Sunday, November 26, 2017. To Live Is Christ (Part 4). Philippians 4:1-9. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. Paul concludes his letter to the Philippians with exhortations that serve to elucidate how the broader argument that he has been making can be incorporated into the lived practice of the Christian community. It is not a way of life that would come naturally in the first century, and it still doesn't come naturally to us today.

Sunday, November 19, 2017. To Live Is Christ (Part 3). Philippians 3:4b-14. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. After describing God's activity on our behalf in Christ, Paul urges the Philippians to follow him in imitating the self-emptying of Christ by striving to disappear into Christ, and only then, in Christ, to be found.

Sunday, November 12, 2017. To Live Is Christ (Part 2). Philippians 2:1-13. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. In stirring, poetic language Paul recounts in memorable fashion the fundamental significance of the incarnation. But his purpose is not just to wax theological about Jesus; it is to encourage the Christian community to get beneath its divisions and adopt the mind of Christ.

Sunday, November 5, 2017. To Live Is Christ (Part 1). Philippians 1:3-11, 21-30. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. Paul opens his letter to the Philippians church with the somewhat cryptic declaration: “to live is Christ.” As the meaning of that phrase takes shape, we see that Christian faithfulness entails orienting our lives around the gospel of Christ, which has dramatic implications for us and for the world.

Reformation Sunday, October 29, 2017. Always Reforming (Part 8). 2 Corinthians 5:1-5, 17. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. The church was not only reformed--that is, changed--once upon a time; the church is called always to be reformed. The world is constantly changing around us, and God no longer needs a 16th century church; God needs a church for the 21st century and beyond.

Sunday, October 22, 2017. Always Reforming (Part 7). Romans 8:28-30; Isaiah 43:1-7. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. Part of what it means to be a Reformed Christian is to believe that we have been chosen by God. But if we think we were merely chosen to enjoy salvation, we have missed the more important part of our election.

Sunday, October 15, 2017. Always Reforming (Part 6). Romans 14:1-12. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. The last of the five "solas" of the Reformation is "to the glory of God alone." The Reformers were opposed to the veneration of the saints and of Mary, but our bigger problem today--and the problem Paul addresses in Romans--is the tendency to give glory to ourselves, which has disastrous consequences for the church community.

Sunday, October 8, 2017. Always Reforming (Part 5). 2 Timothy 3:14 - 4:5. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. The reformers asserted the authority of scripture alone at a time when the church presumed to have all authority. But what does the the authority of scripture mean for us in world in which authority is fragmented and suspect?

Sunday, October 1, 2017. Always Reforming (Part 4). Colossians 1:11-20 | Hebrews 4:14 - 5:10. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. Access to God was very carefully regulated at the time of the Reformation, but the reformers believed that Christ had done away with all of that, granted everyone direct access to the divine.

Sunday, September 24, 2017. Always Reforming (Part 3). Romans 3:21-31. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. We are willing to acknowledge that grace comes to us as a gift, but we tend to insist on taking credit for our faith. This tendency was not lost on the reformers, who insisted that even our faith is a gift from God.