Read the Signs

Sermon: Read the Signs

Text: Matthew 12:38-45

Preacher: Philip Van Steenburgh

Bulletin: November 16, 2025

Matthew 12:38-45 (ESV)

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”

Philip Van Steenburgh

Philip serves our church as a staff pastor. He grew up in Albany, NY, and then Greenville, SC. After college, he moved to Washington, D.C. to work in congressional politics. During that time, he began attending Capitol Hill Baptist Church where he grew more and more excited about the Gospel, the church, and helping others know and understand God’s Word. After leaving politics, Philip began pursuing pastoral ministry by participating in a pastoral internship program and work on staff at that church. In 2010, he married his wife, Katherine, and moved to Louisville, KY where he earned a Masters degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. They then moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where Philip took an Associate Pastor position for the Redeemer Church of Dubai. From 2017 to 2021 Philip served as Senior Pastor of Grace Harbor Church in Cape Cod, MA. In August of 2021, WRBC called Philip as a staff pastor. In February of 2023, he became the 17th Lead Pastor of WRBC. Philip and Katherine have three children and are happy to be part of the life and ministry of Wornall Road Baptist Church.

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