As is often the case, the final words of Paul at the end of his letter to the Philippians are concise and profound. I want to unpack the significance of these few verses for you and capture the spirit of Paul’s intent. I want to leave you with a message of hope and purpose. Join us for this final message from the book of Philippians. https://www.youtube.com/live/-eDQ8EmIhnw
Do you know the benefits of freely sharing what God has supplied to you? It seems counter-intuitive that giving makes us happier than keeping, but John Macarthur once said ““If you live for yourself, you will never be content.” One of the many benefits of sharing God’s provision is how it helps us be content. That is only one though! There are several more and we will look at 4 others in this fifth message from the fourth chapter of Philippians. Join as we uncover a sample of the rich blessings of sharing God’s provision.
Are you content? If you are, what are the factors contributing to that? If you are not content, what is it that is interfering with your contentment? What would you like changed in your life to make you content? In Philippians chapter 4, the Apostle Paul gives some insight into his life, his struggles, and the fact that he has learned a secret that helps him be content no matter what the circumstances. This is extremely important, because we tend to base our contentment on our circumstances That is misguided, because circumstances are always changing, and we often can’t control them. …
Today we have our missionaries, Paul and Sandy Jewell with us. The Jewells just recently retired, having served with Campus Bible Fellowship in Syracuse, NY for 50 years. They will be sharing with us in Sunday School and Church today. We are looking forward to hearing highlights of the many ways God used them during their time at Syracuse University. You’ll want to come join us in person if you can to see this 50-year ministry report because for the security of some of the past students, the Livestream will not carry this report but rather a message that Paul …
Isn’t it great when your mind is at peace? When what you are thinking about, when what you are contemplating, is good and beautiful? How often is it like that for you? What is the state of your mind right now? In Philippians 4 God gives us some clear instructions for having a mind that is at peace. In verses 4-7 we learned that we need to Rejoice in our relationship with God, Remember the unceasing presence of God, and Report all our worries to God. These all lead us to God’s peace that exceeds our understanding. Now we are …
Anxiety is a big problem. Estimates show that 4% of the world’s population struggles with it, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey* over 19% of Americans report an anxiety disorder. Studies indicate that Christians are not at all immune to this. A complicating factor is that several times in the Scriptures, believers are commanded not to worry. For some, this just adds a new worry – worrying about not worrying! What can be done? I think one of the problems is that we are often told what we shouldn’t do, but not near as much time is …
While summer officially began two weeks ago, in most American’s minds it began on May 27th with the celebration of Memorial Day. While that day seems to be all about picnics, camping, and time together with friends and family, the original purpose was to remember those who have died, specifically, those who died in the wars our country fought. So it is with all holidays – they are for remembering. We recently observed Juneteenth and we are going to be celebrating Independance Day. These days are meant to commemorate significant events in our nation’s history, not just give us a …
Today we are privileged to have Asa and Suzanna Bartos and family with us. God has called Asa and Suz to encourage the Latin American church to full maturity and equip them with training and resources that are inaccessible or lacking. They long to see Latin Americans multiply leaders, churches, and missions movements among every people. Asa is passionate about teaching and counseling others and hopes to assist in planting churches, encouraging pastors, and counseling families, especially husbands and fathers. He is pursuing further ministry education in the realm of biblical counseling. Both he and Suz love music and expect …
Being a dad is hard! Not only is the day to day challenging, but there is always that underlying question, “Am I doing it right? We worry if we are missing something, if there is a secret rule somewhere we are forgetting to follow. We also fall into the comparison trap, looking at other families and compare our parenting with theirs, our kids with their kids, and our successes and failures with their successes or failures. That can be discouraging, making us feel like we are a failure and wanting to quiet. I hope in this message that everyone will …
The Gospel calls us to a different way of life as followers of Jesus. Pride and division are to have no place, yet they often sneak in the back door, disguised as good things. We always have to be on guard. Pride comes in many forms: maybe in the form of goals, maybe in the form of styles, maybe in the form of a hyper-focus on specific details. It always brings terrible outcomes, such as strife, personal attacks, church splits, and angry outbursts. God has given us a very clear path to avoiding this – being of one mind in …
