Church of the City New York

This Sunday, Pastor Jon continued our Summer sermon series, Defiant Joy: A Study Through Philippians, by unpacking the beginning of Chapter 3. Here, Paul delivers insight into his own transformation of faith and highlights how we can follow his example of being thoroughly converted. Being thoroughly converted calls us to take all of our broken pieces and direct them towards the person of Jesus, trusting that in Him we will one day be made whole.

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy continued our Summer sermon series, Defiant Joy: A Study Through Philippians by teaching on the last section of Chapter 2. Here, Paul commends Timothy and Epaphroditus as men who care deeply about the church and the gospel. Paul makes a connection between the Philippians church, the proclamation of the gospel, and the interests of Christ.

This Sunday, Pastor Keithen continued our Summer sermon series, Defiant Joy: A Study Through Philippians by preaching on Paul's encouragement in Philippians 2 to live as the people of God in the world. Paul wrote to the church of Philippi, whose people were the new Israel. Ultimately, as we live as true disciples of Jesus, joy becomes the mark of our spiritual authority in the world.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon continued our Summer sermon series, Defiant Joy: A Study Through Philippians by taking a practical look at what it means to love people like Jesus did. Loving others can seem increasingly difficult in today's world, but this passage urges us to have the same, loving mindset as Christ in our relationships. Jesus loved us in an unreasonable way, and calls us to be like Him, finding joy in someone else's prospering, even when it is at our own expense.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon continued our Summer sermon series, Defiant Joy: A Study Through Philippians by examining Paul's call to the church to be a place of defiant unity in the face of the narcissism, contempt, and division in our current culture. Pastor Jon reminded us that while we can love God on our own, we cannot be the people of God on our own. Jesus calls us to value others above ourselves and sacrifice our preferences to become a compelling, alternative community of love and unity for our world.

This Sunday, Pastor Matthew Ro continued our Summer sermon series, Defiant Joy: A Study Through Philippians by looking at Paul's mission statement, "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain," and how it enabled him to have defiant joy no matter what. Paul knew everything Jesus endured was for us, so we have the ability to endure anything for His sake, and our earthly realities can become second by the beauty and glory of Jesus breaking through.

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy continued our new sermon series, Defiant Joy: A Study Through Philippians by looking at Paul's prioritization of the proclamation of the gospel. We find Paul rejoicing at the end of this text because the gospel message was still being advanced even while he was in prison. Paul's letter should not only encourage us to reassess and reorder our own priorities around the glorification of Christ, but also strengthen our courage and resolve to share the gospel in every circumstance.

Guest Pastor Banning Liebscher gave a word about the importance of guarding our hearts against the lies of the enemy. Jesus came to connect us to truth and bring us freedom and abundant life, so the enemy's main strategy against us is to disconnect us from truth through lies and lead us into a life of bondage. By keeping a vigilant watch over our hearts, meditating strategically on God's Truth, praying consistently, and liberally casting our cares and burdens on the Lord, we can disrupt the enemy's schemes to keep us from the life freedom Jesus has for us.

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy continued our new sermon series, Defiant Joy: A Study Through Philippians by looking at Paul’s prioritization of the proclamation of the gospel. We find Paul rejoicing at the end of this text because the gospel message was still being advanced even while he was in prison. Paul’s letter should not only encourage us to reassess and reorder our own priorities around the glorification of Christ, but also strengthen our courage and resolve to share the gospel in every circumstance.

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy continued our new sermon series, Defiant Joy: A Study Through Philippians by looking at the Work of God. As we continue in Paul's letter to the Philippians, we quickly see that, even though he is in prison, he is still able to rejoice. Paul's source of defiant joy was in the work of the everlasting God, not in the work of any one man. As believers, we can share in this confidence and this joy, that God is always working in us, through us, and around us to bring forth the Good News of the Gospel.