Tom Messer - Trinity Baptist Church

This missions-focused panel emphasizes that God has written Himself into humanity's story through Christ, and now the church is called to help others discover this truth. Using C.S. Lewis's illustration of Macbeth and Shakespeare, Pastor Tom Messer explains that we could never know God unless He revealed Himself to us—which He did through the incarnation. The sermon features testimonies from multiple missionaries, including Ed Gibson (53 years in missions), Jeff and Deanne Duvall (Ecuador), and Mackenzie Beamer (heading to Scotland), highlighting Trinity's rich missions heritage. The central message is that missions isn't optional—it's the heartbeat of the church's purpose. Every believer is called to participate through praying, giving, sending, and going. The church celebrates strategic partnerships in Togo (working toward 190,000 disciples by 2030), Guatemala, Guyana, and other nations, emphasizing that the strength of a church isn't measured by attendance but by how many people it sends out to advance the gospel.

What if the question we're asking isn't the one God wants to answer? In Acts 1:6-11, we find the disciples asking Jesus when He will restore the kingdom—essentially, when will everything be fixed? But Jesus redirects them entirely. Instead of revealing His timeline, He reveals their mission: to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. This passage isn't about waiting passively for Jesus to return; it's about living actively on mission until He does. We discover four powerful truths here: the heart of missions is bearing witness to what we know about Jesus—simply telling others that He died, rose again, and offers forgiveness. The scope of missions is comprehensive—here where we live, near in surrounding communities, and far to the ends of the earth. The power for missions comes through the Holy Spirit, creating an explosive spiritual dynamic where what we know intellectually collides with what we experience personally, transforming us from the inside out. And the motivation for missions is the return of Christ and the conviction that Jesus deserves to receive the reward of His suffering. This isn't just about professional missionaries; it's about every believer recognizing that we're either on the saved list or the lost list, and those who are saved have one primary responsibility: to witness to those who are lost. The challenge before us is simple yet profound: can we say 'Here am I, send me' and sign our blank page over to God?

In a world that feels increasingly broken and dark, we're reminded of our profound calling to be salt and light. Drawing from Jesus' declaration in Matthew 5, this message confronts us with a powerful truth: we are not merely suggested to influence the world—we ARE the salt of the earth and the light of the world. This isn't optional Christianity; it's our very identity. The sermon challenges two common errors we make: either retreating into isolation from a culture that makes us uncomfortable, or assimilating so completely that we become indistinguishable from the world around us. Instead, Jesus calls us to a third way—to live distinctively, visibly, intentionally, and courageously. The imagery is striking: salt that loses its flavor is useless, and a lamp hidden under a basket serves no purpose. We're confronted with sobering statistics about loneliness, mental health crises, and the decline of faith in America—a mirror shattered by sin, greed, and despair. Yet in this darkness, we're called not to despair but to action. This message from Pastor Tommy Carr beautifully illustrates how individual broken pieces of glass, when brought together and illuminated by Christ's light, create something breathtakingly beautiful—a disco ball effect where light scatters in every direction, touching the darkness wherever we go. This is the collective power of the church: alone we flicker small, but together we become a shining city on a hill that cannot be hidden.

This powerful message from Pastor Tom Messer takes us deep into Philippians 4, where we discover that radical generosity isn't just about money—it's a spiritual mirror reflecting the authenticity of our faith. The Apostle Paul teaches us that true generosity flows from contentment, not circumstances, and that we can thrive in any season of life through Christ's strength. What's particularly striking is the concept of our heavenly investment account: every generous act adds treasure that neither moth nor rust can corrupt. We learn that giving isn't a transactional relationship with the church, but an act of worship to God—a sweet-smelling sacrifice that magnifies His glory. The message challenges us to move along a journey from nothing to something, something to significant, and significant to sacrificial giving. Most profoundly, we're reminded that Jesus impoverished Himself so that we, the spiritually poorest people, might become eternally rich. When we grasp that God didn't spare His own Son but freely gave Him up for us, how can we hold back from being radically generous? This isn't about what the church wants from us—it's about what God wants for us: the freedom, joy, and contentment that comes from living with open hands.

This message from Pastor Tom Messer takes us deep into 1 Corinthians 4, where we're confronted with a radical reimagining of our identity and purpose. At the heart of this teaching lies a powerful truth: we are servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries. The imagery used here is striking—Paul describes believers as 'under rowers,' the lowest laborers on ancient ships who worked in darkness, nameless and faceless, yet essential to the vessel's movement. This isn't about diminishing our worth, but about finding our true value in Christ alone. The passage challenges both our inflated egos and our deflated self-images, offering instead a gospel-centered identity that frees us from the exhausting cycle of performance-based acceptance. What makes this message particularly transformative is its exploration of how the gospel rewires our inner structure. We're not called to moral restraint—trying harder and doing better—but to allow Christ's redemptive work to fundamentally change how we see ourselves. When we grasp that the verdict is already in, that we're loved and accepted because of Jesus rather than our achievements, everything changes. Suddenly, no act of service is beneath us. We're liberated to serve with joy, to handle criticism without defensiveness, and to live without constantly measuring ourselves against others. This is the freedom that comes when God's evaluation matters infinitely more than human opinion or even our own self-judgment.

What if the secret to experiencing genuine joy and spiritual growth isn't found in isolation, but in something we often take for granted—deep commitment to our local church? This powerful message by Pastor Tommy Carr from 1 Peter 2 challenges us to see the church not as an event we attend, but as a spiritual community where we're being built together as 'living stones' with Christ as our cornerstone. The imagery is striking: just as individual coals lose their heat when separated from the fire, we cannot grow spiritually in isolation. We're reminded that the church, when functioning properly, is the hope of the world—an alternative community that demonstrates God's love through radical forgiveness, selfless service, and generous giving. The call here isn't just about showing up; it's about digging deep, bearing one another's burdens, and allowing our rough edges to be smoothed as we rub shoulders with fellow believers. When we commit deeply to Christian community, we discover something profound: we're not just consumers looking for the perfect spiritual experience, but covenant people called to be Christ's presence in a broken world. The question that echoes throughout is both convicting and inspiring—what would our church look like if every member was just like me in commitment, sacrifice, and love?

In this powerful exploration of Psalm 73, we're reminded of our deep, innate need for regular encounters with God. Just as David yearned for God's presence in the wilderness, we too must seek Him daily, not just in times of corporate worship, but in our personal lives. Pastor Tom Messer emphasizes that nothing can truly satisfy us like God's love - it's 'better than life' itself. We're challenged to cultivate a spiritual appetite, pushing past sin, idolatry, and distractions that often suppress our desire for God. This teaching invites us to move beyond intellectual belief to a transformative, soul-satisfying experience of God's reality. It's a call to anchor ourselves in God's steadfast love, finding strength for our trials and a profound transformation of our inner lives. As we seek God personally, corporately, and continually, we're promised growth as followers of Jesus and a life defined not by our circumstances, but by His unfailing love.

This sermon explores the final petition of the Lord's Prayer, focusing on the need for deliverance from evil through prayer and faith in Jesus Christ. Pastor Tom Messer emphasizes that evil comes both from internal temptations and external trials, and that true deliverance is found in understanding God's character and the significance of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. The sermon concludes by connecting this theme to the observance of the Lord's Supper, reinforcing the centrality of Jesus in overcoming evil and temptation.

This sermon explores the fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer, focusing on the need for forgiveness, both from God and towards others. Pastor Tom Messer emphasizes that forgiveness is central to Christian life, discussing the initial forgiveness received at salvation and the ongoing need for forgiveness in daily life. He highlights the importance of owning one's sins, focusing on God's grace rather than self-worth, and the transformative power of forgiveness in releasing us from the past and granting new beginnings.

This sermon explores the importance of prayer in the Christian life, focusing on the petition "Give us this day our daily bread" from the Lord's Prayer. It emphasizes prioritizing a relationship with God over material requests, understanding God's abundant provision, and approaching prayer with confidence, perspective, and humility. The sermon encourages believers to trust in God's power, grace, and wisdom when seeking His provision.