Midtown Fellowship: Downtown

Sermon by Jon Ludovina on December 22, 2024. As we end our Advent series and Year of Biblical Literacy, we look at the final chapters of Revelation and the ultimate hope that’s given for those in Christ.

Sermon by Jake Blair on December 15, 2024. Last week, we examined the spiritual war in the spiritual realm and how Jesus’ birth brought about Satan’s defeat. This week, we continue to explore how, through Jesus, we can live into that victory.

Timestamps: 1:30 - How do we think about Revelation/apocalyptic literature? 4:08 - How do we begin to read Revelation/apocalyptic literature correctly? 8:20 - How do we understand the stranger imagery and ideas in Revelation? 9:27 - How are we to think about the end times? 12:40 - What about the “antichrist”? 16:27 - What about the “millennium” in Revelation 20? MIDTOWN RESOURCES Check out  M...

Sermon by Jake Blair on December 8, 2024. This week, we look at Revelation 12. While this passage seems strange and confusing at first glance, we'll see the author "pulling the curtain back" to show us the cosmic battle taking place and how, ultimately, Jesus wins. This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative .

Sermon by Jon Ludovina on December 1, 2024. In our first sermon in our study of Revelation, we look at the beginning of the letter and discuss how to think well about apocalyptic literature in Scripture. During this Advent season we will be blessed by remembering the first arrival of Christ while longing for his second. This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative .

Sermon by Jon Ludovina on November 24, 2024. Before wrapping up our Year of Biblical Literacy with a series on the book of Revelation, this week we zoom out and look at our reasons for doing this initiative, and the fruit we pray comes as a result. We will see that in the midst of our chaotic lives and the many distractions of modern life, God’s Word offers us a beautiful invitation.

Celebration Sunday sermon by Jake Blair on November 17, 2024. Our church family spent Sunday together celebrating baptisms!

Sermon by Jake Blair on November 10, 2024. The book of Hebrews concludes by pulling on one final Old Testament thread: the Kingdom of God. Through Jesus, His church is called to embody Heaven on Earth as we live in this already-not-yet tension. So, what does that look like for us? How can we experience more of His Kingdom in our lives, in our community, and in our world? This series is part of our...

Sermon by Jon Ludovina on November 3, 2024. Last week, we taught that Jesus is our perfect priest, tabernacle, and sacrifice. In light of that, this week in Hebrews 10, the author says how to put that into practice. How do we help each other persevere and keep one another from falling away? This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative .

Sermon by Jon Ludovina on October 27, 2024. Last week, we taught that Jesus is our perfect priest, tabernacle, and sacrifice. In light of that, this week in Hebrews 10, the author says how to put that into practice. How do we help each other persevere and keep one another from falling away? This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative .

For this episode, we interview Dr. Mitch Chase. Mitch Chase is the preaching pastor at Kosmosdale Baptist Church and an associate professor of biblical studies at SBTS in Louisville, Kentucky. He’s the author of  Short of Glory  and  Hope for All the Earth . He is married to Stacie, and they have four boys. You can follow him on  Twitter  and at his Substack, called “ Bibl...

Sermon by Jake Blair on October 20, 2024. This week, we look at one of the most foundational concepts in the Old Testament: the temple, the priests, and the sacrifice. While these might sound strange and foreign in our present-day culture, we'll learn why they matter to us and what they tell us about following Jesus. This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative .

Sermon by Jon Ludovina on October 13, 2024. This week, we look at Hebrews 3:7-19 which includes a repeated call from an Old Testament story: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." What is the nature of that rebellion, and how is hardening your heart spiritually dangerous? How can we guard our hearts from the deceitfulness of sin? This series is part of...

Sermon by Jake Blair on October 6, 2024. This week, we look at Hebrews 3. In this chapter, the author focuses on one of the most towering figures of the Old Testament, Moses, and how, as great as he is, he ultimately falls short. So how is Jesus better than Moses, and what does this mean for us as followers of Jesus? This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative .

Sermon by Jake Blair on September 29, 2024. We began our new series last week discussing how Hebrews cites hundreds of Old Testament stories, characters, and ideas that all culminate in the person of Jesus. This week, as we look at Hebrews 1-2, the author cites an Old Testament concept that, although it may be foreign to us, is profoundly significant to understanding who Jesus is. This series is p...

Sermon by Jake Blair on September 22, 2024. Near the tail end of our Year of Biblical Literacy, we come to the rich, dense book of Hebrews. It’s full of callbacks and history, threads pulled from all across the Old Testament. The author assumes intimate knowledge of the old covenant –the sacrificial system, the tabernacle, the promised land–and then shows that they were incomplete, only “copies an...

Sermon by Jon Ludovina on September 15, 2024. This week, we look at Mark 9:33-37 and how Jesus redefines greatness for his disciples. So, what does being great in the kingdom of God look like, and how can we experience that now? This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative .

For this episode, we interview Dr. Jonathan Pennington. Jonathan Pennington is associate professor of New Testament interpretation and director of research doctoral studies at  The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary  in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as the associate pastor of preaching at Sojourn Church East. He is the author of  The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing...

Sermon by Jon Ludovina on September 8, 2024. This week focuses on the story of the rich young ruler from Luke 18:18-29 and how he, though he had nearly everything in this life, couldn’t experience Jesus’ kingdom. So what might be keeping you from experiencing Jesus’ kingdom? What idols might have their hold on you? This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative .

Sermon by Jake Blair on September 1, 2024. Jesus’ teaching ministry is summed up in one word: repentance. This week, we look at how this applies to our church family. For example, what happens when people following Jesus sin against each other? What does repentance look like, then? How can we, as part of God’s kingdom, move forward if we’re stuck in bitterness an...

Sermon by Adam Gibson on August 25, 2024. Last week, we talked about repentance. In many ways, repentance opens the door to becoming the beautiful person you ought to be because repentance makes us right with God and allows these words spoken over Jesus to be spoken over us: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative .

Timestamps: 1:47 - What happened between the Old and New Testaments? 7:42 - How did the Jewish people interpret the Old Testament during those 400 years? 8:00 - The Pharisees 10:26 - The Sadducees 13:50 - The Essenes 15:39 - The Zealots MIDTOWN RESOURCES Check out MidtownBiblicalLiteracy.com for videos, book recommendations, and Bible reading plans “The Hebrew vs the Christian ordering of the Old...

Sermon by Adam Gibson on August 18, 2024. How would you summarize Jesus’ teachings? Depending on who you ask, you’re likely to get different answers. However, Jesus’ summary statement is actually one of his first statements in the Gospels: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  In other words, Jesus’ life and teachings are all about ushering in God’s loving rule and reign on Earth a...

Sermon by Jon Ludovina on August 11, 2024. On our last week in the Psalms, we’re going to look at a Psalm that brings many of the other Psalms together and shows us how to build a rock-solid identity on God. It’s a Psalm that helps us see how to become the kind of people we want to become—the kind of people who know who we are in a way that cannot be shaken. This series is part of our Year of Bibl...

Timestamps: 0:44 - What do we mean when we say “The Writings” of the Old Testament? 2:22 - The Torah: the rise of the kingdom, The Prophets: the fall of the kingdom, The Writings: longing for the kingdom 6:25 - Breaking down each book in The Writings 7:30 - The Psalms 9:52 - Lamentations 10:25 - Daniel 13:31 - Esther 16:47 - Ezra-Nehemiah 17:37 - Chronicles 20:07 - Why do these books matter and wh...