Iowa Falls Evangelical Free Church Sermon Podcast

Anxiety, stress, and fear come pretty easily. We may try all kinds of things to cope with them or learn to live with them. In Luke 12:22-34, Jesus calls His followers to combat these things by commanding us to consider and seek, by reminding us of what we've received and commanding us to give.

We were thankful that Matt Soderstrum was able to join us this past Sunday to preach. He joined us on short notice as Pastor Jeremy was away on a pastor's retreat and Pastor Nick was sick. Matt preached from Jonah 1, which is what our Pathways Bible Study classes are currently studying!

Isn't it a joy to see how God provides for His church? He provides the right people at the right time to accomplish His gospel mission. He did it in Philippi and he has done it here.

Today as we commission and pray for Pastor Nick, this passage seems especially fitting.

It is so good to be adopted into a family with a Father who knows and meets our needs.

What is the relationship between obedience and salvation?

What is the relationship between our work and God's work?

These important questions will not be answered fully in one sermon but the passage we're looking at today certainly gives us some insight.

As people who are saved and being saved, we obey in a different way.

Most of us think we'll be happier if we have things our way. With a sinful flesh that bends that direction in a world filled with division and pride, Christians can live differently.

In Philippians 2:1-11, Paul calls the church in Philippi to complete his joy by having the mindset of Jesus, living in unity and humility under Jesus, the exalted Lord.

May God work in us by His Spirit through His Word for His glory as we are humbled and Jesus is exalted today!

Jesus lived, suffered, died, and rose for us. He ascended to heaven where He intercedes for us and He will come again to judge and to dwell forever with those He has saved. This is gospel or good news. How do we live in response to that? Today we look together at the final verses of Philippians 1. The call is to live a gospel-worthy life by standing firm in unity on gospel mission, not frightened by opposition but expecting to suffer for Christ’s sake. May God empower us to live this kind of gospel-worthy life for His glory!

Have you ever noticed that different people can look at the same circumstances yet have a drastically different outlook? Today, we will look at the next section in Philippians 1 where we’ll see Paul’s outlook in the midst of his challenging circumstances. We’ll be pushed to ask questions like these: What causes us to rejoice? Where is our hope? What makes life good? What makes death good? In the end, we will see that when the gospel advances and our hope is in the honor and glory of Jesus, we can rejoice both in life and in death.

Isn’t it good to know we’re not in this alone? We need people praying for us, encouraging us, exhorting us, and pointing us to Jesus. Today we begin our summer sermon series in which we'll see the missionary and church planter, Paul, do those things in his letter to his gospel partners in the city of Philippi. As we go through the book of Philippians, we will find that what God said through Paul in the 1st Century is incredibly relevant for us today in the 21st Century.

Words have power. In Acts 12, Herod’s powerful words reveal a depraved heart set on impressing others and glorifying himself. The result is God’s judgment. Meanwhile, the more powerful Word of God continues to increase and multiply through His faithful servants. Today we will finish this 2nd section of Acts which sets us up for the final section of the book, which we’ll turn to this fall after our summer sermon series in Philippians.

What happens when the church prays? In Acts 12, the church is again facing persecution. The apostle James is executed and it looks like Peter will be next. The church prays. May God make us increasingly into a church that pray in order that the gospel may continue to advance.