is still working. God never sleeps or slumbers. While we rest, He continues to move, restore, and provide.True rest requires trust. Anxiety and worry rob us of restoration. Rest is not escaping responsibility or doing nothing. Rest is a posture of faith that says, “I may not understand what is happening, but I trust the One who does.”Jesus demonstrated this kind of rest when He was in the boat with His disciples during the storm. While the disciples were afraid and fighting for control, Jesus was asleep. He could rest because He trusted the Father. The problem was not just the storm around them; it was the lack of faith within them.Rest is more than relaxation. Relaxation brings temporary comfort, but restoration comes from God. You can find a peaceful place, sit under a tree, or enjoy quiet surroundings, but if your soul is not resting in God, you will not experience true restoration.Jesus showed the true purpose of the Sabbath when He restored people. He healed the woman who had been bent over for years and restored the man with the withered hand. The Sabbath was never meant to restrict people; it was meant to restore them.The question we must ask ourselves is: What have we adjusted to instead of allowing God to restore?What pain have we learned to live with? What burdens have we accepted? What struggles have we made normal?Jesus still gives the invitation:“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”God desires to restore your soul, heal your heart, and lift your burdens.You may have arrived today tired, stressed, and carrying battles, but God wants you to leave restored, renewed, and refreshed.Receive the rest and restoration that God has for you today.

Summer of Sabbath: Redeeming My Rest

Redeeming the Rest. Genesis 3:8-10My wife and I… but mostly my wife, like to take walks in the evening. Sometimes I’m tired and just want to stay home. It doesn’t feel like rest until we’ve returned home. But every time I go on a walk with Kamala, I get something back that would have been misused by just sitting on the couch. We used to have fun reading, running, and drawing.  We had fun at what we were good at until someone said you ought to do that to make money. All it takes for fun to become work is to make it mandatory.Children interrupt our work with requests to play in an attempt to connect. Relationship researchers John and Julie Gottman call these “bids for connection.”Play isn’t just fun; it strengthens relationships. The first playmate a child has is their parent, that also happens to be their provider.  Play is equated with rest, and rest is done with those they love.   Dads set the pace of rest. When dads don’t rest, the family feels like they can’t rest. When Dad is busy, the family feels busy. When you chill, they chill.  Children are trying to interrupt the labor of our lives to bring things back to a time when there was rest, play, and enjoyment. What we used to do for fun feels forced and awkward, like a suit with puppet strings. We used to have fun with God before it became mandatory.  Acts 15 all the fun in the church became “unfun” very quickly when some hyper-religious people came and told the new believers, “If you really want to be a follower of Jesus, you have to be circumcised.” Talk about taking the fun out of living for Jesus. Somewhere in time, that which God created for enjoyment became drudgery with rules.  The rules meant there would be expectations.  The expectations meant there would be disappointment.  The disappointment would drive distance between us and the one that loves us.  In Genesis 3, God is desperately attempting to connect with Adam and Eve.  God walked in the garden during the cool of the day. The “cool of the day” means the “Ruah or breath of God”.  It was the time of day Adam and Eve spent in the presence of God.  When they sinned, they didn’t feel they could rest with God anymore; instead, they hid. What once used to be fun immediately felt like disappointment and guilt. Guilt and shame force us out of the arms of the very one that can restore us. People hide from God in hopes to restore themselves before they return to Him.  They hid from God because they were naked. God asked them, "WHO TOLD you you were NAKED?” Pastor Clifton Lejeune told me, “when you see a relationship status say complicated, it means a 3rd party got involved.” "Who" told you you were naked? Somebody got involved in your relationship with God. God asks, where and who. But Adam answers back with what and why.  A good indicator of a bad relationship is the breakdown of communication.God knew where Adam and Eve were geographically.  He wanted to know where they were in relationally …. Like the game Marco Polo. I know you are here, but where are you in relation to me? Sin isn’t just a bad act. It’s what we do against a relationship.  It separates us from our peace, our spouse, our children, and most importantly, our God.  Proverbs 18:1 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;he breaks out against all sound judgment. (ESV)The Bible is a record of God’s attempts to reconnect a relationship that was lost.Our original purpose was to rest with God.God has been trying to redeem the time that used to be fun. He’s trying to exchange what was taken and used to separate us from Him to now connect us.  Lets get back to fun!Ephesians 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.We can’t borrow time or steal time or get time back. To redeem is to exchange. Redeeming is to make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good, so that zeal and well-doing are as it were the purchase money by which we make the time our own.Redeeming is changing possession by purchasing  what once belonged to you and using it for its original purpose. “Our Sabbath is not away from God but with God.” -Chad Ducote.  Don’t run from Him, run to Him. Sabbath is what restores our soul. We should rest with what loves us back!!! Zephaniah 3:17 For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”Our God loves to play.  He is a God that is rejoicing and singing over us. Rest and play doesn’t always have to have a point. This rest that Jesus came to redeem asks nothing of us.  Jesus has come to redeem (exchange possession) the time that once separated us from Him to now be close to Him.  It’s for redeeming and restoring what was misused.  Let’s go back to what we used to do before Christianity became a chore.  Let’s return to the fun we used to have with God. Sing unto the Lord a new song.  Let’s do something

Summer of Sabbath: Rest in the Waiting

Rest in the waiting. We are in our sermon series, Summer of Sabbath. We want to learn how to rest.Sometimes we’re told to wait, but we’re readyto go. Our ambition is greater than our ability. Oh, I know what I want to do; I just haven’t realized I don’t know how to yet.Coming out of milestone experiences, we tend to be geared for the next one. We have a plan but no execution. When we’re forced to Sabbath (rest), we receive instruction and nourishment for what’s ahead.1 Kings 19: 3-8 Elijah has just come out of this high-octane experience on Mt. Carmel. He has a showdown with 400 false prophets and proves that Yahweh is the one true God. Elijah is intoxicated with victory until he realizes there are consequences for his anointing. Queen Jezebel is angry with him for killing her false prophets and swears to kill him by the next day.The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:8 that our faith journey goes from glory to glory, but life tends to bring us from glory to boring; from mountain top to valley bottom.The angel tells Elijah to rest at the brook and eat because he needed strength for the journey ahead. While Elijah is TOLD TO WAIT, he is receiving instruction and nourishment from God.Waiting is a discipline of restraint. You feel like going on, but you can’t. You have the energy to move but not the health. When I have to be still and wait on the next move, I tend to ask God what He’s doing. All of a sudden, I’m talking to God and asking for his next move. If it weren’t for having to be still, I’d forget to talk to God. This forced rest of waiting agitates me to prayer.Waiting is being still between the coming and going. Rest is not just the finishing of something but the intermission between two work weeks or the victories you had last week to the new battles coming this week. But instead of resting, we toil and strive using energy that is going to be needed for the journey ahead.Why does it matter? Because we make mistakes when we hurry from one thing to the next. We end up relying on a plan executed by the power of God last time to replicate it without God the next time.Waiting is boring. My son said his kids aren’t going to know what boring is. But boring is a gift from God. The older I get, boring looks better and better. Boredom is a gift created by disciplined rhythms. It’s the rest between your last and your next. Don’t underestimate the predictable, mundane moments in your life. Boredom stops our hurry and forces us to see what’s sitting still around us. Waiting on God requires stillness. He’s not trying to figure out what to do next; He’s waiting on us to be ready.Consider the lilies. Matthew 6:28 “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;”Jesus said check out how they grow. How do they grow? “After flowering, lilies die back inautumn and enter a dormant phase. During this time, the bulbs store energy for the next growing season.”They don’t do anything to add to God’s stature, yet they declare his handiwork. They don’t work, but they produce. They don’t strive to be beautiful; they just are. My favorite line from James Thurber’s, Secret Life of Walter Mitty, “the most beautiful things don’t ask for attention.” Beautiful things arrest and force us to stop and notice. God wants us to be still and know he’s God.Dan Allender says he was looking at Mt. Cook in New Zealand when a man interrupted his moment with, “Isn’t she incredible?” He was perturbed by the man and his comment because it didn’t need affirmation; it was obvious. It was a still and waiting moment that required no commentary.Acts 1:8: How long do I wait? Until you receive power! Wait to make that decision until you’ve received power.

Summer of Sabbath: Sabbath Is Holy

June 7, 2026 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net   If you could spend 24 hours pursuing your deepest joy, what would you do? We begin our sermon series today. We’re calling it Summer of Sabbath.  Rest is as biblical as creation itself. We believe rest is important because it’s what God did and it’s a commandment to us.  As we look at rest over the next few weeks, we want it to resonate with us for the summer.  Today, Sabbath is Holy. Sabbath is a Hebrew word that has multiple meanings: from cause to cease, put an end to, exterminate, destroy, to remove, and cause to fail. I thought it was important for us to look at rest because the majority of Americans will take a vacation between now and August. Also, because we’re busy and we think it’s impressive. We’re tired but keep pushing. We’re working more hours but getting less done.  We miss out on what we worked so hard to create: our family, home, yard, toys.  And to top it all off, we are disobeying and dishonoring God. Yes, believe it or not, we dishonor God when we don’t rest.   Rest is first mentioned in the beginning: Genesis 2:2-3  For six days God created the heavens and the earth, light, order, species, vegetation, atmosphere, seasons, mountains, valleys, and humankind. Then God ceased from His work, reflected on His work, said it was good, then declared it holy.   God rested from His work.  There is no work more important than God’s work, and if He rested from His, we should rest from ours.    A  precedent and parable are told in order for us to pattern our lives after.  Parables were often earthly stories conveying a heavenly meaning.  God was telling how He worked then rested.  This rest, we will come to see, was created by God for us. It represents much more than taking a break or self-care. It shouts something about Him. And because this represents more than taking a break, I have wondered if God was working six days to get to the one day of rest. What if He was doing ALL THIS to get to that? He was working to show us what He was really trying to do.    Sabbath is holy. One of the most holy encounters I’ve had was Memorial weekend 2011.   We are commanded to observe it in order to keep it holy or separated. Holy is when something is set apart. It’s a time and day that looks the same but treated differently.  It’s been set apart by God, but we have to set it apart.  Holy translates the ordinary into something else while remaining what it is. God wasn’t telling them to observe Sabbath just for their well-being but because He accomplished for His people from the beginning of creation.   Exodus 3:2-5 Moses turned aside from his ordinary work and was captured by a burning bush that remained unburned. The ordinary was transformed into something else while remaining what it was.  The ground he was standing on was holy ground.  He entered into a space that pulled him from his normal routine and encountered beauty and power and peculiar.  It was from this moment that Moses was told why he was spared as a baby.  All of that was leading to this.  Sabbath is turning away from the ordinary to behold the holy!    The Sabbath reveals that we are holy.   Exodus 20:8-11 The first time the law is given, Sabbath seems to be for everyone.  It’s commanded because it’s needed. The Sabbath is a sign of the covenant God made with His people, Exodus 31:13-14. A covenant that signifies you are different and separated from every other nation.   This time Sabbath takes on a meaning more closely to put an end to, exterminate, destroy. God put an end to the Egyptians by exterminating them in the Red Sea.  Sabbath was a deliverance from slavery to rest.  Every time you observe it, you are declaring God set you free.    Every time we Sabbath or rest, we are declaring that God’s set me free from bondage. Sabbath is a sign that we are different and set apart.  We turn away from our ordinary work and are captivated by the beauty of holy.    Sabbath is about today. Matthew 6:34 Cease from your labors today that are really a worry about tomorrow because guess what? Tomorrow has its one set of things to worry about.  Today we turn aside and do things differently than the other days.  We baptized some folks today and it was effective because they ceased from their ordinary work and allowed Jesus’ resurrection from the dead to bring them new life.   We’re in a holy place where we can lay our cares and troubles down.  Coming to church is not Sabbath, unless you observe it as different than everything else in your life. It becomes Sabbath when we see the ordinary elevated to the special. It becomes Sabbath when it pulls us aside from our ordinary work to behold God’s handiwork.  When we’re not doing it out of duty but because of wonder! It becomes Sabbath when we realize it represents our deliverance.

But Wait There's More

May 31st, 2026

Acts: A Church of Converts

  A Church of Converts Pastor Eric Burton May 24th 2026 A Church of Converts. Acts 9:1-21 Meanwhile, the church is growing. Philip just converted an Ethiopian, and meanwhile, Saul is persecuting the church. Consider the context of Saul. He’s an upcoming star in the religious ranks. He’s an expert on Hebrew law, having been taught by Gamaliel, one of the top lawyers in Israel. He is both a Jewish and Roman citizen, giving him access to two worlds in conflict with each other. He is passionate about defending the law of Moses and Temple worship, and now he is on an ambitious campaign to destroy the Way, this Christian movement. He believes Jesus is a charlatan leading people away from God. There are lots of people going on their ambitious way, believing they are doing good. Saul meets the Lord on the road to Damascus on his way to persecute Christians. How many of us have been on our way when the Lord prevented us? I’m thankful Jesus is a Preventer. So many of us are on “our” way, but need to start doing it His way. Jesus tells Saul, “You are kicking against the pricks” (Acts 26:14). Pricks, or goads, are pointed objects used to direct cattle in a specific direction. Jesus tells Saul, “Fighting against Me, you are only going to hurt yourself.” Saul was confronted with a question. Jesus asks Saul, “Why are you persecuting Me?” Saul thought he was doing the right thing and didn’t know he was actually persecuting the body of Christ. Our ambition and the approval of others are not validation that we’re doing the right thing. When Saul is confronted with this question, he is convicted and converted. I believe for there to be conversion, we need to be convicted of our ways. Saul was converted when he met Jesus and saw Him for who He was. You will be converted when you see Jesus for who He is. Jesus is not just a prophet. He’s not just a historical figure. He’s not a 21st-century construct of how to live a good life. He is the Son of the living God. When you get a revelation of Jesus, you see Him as Lord. “No man can call Jesus Lord except the Spirit reveal it to him” (1 Corinthians 12:3). A real conversion is a change of thinking and actions. Conversion will change your previous religious beliefs. Peter was a fisherman. But after he met Jesus and was converted, Jesus told him, “You used to fish for fish, but now you are going to fish for men.” Conversion is a transfer of what you used to do for yourself to what you now do for Jesus. What you did for the world, you now do for the kingdom of God. Conversion gives you a whole new prerogative. Your conversion needs an Ananias. Acts 9:10 There was a man named Ananias that helped Saul confirm his encounter with Jesus. You have revelation but no ability. You have all the spirituality but no practicality. Ananias showed up to help Saul have clarity. His obedience worked in tandem with Saul’s conversion. We need an Ananias in our conversion that helps confirm what has happened in our lives was not a worldly occurrence, but a real spiritual one. Some of you are called to lay hands on someone so their eyes are opened. Converted for purpose. Acts 9:15: “Go, for Saul is My chosen instrument to take My message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.” Lastly, people won’t believe it. Acts 9:21: “Isn’t this the same Saul that persecuted the church?” After Saul was converted, he started telling people about Jesus. That’s the natural progression of conversion. Jesus told Peter, “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:32). Convert means to turn back. There are some conversions that need to take place on this Pentecost Sunday. Some have turned away from truth but need to turn back. We need some road-to-Damascus conversions. You think you are doing right, but you need the Holy Ghost to ask you, “Why are you persecuting Me?” You think you’re doing right, but you need a confrontation with God. Stop seeing Jesus as an alternative to get you out of trouble and begin seeing Him as the only Way.

Acts: Earnest Prayers

May 17th, 2026 Dr. Landon Galloway The Sycamore Church Acts 12 comes at a turning point in the story of the early church. Up to this point, the gospel has been spreading rapidly. Opposition has been present, but mostly religious, mostly local, mostly manageable.But for the first time, the persecution is political. The throne itself moves against the church. Acts 12:1–5a (NIV) – It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. So Peter was kept in prison… It is the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The week Jerusalem remembers her oldest deliverance. The week the city tastes again the bread of affliction. The week families gather around lamb and bitter herbs and tell their children, “It was a night like this. The Lord brought us out with a mighty hand.” But this Passover is different. James, son of Zebedee, brother of John, one of the three Jesus took up the mountain, has just been put to death by the sword. Herod Agrippa I, grandson of the Herod who tried to murder Jesus as an infant, has taken up his grandfather’s old project.And he has discovered that killing apostles is good politics. So he reaches for Peter next. Four squads of four soldiers each. Sixteen men, rotating through the four watches of the night. Two chains on Peter’s wrists. A guard at his right side, another at his left, sentries at the door. This is Rome at full strength against one fisherman from Galilee. And then Luke writes one of the shortest, heaviest sentences in his second volume: “So Peter was kept in prison.” Sit in that sentence for a moment. Because that sentence is where most of us live. The job is still gone. The diagnosis is still the diagnosis. The marriage is still cold. The prodigal is still prodigal. The funeral has already happened. The prayers have already been prayed. And the door is still closed. It is easy to read this story and imagine our enemy looks like Herod. But our real enemy is rarely a man on a throne. Scripture is clear: our battle is not against flesh and blood. Our real enemies are the world, the flesh, and the devil. The pressures of this present existence that grind us down. The habits in us that resist transformation. The lies of the accuser that wear at us over time. We pray, we fast, we fight… and some days it feels like the enemy is winning. Some days it feels like we are the ones in chains. But fortunately Acts 12:5 does not end with Peter in chains.  It begins bleakly. “So Peter was kept in prison…” Chains. Guards. Locked doors. No visible hope. But then Luke adds one phrase that changes the entire chapter. “…but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” That single phrase divides Acts 12 in two.•Acts 12:1–5a is despair.•Acts 12:5b–end is breakthrough. And the link between them is fervent prayer. The Greek word for earnestly is ektenōs. It means stretched out. Like a muscle pulled to its limit. Like a rope at the moment before it would snap, and doesn’t. Luke uses the same word for Jesus in Gethsemane. The church is not praying politely. The church is praying in the posture of a Savior who sweat blood. And remember… this is the prayer that comes after James has already died. They prayed for James. And James still died. They could have stopped. They could have grown cynical. They could have decided prayer was not worth the risk of raised hopes and dashed expectations. But they didn’t. They prayed for Peter anyway. They prayed again after disappointment. They prayed again without guarantees. They prayed again when outcomes felt unpredictable. That is not cheap faith. That is the most expensive kind of faith there is. This is what Paul means in 1 Corinthians 14:15a-“So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding…”In other words: I am not limiting prayer to one expression. If there is a possible way to pray, I will pray that way. I will pray prayers I understand.And I will pray when words fail.I will pray with my mind engaged.And I will pray when my spirit has to carry what my mind cannot.I will pray quiet prayers.I will pray loud prayers.I will pray scheduled prayers.I will pray spontaneous prayers.I will pray on my knees.I will pray in my car.I will pray when faith feels strong.And I will pray when my faith is almost gone. Earnest prayer is not about technique. Earnest prayer is about tenacity. It says, “I am not stopping just because I am discouraged.” It says, “I am not quitting just because I am tired.” It says, “I will keep showing up before God in whatever way I can.” And some of us are living in situations today that will be changed tomorrow because of prayers we prayed yesterday. Now look at how God answers.Acts 12:6-8- 6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains,and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told himThe night before Herod plans to drag Peter out for execution, Peter is asleep. Not pacing. Not weeping. Not bargaining with God. Asleep—so deeply that the angel has to strike him to wake him. Jesus slept in a storm. Peter slept in a cell. When you trust God, you can sleep through the things designed to terrify you. That is what the Spirit does in a person over time. He does not always lift the storm. Sometimes He simply teaches you how to lay down in it. The whole scene takes place during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Passover points back to what God did in Egypt. Four hundred years of brick quotas and broken backs. Four centuries of crying out to a God who seemed not to be answering. Deuteronomy calls Egypt the iron furnace, the hottest fire a man knew how to build.And one night, God said, "Take a lamb. Mark the door. Wait." Put your cloak and sandals on and be ready. Blood on the doorposts. The angel slipping past every marked house. Pharaoh's grip broken before the dawn. And the sea splitting open of its own accord. Israel walked out on dry ground. And then God did it again at Calvary.The Lamb was not in the house. The Lamb was on the cross. The blood was not on a doorpost. The blood was on a tree.Paul says it plainly: "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed for us." That is why on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Moses and Elijah talk with Jesus about what He is about to do in Jerusalem, Luke uses one word for the conversation: exodos.Egypt was a rehearsal. Calvary was the performance. And in the very hour the Passover lambs were slaughtered in the temple, Jesus said three words: "It is finished" and the iron gate of sin opened of its own accord. We walked out on dry ground. He did it in Peter's cell. And then, a decade later, God did it again.Festival of Unleavened Bread.  Dead of night. The angel strikes Peterm same verb the Septuagint uses when the Lord struck Egypt. Cloak on. Sandals on. Belt on. Exodus 12, line by line.And the iron gate of the Roman prison opened of its own accord. Peter walked out on dry ground. And He is still doing it today. The God of Egypt is the God of Calvary is the God of Peter's cell is the God of this room. Same God. He does not need a sea to do it.  He does not need an iron gate to do it. He can do it in a hospital room.  He can do it in a cold marriage.  He can do it in an addiction you have been losing to for fifteen years. He can do it in a soul that has been writing its own eulogy.Because the God who heard a slave's cry in Egypt, and answered a Son's cry on Calvary, and walked past Roman guards in Peter's prison still strikes chains off in the night.  Still opens iron gates of His own accord. He has been doing this for four thousand years. Peter arrives at the house where the church is gathered, praying for him.Acts 12:12–15 – When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”This is one of the most humorous scenes in all of Scripture. Peter interrupts a prayer meeting where they are praying for him.And when the answered prayer shows up, they leave the door closed because it is too good to be true.Rhoda- A young woman with no standing in the room. And she is the first witness of the answered prayer. This is vintage Luke, the kingdom never enters where you expect it. Women at the empty tomb. A centurion outside the city. A slave girl at a door.Sometimes God answers the prayer, but we hesitate to open the door. We have been disappointed before. We have learned to manage expectations. We have trained ourselves not to hope too much. We pray for reconciliation, then pull back when the conversation opens. We ask God for provision, then hesitate when opportunity knocks. We pray for freedom, then struggle to believe it is actually possible. They were faithful enough to pray. But not confident enough to expect the answer. And God answers anyway.Breakthrough does not require perfect faith. It requires faithful prayer. Look at where Acts 12 began. Herod on the throne. James dead. Peter imprisoned. The church in hiding.Now look at where Acts 12 ends.Acts 12:21-24- 21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people.22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.”23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.Herod accepts the worship of a crowd that calls him a god. And an angel of the Lord strikes him down. Same angel. Same verb. In Exodus, the angel struck Pharaoh’s house, and Israel went free. In Acts 12, the angel strikes Herod, and the church goes free. And then Luke writes the line that sums it all up: “But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.”Peter free. Herod gone. The word of God multiplying. And it all hinges on that statement: “and the church earnestly prayed.”​What have you stopped praying for? Some of you have been praying a long time, and the door is still closed. I am not going to insult you by promising the angel is on his way today. I do not know that. Luke does not promise that. James did not get that. But here is what I do know.The same Lord who heard the cry of His people in Egypt hears your cry today. The same God who turned the iron-gate hinges in Jerusalem can turn whatever has been locked against you. The same Spirit who taught the early church to keep praying when their faith was thin is alive in this room.The call of Acts 12 is not, “Pray harder and you will get what you want. The call of Acts 12 is, “Do not stop praying just because you have already been disappointed.”

Acts: We Go To Worship

May 10, 2026 Eric Burton The Sycamore Church   Acts: We go to worship.  When the church gets together. Acts 2:43-46 We’re looking at the church in the book of Acts to see what they did that allowed them to have such an impact and how we line up with that church.  Intro: We like going places.  We like going out.  “Do you want to go out with me” meant we are in an exclusive relationship. Two things the first church did:     1. They went to the Temple daily to worship (giving to God).     2. They went to each other’s houses to receive the Lord's supper and share (giving to each other). The church went to worship (giving to God). We are living in a time and culture where you can’t distinguish staying in and going out.  People wear the same stuff going out that they wear staying in.  Nothing is significant anymore. We’ve eliminated the high-brow Sunday’s best so everyone feels welcome, but in removing the segregation, we’ve also lost the sacredness. We’ve lost the awe of going. The first church continued going to the Temple after they were saved.  You don’t stop going to church once you are saved. When I was growing up, we got dressed up, got in your car, left where you lived, and went to a different location. We first see this in Genesis 22:5 Abraham says to his servants, “You stay here while the boy and I go over there to worship.”  It distinguished between where I am and where God is. Worship is an intentional destination.  We don’t worship from afar; we come from afar. When they worshiped God, they came to Him.    The wise men came to worship. The leper came to worship. The Roman soldier came to worship. They left the dilemma they were in to go where the king resided. Worship is an act of ascension and assembly to exalt God.        There are a number of Psalms called, Songs of Ascent that Jews would sing as they made the ascension into Jerusalem. Psalm 122:1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go to the house of the Lord.  While the Jews were in captivity, they would request to go to Jerusalem to worship their God. They were asking to leave the rigors of bondage so they could ascend. To worship you and I leave where we are and by design ascend to a higher plane. Even the pagans would establish their idols and shrines on high places. Satan brought Jesus to a high place to tempt him with power if He would worship him. Even our thoughts are fighting for high position.  We are to take captive every thought that exalts itself above God.  Everything in our life is trying to gain higher ground so we will ascend to worship it rather than God. 1 Kings 12: 28-32 King Rehoboam was threatened by King Jeroboam. King Rehoboam didn’t want people going to Jerusalem to worship for fear that he would lose their allegiance. So he created new locations, idols, and invented a new holiday to keep them from going to Jerusalem.  Going out meant we’re in an exclusive relationship, and he didn’t want that. Worship has been reduced to an imitation of what we used to do.  The enemy doesn't want us actually going to worship because “ going out” means we’re in an exclusive relationship. We are living in a day, just as they were, where distractions are vying for our attention to keep us from going to worship.  Or people just don’t feel worthy to go up to God. Worship indicates you’re not staying where you are but you’re going higher.   2. They went house to house (giving to each other)     To receive the Lord supper (break bread together)     To share The church went house to house. This looked like our Connect Groups. You have to get up and go to fellowship.    Psalm 133 says, “How wonderful and precious it is when brothers live together in harmony! For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil…” The result of the church ascending and gathering for worship and fellowship was people being added to the church daily.  Worship was meant to be given to God, and community was meant to be given to others. When we assemble together in worship, we leave the mundane and encounter the miraculous.  It was while they were on the way to worship that they ran into a lame man that needed a miracle.  We don’t see the miraculous because we don’t go anywhere.  Closing Hebrews 10:22-25     Don’t forsake assembling as some do.  Why? The day of His return is near. Hebrews is letting us know there was a time you felt unworthy to go up and worship, but now, because of the blood of Jesus, we can go in with boldness. There’s nothing keeping us from going up today.  Somebody say, we’re going to worship!

Acts: Pierced For Power

The Sycamore Church John Barnett May 3, 2026   Acts: Pierced for Power Acts 2:36–39   We are studying the patterns and foundations of the early church in the Book of Acts.   Question:If it worked for the early church, are we still doing it today?   Context: Peter’s Sermon Peter is preaching after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He explains: Jesus fulfilled prophecy, David prophesied about Him, Jesus was crucified, God raised Him from the dead, Jesus is both Lord and Messiah.   Acts 2:36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” The same Jesus they rejected and crucified…God publicly declared as LORD through the resurrection.   Acts 2:37 “Peter’s words pierced their hearts…” “Pierced” = Deep Conviction Greek word: Katanyssomai (κατανύσσομαι) Meaning: pierced thoroughly, cut to the heart, deep remorse, spiritual conviction   Conviction Happens When: The Word of God is preached The Holy Spirit moves We allow God to deal with our hearts   Conviction vs. Condemnation Condemnation- Shame without hope, Separation from God, “You’ll never change.” Leads to death Conviction-  Draws us toward God, Produces repentance, “You need to change.” Leads to healing and restoration. Conviction is not meant to crush you — it is meant to draw you closer to God.   The Proper Response to Conviction “Brothers, what should we do?” Total surrender asks: “What’s my next step?” “God, what are You trying to change in me?” “What do I need to let go of?”   Acts 2:38 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Peter gives a pathway for transformation.   I. Repentance Repentance Is: • More than saying “sorry” • A change of direction • Turning from sin toward God • Dying to the old life   You do not clean yourself up before coming to God. Jesus already carried the cross because we could not save ourselves.   True Repentance is not emotional only, Not temporary guilt, Not goosebumps. True repentance is transformation. “You can’t repent while you are still repeating.”   II. Baptism in Jesus’ Name Baptism Is: Obedience to Jesus Public identification with Christ Burial of the old life Remission (removal) of sins   Jesus does not sweep sin under a rug. He removes it completely. Through repentance and baptism, the disease of sin can go into full remission.   Baptism Declares: “I belong to Jesus.” Peter once denied Jesus publicly.Now he boldly tells everyone to identify with Him publicly.   III. Receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit Jesus Promised Power Luke 24:49 “Stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.” Acts 1:8 “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…”   The Gospel Pattern Repentance - Identifies us with Christ’s death Baptism - Identifies us with Christ’s burial Receiving the Holy Spirit - Identifies us with Christ’s resurrection life   The Holy Spirit Is Not Just a Feeling The Holy Spirit is: Power Transformation Boldness Hope Peace Joy Strength to endure Ability to live differently   When Life Squeezes You… Whatever fills you will come out of you.   Without the Holy Spirit: anger fear bitterness flesh hopelessness   But when filled with the Spirit: peace boldness joy endurance faith power   Why Do We Need the Holy Spirit? Because life pierces us too. We need power to: respond like Jesus, survive spiritual warfare, endure suffering, resist the enemy, walk through pain without becoming bitter.   Acts 2:39 “This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away…” The Promise Is: For you For your children For every generation For everyone God calls The outpouring has already happened. We simply must receive what God is offering.   Acts 2:40–41 “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” “Those who believed…were baptized…” They did not delay. They responded immediately.   Final Challenge Have you been pierced by God today? Do not ignore conviction.Do not resist surrender.Do not stay comfortable.   Today Can Be Your Day • Repent • Be baptized • Receive the Holy Spirit • Walk in power   Become who God created you to be.   “You can’t be filled if you are already full.” Empty yourself today so God can fill you completely.

Acts: When Things Get Crazy

April 26, 2026 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Making Room For a Miracle

April 19, 2026 Joel Gatlin www.thesycamore.net   ”FOR WITH GOD NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE.” LUKE 1:37 NKJV ”AND HE SAID, “THUS SAYS THE LORD: ‘MAKE THIS VALLEY FULL OF DITCHES.’” II KINGS 3:16 NKJV “FOR THUS SAYS THE LORD: ‘YOU SHALL NOT SEE WIND, NOR SHALL YOU SEE RAIN; YET THAT VALLEY SHALL BE FILLED WITH WATER, SO THAT YOU, YOUR CATTLE, AND YOUR ANIMALS MAY DRINK.’ AND THIS IS A SIMPLE MATTER IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD; HE WILL ALSO DELIVER THE MOABITES INTO YOUR HAND.” II KINGS 3:17-18 NKJV “NOW IT HAPPENED IN THE MORNING, WHEN THE GRAIN OFFERING WAS OFFERED, THAT SUDDENLY WATER CAME BY WAY OF EDOM, AND THE LAND WAS FILLED WITH WATER.” II KINGS 3:20 NKJV “WHEN ABRAM WAS NINETY-NINE YEARS OLD, THE LORD APPEARED TO HIM AND SAID, “I AM EL-SHADDAI—‘GOD ALMIGHTY.’ SERVE ME FAITHFULLY AND LIVE A BLAMELESS LIFE.” GENESIS 17:1 NLT “I WILL MAKE A COVENANT WITH YOU, BY WHICH I WILL GUARANTEE TO GIVE YOU COUNTLESS DESCENDANTS.” GENESIS 17:2 NLT 1. DIG A DITCH ”AND HE SAID, “THUS SAYS THE LORD: ‘MAKE THIS VALLEY FULL OF DITCHES.’” II KINGS 3:16 NKJV PHYSICAL OBEDIENCE BRINGS SPIRITUAL BREAKTHROUGHS “AND THE LORD SAID TO MOSES, “WHY DO YOU CRY TO ME? TELL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL TO GO FORWARD. BUT LIFT UP YOUR ROD, AND STRETCH OUT YOUR HAND OVER THE SEA AND DIVIDE IT. AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL GO ON DRY GROUND THROUGH THE MIDST OF THE SEA.” EXODUS 14:15-16 NKJV 2. TRUST HIS WORD ”NOW IT HAPPENED IN THE MORNING…” II KINGS 3:20 NKJV  “EVERY WORD OF GOD IS TESTED; HE IS A SHIELD TO THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM.” PROVERBS 30:5  "CAN ANY ONE OF YOU BY WORRYING, ADD A SINGLE HOUR TO YOUR LIFE?" (MATHEW 6:27). NIV ”BEHOLD, HE WHO KEEPS ISRAEL WILL NEITHER SLUMBER NOR SLEEP." (PSALM 121 VS 4) NKJV 3. LIVE WITH EXPECTATION “NOW IT HAPPENED IN THE MORNING, WHEN THE GRAIN OFFERING WAS OFFERED, THAT SUDDENLY WATER CAME BY WAY OF EDOM, AND THE LAND WAS FILLED WITH WATER.” II KINGS 3:20 NKJVSCREEN: “THEN THEY ROSE UP EARLY IN THE MORNING, AND THE SUN WAS SHINING ON THE WATER; AND THE MOABITES SAW THE WATER ON THE OTHER SIDE AS RED AS BLOOD. AND THEY SAID, “THIS IS BLOOD; THE KINGS HAVE SURELY STRUCK SWORDS AND HAVE KILLED ONE ANOTHER; NOW THEREFORE, MOAB, TO THE SPOIL!” SO WHEN THEY CAME TO THE CAMP OF ISRAEL, ISRAEL ROSE UP AND ATTACKED THE MOABITES, SO THAT THEY FLED BEFORE THEM; AND THEY ENTERED THEIR LAND, KILLING THE MOABITES.” II KINGS 3:22-24 NKJV “NOW A MAN WHO WAS LAME FROM BIRTH WAS BEING CARRIED TO THE TEMPLE GATE CALLED BEAUTIFUL, WHERE HE WAS PUT EVERY DAY TO BEG FROM THOSE GOING INTO THE TEMPLE COURTS. WHEN HE SAW PETER AND JOHN ABOUT TO ENTER, HE ASKED THEM FOR MONEY. PETER LOOKED STRAIGHT AT HIM, AS DID JOHN. THEN PETER SAID, “LOOK AT US!” SO THE MAN GAVE THEM HIS ATTENTION, EXPECTING TO GET SOMETHING FROM THEM. THEN PETER SAID, “SILVER OR GOLD I DO NOT HAVE, BUT WHAT I DO HAVE I GIVE YOU. IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH, WALK.” TAKING HIM BY THE RIGHT HAND, HE HELPED HIM UP, AND INSTANTLY THE MAN’S FEET AND ANKLES BECAME STRONG. HE JUMPED TO HIS FEET AND BEGAN TO WALK. THEN HE WENT WITH THEM INTO THE TEMPLE COURTS, WALKING AND JUMPING, AND PRAISING GOD.” ACTS 3:2-8 NIV  “NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK, ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKS IN US,” EPHESIANS 3:20 NKJVS ”AND GOD IS ABLE TO BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY, SO THAT IN ALL THINGS AT ALL TIMES, HAVING ALL THAT YOU NEED, YOU WILL ABOUND IN EVERY GOOD WORK.” 2 CORINTHIANS 9:8 NIV

Big Fish Story

Eric Burton The Sycamore Church April 12, 2026   God Rewrites the Story Mathew 28: 10-15   What the enemy means for harm, God turns into a testimony.   After the resurrection, the religious leaders had one urgent priority — control the narrative. They knew that if the story of a risen Jesus got out, it wouldn't stay quiet. It would spread. It would change everything.   But that's nothing new. From the very beginning of Scripture, this has been the pattern: God at work, and the enemy trying desperately to rewrite the story.   Think about Joseph. Sold by his own brothers, enslaved, falsely accused, forgotten in prison. By every human measure, his story was a tragedy. But Joseph saw something different on the other side of it: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good." — Genesis 50:20   The Apostle Paul echoes this same truth in the New Testament: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, and are called according to His purpose." — Romans 8:28   Here's what's honest, though — we believe bad things will happen to us. We almost expect them. But do we expect God to redeem them? Do we really believe that the painful chapters, the betrayals, the setbacks — that God can take all of that and make it into something unbelievable? The enemy didn't want the story of Jesus told, so he tried to manufacture a different one. He still does that today — with your story. He wants you to believe it ends in failure, in shame, in loss.    But God is in the business of taking what was meant for evil and turning it into a testimony that still gets told.   The resurrection is proof of that. The grave couldn't hold the story down. It never could. Reflection   What part of my story have I stopped expecting God to redeem — and what would it look like to hand it back to Him?   How do I do this? Hebrews 12:2 tells us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; Let Jesus take ALL THINGS and bring them under his authority. Surrender it all to Jesus today.

Because Of The Resurrection

April 5, 2026 Eric Burton thesycamore.net

Name Dropping: Who Do You Say That I Am?

March 22, 2026 Tim Barber www.thesycamore.net

Name Dropping: Yahweh Rohi "The Lord Is My Shepherd"

March 15, 2026 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Name Dropping: Jehovah Shammah

March 8, 2026 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Name Dropping: The Balm of Gilead

March 1, 2026 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Name Dropping: Friend of Sinners

February 22, 2026 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Name Dropping: Jehovah Nissi

February 15, 2026 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Name Dropping: El-Berith

February 8, 2026 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Name Dropping: The Son of David

February 1, 2026 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Name Dropping: El Roi

January 11, 2026 Angel Barnett www.thesycamore.net

Name Dropping: Yahweh

January 4, 2026 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Face to Face With Joy

December 14, 2025 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Legacy: Only What We Do For Christ

December 7, 2025 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Anticipate The Good

November 30, 2025 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Evangelism: Sharing Bread

November 23, 2025 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Base Camp: Freedom

November 16, 2025 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Base Camp : When You Pray

November 9, 2025 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Giving: Who Is Your Master?

November 2, 2025 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Base Camp: Deliberate Joy

thesycamore.net Tim Barber October 19, 2025

Base Camp: Love God, How To Keep The Greatest Commandment

October 12, 2025 Pastor Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Base Camp: Oracles of God

10.5.25 Missionary Allan Shalm www.thesycamore.net

Vision Sunday

September 21, 2025 Pastor Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net

Connect Groups

September 14, 2025 Pastor Eric Burton www.theysycamore.net

A Firm Foundation

www.thesycamore.net September 7, 2025 Pastor Eric Burton

Faith Reconstructed

August 31, 2025 Eric Burton www.thesycamore.net