Introduction

We often find ourselves drifting away from our original goals as we are distracted by many things – money, ideas, opportunities, and whatnot – although we began with a clear purpose and focus. The well-known marriage vows reflect that clear purpose of commitment to each other, but it may not be so clear in daily life. The same can be said with professions where you began with passion and aspirations of making a difference, but now you may be questioning why you’re even there. For the church, a lack of purpose and focus can have devastating consequences to its mission and the teachings of the church. We are to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ by making disciples of Jesus Christ, but we drift from passion to apathy, from sacrifice to comfort, from service to selfishness. And so, Paul warns us against losing clarity of what it means to be a true Christian whose righteousness comes only through faith in Christ.

Introduction

Paul says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing (v.14),” or, “Do everything without complaining or arguing (NLT).” Complaining can damage/destroy your relationship with God, others, and yourself. We are prone to complain, such that we don’t realize how much. It is a challenge for us, but simultaneously, God commands us clearly to do all things without complaining. There is power in our words, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue... (Prov. 18:21)”, and we can speak life or speak death. Complaining is death speech that suffocates the life out of both the speaker and the hearer(s). Complaining is Satan’s language that opens the door and invites Satan to run amok. But praise and thanksgiving is God’s language that opens the door for God’s blessings to pour in. Often, the things we complain about are not worth complaining about. Unpleasant situations, which we can do nothing about, can arise any time, but we do have control over how we respond. And how we respond demonstrates the attitude of our heart. Complaining reveals an entitled, ungrateful, and prideful heart.

Introduction – The Importance of Unity among Believers

Paul highlights Jesus’ power and glory brought forth from his humility (v.6-11) to address an issue of disunity within the members of the Philippian church. Despite being a healthy church with no major problems, Paul is concerned about division and disunity taking root. This is apparent in vv.1-2 where Paul uses words of unity 6 times: being United with Christ (v.1), common sharing in the Spirit (v.1), being like-minded (v.2), having the same love (v.2), being one in spirit(v.2), being one in mind (v.2).

Paul warns us today to be vigilant because division and disunity disarms the power of the church to be an effective channel of God’s goodness to the world and we lose the power to be effective representatives of Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven. No matter the good works we do, how holy our worship may appear, how sincere our prayers and praises may sound, a church that is divided cannot stand and function and respond to God’s calling. Unity is not about uniformity (same opinion, same views, agreement with everything), nor was this the way of the early Church in Paul’s days. Our unity comes from one thing, that our eyes and hearts are set on Jesus Christ! Our unity comes from a desire for Christ to shape us, so that we may ‘have the mind of Christ (v.5; cf. 1 Cor. 2:16)’ which is a mind that is set on humility.

Introduction

The late Pastor Tim Keller once said, “Because the gospel is endlessly rich, it can handle the burden of being the one ‘main thing’ of a church.”  This is exactly what we find in Paul’s letter to the Philippian church. Every aspect of Paul’s life is for the gospel, of the gospel, in the gospel, and due to the gospel. The endlessly rich gospel is to be the center of everything in the church.

Staking our life on Jesus is not easy. We are busy, distracted, faced with opposition, persecution, and suffering. A gospel-centered church needs gospel-centered courage and Paul teaches us how in three ways by being a church that: (1) Stands Together as Citizens of Heaven; (2) Strives Together for the Faith of the Gospel; (3) Suffers Together for the Sake of Christ.

Introduction

Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, now turns to his own situation in prison. Though under house arrest, he rejoices triumphantly in the Lord. The church in Philippi were worried because they had heard reports how their beloved Paul had been arrested and sent to Rome, how he suffered shipwreck along the way, was now confined in prison, and they feared for his life. Paul writes that the reports of his situation and his chains are true, but something else is true – that all these things have worked to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ! Despite suffering defeats, persecution by Jews and Gentiles, beaten, tortured, facing injustice, and chained to imperial guards 24/7, Paul rejoices because of the spread of the Gospel. The gospel advances most in times of adversity, not prosperity. The Gospel is invincible, unstoppable, and indomitable.

There are three points to highlight in how God uses Paul’s obstacles to advance the gospel from our text today: (1) Paul’s confidence, (2) Paul’s confinement, and (3) Paul’s challenge.

Introduction

We were made for deep relationships characterized by the deepest kind of love. In the beginning, before sin tainted the world, God singled out one thing that was not good in His creation – Adam was alone without a companion. We cannot live without stable and healthy relationships. Children cannot thrive without stable parents; a marriage cannot survive when two people drift apart; it can feel like death and can leave to death sometimes. This is how God created us; we grow, mature, and flourish as healthy Christians and a healthy Church in relationship.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians reflects a deep kind of friendship and relationship between Paul and the Philippian church, such that scholars believe Paul had a closer relationship with the Philippian church than the other churches. In today’s text, Paul reconnects and rejoices over what he heard about them.

When we look at Paul’s letter to the Philippians, it is quite evident that this letter reflects a very deep, deep kind of friendship between Paul and the Philippians. Scholars say that Paul and the Philippians were closer in relationship than any other church had with Paul. Paul’s greeting reveals more than a simple greeting that a surface reading may suggest. Paul teaches us how to have the deep and genuine relationship that God intended for us by focusing on two things: (1) Paul’s greeting to understand his relationship with the Philippian church and (2) Their Partnership in the Gospel.

Introduction

Giving thanks is a prominent theme in the Psalms, but Psalm 100 is the only psalm that is specifically titled as a psalm of giving thanks. The psalmist speaks of an invitation to all of creation to exhort, to praise, and to bless the Lord. He shows us what God is like and who God is as our Creator and our Father. Afterall, how can we be thankful if we don’t know who God is and what God is like in His nature.

There are THREE intrinsic reasons to thank and praise God:

Introduction – Part 1 and 2 recap:

            The Lord’s Prayer is a framework of Christian life that is consistent with the Kingdom of Heaven. We must internalize this prayer deep in our hearts by understanding what Jesus is teaching us through all the parts of this prayer: (1) “Our father in heaven” is about intimacy with God who is a loving and compassionate Father; (2) “hallowed be your name” is about the tension/balance we hold towards God as an intimate and loving father but also a most holy God; (3) “your kingdom come your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven” is about manifesting the things of Heaven on the Earth below as part of God’s justice; (4) “Give us this day our daily bread” is about trusting and relying on the efficiency and sufficiency of God as our daily source and provider; (5) “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors (alt: “… trespasses as we have forgiven those who have trespassed against us”) reflects God’s grace and the need to be forgiven and to forgive others. Our love for God cannot be disconnected from our love for others.

Introduction:

Introduction – Recap of pt.1

If you want to understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus and to live like Jesus, you need to learn how to pray like Jesus. Last week, we looked at the first two portions of the Lord’s Prayer: "Our Father in heaven”, “Hallowed be your name.” They speak of our personal, communal, and intimate relationship with a holy God who desires to embrace us with compassion, mercy, love, and forgiveness. How we pray will reveal if the desire of our heart is to hallow God’s name or hallow our own name.

Introduction:

Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, which we know as The Lord’s Prayer, but a piece is missing from Matthew which is found in Luke Ch. 11 where it is more flushed out.

Pastor John shares a previous experience where he was pastoring a youth community where he did not feel belonging or accepted by the members. He drives home the difference that openness and acceptance plays in the midst of people seeking to connect with one another, and the simple impact of hospitality in inviting others to sit with us.

To be on mission requires a particular posture; a particular disposition. For all that we do flows from the heart (Prov 4:23). As we learn more about God in our walk with Him, we'll see that our heart is often not God's heart towards the world.

Many of us don't actively keep a missional imagination at the forefront of our eyes. One possible reason is because we limit, when and where God's mission and activity takes place to the walls of the church - a kind of Temple spirituality.

1. What is God inviting us into with His plans?

2. How can we participate with Him?

All of us will face and experience disappointment at some point in our lives. Whether it is with our family situation, our health, in relationships, in career, or any other area - we face disappointment when the expectations of our reality do not match up to our vision for our future.

This week, we dive into exploring the the tension of having been forgiven by God and our response in forgiving others in love and Christ-likeness. In our passage, both servants were forgiven an immense amount of debt relative to their position - unthinkable in those times. We will look into the similarities of the weight of our sins before God and why a willingness to forgive is characteristic of those who have been saved by the Lord.

We take a break from our series on ‘The Heart Detox’ to examine another part of our heart we ought to offer up to God: our thoughts, feelings, and desires that surface as we discern a major decision in our life. The art of discernment isn’t an easy skill but is one that as we sharpen and refine it, aids how we come to delight in grasping and living out His good and perfect will for us.

Though the church may often focus on and explore topics of theology, prayer, solitude, etc. - the intersection of sexuality and spirituality is often spoken about in hushed tones. In today’s sermon, we’ll look at Part 1 of examining engrained assumptions we may hold on the topic of sexual sins and how to broaden our understanding of a life of sexual wholeness.

A life of transformation in Christ is oft accompanied by many facets of change by the power of Christ. You might think the issue of self-centredness is the worst of them all; or the sin of gluttony and self-indulgence; or the love of self-pity and self-condemnation. Across many bible scholars, underlying the manifestation of all these sins lies the ultimate sin of a justified love of oneself: pride.

In today’s passage, we will look into how Nehemiah remained faithful with his vision and calling from God as he faced internal conflicts.

How do you go about discerning God’s will? Our life is filled with decisions. What are some of the questions you are currently facing?