Sunday Sermons | Champion Forest

Jarrett Stephens teaches from Psalm 24 in a message called "Pursuing the Presence of God." The ark of the covenant symbolized God's presence for Israel, and David's joyful celebration shows what our hearts should feel. Yet our flesh, the devil, and the world system constantly pull us away. We suppress our desire for God, exchange time with him for lesser things, or treat his presence casually. Jarrett asks whether we get excited about being with God, and he warns that no one achieves the clean hands and pure heart Psalm 24 requires. The real answer to David's question is that no one can enter on their own. But Jesus, the King of glory, opens the way. Because of Christ, we can draw near, seek his face, and grow more like him.

Jarrett Stephens teaches on the two ordinances of the church in a message called "To Be Continued." Water baptism and the Lord's Supper are not one-time object lessons but ongoing practices Jesus commanded until He returns. Jarrett walks through the meaning, mandate, method, and moment of baptism, showing it as a believer's public identification with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. He then turns to the Lord's Supper as a memorial meal where Jesus revealed Himself as the true Passover Lamb. This message is both doctrinal and practical. Jarrett addresses those who were baptized as infants, those who came to faith later in life, and anyone who has been putting off obedience. He also prepares the church to receive the Lord's Supper with sacredness, calling believers to examine themselves and repent of sin before coming to the table.

Jarrett Stephens teaches from Luke 23:33-34, 44-46 and Matthew 27:45-46 in a message called Prayers from the Cross. In the final week of the Pray Like Jesus series, he walks through the three prayers Jesus spoke while dying: forgiving his executioners, crying out when forsaken, and committing his spirit to the Father. Jarrett explains that Jesus maintained intimacy with the Father even in his darkest hour, interceded for others rather than himself, and had Scripture so deeply in his heart that it came out when he was squeezed by suffering. The message offers practical challenges drawn from each prayer: pray for those who hurt you, keep crying out to God when he seems silent, and entrust your life to the Father day by day.

Jarrett Stephens teaches from Matthew 26:36-46 in a message called "Warfare Prayer." With Satan active and the cross approaching, Jesus retreats to his regular prayer place, the Garden of Gethsemane, to fight the greatest battle of his earthly life. His prayer is not a polished performance but raw honesty with the Father, repeated persistence through anguish, and finally a settled surrender: "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." Jarrett walks through three movements of Jesus' prayer, honesty, persistence, and surrender, and connects them to the Lord's Prayer Jesus taught his disciples. He reminds us that God can handle our real emotions, our confusion, and our disappointment. The goal of warfare prayer is not to get what we want but to keep praying until we want what the Father wants.

Jarrett Stephens teaches from John 17 in a message called "The Power of Intercessory Prayer." In this passage, Jesus prays out loud so his disciples can hear and learn. He prays for his own glorification through the cross, then for his disciples to be protected and sanctified in a hostile world. Finally, he prays for future believers, for unity around truth and for the day we will see his glory. Jarrett shows that Jesus is the answer to his own prayers. He goes to the cross to accomplish what he asks. And he does not stop praying. Hebrews 7:25 says he always lives to make intercession for his people. If Jesus prayed for others, we should too. Intercession is not informing God of what he does not know. It is reminding him of his promises and joining him in his work.

Jarrett Stephens teaches from Luke 10:21 in a message called "Spirit-led Prayer." Prayer can feel difficult and discouraging, and many of us wish we had an easy button to become people of prayer. But Jesus, though He was conceived by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, and led by the Spirit, still faced temptation and hardship. Spirit-led prayer is not about making life effortless. It is about the Holy Spirit shaping us to trust God more deeply. Jarrett shows how Jesus redirected the 72 disciples from rejoicing in their own power to rejoicing in God's work. Then Jesus prayed with thanksgiving for the Father's character and His surprising ways. When joy is missing and gratitude feels impossible, Jesus teaches us to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking, and to ask the Father for more of the Holy Spirit.

Jarrett Stephens teaches from Matthew 6:9-13 in "The Pattern of Prayer, Part 2," continuing through the final four petitions of the Lord's Prayer. He shows how asking for daily bread is meant to foster dependence, gratitude, and empathy for those who lack basic needs. The petition for forgiveness leads to a careful look at two kinds of forgiveness and Jesus' serious warning that our horizontal relationships affect our vertical fellowship with God. Jarrett shares openly about his own experience of forgiving childhood abuse, grounded in the truth that God has forgiven the inexcusable in us. The message also calls the church toward more corporate prayer, because prayer is not only taught but caught as we pray alongside one another.

Jarrett Stephens teaches from Matthew 6:5-15 in a message called "The Pattern of Prayer." Many believers feel frustrated with prayer, unsure where to start or what to say. Jesus gave His disciples the Lord's Prayer not as empty words to repeat, but as a pattern for real relationship with God the Father. This message focuses on the first half of the prayer: knowing God as Abba, hallowing His name, praying for His kingdom to come, and seeking His will. Jarrett explains that only those adopted into God's family through faith in Christ can truly call Him Father. He shares personal illustrations of fatherly love and gives a practical seven-minute challenge to help anyone begin praying this week. The second half of the Lord's Prayer will be taught next week.

Jarrett Stephens begins the "Pray Like Jesus" series with a message titled "Before Anything Else." Using passages from Luke and Mark, he shows that Jesus prayed before starting his public ministry, before choosing the twelve apostles, and as a daily habit before the day began. Prayer was not an obligation for Jesus but the source from which everything else flowed. Jarrett identifies three enemies that keep us from prayer: busyness, complacency, and self-sufficiency. He encourages believers to respond by getting a routine and getting alone with God, limiting distractions so we can hear from him. The goal is not to check a box but to share life with the Father, just as Jesus did.

Jarrett Stephens teaches from Psalm 62 in a message called "When the Ground Beneath You Shakes." Life brings moments that unsettle us: a difficult diagnosis, a broken relationship, a job loss, or prayers that seem to go unanswered. David wrote this Psalm out of his own experience with enemies, distress, and God's apparent silence. Jarrett shows how the Psalms of Jeduthun reveal three common sources of shaky ground and how our typical escapes, numbing, busyness, entertainment, even wealth, cannot hold us steady. Instead, David gives three faithful responses: wait on God in silence, trust Him at all times, and pour out your heart in prayer. Through the moving story of a friend who loved his wife faithfully through dementia and death, we see what it looks like to stand on the Rock when everything else gives way.