Every believer longs to be led by the Spirit of God, but how does that actually happen in real life? In this message from Genesis 24, Pastor Todd walks through the story of Abraham’s servant searching for a wife for Isaac—a journey filled with prayer, discernment, and divine direction. Through this “case study in guidance,” we discover that God’s Spirit still leads His people today through an ongoing conversation with Him, through His unseen presence at work around us, and through the wisdom we gain from His Word. Like Abraham’s servant, we learn to recognize God’s fingerprints in our circumstances and to trust that He’s already at work before we arrive.

Pastor Todd also explores the tension between divine leading and personal decision-making—how we act in wisdom while remaining sensitive to the Spirit’s prompting. Sometimes, God’s guidance comes not through dramatic signs but through His peace, His Word, and a heart that longs to worship Him in every decision. Ultimately, the goal of spiritual guidance is not simply to get what we want, but to glorify the One who leads us.

Whether you’re facing a major decision or simply wanting to walk closer with God day by day, this message offers practical and biblical insight into what it means to be “led by the Spirit.”

Sermon Text: Genesis 24

Date: October 12, 2025

Preacher: Todd Pylant

In Genesis 22, Abraham faces the ultimate test of faith—God commands him to offer Isaac, the son of promise. This passage reveals not only the depth of Abraham’s faith but also the clearest foreshadowing of the gospel in the Old Testament. On Mount Moriah, where the temple would one day stand, God provided a ram in place of Isaac, pointing forward to the day when He Himself would provide the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who takes away the sin of the world.

Like Abraham, we make our confession of faith through our test of faith. God doesn’t test us to make us fail but to refine and reveal the reality of our trust in Him. Every believer will walk through moments where faith is proven, not just professed. This story reminds us that the testing of our faith is how our confession of faith becomes real.

Through Abraham’s experience, we see five ways faith is tested: the test of love (do we love God above all else?), the test of obedience (will we say yes to His commands?), the test of trust (can we believe His promises when His ways confuse us?), the test of provision (will we trust Him to provide something out of nothing?), and the test of worship (will we still bow before Him when we don’t understand?).

At the Lord’s Supper table, we echo Abraham’s faith—declaring that Jesus Christ, the true Lamb God provided, is worthy of our love, trust, obedience, and worship.

Sermon Text: Genesis 22.1-19

Date: October 5, 2025

Preacher: Todd Pylant

In Genesis 21, the story of Ishmael raises a pressing question: What do we do with Ishmael? Too often, he’s dismissed as the “problem child” while Isaac is celebrated as the child of promise. But a closer look at Scripture tells a different story—every time God speaks about Ishmael, He speaks blessing. God promises to multiply him, make him fruitful, and raise up nations from him.

This sermon challenges the simplistic Isaac-good/Ishmael-bad framework and calls us to think with the mind of Christ. God’s covenant line runs through Isaac, leading to the Messiah, but His blessing rests on Ishmael as well. History shows that Ishmael’s descendants became the Arab peoples, and later, Islam tightly bound Ishmael, Arabs, and religion into one cultural identity. Today, that raises difficult tensions. But followers of Christ are not called to hate the descendants of Ishmael—nor any people group. Instead, we are called to see God’s eternal purpose: that all families of the earth, including the descendants of Ishmael, will be blessed through Christ, the true offspring of Abraham.

The sermon highlights four truths: (1) Christians are not called to hate Ishmael’s descendants; (2) the real dividing line is not culture but which descendant of Abraham brings salvation—Christ or Muhammad; (3) Arab culture is no more resistant to the gospel than Western culture; and (4) we must be so gospel-focused and kingdom-minded that we rise above cultural hate and love the descendants of Ishmael as God does.

The gospel is for the world—for every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Sermon Date: September 28, 2025

Text: Genesis 21.1-20

Preacher: Todd Pylant

What if the prophets you’ve been ignoring hold the key to hearing God more clearly?

In this chapel message from Amos 2, we are reminded that God’s word through the prophets still speaks with urgency today. Too often, we treat the minor prophets like ignored warning labels—dense, distant, and irrelevant. Yet these twelve short books are anything but minor. They are the voice of the Lord, the heart of God revealed in history, and a goldmine for the believer who wants to know Him more deeply.

This sermon answers the question: Why should we care about the minor prophets? First, because in them we hear the unfiltered voice of God. Second, they train us in righteousness, showing us how to live under His lordship in real, everyday life. Third, they shape our worship, teaching us what pleases the Lord and what He rejects as noise. Fourth, they point us to Jesus—both in obvious prophecies and in hidden gems that illuminate the gospel. And finally, they expand our hope of eternity, painting vivid pictures of life beyond the curse in the eternal kingdom of God.

Students are challenged to “date a minor prophet” this semester—choose one, study it deeply, and let God’s voice through that prophet shape your walk. The prophets are not ancient relics; they are living witnesses calling us to holiness, worship, Christ, and hope. The choice before us is clear: will we neglect their words and say “don’t prophesy,” or will we respond with Samuel’s prayer, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening”?

Sermon Text: Amos 2.4-5

Preacher: Todd Pylant

Date: September 16, 2025

Location: SWBTS Chapel

What happens when even the strongest in faith stumble—and how does God meet us there with mercy and restoration?

The Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 10, “Let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” That truth comes alive in Genesis 20, where Abraham—the man of faith—stumbles again in fear and deception. Even after years of God’s promises, Abraham falls back into the same sin of calling Sarah his sister, placing self-protection over trust in God. The surprising twist is that Abimelech, the pagan king, shows more reverence for God than Abraham does. He hears God’s warning, responds with obedience, and even confronts Abraham’s failure. Meanwhile, Abraham’s excuses reveal how easily fear, change, and self-preservation can cloud faith.

Yet the story isn’t only about Abraham’s weakness. It’s about God’s faithfulness. Though Abraham falters, God still protects Sarah, confronts Abimelech, and restores Abraham to his calling by having him intercede in prayer. The Scripture reminds us that even giants of faith—Abraham, Moses, David, Peter—stumbled. Their lives show us that faith development is not a straight upward climb but a journey with stumbles, corrections, and fresh starts.

So where do we find ourselves in this story? Maybe we’re standing strong, maybe we’re entering a season of testing, maybe we’re stumbling, or maybe we’ve fallen flat. Wherever we are, God’s mercy is more. The gospel assures us that forgiveness, restoration, and calling are still offered through Christ. The same God who restored Abraham is faithful to restore us today.

Scripture: Genesis 20

Preacher: Todd Pylant

Date: September 21, 2025

The Scriptures remind us that even in the darkest and most broken stories, God is weaving redemption through Christ—the Redeemer who turns broken people into new creations.

The Scriptures declare that all of God’s Word is breathed out by Him and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness so that His people may be equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Even the difficult stories—like the account of Lot and his daughters in Genesis 19—are given for our instruction. That dark passage shows the brokenness of people doing what is right in their own eyes, a pattern repeated throughout the book of Judges and throughout history. Yet the Scriptures also trace God’s redemptive hand through such brokenness. From Lot’s family line came the Moabites, and from Moab came Ruth, who by God’s providence became the great-grandmother of King David and part of the lineage of Christ Himself.

The genealogy of Jesus even highlights women like Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba—women whose stories were marked by sin, scandal, or suffering, but who became instruments in God’s redeeming work. In this, the Scriptures show us that our hope is not found in human effort or in broken means, but in the Redeemer who came to make all things new.

The gospel proclaims that in Christ we are no longer broken people trying to establish justice in our own way; we are redeemed people called to live out righteousness and justice in the way of the cross. God’s kingdom advances not through power, greed, or violence, but through sacrificial love, service, and the transforming work of Christ.

Sermon Text: Genesis 19.30-38

Preacher: Todd Pylant

Date: September 14, 2025

In this message, we turn to one of the most sobering stories in Scripture: the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. Far more than an ancient account of judgment, Jesus and the apostles preached this story as a living parable of the coming day of the Lord. Just as in the days of Lot, people will be eating, drinking, buying, and selling when the Son of Man is revealed—and the judgment will come suddenly and unexpectedly.

This sermon, Preaching Sodom Like Jesus, explores four key truths. First, Sodom stands as an example of the coming wrath of God. The judgment of fire from heaven foreshadows the final judgment when Christ returns. Second, when confronted with this truth, some will laugh, dismissing the idea of God’s judgment as unbelievable. Third, others will prefer Sodom, clinging to the darkness rather than running to the light, just as Lot’s wife looked back and lost her life. But finally, we see that God knows how to save those who believe. Lot was not spared because of his goodness—his failures are plain—but because God remembered His covenant and extended mercy.

This is the heart of the gospel: salvation is not based on our worthiness, but on Christ’s righteousness applied to us by grace through faith. Whether from deep sin, hard questions, or love of the world, God knows how to rescue those who turn to Him. The question for us is simple: Have you said yes to His call to escape the wrath to come through Christ?

Sermon text: Genesis 19.1-29

Preacher: Todd Pylant

Date: September 7, 2025

What happens when the Judge of all the earth invites us into the tension between His justice and His mercy—and calls us to pray for both?

Scripture presents a powerful tension between God’s justice and His mercy, a theme woven throughout Genesis 18 and Psalm 94. As Abraham pleads for Sodom, the Bible invites us into the same struggle: How long will the wicked prosper? How long will the righteous suffer?

In Genesis 18, the Judge of all the earth reveals His plan to bring judgment on Sodom. Yet before acting, God draws Abraham into intercession—into praying for both justice and mercy. Abraham boldly appeals: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” He asks God to spare the city for the sake of even ten righteous people, showing the heart of a God who listens before He acts.

Throughout Scripture, righteousness and justice define God’s character and His call upon His people. Yet our longing for justice is complicated—we want judgment for evil, but mercy for ourselves. This tension finds its ultimate resolution at the cross, where God’s righteous wrath against sin and His deep love for sinners meet perfectly in Christ.

The sermon calls believers to join Abraham’s legacy of intercession. When we see injustice—whether personal pain or global crises like human trafficking—we cry out to the One who is both holy and merciful. Our prayers matter. God hears. And though final justice awaits Christ’s return, Scripture urges us to keep praying, keep interceding, and keep trusting the Judge of all the earth.

Sermon Text: Genesis 18.16-33

Preacher: Todd Pylant

Sermon Date: August 31, 2025