This Sunday is Reformation Day! It's also the Sunday that we come to the Lord's Table, and it's also the day of the Fall Festival. Lots to pack into a single day, and there's a lot to unpack from our passage this week too. Our passage this week, Philippians 3:1-11, addresses an old issue. Where do we put our confidence for salvation? Do we put our confidence in the flesh? ...

Have you ever asked your kids (or any kids), "What do you want to be when you grow up?" And most kids will answer by telling you what they want to do when they grow up. Of course, very few kids actually end up doing what they said when they were four. Otherwise, our country would be full of cowboys and princesses. We still confuse this question, though. We often mix up wh...

It will be good to be back this Sunday. Joanne and I enjoyed visiting family in Pennsylvania last week and I got to baptize our granddaughter Anne (and yes, she did scream). As much as we enjoyed it, it's not quite the same as being at our church with our church family. So, it's good to be home. This week we're looking at Philippians 2:12-18 and the topic of being (or bec...

The pursuit of glory is often at the core of our motivations. Even if we don't dream of making it big and becoming a celebrity, we still pursue glory. Maybe it's the praise of your co-workers that you covet. Maybe it's the praise of your parents that you crave. Maybe it's a simple recognition that you are capable, competent, and mature. We often see glory and recognition a...

Wow, five weeks in and we're finally getting to chapter 2 of the Book of Philippians. This week we're looking at Philippians 2:1-4 and the topic of "Humble Significance." Humility is one of those things that we know is supposed to be part of the Christian life and yet, at the same time, it seems to be something that's near impossible to cultivate. I mean, as soon as you t...

Continuing our series through Paul's letter to the Philippians, this Sunday we will be looking at chapter 1, verses 27-30. Here Paul tells the Philippians "only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ." Now, what does it look like to live a life worthy of the gospel? What actions, words, or thoughts do you associate with that call, and what actions do yo...

This is the third week in our new series on the Book of Philippians entitled "Worthy of the Gospel." And this week we come to one of the Apostle Paul's most famous sayings, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). And that sounds really spiritual, but what does it mean, really? Is Paul saying this because he's imprisoned and facing execution? Is h...

This week we're continuing our new series on the Book of Philippians entitled "Worthy of the Gospel." As I said last week, the Apostle Paul is writing this book from prison in Rome and that certainly colors his perspective and his words. But instead of being down and depressed as you might expect, Paul seems to overflow with joy. And this joy is grounded in the good news o...

This week we begin our new series on the Book of Philippians which I've entitled "Worthy of the Gospel." This book has a lot about Jesus and a lot about joy. As the Apostle Paul is writing from prison, he teaches that our love of Christ and our joy in Christ are connected by the gospel of Christ. And so he's writing to encourage us to live lives "worthy of the gospel" (Phi...

Well, this week we wrap up our summer series on the One Another commands of the New Testament with 1 Thessalonians 5:11-18 and the command to "Build Up One Another." In many ways, this is the summary passage for all the rest of these commands. They should all have the effect of building up the church. Have you ever heard someone say that "Christianity is not a list of rul...