Seven Mile Road

Which question better captures your response to the suffering that God allows in your life?

1: “I shouldn’t have to suffer like this. How do I escape it?”
2: “This suffering is hard, but it’s a means of knowing Christ more deeply. How can I endure it toward that end?”

In this Sermon we do some work in Philippians 3:10 and see that, beautifully, the gospel-centered answer is #2.

Note: If God has you in a season of suffering right now, especially of the kind where you’ve been treated unfairly, these words should help.

The ring. The trophy. The badge. The degree. The stage. Whatever your profession, hobby, or calling there’s a reason why you continue to persevere in it. And sooner or later, we realize that thing falls short of satisfying you completely.

This week we look with Pastor Dan of Seven Mile Road Malden to Philippians 3:12-16 as Paul gives us a clear picture of why Jesus is worth every effort.

After hearing of Paul’s warning against putting confidence in our flesh, we are given one of the clearest and strongest summaries of what it means to know Jesus. 

We will see that the Christian faith in Jesus is not a code of conduct or practice of religious activities. It is a relationship with Jesus Christ by faith. 

There are powerful realities that come from personally knowing Jesus that we will unpack together.

Philippians 3:8-11

In this sermon as we embark on Philippians chapter 3, we run into the Apostle’s autobiographical accounting of his life before following Jesus Christ.

As he takes stock, he reminds us to “put no confidence in the flesh.” The marvelous gospel work that must begin in each of us is recognizing that we are spiritually bankrupt on our own. What things are we and our fellow Bostonians tempted to find our worth and value in? How do those ultimately rate?

Philippians 3:1-7

One of the marks of a church's embrace of gospel-centrality is the curtailing of self-interest by everyone --> we all begin to live for what's best for the mission and not just best for ourselves. OK, sounds nice, but what does that look like in real-life? This Sunday we'll see as we finish our look at the glorious second chapter of Philippians.

For this sermon, we are in the Biblical book of Philippians and feel the import of Paul referring to Timothy's work with him being "like a son with his father."

Being a dad is a good and glorious reality, but not because Hallmark says so once a year. The earthly fatherhood that we experience is rooted in a prior and deeper and holier Fatherhood. And the way that God is Father to His sons and daughters needs to shape the way we are to ours.

Philippians 2:19-24