Good Vibes Only - Addressing Partial Truths
Pastor Robbie comments on some possible issues in Christian sub-culture.
This past Sunday we shifted gears into a message that Pastor Robbie really felt like he needed to preach on addressing the Christian sense of the common phrase ‘Good Vibes Only’. We hope you enjoyed our At The Movies Series, but some good things must come to an end! Now that we don’t have any pressing copyright concerns, the Podcast(s) for future Sermons will be available unless otherwise noted. If you were not able to make it to our Gathering this past Sunday, know that we missed you!
In our American culture today, the phrase ‘Good Vibes Only’ or some version of this can be seen almost everywhere you look, especially on social media. Scrolling through Instagram, you will see many people happy and thrilled with what is going on in their lives so they throw #goodvibes or #goodvibesonly in their caption to declare that they never want the feeling and experience they have captured to go away. Now there may not be anything explicitly wrong with this sentiment, but there different subtle versions of this idea that has seeped into Christian culture in ways that are not altogether wrong, but they are not altogether right either. When we look at what Scripture says of our lives, we see that this life is filled with blessings but it is also filled with trials. We are going to explore some of the ‘Partial Truth’s’ floating around in our Christian culture today and address them honestly and fairly.
The first Partial-Truth that was addressed is the Prosperity Gospel. You may or may not have heard of this, but basically what this idea suggests is that God, at the end of the day, wants you to be happy, healthy, and wealthy. Ps. Robbie stated ‘It's not like he is radically opposed to that, but it is not the entire truth because it sells itself short in saying, "At the end of the day, do you know what God wants for you? He wants you to be wealthy; he wants you to be healthy. If you follow God, this is what is in store for you." And that just doesn't align with the Bible. Jeremiah 29:11 is often wielded as evidence for this idea concerning God’s will for our lives “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” The context of this verse does not allow for the Prosperity Gospel; the people of Israel are being conquered by a foreign nation and there isn’t anything they can do about it! Hey, people are saying you're coming home. You're not coming home. Get comfortable. Seek the welfare of the city that you're in, but put down roots. You are not coming home. In fact, some of you guys are not even going to live for 70 years! Ultimately, the prosperity gospel creates this weird relationship where you don't actually worship God. You worship what he can give you.
The second Partial-Truth Pastor Robbie addressed is the Positivity Gospel. This movement towards self-help and overwhelming declarations towards positivity in one’s life has its benefits, that are Scripturally based, but sometimes it is taken way too far. God promises blessings in our lives, as we come alongside what He desires for our lives - but where it gets distorted is it begins to make promises that God never made. God does not promise you a promotion at work, the right relationship, or that you will be free from pain and suffering of any kind. Philippians 4:13 is probably one of the most well-known verses in Scripture because of this misunderstanding, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me”. Paul writes this from a prison cell to the church in Phillipi not to suggest to us that we can conquer the world - it suggests that no matter what happens, if I win or if I lose, if I'm rich or if I'm poor, that no matter what I face I can handle it all because of Jesus. He is enough. Positivity is one thing, but the peace that passes all understanding in Jesus Christ is truly transforming; positivity can bring you happiness, but Jesus brings you peace and joy!
The last Partial-Truth that was addressed this past Sunday is Promised Upgrades. This one that we probably hear often, ‘Oh you’re boy/girl-friend broke up with you? That’s because God has someone out there that s better for.’ This partial-truth basically tells people that bad things are only happening in your life because God has something better in store for you in the future - this feeds off of the idea of both the Prosperity and Positivity gospel points mentioned before. If God only desires good for our lives, well this bad thing that I’m going through isn’t actually bad, its actually good and I should lean into that. Romans 8:28 is often used to fuel this idea, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose”. We must get away from this idea that God’s goodness in our lives is always about making us more like Jesus, Ps. Robbie said it well in that “The specific good that God is at work. What’s this good? It's that in every situation that you face, God is going to bring about the good goal of using it to make you more like Jesus. That's the specific good in every situation.”
Consider what Partial-Truth’s you may believe in your life - dive into Scripture and pray that the Holy Spirit continues to illumine your mind and heart towards God’s will for your life. God’s Word and what He wants us to understand is the whole truth, while the subjects discussed this past Sunday have partial-truth, we are called to understanding whole truth and living our lives as such.
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Good Vibes Only - These partial truths, when misapplied can be damaging to our lives.
Main Scripture Passages: Philippians 4; Jeremiah 29:8-11; Romans 8:28
The Prosperity Gospel: God does not will that you should always be happy, healthy, and wealthy.
The Positivity Gospel: God does not will that we place our source of peace and joy on anything other than our relationship with Him through Jesus.
Promised Upgrades: Every unfortunate situation in our lives is not something better waiting to happen - take the good with the bad, all by leaning on the work that Jesus has done in your life.
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, please head over to Legacy City’s Podcast here.
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Join us next Sunday as Pastor Robbie begins an exciting and mysterious new series: Angels & Demons!
We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!
At The Movies - Avengers: Endgame
Pastor Robbie concludes our At The Movies series with Avengers: Endgame!
For the last week of our At The Movies series, Pastor Robbie brought an incredible word bringing out biblical themes from the worldwide phenomenon, Avengers: Endgame! If you were not able to make it to our Gathering this past Sunday, know that we missed you! Unfortunately, due to some copyright concerns, we were not able to record sermons for this series. Be sure to continue to check back in at Legacy City’s Blog going forward - this was the last week of our series, we hate to see it go but we hope you enjoyed all of the different movies we were able to cover!
This final week of our At The Movies series we decided to cover a movie that has become the biggest box-office hit in history, bringing in a whopping 2.79 billion dollars - that’s right billion! Don’t worry though, there are not any spoilers in this message, for those of you who may not have seen it yet and were planning to. It would take 10 or more different dedicated blog posts to really sum up what has led to the events of Endgame but we’ll do our best to summarize the story for context’s sake. Ps. Robbie summed it up best by saying, '“Avengers: Endgame is set after Thanos used the Infinity Stones at the end of the last movie, Infinity War - He put all of these super-powered, super-mystical stones into his gauntlet, which gave him the power to randomly wipe out half of the population, not just on Earth but in the whole universe. They called this event The Snap, because he snapped his fingers to make it happen. So half of all life, vaporized.”
We are used to seeing our heroes win, and triumph over evil right? Well, this time it doesn’t quite go like that, we are faced with what seems like overwhelming circumstances. When we take a look at what’s going on in our own lives we can begin to feel like a failure - like nothing is going our way everywhere we turn. One of the hero-like characters that we find in much of the New Testament is Paul, but so often do we forget that he used to be Saul; as Ps. Robbie said, “In the midst of his most zealous act yet, Saul falls flat on his face. He set out on a mission to wreak havoc on the Christians hiding in Damascus and he failed.” Saul was blinded on his way to persecute the Christian in Damascus and hearing the thundering voice of Jesus address him ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ (Acts 9:4), he is left powerless! The first step in Saul/Paul’s journey shows us that Failure is for certain - we all fall short of the glory of God.
People deal with failure in their lives in very different ways, as the many characters in Avengers: Endgame do; from ‘Black Widow, she can't relax, she has to take control and try to fix what went wrong - we might term that a workaholic; the character HawkEye, He’s so angry and heartbroken and frustrated that he tries to take revenge on people who are still doing wrong in the world - like he’s trying to say if I can’t fix what went wrong, I am at least going to try to make something right.’ Just like Saul who has been blinded by the very one he sought to go and persecute, our heroes are struggling to deal with what has occurred - but there is good news! Failure is not final, and what we do in dealing with our failure matters! Saul was directed into Damascus and is brought into their Christian circle - at his lowest, Saul chose Jesus! Saul took his failures and he laid them down at the feet of Jesus. He didn’t come up with a new strategy.
Laying his life down at Jesus’ feet opened Saul, now Paul, into a whole new world of possibility - a world that Paul took to very quickly and seriously. In Acts 9:19-20 we see ‘and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” Could we name somebody that has had a bigger impact on spreading the faith? All of his greatest feats came after his failure because he let his failures push him forward. Paul experienced failure in his life, but he did not stay a failure - it was not his identity, and it doesn’t have to be yours either! Our Bible says that we are more than conquerors in Christ, we are joint-heirs! In Romans 8:28 we see that Jesus is working all things together for the good of those that love him and are called according to his purpose; your failure doesn’t have to be final! When your SIN and your failure separated you from him, Jesus said, “Whatever it takes! I’m going to get them back, even if I have to die in the process.”
What will you choose - Failure or victory in Christ?
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Avengers: Endgame - literally the most successful movie ever made, go check it out if you haven’t!
Main Scripture Passages: Acts 9:3-20; Romans 8:28; John 3:16
Failure is for Certain
Failure is Not Final - What we do with Failure Matters.
Own your Failure, don’t let your Failure own you!
Unfortunately, due to copyright concerns, we will not be able to record audio sermons for this series - but if you would like to explore what sermons we do have recorded, visit here.
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
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Join us next Sunday for Pastor Robbie to speak on something special that God has laid on his heart!
We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!
At The Movies - The Sandlot
Elder Adam Weyer shows us how to Conquer our ‘Beast’ from The Sandlot in Jonah 1!
This fourth week of our At The Movies series, Legacy City Church gathered together to see what biblical themes we could find in the sports and 90’s classic The Sandlot. Elder Adam Weyer brought the word this past Sunday out of Jonah 1 - we are so thankful to have such passionate and able Elders who are willing to preach the Word! If you were not able to make it to our Gathering this past Sunday, know that we missed you! Unfortunately, due to some copyright concerns, we will not be able to have recorded sermons for this series. Be sure to continue to check back in at Legacy City’s Blog going forward - next week we will be finishing the series!
If you haven’t seen The Sandlot before, the plot essentially is a coming-of-age story about a boy coming into a new environment that brings him into their group through baseball. At first, there are some growing pains about being ‘the new kid’, but the group embraces him as their own! On the field that they play baseball, the Sandlot, there is a big wooden fence that separates the kids from a junkyard with a big scary dog - the Beast. Eventually, they have to overcome their fears by going over the fence to retrieve a really valuable baseball and they’re met with very different circumstances than they ever would have thought!
The Sandlot is a fun and whimsical story, but there are a lot of really biblical themes that we see play out through some days at the Sandlot. The whole story surrounds the danger that the big wooden fence suggests - this is closed off area to the kids and all they hear are big scary growls of the Beast on the other side. El. Adam hit the ground running with the first chapter of Jonah when God prompts Jonah to go and minister to a dangerous people who have a history of being against the things of God (Jn. 1:1-3). The history of the Ninevites was Jonah’s big wooden fence - his fear overcame his faithfulness towards God and His plan for Jonah and the people of Ninevah.
Just like in The Sandlot, the story of Jonah is only getting started - the fence is meant to be acknowledged and it is meant to be conquered. It isn’t always fun or pretty to have to face, but Jonah eventually comes to embrace his calling to go and minister to the people of Ninevah; maybe your journey has felt similar to Jonah’s, I mean, he had to get thrown overboard during a storm to realize what he needed to do (Jn 1:4-17)! In the Sandlot, the kids eventually build up the courage to scale the fence and go after the baseball hit over it. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but that big bad Beast, wasn’t at all what the kids thought it to be. In our walks with God, we have to identify what our ‘Beasts’ are - we can conquer them because our faithfulness comes from a mighty and powerful God!
Where is your faithfulness towards the ‘Beast’ in your life? Are we still gazing at our big wooden fence wondering how we will ever build up the courage to scale it - or are we seeking after the faithfulness we see in Scripture of great men and women of God like Jonah? Seek the Lord in prayer, in studying His Word, and community in His Church; the powerful acts of faith we see in Scripture are meant as more than an example to us, they are testaments to God’s faithfulness towards our faithfulness!
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
The Sandlot - such a great sports and 90’s classic, go check it out!
Main Scripture Passage: Jonah 1:1-17
What Beast is on the other side of your Fence? (Jonah 1:1-3)
Go, and Face the Beast! (Jonah 1:4-17)
Where is your faith in your situation?
Unfortunately, due to copyright concerns, we will not be able to record audio sermons for this series - but if you would like to explore what sermons we do have recorded, visit here.
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
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Join us next Sunday when we conclude the At The Movies series with Avengers: Endgame! We have one last week, and it’s going to be awesome - We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!
At The Movies - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Pastor Robbie covers Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone through Exodus 17!
We just finished our third week of our At The Movies series where we covered Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone! The whole Harry Potter series is a grand adventure of conflict and resolution as we walk through the years with Harry, Ron and Hermione - we were so excited to be able to go through such an impacting series to so many of us! If you were not able to make it to our Gathering this past Sunday, know that we missed you! Unfortunately, due to some copyright concerns, we will not be able to have recorded sermons for this series. Be sure to continue to check back in at Legacy City’s Blog going forward in this series!
If you’re not familiar with the plot of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (or any part of the whole - there are 7 books and 8 movies by the way!), it first and foremost is not a story that invokes ‘evil practices or demonic worship’ in any way. Harry Potter, on a core level, is a fictional story about a boy (Harry) who comes into a world of wizardry and is thrown into an epic adventure to combat evil forces that are coming against him and his friends. This first movement in the story is an introduction to the world Harry is now living in, where we see him being assimilated into a community and a particular ‘House’ that will become his ‘home away from home’. We are also introduced to the evil wizard causing tremendous problems in their world (Voldemort) who Harry is empowered to fight against.
Pastor Robbie used three different clips from this first movie that showed us some very specific points that have been true ever since the days of Moses in the book of Exodus. In Exodus 17, we see that after Moses has brought the people of Israel out of their oppression in Egypt, a truly demonic force comes against them in Amalek and his people. An epic battle ensues at Ex. 17:8 and we see something very specific from Moses concerning the battle. In Ex. 17:10-11, Moses’ hands are raised before the Lord, and while his hands are raised, the battle goes in the people of Israel’s favor! We all have different forces come against us, be that various issues in our lives or very real demonic oppression, but we can know that God’s Hand moves when we pray to him!
Now Moses is an awesome guy, someone that God chose to use for the benefit of his people, but he (like all of us) needed people surrounding him that were willing to assist and build him up. In Ex. 17:12-13, Aaron and Hur hold Moses’ hands up in the air when he grows weary from his task. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could hold my hands up for the entirety of a military battle! I would need help, I would need to have people around me to pick me up when I need it!
Harry Potter is a gifted boy, but in his epic quest to defeat Voldemort, he needed his friends around him to help him with his task; Harry found this friendship in his assigned House at Hogwarts. When we come against various issues in our lives, things are going to be tough, things are going to seem impossible to go through - we need to have a strong ‘House’ around us to help keep us going!
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Harry Potter (the whole series) is just incredible - still totally worth watching right now!
Main Scripture Passage (Exodus 17)
You will be under attack at different points in your life, but always remember that God’s Hand moves when you pray! (Ex. 17:10-11)
‘I don't care how smart you are, how strong you are, how resolved you are, to win your battle - you need other people.’ (Ps. Robbie)
We are meant to be together in community, we were made to be in a common House together - find your Ron and Hermione!
Unfortunately, due to copyright concerns we will not be able to record audio sermons for this series - but if you would like to explore what sermons we do have recorded, visit here.
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
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Join us next Sunday as we jump into our next installment of At the Movies! We are so excited to be back in this series - We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!
At the Movies - The Lion King
Guest Speaker and Pastor Michael Bayne dived into The Lion King and 1 Samuel!
This past Sunday was our second installment of our At the Movies series! This past Gathering, Guest Speaker and Pastor Micheal Bayne brought to light The Lion King! If you were not able to make it to our Gathering this past Sunday, know that we missed you! Unfortunately, due to some copyright concerns, we will not be able to have recorded sermons for this series. Be sure to continue to check back in at Legacy City’s Blog going forward in this series!
The Lion King is a grand story of wonder, mistakes, betrayal, and overcoming difficult odds. It’s a story many of us know well, and it has so many scenes that have likely stuck with us long after seeing them!
Ps. Michael started his message off with such an impacting scene from The Lion King - Mufasa’s death! We can’t believe he broke our hearts so early, but the emotional fuel got us going right out of the gates! Simba idolized his father, and expected him to be around to help him come into maturity as he succeeded his father as Ruler of Pride Rock. So often in our lives when we are confronted with unexpected (and particularly painful) situations we can begin to doubt God’s path and plan for our lives. We stayed in 1 Samuel for most of the morning, and learned some very important lessons. 1 Sam. 16:1 tells us, “The LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’” Even though Simba could not see what his life would look like going forward, his adventure would ultimately lead him exactly where he needed to be! In our own lives, no matter what the circumstances, we know that God is always working ahead of our pain and problems with restoration and redemption.
1 Samuel 16 has a lot of different lessons that we can learn from; especially v6-7 and v11-13.
With the Lord having rejected Saul as Israel’s king (1 Sam. 15), Samuel was concerned for the people of Israel not having a king who sought after right relationship with the Lord. In 1 Sam. 16:6-7 we see Samuel believing ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him (Eliab) (v6); the Lord has other plans saying to Samuel in v7, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ Declaring to us that God longs for different things than what we long for. Our human hearts sometimes look for the wrong things in people, but God is always looking at the core of their hearts.
Ps. Michael concluded his message by hitting on 1 Sam. 16:11-13 encouraging us with two very critical points. No matter what position we find ourselves in, just like David who would not have expected what came about in his life, God goes with us into struggle as much as he rescues us from struggle! We are God’s people, and he is with us! It doesn’t matter where you are in your life or your walk with Christ, God is in the business of using broken people to accomplish His goals for His Kingdom! Just like David, sometimes the most unlikely candidate is God’s primary choice for the job!
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
The Lion King - such an incredible classic, you should totally watch it (if you haven’t already!).
God is always working ahead of your pain and problem with restoration and redemption. (1 Sam. 16:1)
God longs for different things than you long for. (1 Sam. 16:6-7)
God goes with us into struggle as much as He rescues us from struggle. (1 Sam. 16:11-13)
God chooses and uses unlikely people to make a difference in this world.
Unfortunately, due to copyright concerns we will not be able to record audio sermons for this series - but if you would like to explore what sermons we do have recorded, visit here.
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as we jump into our next installment of At the Movies! We are so excited to be back in this series - We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!
At the Movies - Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Finding the unique value of our singular life here on Earth, as found in Jumanji!
This past Sunday was our opening week for our new series At the Movies! Throughout this series, we hope to draw out biblical ideas from popular movies that we all know and love; this past Gathering, Pastor Robbie focused on the newest version of Jumanji! If you were not able to make it to our Gathering this past Sunday, know that we missed you! Unfortunately, due to some copyright concerns, we will not be able to have recorded sermons for this series. Be sure to continue to check back in at Legacy City’s Blog going forward in this series!
For those of us who are not familiar with the plot of Jumanji, we see that ‘Four high school kids discover an old video game console and are drawn into the game's jungle setting, literally becoming the adult avatars they chose. What they discover is that you don't just play Jumanji - you must survive it. To beat the game and return to the real world, they'll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives…’ - isn’t that a crazy situation?! But what is very clear, is the focus on survival we see outright; the players in the story are now in a situation where their one life is in grave danger, not just in-game, but in real life! Ps. Robbie focused heavily on this, ‘The big idea today is ONE. You have one shot at this thing called life. I’m talking about making this one life that God has blessed you with something extraordinary.’
Looking at Ephesians 4:4-7 we see, ‘There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.’ Scripture reinforces this idea that we are born and we live a single life which we will either wield for God’s glory and honor or selfishly waste for our own desires! Ps. Robbie emphasizes this with ‘So if you just get one life, why wouldn’t you make it extraordinary, make it powerful, live on point with purpose? God has blessed you with today, one day, one life, you live one decision at a time, so be smart about your life.’
We have distinct purpose in our lives as believers, you are not an accident or a mistake in the eyes of God - Scripture declares this! But often times it can be confusing with questions lingering like ‘What is God’s calling on my life?’; ‘What purpose does the Lord have for me going forward?’. We see this very clearly in Jumnaji also ‘In the movie, they were told that their goal was return a stolen gem stone to a jaguar shaped mountain in Jumanji, they had a vision for the end game, but didn’t exactly know what the journey was going to look like.’ God has a personalized vision for your life, and it all starts with a commission that Jesus himself gave to his disciples and applies to each and every one of us as believers, ‘Go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of Lord (Matthew 28:19-20)- can it be that simple? YES! Share the good news, disciple others.’ You’ve got one life to live - Scripture tells us we are to be empowered with purpose towards the forwarding of the Gospel to a lost and dying world! There are no resets or extra lives in this game of life, make your choice and work hard at progressing forward!
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - its an awesome movie, go check it out!
Your life is imbued with unique purpose (Ephesians 4:4-7).
Tapping into God’s unique purpose for your life begins and ends with your trust in Him with everything in your life (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Sometimes the path God has for you isn’t as specific as we would like it, but Jesus has already given us some very important steps that should be present in all of our lives (Matthew 28:19-20).
You don’t need a platform or an ‘important position’ to make an impact for the Gospel - we are called to be servants above all!
Unfortunately, due to copyright concerns we will not be able to record audio sermons for this series - but if you would like to explore what sermons we do have recorded, visit here.
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as we jump into our next installment of At the Movies! We are so excited to be back in this series - We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!
Summer Scripture Series - Once Useless, Now Useful
Pastor Robbie concludes Philemon and our Summer Scripture series!
We have now concluded our Summer Scripture Series, hopefully you enjoyed walking through Colossians and Philemon verse by verse! If you were not able to make it to our Gathering this past Sunday, know that we missed you! Don’t worry, you can still hear the full message here at Legacy City’s Podcast. Pastor Robbie concluded Philemon from verse 7 until the end and did he ever come prepared to preach this past Sunday – be sure to join us this upcoming Sunday for the beginning of our new series At The Movies!
The core of Philemon (v8-22), surrounds Paul addressing Philemon concerning a past runaway slave of his (Onesimus) that has come to know the Lord and has been attending to Paul’s needs. Ps. Robbie gave us an overview of what Paul was essentially saying, ‘So… Philemon, while you lounge around in your luxurious house, with servants… I, an old man, am here in prison for the gospel. I’ve led Onesimus to Christ, and he really feels a call toward ministry, and I could really use his help right now… but if you really want to take him back, I guess you can.’ The Gospel changes our motivations and the way that we address those around us, not through a position forcefulness or authority, but of humble love and adoration (v8-10). Paul could have used his influence and spiritual authority to demand that Onesimus stay with him – but he doesn’t, and respects Philemon’s position.
There has been some unfortunate history to surround Philemon, a history of oppression and slander against people that God created in his image. The record has been set straight, ‘In Christ, masters and servants become brothers and sisters. The ground is level at the foot of the cross church: one RACE: Human. One CLASS: Sinner. One HOPE: JESUS. One FUTURE: Resurrection. One FORTUNE: the Eternal Riches of Christ.’
Onesimus was no longer useless in his sinfulness, but useful in the body of Christ in service to an apostle and his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ! Martin Luther once wrote, “Even as Christ did for us with God the Father, thus Paul also does for Onesimus with Philemon.” Ps. Robbie stated, ‘We are Onesimus, the runaway slave, the rebellious one, the one who is no longer useful because of our sinfulness. But Christ says that we are useful, not because of anything we’ve done to deserve being taken back, but because of Christ’s own reputation!
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Passage: Philemon 1:8-22
The Gospel should radically change your life and the way you relate to others.
The Gospel produces gracious, self-sacrificial Love for others.
You are called to give value to brother and sisters in Christ and anyone else in your life!
You are Useful in Christ, don’t continue treating others as if they are Useless!
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, please head over to Legacy City’s Podcast here.
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as we jump into our new series At the Movies! We are so excited to be able to bring this series back - We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!
Summer Scripture Series - We're All One Big Kingdom Family
Pastor Brandon Henson brings Encouragements from the first 7 Verses of Philemon.
We’re now in the final stretch of our Summer Scripture Series – our good friend Pastor Brandon Henson spoke such an incredibly encouraging sermon this past week! We covered the first 7 verses of Philemon and there was so much to unpack! We were so glad to see you on Sunday, if you weren’t able to join us, be sure to catch the conclusion to Philemon this coming week when Pastor Robbie will be finishing up our series.
As Ps Brandon suggested during the gathering, there are probably far too few of us who have never taken the time to study one of the shortest books of the Bible – Philemon. This letter may only have 25 verses, but what we encountered this first week of our study was certainly full of rich and convicting qualities! Overall, ‘We’re all one, big, Kingdom Family’!
Paul’s letters overall serve distinct purposes in Scripture; they are intimate and personal letters to different churches that desire to enrich God’s Kingdom. But if we look at our world today, are our churches and communities joining together as a broad corporate Body, or are we more concerned with individual growth and status? What about our relationship with fellow believers in our own church communities – are we empowering our brothers and sisters in Christ as citizens of the Kingdom should?
The first 7 verses of Philemon serve an equally distinct purpose, with a unique and untypical Pauline introduction. Instead of qualifying his position, as an Apostle, he declares himself ‘a prisoner for Christ Jesus’ (ESV) – a position many of us here in the US are used to associating ourselves with Ps Brandon commented. Regardless, Paul is unashamed in his willingness to be in whatever position God places him, if it is for His Kingdom. Are you oriented towards a ‘Kingdom Mindset’? Are you working towards genuine fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ – building them up and ‘calling out the Gold in them’?
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Passage: Philemon 1:1-7
Remember, It’s All About the Kingdom! (v1-3)
See the Gold in Others (v4-5)
Desire what’s Best for Fellow Believers (v6)
Trust the Results of Love: Joy and Comfort (v7)
If this topic piques your interest, or you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, please head over to Legacy City’s Podcast here.
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
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Join us next Sunday as we finish our Summer Scripture Series. We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!
Summer Scripture Series - With a Little Help from My Friends
Pastor Robbie returned to conclude the first book of our Summer Scripture Series by wrapping up Colossians.
This past Sunday was so awesome; thank you all for joining us in worship of the One True God. If you weren’t able to make it, we missed you so much! Don’t worry, though, we are saving you a seat for next week. Following up on our Guest Speaker and dear friend, Pastor Joshua Chiles from last week, Pastor Robbie returned to conclude the first book of our Summer Scripture Series by wrapping up Colossians.
Several people shared that they had never heard a message preached on the closing remarks of Paul’s letter, and certainly not the end of Colossians where Paul just names off some of the various people who assisted him in his ministry. As Ps Robbie said Sunday morning, ”As he wraps up the letter to the Colossians, Paul is giving us a group picture of his supporters during his Roman imprisonment. The list of names shows that the support of others is important in living out our faith.”
Paul included people from all walks of life on his ministry team – Jew and Gentile alike; from a doctor (Luke) to those who didn’t always have the best reputations in their community (Mark & Demas). Everybody in the Church is not meant to be the ‘up-front, in the spotlight’ type, but we are all meant to serve in the capacity in which God has called us. The passage highlights the people in Paul’s life and ministry that Paul himself valued and believed was glorifying Christ in whatever role they willingly found themselves!
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Passage: Colossians 4:7-18
There is greatness even in the smallest things done for Christ.
Momentary things done for Christ are eternal.
God is still in the life-changing business today.
If you are full of Christ, you will forgive like him.
If this topic piques your interest, or would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, please head over to Legacy City’s Podcast here.
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as we begin our second book in our Summer Scripture Series, Philemon! We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!
Baptisim at Legacy City
There is no statute of limitations on when one can get baptized, whether you came to trust in Jesus yesterday or two decades ago, the time is now.
WHAT IS BAPTISM?
To begin with, baptism is NOT salvation. Although we believe that baptism is not necessary to attain salvation, it is the natural overflow and result of such redemption. It is an outward representation of an inward decision to follow Christ; it is an expression of obedience to Scripture and God.
We practice baptism by immersion, so on a physical level, baptism is a follower of Jesus being submerged under water (for a mere split second) to identify with the death and burial of Jesus and raised out of the water to identify with His resurrection. Baptism is viewed as a celebration at Legacy City, so while being baptized, we welcome family and close friends to come and stand behind you to encourage and affirm the action.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT BAPTISM?
We believe that the command to be baptized can clearly be found in Scripture. For example, see the Great Commission as recorded in Matthew 28:18-20.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Next, see Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, found in Acts 2.
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38
Later in Acts, Peter commands the Gentiles to be baptized, in addition to believing Jews.
47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days. Acts 10:47-48
There are many more instances where baptism is discussed in Scripture, but for the sake of time we can leave it at these obvious commands to baptize and be baptized.
WHEN DO I GET BAPTIZED?
As soon as you come to know Jesus, or anytime thereafter. There is no statute of limitations on when one can get baptized, whether you came to trust in Jesus yesterday or two decades ago, the time is now. Believers in the New Testament were baptized the same day. As soon as a person decides to believe in Christ, he can be, and is encouraged to be baptized. We see an example of this in Acts 8:35-39.
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
WHO CAN BAPTIZE PEOPLE AT LEGACY CITY?
Scripture is oddly silent on the idea of who can baptize. Traditionally, some may lean on the idea that it must be an ordained male pastor that baptizes, and while Pastor Robbie does many of the baptisms at Legacy City, we do not hold to that as the only means of baptism as Scriptural. In fact, we see in Scripture that often Jesus was not doing the baptizing, his disciples were. (John 4:2)
We find that there are really only three requirements of one that can baptize others: a person must profess faith in Christ, have been previously baptized following conversion themselves, and be involved with a local church (not necessarily Legacy City). The Great Commission even commands all of us to go out and baptize. So with that being said, a person is welcome to be baptized by a pastor, an elder, a parent, a mentor - whoever meets those requirements can baptize, male or female, ordained or not.
Sign up for the next Baptism Sunday here. If you have other questions about baptism, please feel free to reach out to contact@legacycity.church.