Brian's Sermons

Philippians 4:10-23 It was July, and I was just getting situated in my new church assignment when the mission chair came up to me and told me she needed to step down. With that, she handed me the “mission chair folder.” When I looked at the folder, I realized one of the main reasons she had quit; the folder simply held envelopes of fund requests from various mission and ministry groups. This was all she had been given as the incoming mission chair, and it reflected the truth: that all we were doing missionally as a church was sending little bits of money to some of these groups. Now, I’m not saying that these groups didn’t need or appreciate the money. They all needed the money; otherwise they wouldn’t have sent out fundraising letters. But the problem was that we weren’t engaged in mission whatsoever. We felt like if we could send out some of our extra money, then our obligation to mission work was completed. Moreover, our attitude was that we had an obligation to “do somethi...

Philippians 4:4-9 I was sitting in the doctor’s waiting room, reading a book that was required reading for class: The Christology of Jesus . It was very heady reading, and I was struggling with it. A woman asked me what I was reading and I showed her the cover of the book and muttered, “It’s a chore.” She, having obviously misheard me, responded brightly, “Honey, any time you’re reading about Jesus, it’s a joy.” I don’t know if she was an angel sent down from heaven or if she was just an angel stationed here on earth, but God had obviously sent her to give me a clear message. This is the same kind of message Paul is sending to the church in Philippi. There is always something to rejoice about! It doesn’t bother me that I read this first part of the passage in my last sermon, because, if Paul can repeat himself, so can I! Rejoice in the Lord always! Rejoice! One of the things that Paul was sure of was that Jesus would return soon. I’ve seen a T-shirt that says, “Jesus is co...

Philippians 4:1-7 Last week we looked at the concept of already/not yet, that Jesus already did everything that is needed for our salvation, but that we are not yet in heaven. Jesus already paid the price for our sins, and we await heaven and the transformation of our lowly bodies so they will be like his glorious body. As we begin chapter four, it really belongs with last week’s message – a summary, starting with a “therefore” and reiterating the main point: that Paul dearly loves the people of the Philippian Church and dearly desires that they stand firm in the faith, knowing that Jesus has already paid their price and that their future is secure in Him. And so, with this in mind, Paul addresses an issue in this church. I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose n...