To close Paul’s letter to Philemon, Paul demonstrates the love of Christ by asking Philemon to put Onesimus’ wrongs on his own account. In this sermon, Pastor Keith walks through the text from verses 17-25, showing us the Apostle Paul’s gospel-shaped steps of reconciliation: paying for the other, assuming the best of the other, and […]
In the introduction of Paul’s letter to Philemon, Paul began by acknowledging Philemon’s character and affirmed the demonstration of his faith in his love toward all the saints. He drew a picture of the family of God. And now in the main body of his letter, he shows us how to conduct ourselves in the […]
Paul’s letter to Philemon deals with the theme of reconciliation and depicts God’s people in Christ as a family that can receive and restore even a runaway slave and a thief. We will see how Paul appeals to Philemon to demonstrate the power of the gospel by welcoming Onesimus back, no longer as a slave, […]
While Paul’s travel plans might be easy to understand on the surface, there’s much we can learn about his love for the church. His travel plans reveal what Paul desired to see in the churches: the blessing of refreshment, fellowship, and prayer. In this passage, pastor Matt explains that the church is where the blessing […]
As he concludes his exhortations to the strong and weak Christians in the church at Rome, Paul turns our attention once again to Jesus Christ, giving the church a final and conclusive plea: “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7). While at first glance this may […]
Having addressed matters of personal conviction in Romans chapter 14, the Apostle Paul turns his focus from correcting the contentious believers to exhorting them to pursue humility and unity. Paul reminds them of the example of Christ, the sufficiency of Scripture, the nature of God, and the welcome that every believer has into the family […]
As we began to look at Romans 14 we saw that there were certain opinions dividing the church at Rome along ethnic lines. Both Jewish and Gentile believers were quarrelling over disputable matters, such as food and observing special days. The strong-in-faith were tempted to look down on the weak for their apparent “legalism;” and […]
In Romans 14-15, Paul addresses the non-essential issues that were causing strife in the church at Rome. And the principles laid out here continue to teach us how to handle matters of conscience while preserving gospel fellowship. In this sermon, pastor Matt begins to show us that Christians are to love and accept all those […]
When reading Paul’s letters, it’s easy to gloss over his greetings and introductory remarks. Yet when we look carefully at what Paul is saying, we find there is much we can learn about the Christian life in the local church. In this sermon, pastor Keith considers Paul’s introductory remarks to the Roman Christians, highlighting his […]
