Sermons
Listen to sermons delivered by author and speaker, John Michalak. With a speaking style described as both practical and engaging, John has encouraged Christians and non-Christians alike for over 25 years from churches to the classroom, inside prisons, and at conferences and retreats.
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If you prefer to listen via subscription, these sermons are included as episodes of the Embrace What Matters podcast. Click here to subscribe.
Sermon Series
Christians love to tell you they have a personal relationship with God. But do they? What does this mean exactly and how is it exercised from day to day? This 23 part series explores the biblical theology of relationship, offering a “relational apologetic” you can use to prove to yourself and others why believing in and connecting with God will meet your deepest needs. It revisits the gospel and biblical story through the lens of relationship and demonstrates how and why we can belong to him.
Philippians 4:10 says that the way to fully experience Christ is to know both the “power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings.” This 5 part Easter series explores this paradox seen through the drama of Christ’s journey to Calvary and beyond. As with the nature of Christ and his story, the full Christian experience cannot be embraced without suffering in order to enjoy the power of resurrection.
We appropriately celebrate the climax of Christ’s Gospel story with Easter Sunday. But what happens after that? This 4 part series explores what it means to live with the truth that Christ isn’t just risen, Christ lives even now, today. How we respond to this truth will make the difference between a life of meaningless faith and a life that is on fire for all to see.
Is the Bible trustworthy? If so, can you articulate and defend this belief? This 7 part series demonstrates why you can trust in the written Scriptures completely. It will strengthen your confidence in the Bible’s original source, the integrity of God’s communication within its pages, and your ability to translate the power & effectiveness of God’s Word to those who need to know.
Should Christians observe the Sabbath? Perhaps not as in the Old Testament. But our growth and health in the Christian walk is dependent upon following the rhythm of God’s creation. So we must stop what we are doing to conquer our world…to pause and sanctify the God who created everything. (Note: new sermons for this series will be added weekly).
Individual Sermons
What does it mean to be a man? The answer to this question isn’t always easy to arrive at, especially given the confusion we see in our modern culture. Like everything in creation, man was created with a certain design and purpose, but that design was corrupted by the fall. This sermon examines what is perhaps the chief launching point for God’s answer to this problem—the restoration of God’s purposes for men in the calling and ultimate test of Abraham. Abraham was the father of all who believe. And it was his belief in God as his ultimate provision that led him to leave a legacy for other men that will echo into eternity.
As we celebrate the 4th of July in America, it is right that we elevate ideals like our national independence, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech. But, these are civil liberties, and can never truly liberate us from deeper bondage–depression, prejudice, compulsive behavior, hopelessness. That kind of freedom can only be found when we come face to face with grace. True freedom isn’t just about being liberated from what binds us, but to be liberated for relationship with God and for our neighbor in need.
Does It Really Matter What You Believe As Long As You’re Sincere?
The last few decades have shown a surge in spiritual hunger perhaps unknown since the time of Plato and Aristotle. So many people are chasing after so many ideas that for the sake of civility, sincerity itself has become the chief virtue of the spiritual seeker. But, does sincerity prove that all religions are the same? This teaching invites an honest look at this question, and invites an honest comparison of the world’s religions. While God loves that we’re sincerely hungry for spiritual things, he does want our search to eventually lead somewhere. And despite protests to the contrary, that destination isn’t just about the absolute truth of the Bible. Ultimately, it’s about a personal relationship with the one who is absolutely true.
Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Jesus said that in knowing the truth, we would be set free. This sermon makes the assertion that the truth we’re supposed to unveil isn’t just the truth about God, but also the truth about ourselves. Without such self-examination, we can never really transform into Christ’s image and find the freedom that his true disciples enjoy.
A detailed examination of God’s “rules” for communicating with him through prayer. Most of us focus just on ourselves and our needs in prayer. But, the Lord’s Prayer is truly about God, and it is only by focusing on God’s greatness, his closeness, his kingdom, his will, his power to provide, to forgive, and to save, that we can truly find all our prayer’s answered.
Are you at war with God? At war with yourself? How about with others? Sometimes we need to acknowledge the wars we wage before God can transform our adversity into a true and lasting peace (Note: War & Peace was recorded again later due to live audio difficulties.)
Video Sermons/Speeches
Sermon: Stop in the Name of Love!
We so often look for God’s will on where we should go with our lives. But what about the times we need to stop? This sermon examines Acts 16:6-12 when God told Paul to stop. It reflects on how this account might apply to our own approach to missions and to our lives in general.
Volunteer Recruitment Speech
A volunteer-recruitment speech given at the annual fundraiser for Men Of Valor, a Nashville-based prison ministry.
