Emmaus Church Podcast

In this sermon, Pastor Anson McMahon walks through 2 Corinthians 2:5-11, showing that relational conflict is inevitable in a fallen world yet those who have received the finished work of Christ are called to extend that same forgiveness to others.

Through the Apostle Paul's painful experience in Corinth and Jesus' teaching in the parable of the unforgiving servant, Pastor Anson urges the church to refuse Satan's schemes of bitterness and division, choosing instead the reconciling grace of the gospel.

The listener takeaway is that we have been forgiven too much to live unforgiving lives.

Key Points

• We all experience conflict in relationships because we live in a fallen world filled with fallen people.
• Sin does not only separate us from God; it also damages our relationships with one another.
• When we are hurt, the question is not whether conflict will happen but what we will do with the hurt.
• Forgiven people forgive people; extending forgiveness is not optional for followers of Jesus.
• Jesus teaches that forgiveness does not operate on a punch card but flows from a heart changed by mercy.
• The parable of the unforgiving servant shows the danger of receiving grace while refusing to give it.
• Satan loves unresolved conflict because it divides the church and hinders the mission of Christ.
• Extending grace refuses to play the enemy's game and reflects the reconciling work of Jesus.

Reflect & Discuss

• How does the finished work of Christ on the cross free you from keeping a record of others' wrongs?
• In what relationship is the Holy Spirit inviting you to respond by extending the mercy you yourself have received?
• Where might unresolved conflict be giving the enemy a foothold, and how can you pursue peace as far as it depends on you?

Main Passage: 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Supporting Passages

• Matthew 6:12, 14-15
• Matthew 18:21-35
• 2 Corinthians 5:18-21
• Acts 18
• Genesis 3-4

In this sermon from 2 Corinthians 1:23–2:4, Pastor Anson McMahon shows that the Apostle Paul stayed away from Corinth not out of indifference or control, but out of love—to spare the church further pain. Pastor Anson teaches that God is not trying to steal our joy; He is working for it. When we assume the worst, demand control, or cling to bitterness, we miss the joy Christ secured for us.

The takeaway is clear: because Christ first forgave us, we can choose forgiveness when relationships get messy.

Key Points

• Beware of assuming the worst about people
• God isn’t trying to steal my joy. He’s trying to give me joy
• Everyone needs friends, even pastors
• When relationships get messy, choose forgiveness over bitterness
• Spiritual leadership points people to Jesus rather than controlling them
• Pastors are human and need friendship, encouragement, and prayer
• We forgive others because Christ first demonstrated His love by dying for us while we were still sinners

Reflect & Discuss

• Where have you assumed the worst about someone instead of extending the same grace Christ has freely given you?
• How does knowing that Jesus first forgave you free you to pursue reconciliation rather than hold onto bitterness?
• In what area are you tempted to believe God is withholding joy, and how does His finished work on the cross correct that view?

Main Passage: 2 Corinthians 1:23–2:4

Supporting Passages

• Proverbs 18:13
• 1 Samuel 16:7
• Psalm 16:11
• John 15:9–11
• Hebrews 12:15
• Romans 5:8
• 1 Peter 5:8

In this sermon, Pastor Aaron Land walks through Paul’s response to personal accusations and opposition from the Corinthian church over his changed travel plans. Drawing from 2 Corinthians 1, Pastor Aaron shows how Paul first examined his own conscience, acted with grace and godly sincerity, pointed the believers firmly to Jesus as the fulfillment of every promise of God, and labored for their faith and joy out of abundant love.

The listener takeaway is that when conflict or adversity arises, we can respond in a way that honors Christ by looking honestly at our own hearts, speaking with transparency and grace, directing others to the finished work of Jesus, and seeking the spiritual good of even those who oppose us, all by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Key Points

• Paul examines his conscience first.
• Paul acted with grace and godly sincerity.
• Paul pointed the Corinthians to Jesus.
• Paul labored for the Corinthians faith and joy.
• The gospel itself is at stake when false teachers try to discredit the messenger.
• All of God’s promises find their yes in Christ, enabling weak people to give their amen to God.
• We are called to move toward others in love so that their faith is established and their joy made complete.

Reflect & Discuss

• How does the finished work of Christ free you to examine your own heart first when you face accusation or opposition, rather than immediately defending yourself?
• In what specific ways can you point others to Jesus as the true guarantor of God’s promises even when your own words or plans are questioned?
• What would it look like to labor for the faith and joy of those who oppose you, trusting God’s sovereignty while still responding in personal love and responsibility?

Main Passage: 2 Corinthians 1:12–2:4

Supporting Passages

• Acts 18:5–10
• 2 Corinthians 11:3–4
• 2 Corinthians 13:5
• Romans 1:16
• 1 Thessalonians 1:5
• Nehemiah 8:6

In this sermon, Pastor Anson McMahon opens 2 Corinthians 1 and shows why Paul blesses God before naming his pain.

Pastor Anson teaches that what we believe about God decides how we respond in affliction. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. God does not waste pain. He comforts you in Christ so you can comfort others.

When strength fails, honesty is faith.

Key Points

• When life is hard, I need to have a right understanding of who God actually is.
• Mercy is who God is: he draws near and gives what we do not deserve.
• God wants my pain to become my ministry.
• Affliction is not the opposite of blessing; comfort received is comfort to give.
• The cross shows God turning the worst evil into salvation.
• The circumstances of life are crushing me, I can be honest about it.
• God may give more than you can handle, never more than he can handle.

Reflect & Discuss

• Where has suffering tempted you to doubt God's character, and how does the risen Christ correct that?
• What comfort have you received that God may now want you to give away?
• Where must you bring real weakness to Jesus instead of pretending strength?

Main Passage: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

Supporting Passages

• 2 Corinthians 5:21
• Psalm 68:5
• Romans 5:8

In this sermon from 2 Corinthians 1:1-2, Pastor Anson McMahon opens Emmaus Church's series in Paul's most personal letter.

We meet not a superhero apostle but a hurting man claimed by God's will. Pastor Anson shows that when life is a struggle our lives are not our own, we need friends who stay, and we remember the grace and peace Jesus has already given.

Takeaway: storms do not mean God is absent. In Christ the worst this world can do is temporary.

Key Points:

• We all know what it is to be in a situation we never wanted.
• 2 Corinthians shows Paul's heart, not a superhero apostle.
• When life is a struggle, I desperately need to remember my life does not belong to me.
• Life is hard, I need friends who will stand with me.
• When life is hard, remember what Jesus has already given to you.
• Storms can drive our roots deeper; they do not mean God is absent.

Reflect & Discuss:

• Where are you treating your life as your own rather than a gift bought by Christ?
• How does Jesus' friendship free you to stand with someone in pain?
• If you have peace with God through the cross, how will you trust Him now?

Main Passage: 2 Corinthians 1:1-2

Supporting Passages:

• Acts 9:1-16
• 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
• Proverbs 17:17
• Philippians 2:20
• Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
• John 15:13
• James 1:3

In this sermon from Emmaus Church, Pastor Brian Bone opens Psalm 46 and shows that when God is our fortress we can have unshakable faith even in unimaginable fears.

Drawing on Rembrandt’s painting of the storm, Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress,” and the psalm’s own refrain, Pastor Brian traces how God’s people choose refuge rather than control, comfort, or escape. He points us to Jesus as the only stable ground, to the Lord of hosts who is present and faithful to His promises, and to the local church that lifts our gaze when the waves roar.

The call is to be still, let go, and take refuge in the finished work of Christ.

Key Points

• When God is your fortress, you will have unshakable faith even amidst unimaginable fears.
• When trouble comes, we all have a choice: control, comfort, escape, or refuge.
• There is only one stable refuge, and it is Jesus.
• God uses His people to lift our gaze to Him.
• “Be still and know that I am God” means we can let go because He is reigning.
• Faith under fire is a community project; we help one another behold the Lord.

Reflect & Discuss

• Where are you currently grasping for control instead of taking refuge in the Lord of hosts who is already with you in Christ?
• How does the finished work of Jesus (His blood that brings us near) free you both to rest in God’s sovereignty and to respond in faith when the storm does not immediately cease?
• Who in the body of Christ has God used to lift your eyes to Him, and how might you now stand in the gap for a brother or sister whose gaze is slipping?

Main Passage: Psalm 46

Supporting Passages

• Mark 4:35-41
• Isaiah 26:3
• Romans 8:31-39
• Romans 10:13

In this sermon from Psalm 3, Pastor Anson McMahon opens King David's raw cry while fleeing Absalom.

Pastor Anson reminds us that stress and anxiety affect God's people too, that our heavenly Father is not threatened by honest lament, and that the enemy uses anxious seasons to plant lies about God. Instead of staring at multiplying foes, David turns to what is true: the Lord is a shield about him, his glory, and the lifter of his head.

Listeners are called to glance at their troubles but gaze upon Christ, who has already defended us from sin, death, and condemnation.

Key Points

• Stress and anxiety affect God's people too.
• God, your heavenly Father, is not threatened by your honesty.
• When I'm anxious the enemy wants me to believe lies about God.
• In seasons of stress and anxiety, God wants me to believe what's true about Him.
• Our God is able to be my defender.
• Circumstances may not change, but perspective can when we remember who our Father is.
• Salvation belongs to the Lord.

Reflect & Discuss

• Where have you been gazing at your troubles instead of gazing upon the Lord who already answered from His holy hill in Jesus?
• How does the cross prove that God's love for you is not measured by how comfortable your circumstances feel?
• What anxiety do you need to cry aloud to the Lord today, trusting Him to be your shield and defender rather than trying to carry it alone?

Main Passage: Psalm 3

Supporting Passages

• 2 Samuel 13-19
• Philippians 4:6-7
• 2 Corinthians 11:28
• Genesis 3
• Ephesians 6:16
• John 16:33
• Romans 5:8

In this sermon from Psalm 45, Pastor Tim Miller invites the church to recover the most precious resource we have: undivided attention.

In an age that treats our gaze as a commodity, this royal wedding psalm holds before us the one Object who can make the eye healthy and the whole body full of light.

Pastor Tim shows that the beauty of King Jesus is beyond compare, and that the church becomes beautiful only as she hears, considers, and clings to her Husband.

Key Points

• The beauty of King Jesus is beyond compare.
• The Church's beauty depends upon her relationship with her Husband, King Jesus.
• Distraction is one of the enemy's chief weapons against the soul.
• What we attend to forms the kind of people we become.
• King Jesus rides out for truth, meekness, and righteousness.
• The bride's glory is not external; it is devotion to her King.

Reflect & Discuss

• Where has divided attention quietly trained your heart to live as if there is no God, and how does the grace poured from Christ's lips meet that darkness?
• If the church's beauty depends entirely on her relationship with King Jesus, what must you forget so that you can behold Him more fully?
• How does seeing Jesus as both the gracious Bridegroom and the conquering King free you to come empty-handed to His table?

Main Passage: Psalm 45

Supporting Passages

• Matthew 6:22-23
• John 1:14-17
• Genesis 1:27-28
• Revelation 19:11-16; 21:2
• Hebrews 1:8-9
• Romans 8:32-34
• 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
• Philippians 4:8
• Exodus 14:13-14

In this sermon, Pastor Anson McMahon walks through Psalm 14 and shows that the real danger is not only theoretical atheism but practical atheism: living, planning, spending, and relating as if the living God is not real.

Pastor Anson uses David's words, Jesus' parable of the rich fool, and the sweeping verdict that "there is none who does good, not even one" to expose our shared need. The hope of the psalm is that while sinners do not seek God, God seeks sinners and has sent salvation from Zion in Jesus Christ.

The listener is invited to stop living like a fool and to live as one redeemed.

Key Points

• It is foolish to live like God isn't real.
• We are all born into this world as fools who need a Savior.
• My view of God always affects my treatment of people.
• A fool is defined by the heart, not merely by the mouth: living as if there is no God.
• God's verdict is total: no one seeks Him and no one does good, not even one.
• The theme of Scripture is that sinners run and God pursues.
• Salvation for fools has come from Zion in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Reflect & Discuss

• In which area of life (calendar, money, relationships, or hidden sin) are you currently living as if God is not real, and how does Christ's finished work call you to turn and trust Him there?
• How does the truth that God sought you while you were still a sinner shape both your gratitude for grace and your patience toward people who are hard to love?
• What would change this week if you began each decision by asking, "Lord, what do you want?" rather than holding a board meeting with only yourself?

Main Passage: Psalm 14

Supporting Passages

• Luke 12:16-21
• Romans 1:19-21
• Romans 5:8
• Matthew 22:37-39
• Psalm 139:16

In this sermon from the closing verses of Joshua, Pastor Anson McMahon reflects on the end of a faithful era and what it means for every believer.

As Joshua and Eleazar die, we are reminded that even the best chapters of life eventually turn the page. Pastor Anson shows from Scripture that life is a mist, that we will be remembered for something, and that God desires our present faithfulness to shape the generation that follows.

The takeaway is clear: number your days, live as a servant of the Lord, and invest today so that those yet unborn may know and treasure Jesus Christ.

Key Points

• Eventually our generation is going to pass too.
• When my life is over I'm going to be remembered for something.
• God wants my faithfulness to Him today to impact the generation that comes after me.
• Life is a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes (James 4:14); therefore number your days to gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).
• Joshua is remembered not primarily as a great leader or warrior but as “the servant of the Lord.”
• A servant of the Lord is willing to wait faithfully, hold an unpopular opinion for the sake of God’s Word, and make generous sacrifices even when inconvenient.
• Faithfulness has ripple effects that can shape an entire generation; it is never only about us.
• Thinking and living generationally means raising children, serving the church, and building for those yet unborn so the name of Jesus is never silent.

Reflect & Discuss

1. How does the truth that your life is a mist free you, by the finished work of Christ, to live with greater purpose rather than clinging to temporary seasons?
2. When people remember your life, what story do you want them to tell about your relationship to the Lord Jesus, and how does His grace empower that legacy?
3. In what specific ways is the Holy Spirit inviting you today to invest your faithfulness so that a generation yet unborn might hear of Christ’s glory and respond in faith?

Main Passage: Joshua 24:29-33

Supporting Passages

• James 4:14
• Psalm 90:12
• Exodus 24
• Numbers 13–14
• Matthew 25:21
• Isaiah 40:8
• Judges 2:10