John Sypert, Author at Preston Highlands Baptist Church

Proverbs 24:11-12 | “Rescue Those Who Are Dying”

[display_podcast] A Devastating Night Just after midnight on October 15th, 2018, Jayme Closs woke up to her dogs barking. She looked out the window of her Barron County, Wisconsin home and saw a car coasting down her driveway with the headlights and engine turned off. Thirteen year old Jayme woke her dad and mom up. Dad went to the door, her and mom to the bath room to call 911. Jake Patterson got out of his car, walked to the front door, shot and killed Jayme’s dad, went upstairs [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-22T18:48:00-06:00January 20th, 2019|John Sypert, Mark, Sermons|

Mark 1:1 | “The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”

[display_podcast] A Repeating Radio Wave Many people find the possibility of alien life fascinating. Just this past week, scientists announced that they’ve discovered repeating short bursts of radio waves coming from outside our galaxy. This is the second time repeating bursts of radio waves have been found. Apparently, these millisecond long radio flashes are fairly common in space. But this is only the second one found to repeat. Scientists are unsure what causes them, where they’re coming from, and why these two repeated. One journalist said, “The mystery about [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-22T18:53:06-06:00January 13th, 2019|John Sypert, Mark, Sermons|

Acts 6:4 | “We Will Devote Ourselves to Prayer”

[display_podcast] Resolutions and Inadequacy Many people make resolutions this time of year. They resolve to do this or not do that. To exercise more, eat healthier, read the Bible in a year, pray more, get out of debt. All of these things are good. But have you ever been discouraged when making your resolutions because you fear that you won’t be able to keep them? Have you ever decided to not make any because then you won’t be disappointed later for not keeping them? Do you shy away from [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-22T18:58:24-06:00January 7th, 2019|Acts, John Sypert, Sermons|

Isaiah 11:1-9 | “A Perfect King Brings Us to a Perfect Place”

[display_podcast] Joy and Pain at Christmas This season of the year brings with it a full range of emotions. It’s a season of great joy and anticipation. Perhaps more than other times of the year, we feel optimistic about the future, excitement about life, and a contentedness and peace about how things are. We experience joy and pleasure because we get time off from work and time with family and time to rest and think and play and worship. Christmas is the “most wonderful time of the year” for [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-22T19:01:31-06:00December 23rd, 2018|Isaiah, John Sypert, Sermons|

Isaiah 9:1-7 | “The Paradox of Christmas”

Small Presents Are the Best As kids, we thought that the biggest present under the tree was going to be the best present under the tree. We knew that the medium size boxes were clothes so we didn’t get excited about those. And the small boxes were usually extras and add-ons that went with the present in the big box. It’s funny how as we get older we start looking forward to the smaller boxes because they might have jewelry or gift cards or, in my case, books. The [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-27T16:52:30-06:00December 16th, 2018|Isaiah, John Sypert, Sermons|

Isaiah 7:14 | “A Sign from God”

Loneliness at Christmas Loneliness is something that we all feel at times. In a culture that is highly connected through social media, we still feel isolated and alone. We’ve all been in restaurants and seen families or friends sitting together around a table but ignoring one another because they’re all on their phones or tablets. This explains the title of a recent book by Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. Around the holidays, many of us will struggle with loneliness [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-27T16:54:39-06:00December 9th, 2018|Isaiah, John Sypert, Sermons|

Who Does What Around Here?: An Overview of Congregationalism and Elders

[display_podcast] Our church is in a season of adding another elder, so we’re spending a few weeks talking about elders and their relationship to the church. Two weeks ago we discussed what elders do. We learned that they teach, govern, and shepherd the church. Last week we talked about the qualifications for elders, examining 1 Timothy 3:1-7 in order to see who can be an elder. Our topic this morning is how the ministry of the congregation and the ministry of the elders fit together. I’ve adapted this material [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-27T16:58:50-06:00December 2nd, 2018|John Sypert, Sermons|

1 Timothy 3:1-7 | “Who Can Be An Elder?”

[display_podcast] God’s People Are Like Sheep The Bible, in many places, describes God’s people as sheep. This isn’t a flattering description, but I think it’s an accurate one because we’re unstable and erratic creatures. We’re prone to hurt ourselves. We’re not as smart as we think we are. Our lives are messy and broken. This is good news by the way. Many people think that the gospel means something like this: if I clean up my life, then God will accept me. But that’s not the gospel. The gospel says: [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-27T17:14:09-06:00November 25th, 2018|1 Timothy, John Sypert, Sermons|

An Overview of Elder Ministry in the New Testament | “What Do Elders Do?”

[display_podcast] The Construction of Our House When someone wants to build a house, they must start with the foundation. Then they build the walls and the roof and do the plumbing and electrical and everything else needed to make it livable. Once all the building is done, they move in and fill the house with all their stuff. When I think about our church, about what God has done in my four short years here, I think we’ve laid the foundation and are now in the stage of building the [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-27T17:09:21-06:00November 18th, 2018|John Sypert, Sermons|

Ephesians 6:21-24 | “Grace Through and Through”

[display_podcast] The End of Our Study of Ephesians This is the thirty-first and final message in our study of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. We have spent most of this year studying what both Catholics and Protestants view as one of the most influential letters in the New Testament. The great French Reformer John Calvin said that Ephesians was his favorite letter. The great Scottish Reformer John Knox had his wife read him Calvin’s sermons on Ephesians while he lay on his deathbed. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the great British [...]

By John Sypert|2020-07-27T17:12:43-06:00November 11th, 2018|Ephesians, John Sypert, Sermons|

About John Sypert