Sermons on Philippians
Last week, we started a short sermon series for Christmas called: “The Song of Emmanuel.” We looked at the theology behind verse one of “Sing We the Song of Emmanuel.” Today, we’re going to look at the theology found in verse two. This second verse is rich in the theological teaching of the incarnation of…
To focus our thoughts this week of Thanksgiving, we will be looking at Paul’s teaching in Philippians 4. One of our songs of worship today is based off this passage. The story behind the writing of this song, “Rejoice,” is that the song speaks directly to the challenges of our time, especially the common struggle…
As we consider this idea of being called to minister/serve, I want to look at Mark 10. As we will see in a few minutes, being a servant in God’s economy is not a demotion. In fact, Jesus told His disciples that the one who wanted to lead needed to be a servant and slave…
In this final, synoptic study of Romans 12, we will reflect on some of the major themes from this chapter over the past ten weeks in an effort to see clearly what the Scripture means when it tells us to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed—be different! Transformation is a process! It starts with a decision to offer our lives to the Lord. Then the Lord works in us—humbling us and teaching us how to serve others within our giftedness. As we serve Him by serving others, it is His desire that our lives display the marks of a true Christian—genuine love for one another, diligent service to the Lord, patience in tribulation, persistence in prayer, and generosity in everything. Exhibiting these characteristics of a true believer is essential in our quest for overcoming the evil that persists in our lives. And we must never forget that the only way to gain victory over evil is with the righteousness of God.
In this morning’s study, we are concluding this section of Romans 12 that is focused on genuine, authentic love. In today’s text, we learn that to genuinely love means to be generous with what God has blessed you and be gracious when others try to bless you. It also means that we should be generous in opening our lives and our homes to others and be gracious to accept invitations from others.
Memoirs provide a historical account of a person’s life. They are written from personal perspective—first-hand knowledge—and are often autobiographical. This last half of 2 Corinthians 11 definitely feels like Paul’s personal memoirs—from his pedigree, to his agony, from his exploits, to his anxieties—Paul gives us a window into his life in these verses. It is my goal this morning to become more deeply aware of who Paul was, what he went through for the cause of Christ, and how he viewed himself throughout all of it. Hopefully, we will be able to identify with some of these things and be able to see how that God wants to use our story, our background, our struggles and our fears for His honor and His glory!
Over 120 years ago, God raised up a group of Christian businessmen into a men’s ministry with a specific purpose – to hold each other accountable for the way they lived and worked in a culture in which the temptations to immorality were abundant and formidable. The mission he gave them was to work alongside the local churches they serve to introduce people in all walks of life to the Gospel of Jesus Christ through their own personal testimonies and through distributing free copies of God’s Word. Those objectives are as relevant today as they were when these men organized.
This morning we will hear a stewardship report from The Gideons International on how God has developed this group into the most effective, most comprehensive, and most integrated Bible distribution network the world has ever known. Nearly 2.5 billion times in some 200 countries, territories, and possessions of the world Scriptures have been placed into the hands of an individual, or into a room where people will have occasions to encounter it under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Through out our life, we are faced with times of abundance and times of great need. In our last sermon of “Separate but Connected”, we are reading through Philippians 4:10-23. Paul here not only models a Spiritually Mature Contentment, but shows us how we can obtain it. Today let’s strive for a spiritually mature and content Christian life.
The Bible has much to say about our thought-life and how our thoughts influence not only what we say but also what we do—and ultimately who we become. This is why Paul encouraged us to have the same mind-set as that of Christ in Philippians 2. If we allow the Holy Spirit to transform our minds—as the Bible instructs us to do—our words and actions will soon follow.
Unity is a huge theme throughout Philippians, and actually it is a huge theme carried throughout a lot of what wrote in his letters. There is a personal cost as well as a corporate price that we pay when we do not prioritize unity in the church body. Today we are going to discuss the ways we should approach conflict, and protect ourselves from falling into faithless worry.