First Presbyterian Church of Griffin - Sermons

Jesus has been crucified, dead, and buried. The Sabbath is now over, and the faithful women who have been ministering alongside Jesus are returning to the tomb to anoint His body. Only, upon their arrival, they discover that he is not there and are filled with alarm at the start. Why is their alarm so significant, and how are we to respond to this Good News?

As Jesus stands before Pilate accused of insurrection, instead of defending himself, He makes no further answer. The silence of Jesus is a the loudest silence in history because it is not out of resignation, but surrender. His silence is for our salvation. How will you respond?

The unnamed woman who anoints Jesus with costly perfume is a picture of wholehearted devotion. Through the contrast between her extravagant act and the fear, greed, and legalism of those who surrounded Jesus, we are challenged to move beyond surface-level familiarity with Christ and pursue a costly, beautiful intimacy with him.

Jesus calls us to watchfulness, not as anxious sign-readers obsessing over the end times, but as present, faithful witnesses ready to proclaim the gospel. We are challenged as listeners to keep our eyes on what truly matters and trust the Holy Spirit to speak through us when it counts.

In Mark 12, the parable of the vineyard tenants tells the story of God’s remarkable patience with his people — and the profound love behind sending his own beloved Son. When the leaders rejected Jesus, God opened salvation to all who believe. A rich reminder that we are grafted in by grace.

Jesus enters Jerusalem to shouts of ‘Hosanna!’ — but the crowds want a king who will overthrow Rome, not a savior who will go to the cross. This Palm Sunday message challenges us to stop creating Jesus in our own image and embrace who he truly is.

In Mark 10:1–12, the Pharisees test Jesus with a question about divorce, but Jesus reveals the deeper issue, a heart that seeks the bare minimum from God. By pointing back to creation’s purpose and the image of being “yoked together,” Jesus invites us to move beyond minimums and discover what we were truly made for in him.

Jesus’ desire for his disciples is that they would see and understand what the Messiah must do. The Gospel of Mark now leads towards the cross, but the Messianic expectation still invades the hearts of his followers. How are we to see and understand the path Jesus must take, and how are we to respond?

This week we open the Bible to Mark 8:1-26 as we continue our walk through the Gospel of Mark, chapter-by-chapter, to become better Bible readers. This week in our passage we see how a miracle moment teaches us more about what the author is trying to tell us about Jesus and our faith.

This Sunday we continue our walk through the Gospel of Mark, learning to ask the text questions to become better Bible readers ourselves. This week we look at how in a single passage two things are happening and a single moment ties them together in Mark 6:30-44 as Jesus shows compassion to the multitude.

This Sunday we continue walking through the Gospel of Mark chapter-by-chapter to become better Bible readers. This week we open to Mark 5:1-34, and take a comparative approach to the text between the two stories that are written in the passage. How does comparing and contrasting stories teach us about Jesus and ourselves?

This morning we continue our walk through the Gospel of Mark chapter-by-chapter with the purpose of becoming more literate Bible readers. Today we open to Mark 4:35-41 where Jesus calms the storm. In this passage 4 questions are asked: how do they challenge us as believers in Christ?

This Sunday we continue our chapter-by-chapter walk through the Gospel of Mark. Along the way we learn practical ways to be in our Bibles more and read them with intentionality. Today, we open to Mark 3:22-30 to allow ourselves to be challenged by difficulty texts that we often gloss over.

This Sunday we continue our chapter-by-chapter walk through the Gospel of Mark. Along the way we learn practical ways to be in our Bibles more and read them with intentionality. Today, we open to Mark 2:1-12 to see how to find the importance in a passage, particular how Jesus has the authority to forgive.

This Sunday we begin the New Year by opening the Gospel of Mark. We will walk through the Gospel chapter by chapter each week and take a deep dive into how we read the scripture for ourselves. Today we open to Mark 1:1-13 to see how God is the Promise Keeper.

Happy New Year from First Presbyterian Church of Griffin. We hope that this year in 2026, the Lord will invite you to a year of deeper transformation through the reading of the Word. This morning Pastor Austin opens to Psalm 119:105-112, where we see the importance of the Scriptures for our Spiritual Formation.

This Sunday is the second Sunday in Advent where we continue exploring how the Advent of Jesus is a compelling subversion to society norms. This Sunday we open to Luke 1:26-33 and see how God used the coming of Christ to overturn socio-economic status.

This Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent, the season on the liturgical calendar that marks the anticipation of the arrival of The Christ Child, Jesus. We celebrate and honor our Lord this Sunday by looking at the way in which the Lord subverts societal understanding of beauty from Luke 2:1-12.

This week join us as we finish our series The Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6, when Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. In this sermon Pastor Austin opens to Matthew 6:13 where we ask ourselves how we prayer against temptation and the evil one and why is it necessary.