Lake Wildwood Baptist Church

Cursing Trees & Flipping Tables

Have you ever bought a watermellon that looked perfect on the outside—but when you bit into it, it was dry, tasteless, and disappointing? It had form without flavor, promise without produce.

Jesus encountered the same thing—not in a grocery aisle, but in a fig tree and a temple.
He saw leaves with no fruit, worship with no heart, and religion with no relationship.

And He didn’t stay silent.

Love: Learning Obedience = Visible Evidence

This week Rev. Phillip Johnson brings a solid teaching on Love.  Not sloppy agape but obedience that has evidence to back it up.  Say Amen or Ouch.

Crowning Truths from the Triumphal Entry

Have you ever been completely blindsided by reality?
You thought it was going to be one way—but when the moment came, it turned out to be something entirely different?

The triumphal entry was one of those moments.
The crowd expected a warrior king, but they got a Servant Savior.
They wanted a revolution, but Jesus came to bring redemption.
They were ready to crown Him with glory, but He was riding straight toward a crown of thorns & the shame of the cross.

The Honor Promise

Ask yourself honestly:

Have I withheld honor from someone God told me to esteem?

Have I honored my parents with my lips but withheld my heart?

Don’t let this command become just another line on a tablet of stone.

Let it be etched in your heart by the Spirit of God.

Last Words Before Christmas

Malachi 4 is the final chapter of the Old Testament—the last dot in the storyline before the Savior arrives.

God doesn’t end with casual conversation.

He ends with a charge, a promise, and a warning.

It’s His “Remember this before I go” moment.

It’s as if God is connecting the dots from the Old Testament to the New

Dead, Buried, & Raised with Christ

Today, this lake is not just a lake.
It’s a grave for the old life—and a stage for the new one.

Baptism shouts a message to every person here, and to every power in heaven and hell:

"I’m not who I used to be.
I have died with Christ.
I have been buried with Christ.
And I have been raised with Christ!"

The Garden, The Curtain, & The Cross

We began in the Garden—a place of perfect presence where sin slammed the door shut.

We saw the Curtain—Woven with Warrior Angels who reminded us that because of God’s holiness & our unholiness: “You can’t come in.”
But at the Cross, Jesus’ atoning death tore the curtain from top to bottom.
What was lost in Eden… was reclaimed at Calvary.
What sin locked… the Savior unlocked.

The Great & Terrible Day of the LORD

God's people had stopped fearing the Lord.

And in that exact moment—into a weary, rebellious, doubting people—God speaks.
And here’s the word He gives in Malachi chapter 4:
“The day is coming…”
This is not a vague maybe. 
Not a soft warning. 
This is a divine certainty. 

A day of fire and finality. 
A day of joy and healing for the righteous, and a day of total reckoning for the arrogant and wicked.

The Great Divide

In this passage, God doesn’t just overhear their complaints—He records them.

He listens to both the grumblers and the faithful. And He draws a clear line between those who merely use His name and those who truly fear it.

Today, we’re going to step right into that same conversation.

Trust of Rust

This is the only section of Malachi that we ever hear preached and that is usually out of context.  As one attender said of this sermon, "That's the first time I ever heard any Pastor preach that text accurately". Take a listen and see for yourself.