In this sermon, we work through John's addresses to three different audiences in the church: "little children," "fathers," and "young men." John speaks words of comfort to folks across the spectrum of spiritual maturity, reminding each of them that God is for them in the gospel.
One of the most devastating things that happens in the life of a church is that sometimes folks who you’ve loved and served and trusted - who seemed like they were all-in on Christ and His church - walk away, leaving behind not only the relationships you’ve built, but their faith in Christ as well. When that happens, it naturally hurts and confuses us. How do we process it? In this sermon, we see that the people John was writing to experienced this same hard reality (I John 2:19), and we hear fr...
Heather and Matt talk about everything that's gearing up for the start of a new church year at Seven Mile Road.
In this podcast, we walk through "the anatomy of a Seven Mile Road sermon" by explaining how a message on I John 5:3 was built. Why do we preach the way we do? Listening to these 30 minutes will give you some insight into the process.
In this sermon, we hit the words of I John 5:1-2 where we John spirals back again (again!) and loops all three of his “tests” together like cords in a rope. Sound doctrine, personal holiness, and brotherly love are a package deal. This truth has massive implications for our efforts to build a legit church together. Message Input
In this podcast, we lay down some of the plans we have for student ministry at Seven Mile Road.
In this conversation, we catch up with Pastor Joie from Restoration Road to get an update in preparation of our visit up to Wakefield this Summer.
In this sermon, we work I John 3:16-18 and 4:7-8 as the Spirit swipes the yellow marker across our souls for counterfeit test #2: the love test. God is love, His gospel defines and displays that love, and His people necessarily show that love to one another.
Matt and Heather chat about all the fun and exciting things we can look forward to this summer at Seven Mile Road.
In John 2:3-4, the Spirit rolls out for us the first of the three big tests of genuine Christianity that the Apostle John spirals through in his first letter: obedience. “By this we know that we have come to know him: if we keep His commandments.” What does mean by “keep His commandments?” And where does the fuel come from for our obedience? We think on these questions from the text.
In this conversation, we walk through a few "whys" that we thought would be helpful for our church to hear about: 1) Why did we write a book? 2) Why did we host a big conference? 3) Why do we travel on some Sundays over the Summer? 4) Why do we expect that members of Seven Mile Road will "tithe?"
This week we hit 1 John 1:5-10 and the first big idea of John's comfort and clarity: True Christianity always begins with God and ends with honesty and hope.
In this sermon, we begin our walk through the warm and steadying words of the Apostle John’s first letter to his dearly loved children. He’s writing to Christians whose world had been rocked by the false teachings and ugly departure of a number of prominent folks from their church. John wants to assure them - definitively - of the genuineness of their faith. May all of us sense the same comfort and clarity that the original readers did!
For anyone who wants to listen through the entire text of the first letter of the warm and grizzled Apostle John before we get into the preaching of it this Spring and Summer, here you go!
In this sermon, we tackle I Peter 3 and the Spirit's crystal clear command that men are to honor women in the home, in the church. and in the world. To get there, we work through the meaning of the phrase "weaker vessel" as a ground for why that honoring is so important.
In this sermon, Matthew Kruse closes the loop with us on his recent leave from pastoral duties by walking us through 2 Corinthians 1:3-10 and preaching on the good intentions and sweet mercies of God in our physical sufferings.
In this sermon from Luke 24, we considered all the ways that Christ displayed His love for His disciples (and us!) when He appeared to them - personally, tenderly, unmistakably - on the first Sunday night of the new creation.
James: Faith/Works
James: Faith/Works
Pastor Ajay Thomas from Seven Mile Road Philly served our congregation by preaching through the heavy but powerful Psalm 88.
In this episode, Matt and Heather catch up on how the first stretch of his sabbath from pastoral duties has been for his soul and family, plus a brief word on the eventual logistics of reintegration to the life of the church at the 30:04 mark.
Bostonians are ambitious. Its a face. From our entrepreneurial ventures, our sports dynasties, or even our weekly schedules we are ambitious. With this ambition we are often coming from a place of achievement and getting ahead of whatever or whomever we must. There is a certain type of wisdom one needs to make it in the hustling & bustling world that is Boston. Continuing our study in James, we consider the dichotomy James makes between Wisdom & Righteousness. these both sound like good ...
James
This Sunday we continued our series in the letter of James. In this passage, James tells us that true, sincere religion is seen when we are doers of the word and not hearers only. Thankfully for us, we have the implanted word of God which equips us and empowers us to live out our faith.
The letter of James is chocked-full of guidance for practical living written to new Christian communities spread throughout a thoroughly secular and antagonistic Roman world. It’s so practical that it lays out stark contrasts between what active faith looks like over against dead religion or the surrounding unbelieving culture, so you can get a closeup view of the difference. We begin a sermon series through this letter declaring that faith is still active and actually “works” in countering even...
In this episode, Matt and Heather have a logistical and personal conversation about the upcoming 'sabbath from pastoral duties' that Seven Mile Road is giving him. Hope this helps everyone committed to the life and mission of our church know what to expect the next few months!
