Paul begins his letter to the Philippians with a note of thankful joy. Wait, what? How can he be joyful while on lockdown? He remembers their partnership in the gospel from the first day he met them ... and he anticipates their partnership in the gospel to the last day. And this because he knows the faithfulness of God.

Yes, John Lennon was a spectacularly gifted artist.

But the gospel he preached was false. And therefore bankrupt.

Now that a mashup of Lennon's Imagine is trending on social media, we thought we'd make available our track of the same name, yet with a strikingly different vision.

We wrote this in the early days of Seven Mile Road. 

John Frederick on vocals. 

In our first-ever "over Zoom" sermon*, we walked through the first two verses of Jesus's Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians, which was written during a time when he was "on lockdown" in a Roman jail cell. We are expecting Paul to be angry or depressed or paralyzed, but instead we see just the opposite! He is thankful and rejoicing and busy with whatever gospel work is before him. What would it look like for us to be this way in this unprecedented season of social distancing due to Coronavirus?

* This sermon was preached on March 15, the first Sunday on which large gatherings in Melrose, Massachusetts were suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The first few seconds are orienting people to the Zoom call reality.

Marriage is meant to not only display the gospel but to advance it. This means it’s essential for a husband and wife to be aligned in their love for God and devotion to His mission. And so it’s no surprise that one of the 3 big commitments we see the people make as they begin their new life together is that they will not “intermarry” with outsiders. In this sermon, we think on why this was important and what it means (and does not mean) for us.

Reference: Nehemiah 10:30

This Sunday we welcomed a whole new crew of Bostonians into the life, under the care, and onto the mission of Seven Mile Road. We began in Nehemiah 11, noting the courage displayed by those who willingly moved back into Jerusalem and connecting that with the commitment to invest our lives in the advance of the gospel through the local church. Then we heard (briefly!) from folks who are stepping in with us.

Reference: Nehemiah 11:1-2

Nehemiah (in chapter 12) recounts what happened on Dedication Day: the city has been rebuilt and repopulated and now everyone gathers to celebrate. Two choirs of men encircle the city and lead everyone in such loud and raucous singing that their voices can be heard from miles away. In this sermon, we talk about how this scene - with godly men leading and everyone singing together - informs our song life at Seven Mile Road.

Nehemiah and the people have sorrowed over their sin and reveled in God’s grace, and now they covenant together on the 3 specific things, one of which is committing themselves to “funding the ministry” of Jerusalem. They knew that the only way right worship could be restored to the city was if they gave generously to it, so they went all in!

In this sermon, we’ll see what drove their eagerness to give and ask how this can inform our life together at Seven Mile Road.

Reference: Nehemiah 10:32-39

In this sermon, we see that the people’s immediate response to hearing the words of God read and explained is to weep over their sin. This is a good response as those tears are a gift from God. And yet Nehemiah quickly instructs them to stop crying and start partying. Why the 180? Because the “joy of the Lord” is our strength.