Sermons – Memorial Road Church of Christ

This sermon looks at Paul’s council about contentment in 1 Timothy 6. This passage contains the famous “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil,” as well as the gem “godliness with contentment is great gain.” Phil explores how the love of money is a particularly difficult tactic to deal with, because of its pervasiveness in our world today. Paul’s words of wisdom will help us construct a plan to resist this scheme and find the contentment we desire.⁠

Josh continues our Counterintelligence series with a lesson on meaningful talk. Using 1 Timothy 1:3-7, Josh contrasts the meaningless talk (myths, genealogies, controversial speculations) with the kinds of meaningful talk that advance God’s work and lead to love.⁠

Phil kicks off a new series called Counterintelligence: Subverting Enemy Schemes. This series takes a look at the false teaching described in 1 Timothy. These doctrines appear attractive, and are exactly what “itching ears want to hear.” But Paul attributes these doctrines to “deceiving spirits” and “hypocritical liars.” It takes a discerning Christian to see through the deception. In this first message, Phil tackles the false doctrine found in 1 Timothy 4, which has to do a misunderstanding about creator and creation. ⁠

Phil concludes our City on a Hill series with the sermon, “A Choice You Won’t Regret: Part 2”. Phil gives us two final strategies seen in the life of Christ that will help us navigate these times with peace and hope. ⁠

Phil continues our City on a Hill series with a message called “A Better Story.” Phil talks about a common narrative we find in our world today that goes something like this. 1. We have a preferred vision for life. 2. An opponent threatens that vision. 3. We must defeat that opponent. Phil then takes a close look at Philippians 3, and helps us see that Paul does not adopt this same story line when dealing with the enemies of his day. Paul has a much more hopeful way to narrative the story of disagreement, a model which if adopted by us today, would make a world of difference for our families, our church, and our country.

Phil continues our City on a Hill series by talking about the passage from which this phrase comes. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus describes his followers as the “light of the world,” and illustrates their function by declaring that a city on a hill cannot be hidden. Phil talks about the gravity, ambiguity, and opportunity of this powerful statement.⁠

On Sunday Phil will continue the series City on a Hill by taking a deep dive into Romans 14-15. In these chapters, Paul deals with two groups of people within the Roman church which have significant disagreement about vital issues in their day. Paul’s counsel on how they were to deal with their tension is rather unusual. Rather than siding with one party, Paul urges them to focus on the issues which bring them together rather than those which drive them apart. Phil will talk about how we might practice these principles in our current divisive moment.

As we prepare for next week’s Missions Sunday, we continue to look at how the early church spread in times of and by means of great disruption. In the second lesson of our Disruptive Witness series, we turn to the familiar story of Philip and his encounter with the Ethiopian official. Knowledge and plans and resources are wonderful, but it is only by being present in people’s lives that we are positioned to effectively share the story of Jesus.

Phil starts a new series leading up to Missions Sunday called, Disruptive Witness. ⁠

On Sunday Phil plans to wrap up our Reimagine intro series with a lesson called Reimagine Joy. Joy is one of the most elusive things in life. Every time we feel like we have it, it just seems to float away. Elijah had a moment in his life where it seemed all the joy had evaporated. He was stuck, alone in a cave, wishing he were dead. And then God showed up. God displayed his profound wisdom in how he handled Elijah’s despondency. Phil will explore the multidimensional nature of God’s care for Elijah, and explain why this kind of care if vital today for our own pursuit of joy.

Phil continues the Reimagine series with another lesson from the life of Joseph - highlighting the family dynamics of this story, pointing out the multilayered problems within this family. Phil’s main idea for us is that we must learn to connect on a heart level with the people we love before we jump into problem solving. Sometimes in our efforts to resolve inter-family tension, we neglect one of the most effective means of prevention – shared joy.

In this message, Phil talks about the importance of relationships. Even in a pandemic, our need for people hasn’t gone away. We’re still created in God’s image as relational beings.

Phil starts a new series called Reimagine. It does us no good to fret and worry about how things might never be the same. Imagination is the key to unlocking a new reality which can still be full of relationships, love, joy, opportunity, and purpose, eve in the middle of a pandemic. In this first message of the series, Phil looks at Acts 11 and studies how the early Christians responded to a global famine, and how their response is precisely what the world needs from the church today.

Phil preaches a sermon on church as temple. He explains the centrality of the temple to the Jewish people, what Jesus’ cleansing of the temple meant, and how all of this informs the mission of the church today. Phil also gives a mid year congregational ministry report.

Josh preaches a standalone sermon called “The Road to Hope.” He looks at the story of Jesus’ last week in Matthew 26-28 and takes us through three important steps: admitting reality, allowing ourselves to grieve, and then turning toward a hopeful future.

Daniel preaches about authenticity and true connection.

On Sunday morning, Phil interviews Scott Mueller as part of our Beyond a Building series. The text focuses on 1 Timothy 3, in which Paul compares the church to a household and talks about the key role elders play in the health of a church. Scott shares his experience as an elder and share wisdom and encouragement with the church.

Phil preaches a sermon on “The Way.” He explores why this term was used as one of the earlier descriptors of believers, and what it might mean for us today.

A Part of the Beyond a Building Sermon Series

A part of the Beyond a Building Sermon Series