Carter Conlon | Sermons

This message is for anyone who feels like their life has no power, no future, or no purpose — and for a generation that needs to see God's reality, not just hear arguments about Him. Pastor Carter Conlon preaches from his own experience, including a recent open-heart surgery where he asked God not simply to let him live, but to give him a reason to live.At the heart of this message is a simple and urgent call: faith is not passive. It is fierce. It lays hold of God's promises with everything we have and moves forward even when we cannot see where we are going. As Pastor Conlon puts it, "There's nothing can stop what God wants to do in your life — the only thing that can is unbelief on your part." Drawing from Psalm 18 and Hebrews 11, he walks through what ferocious, forward-moving faith looks like in real people with real struggles — and what it can look like in you.Scripture: Psalm 18:1-3, 16-19, 28-30; Hebrews 4:1-2; Hebrews 11:1-31; James 2:18-20; Romans 8:31; Philippians 4:13

This message is for anyone who feels overwhelmed by what they are facing — outnumbered, outmatched, and tempted to stay still rather than move forward. Pastor Carter Conlon draws from one of the most striking battle scenes in the Old Testament to show that the size of the enemy has never determined the outcome when God is in the fight. It is a word for this moment in history, for families, for students, and for anyone who has been worn down by the relentless pressure of darkness.Using the story of Jonathan and his armor bearer in 1 Samuel 13 and 14, Pastor Conlon shows how two young men with no weapons, no army, and no plan beyond trusting God climbed a mountain on their hands and knees and sent trembling through an entire enemy camp. The lesson is not complicated, but it demands everything: stop waiting for better conditions, stop counting what you lack, and bring God into the battle. "We may not have swords, but we have knees." That is the strategy for this generation — not cleverness, not human strength, but humility before God and the willingness to move forward in faith even when fear says to stand still.Scripture: 1 Samuel 13–14, Luke 4:18, James 2:19

This message is for anyone who has ever wondered whether God could truly love them — with all their failures, fears, and regrets. It is also for those who have known about God's love in their minds but have never quite let it reach their hearts. Pastor Carter Conlon speaks openly and personally about one of the most profound realities in the Christian life.Drawing from John 3:16, 1 John 4:9–10, and Luke 4, Pastor Conlon walks through what the love of God actually means for the poor in spirit, the brokenhearted, the captive, and the afraid. He shares from his own experience — as a former police officer who stumbled into an empty church and said, "If you're real, I wouldn't mind knowing who you are" — and from years of ministry, including preaching to Muslim soldiers at the Kosovo border who wept when they heard, for the first time, that God loved them. "He wants you just because he does," Pastor Conlon says. "There's not any deeper than that." This message closes with communion and an invitation to stop striving and simply receive a love that no words can fully contain.Scripture: John 3:16–18, 1 John 4:9–10, Luke 4:18–21, Isaiah 61:1–2

This message is for anyone who is in the middle of a hard season and wondering where God is. Pastor Carter Conlon speaks directly to those who have been waiting for their circumstances to change before they can move forward in faith. It is an honest, strengthening word for a church facing uncertain days.Drawing from Matthew 14 and his own recent experience with open-heart surgery and bacterial pneumonia, Pastor Conlon makes the case that God's answer to our storms is often not to stop them, but to call us out onto the water in the middle of them. "He may not stop your storm, but he will give you the power to walk on water." The message calls the church to move beyond a faith that only asks God to calm things down, and into the supernatural life of stepping out toward Christ while the winds are still blowing and the waves are still rising.Scripture: Matthew 14:22-33, 2 Timothy 3:1, 3:13, Hebrews 12:26-28, Matthew 16:33

This message is for anyone who senses that something is deeply wrong — in the nation, in the church, and in their own home — and who wonders whether God can still move. It is also for grandparents, parents, and long-time believers who carry a burden for the generation coming behind them. Pastor Conlon brings a prophetic word rooted in Scripture and personal urgency, calling the people of God back to the one thing that can turn the tide.Drawing from 2 Chronicles 7 and the warnings of Deuteronomy 28, Pastor Conlon argues that the future of America — and of every family — rests on a single two-letter word: IF. The conditions are plain: humble ourselves, pray, seek God's face, and turn from our ways. The promise that follows is equally plain: "Then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land." He calls the church to stop abdicating the power of prayer and to reclaim it — in sanctuaries, in homes, and on behalf of those who have no voice of their own. "You don't have to be mighty. You don't have to be noble. You just have to be able to breathe."Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:12-16, Deuteronomy 28, Amos 6, Hebrews 4:16, Zechariah 4:6, Psalm 107, Mark 1

This message is for anyone who feels the pressure to shrink back, blend in, or compromise their faith in a time when the world is growing darker and more hostile to truth. Pastor Carter Conlon calls the church to stop warming itself at a distance and to take a clear, costly stand for Jesus Christ. It is a word for believers who want more than survival — who want to make a difference.Drawing from Proverbs 4 and the image of a cross as a road, Pastor Conlon describes the choice every believer faces partway through the journey of faith: turn left, turn right, or keep going straight up toward God. He warns of a generation-wide falling away, both theological and moral, and calls the church to take firm hold of Scripture, refuse the path of the wicked, and trust that God's glory grows brighter as the darkness deepens. "When you and I are willing to face whatever we have to face in the days ahead, and we stand for what we know to be true in spite of the consequences, the people outside of us look and they see a strength in us that could only come from God."Scripture: Proverbs 4:10-27, Proverbs 3:5-8, Psalm 119:97-105, Isaiah 60:1-3, John 12:26-28, John 21, Daniel 3, Revelation 2-3More from Pastor Carter Conlon: https://carterconlon.comSubscribe for new messages every week.