The letter to the church in Philippi has strengthened believers for centuries by encouraging godly people living in crooked times. It also encourages the Church to find contentment in Christ in all areas of life. That means leaving jealousy, covetousness, and greed behind. Philippians sets a model for us to be generous with our resources and focus on Kingdom advancement. As Paul concludes the letter we are drawn back to its introduction and being a people full of grace. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches from Philippians 4:10-23 on being the church that God uses.
Paul begins to close his letter to the Philippians with some very practical exhortations. He encourages those who are at odds to iron out their differences and make up, and he encourages those who may be fretting and worried to give up their anxiety. Both the call to live at peace with others and the call to have inner peace are rooted in one thing - taking an unchanging grip on the unchanging life of Jesus Christ within us. Listen in as guest speaker, Joey Ross, teaches that only in God's presence is true peace is made possible.
As we read the book of Philippians we see that Paul hasn’t attained the highest spiritual position possible, but he continues to follow hard after Jesus. He reminds us that the Christian life requires the exertion of running hard after godliness. Paul exhorts believers to keep their focus heavenward. He encourages them to seek the Lord for clarification in their spiritual walk. Paul constantly pointed people to Jesus, but more importantly, he knew how to live a godly life on earth while focusing on his citizenship in heaven. His example encourages us to allow God to renew our thinking here on earth. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches from Philippians 3:15-21 on keeping our focus heavenward.
Paul’s life is interesting because he chose to persecute, and even kill Christians. He had a very religious past, but when he met Jesus his life radically changed (see Acts 9). Paul starts Philippians 3 with what seems like the ending of the letter, but he is actually continuing his thoughts on being joyful. Paul used this opportunity to teach the church about false teachers. He longed for the church to know the truth of God. This meant leaving the good things of their life behind so they could grow in their faith. In these verses Paul teaches about the downfall of works-based righteousness versus the benefits of faith-based righteousness and following Christ. Listen in as Pastor Neal teaches on Philippians 3:1-14. We’re going to see that knowing Christ is the one thing that is worth everything
In honor of Mother's Day, during today's sermon Pastor Neal interviews three moms from Coastline about the joys and struggles of motherhood and how their faith helps them through it all. Watch and listen as Eunice, Michelle, and Dorothy share wisdom they've learned through their motherhood journeys.
If we were to summarize the theme of Philippians 1 it would be: Christ first, and the theme of Philippians 2 would be: others next. Paul realized that the generation in which he was living was a crooked and warped generation. He knew that if the local church obeyed the truth of God and lived it out in their community it would naturally result in opportunities to serve others. Paul longed for the early church to be a light in a dark world. Knowing this he encouraged them to have a relentless commitment to become like Christ, to reflect a joy that reflects Christ, and to live out a sacrificial love for others.
Serving others does not come naturally to everyone. While Paul was in prison, he didn't focus on his release. Instead, he focused on uniting the church. Paul longed to see the local church take up the example of Jesus and choose to serve one another. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches from Philippians 2:1-11 on how to have the mindset of Jesus.
As we study the book of Philippians, we must remember that Paul wrote this letter from prison. Paul had been wrongly arrested at the Temple in Jerusalem because some of the Jews thought he had brought a Gentile into the Temple Court. This caused a commotion and resulted in Paul being arrested. Paul was ultimately taken to Rome where he wrote a letter to the church in Philippi while under house arrest. In Philippians 1:12-30, we see that Paul found joy in his hardship. We can learn from Paul's example that our suffering gives us an opportunity to glorify God. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches on experiencing joy amidst difficult circumstances.
Meeting at a place of prayer, baptizing an entire household, driving out a demon, being arrested, and getting out of jail are not activities you would imagine for a dream vacation. However, in Acts 16 we read that all these events took place in the life of the apostle Paul while he was in Philippi. Through these events God used Paul and his friends to start the first church on the content of Europe. Approximately ten years later Paul, who is now in prison in Rome, writes a letter of encouragement to the church in Philippi. Things seem backward – shouldn’t they be encouraging Paul? As Pastor Neal Benson teaches on Philippians 1:1-11, we’ll see that servants of Jesus prioritize gospel partnership.
In 2016 a group of university students placed a chalkboard on a busy New York sidewalk. At the top it said: “Write your biggest regret.” Everyone of us have done something we’ve regretted. It could be marrying the wrong person, severing a friendship, acting out in anger, or not speaking up. For three years Peter followed Jesus, sat under His teaching, walked on water with Him, and knew the power that He had. Near the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter denied knowing Jesus in an attempt to protect himself. Listen in as Pastor Neal teaches on John 21. We'll see that the resurrection restores us to Jesus. We have a first hand look at how Jesus invites flawed people, who love Him, to build His kingdom.