"The Heart of the Matter: Six Conditions of the Heart" by Hiram Kemp

February 15, 2026 - Sunday AM Sermon   In this episode Hiram uses the Bible — especially Romans — to explore the spiritual equivalent of heart health. Using Proverbs, Jeremiah, Matthew and many passages from Romans, the talk lays out six conditions of the human heart: the darkened heart, the hardened heart, the transformed heart, the heart filled with God’s love, the obedient heart, and the believing heart. Listeners will hear how these conditions appear in both ancient Scripture and modern life, why the heart is central to spiritual life, and how the gospel addresses each condition. The episode includes practical teaching and pastoral application: how we can recognize fruit that reveals heart condition, why information alone won’t change a darkened heart, and why obedience and belief must flow from the heart. Key scriptural touchpoints include Romans chapters 1–6 and 10, Proverbs 4:23, Jeremiah 17 and 29, Ezekiel 36:26, and passages from Ephesians, 2 Corinthians and the Gospels. The speaker emphasizes that God doesn’t remove the light, but that people sometimes resist it, and he explains the biblical difference between a heart that is merely outwardly religious, and a heart truly transformed by God. Practical takeaways include recognizing dark or hardened tendencies, celebrating and pursuing heart transformation by the Holy Spirit, allowing God’s love to fill the heart, and responding in faith and obedience (including baptism as the biblical pattern referenced in Romans). Listeners should expect a mixture of exposition, real-life illustration, scriptural encouragement, and pastoral challenge: a clear call to let God examine and change the heart, to be filled with His love, to obey from the heart, and ultimately to believe and confess Jesus as Lord. The episode ends with an invitation to respond and offers help for anyone wanting to study Scripture or begin a relationship with Christ. Handout:   1. The _____________________ Heart (Romans 1:21)    2. The _____________________ Heart (Romans 2:5)    3. The _____________________ Heart (Romans 2:29)    4. The _____________________ Heart (Romans 5:5)    5. The _____________________ Heart (Romans 6:17)    6. The _____________________ Heart (Romans 10:9-10)   Duration 34:11