LBFC Weekly Sermons

Paul talks about what life in the body of Christ should be like in Ephesians 4.17-5.2. It is about embodying the truth, the love, that is in Jesus - in God. This life is lived even in a broken world, but not lived according to the patterns of this world. It is lived as the life of Christ, in him. Visit us on the web: https://www.lbfc.org . Give: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3ZJ93...

Considering how to approach the July 4th Celebration of 250 years as a nation in our contentious times....

This message discusses Ephesians 4.1-16. Paul talks a lot about unity by the Spirit, and the body of Christ. What does Paul mean by these things? What does he not mean? Visit us on the web: https://www.lbfc.org . Give: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3ZJ93YXC6X9AS Music "Front Porch" by Adam Selzer, see https://openchurch.com/free-download/front-porch-1011834/, (CC-BY-SA-3.0) Script...

This message discusses Ephesians 3.7-21. Paul breaks into prayer for the church in Ephesus, again! What can we learn about how to pray from considering how Paul prays? The Homework Questions: 1. What did Paul pray for the believers in chapter 1? 2. What did Paul pray for the believers in chapter 3? 3. Meditate on Paul's prayers… Ask God for deeper knowledge of Him in the ways that Paul prays for t...

This message discusses Ephesians 2.11-3.6. Paul teaches that God has created one new humanity in Christ. This is why he is in prison! Visit us on the web: https://www.lbfc.org . Give: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3ZJ93YXC6X9AS Music "Front Porch" by Adam Selzer, see https://openchurch.com/free-download/front-porch-1011834/, (CC-BY-SA-3.0) Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bi...

This message discusses Ephesians 2.1-10, focusing on the foundation of Paul's concept of the Christian life. We are alive by grace to do good works! Visit us on the web: https://www.lbfc.org . Give: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3ZJ93YXC6X9AS Music "Front Porch" by Adam Selzer, see https://openchurch.com/free-download/front-porch-1011834/, (CC-BY-SA-3.0) Scripture quotations are f...

This message discusses Ephesians 1.15-23, focusing on the major theme of knowing God. Visit us on the web: https://www.lbfc.org . Give: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3ZJ93YXC6X9AS Music "Front Porch" by Adam Selzer, see https://openchurch.com/free-download/front-porch-1011834/, (CC-BY-SA-3.0) Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright...

This message reviews a bit of the background for Paul's letter to Ephesus and then discusses Ephesians 1.1-14, focusing on the major theme of inheritance. Visit us on the web: https://www.lbfc.org . Give: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3ZJ93YXC6X9AS Music "Front Porch" by Adam Selzer, see https://openchurch.com/free-download/front-porch-1011834/, (CC-BY-SA-3.0) Scripture quotations...

This message on peacemaking interrupts our planned sequence in the series on Paul's Prison Letters due to the need to express Christian views on the war that the United States has entered into. Long Beach Friends Church is a peace church - a part of the larger Friends/Quaker (among others) Peace Church movement; so that's a major theme in this message. However, in a time when many highly-placed vo...

This message is the introduction to our series on Paul's Prison Letters. In it, we cover portions of Acts that give background for these letters, particularly background for Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. Visit us on the web: https://www.lbfc.org. Give: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3ZJ93YXC6X9AS Music "Front Porch" by Adam Selzer, see https://openchurch.com/free-download...

In this message we talk about Palm Sunday and Holy Week, the week leading up to Resurrection Sunday. Why did Jesus ride into Jerusalem... on a donkey? Visit us on the web: https://www.lbfc.org . Give: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3ZJ93YXC6X9AS Music "Front Porch" by Adam Selzer, see https://openchurch.com/free-download/front-porch-1011834/, (CC-BY-SA-3.0) Scripture quotations are...

Just what is the point of being a Christian, anyway? What is the purpose in following Christ? Why are we separated from God? What is the nature of that separation? Just where are we going in this life with Jesus, following Him? These questions were answered very differently by many early Christians than they are commonly answered today. In this message I try to open up the big picture vista for us...

If Jesus is Lord, what obligation does that place on his followers to avoid certain kinds of speech - of not using particular kinds of words? We consider how Paul instructs Jesus people to speak only what is helpful for building others up. Visit us on the web: https://www.lbfc.org . Give: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3ZJ93YXC6X9AS Music "Front Porch" by Adam Selzer, see https://o...

If Jesus is Lord, what obligation does that place on his followers to speak up for the truth, even if the truth is unpopular? We consider how faithful followers of Yahweh have spoken up in the past when it was unpopular and how we might think of this for us as Jesus people today. Visit us on the web: https://www.lbfc.org . Give: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3ZJ93YXC6X9AS Music "F...

"Every knee will bow..."? Really? What does this mean? Is God or Jesus into domination, an insecure wannabe tyrant who coerces subservience? I've heard him described as such based on these words. I don't think this interpretation is accurate. So, following on from covering epiphany and allegiance, we consider what it means that every knee will bow. Visit us on the web: https://www.lbfc.org . Give:...

Allegiance is a word I've not often heard associated with how we describe our relationship with Jesus; but when I heard Skye Jethani describe it this way recently is made me think more deeply. So in this message we consider what it means to put our allegiance on (or in?) Jesus. Visit us on the web: https://www.lbfc.org . Give: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3ZJ93YXC6X9AS Music "Fro...

Epiphany! Epiphany is both a Christian Calendar Holy Day recognized in many traditions on January 6, a word with a generic meaning in English, and a description of a spiritual reality central to what it means to be "Christian." In this message we consider the crucial and central meaning of "epiphany" for a follower of Jesus, as Jesus makes himself known. The Brian Zahnd essay that mentioned in the...

Advent is a time when those who follow the classic church calendar look forward to Jesus returning - an Advent, a coming. Many others look back to remember when he came born as a baby in Bethlehem. In this first Advent message we look at the theme of hope, which implies we are waiting for... what? We are patiently waiting for what we hope for - the reconciliation of all things in Jesus! We also co...

Advent is a time when those who follow the classic church calendar look forward to Jesus returning - an Advent, a coming. Many others look back to remember when he came born as a baby in Bethlehem. In this second Advent message we look at the theme of peace, better explained through the Hebrew word "shalom." What is our purpose in this time between Jesus' Advents, or comings? In this message, we c...

It's the Halloween season again. These days, Halloween has a bad reputation among many Christians. Is it deserved? Should Christians participate in the events surrounding Halloween? At the very least, we need not be afraid. In this message, recorded live on October 19 (apologies for the echo in the audio), Joe discusses some brief history of Halloween, positioning it in relation to All Saint's Day...

Well, we are certainly in a time when hate and violence seem to be gaining momentum and acceptance - even among some who claim to be Christian. The temptation to become a fierce, crusading warrior "for Jesus" is strong in our time, apparently. But no. Just no. This is not a new temptation. It is not Christian and not of Jesus. It is a deception. In this episode of the Christians, Politics, and Gov...

We took a two week break from our ongoing series starting Labor Day weekend. Circumstances conspired to make it impractical to release a pre-recording of the message for this past week (September 7, 2025). However, we recorded the message live in our English-language service on Sunday and decided to put it out on our podcast feed. It's about living in the wilderness of a broken world, and uses a r...

As was inevitable, some have wondered if this series has been "political" - wondering if that is improper. Christianity is political, and speaking as a Christian inevitably has political implications. However, we do not speak in a partisan manner to support one party or another. We speak the truth in love with wisdom, as nearly as we can discern it, with humility. We explore this theme in this epi...

In our series on Christians, Politics, and Government we are moving into considering what it means to love our neighbor. This message only mentions briefly any application of this idea to government and politics, so expect to be personally challenged. Of course, listeners are encouraged to consider how the concept of loving one's neighbor is embodied in our current politics and government policies...

In our series on Christians, Politics, and Government we are moving into considering what "other gods" may be taking priority in our politics, government - and in our own lives. This briefer-than-usual message includes questions for discussion and personal application, reproduced here for your convenience: Questions for Discussion: 1. What are "other gods" are given priority in our society? What o...