Salem Magley Church Podcast

In this sermon for Easter Sunday, Pastor Chris explores how the resurrection of Jesus is the beginning of God's plan to make things right in the world. Pastor Chris shows how this is true by exploring God's plan from the beginning to restore the brokenness of the world after human rebellion. In this sermon, we see that all of God's work meets in Jesus' resurrection, and that those who follow Jesus...

In this sermon for Palm Sunday, Pastor Chris explores Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem the week of his crucifixion. The gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus made plans to ride a donkey for the last several miles of his party's journey to Jerusalem. As we look at the passage, we see that Jesus made this choice for a reason. He wanted to make a statement about himself, that he's different. Hav...

In this sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Pastor Chris explores the story of Jesus' raising Lazarus from the dead found in the eleventh chapter of John's gospel. In this sermon, Pastor Chris challenges the listener to consider if they have the imagination to believe that God could act in their lives in ways they had never imagined. To make this point, Pastor Chris explores how no one in Lazarus...

In this sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, Pastor Chris explores Jesus' call to leave behind our way to live his way. Jesus makes this call by challenging the assumptions and standards of the people of his day. Today Jesus makes this same call on all of our lives. He challenges us to leave behind our old lives, our old assumptions and standards to embrace seeing and interacting with the world a...

In this sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent, Pastor Chris explores Jesus' desire to meet people where they are in the life and set them free to find eternal life. Pastor Chris does this be preaching on the passage of the Samaritan woman at the well from John chapter 4 verses 5 through 42. Through this passage Pastor Chris explains that Jesus wanted to reveal his true identity as the Jewish Messiah...

In this sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent, Pastor Chris explores what it takes to be saved. He does this by first looking at the call of Abram, the moment when God’s plan for saving his people begins to to take shape. In this call, Abram must do one thing, trust God. In this sermon Pastor Chris also explores how Jesus’ becomes the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram, and that Jesus does this...

In this sermon for the First Sunday in Lent, Pastor Chris explores the cause of death, chaos, and evil in the world, as well as God's plan for fixing these issues. As these ideas are explored, Pastor Chris explains that human rebellion has led to a world of death and destruction that can only be made overcome by the life offered in Jesus. Jesus, having lived the life that humans can't, stands read...

In this sermon for the last Sunday after the Epiphany, Pastor Chris unpacks Jesus' transfiguration. He does this by connecting the story of the transfiguration to it's roots in the Hebrew scriptures. He does this by connecting the story of the transfiguration to the story of Moses, and shows that Jesus' mountain top moment is even greater than Moses' mountain top moment. All of this points to one...

In this sermon for the Six Sunday after Pentecost, Pastor Chris explores what it takes to be a good person. First he establishes that we must base our ideas about being a good person--our ideas about morality--in God. God made us, he knows what brings life. Therefore, we must took to him if we are to be a good person. Second, establishes that we don't try to become good people on our own. Instead,...

In this sermon for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany Pastor Chris explores the idea of a having a religious faith versus having a relational faith. The conclusion that is drawn from the teachings of Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 verses 13-20 is that our faith needs to be both religious and relational. Our religious worship grounds our relational life and our relational life gives meaning to our rel...

In this sermon for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Pastor Chris describes Jesus' take on the good life that leads to living your best life. He does so by walking us through the the beatitudes, or the Matthew chapter 5 verses 1-12. In this sermon Pastor Chris first wonders how we should define the good life. He shows that the good life is viewed as a subjective idea in twenty-first century, w...

One of the less spoken of roles of Jesus in the gospels was prophet. Though this part of his ministry often gets shoved to the side, it's placed front and center in the gospels. In this sermon, Pastor Chris unpacks Jesus' prophetic word to the people of the first century and the people of today. What is this prophetic word? A call to repent, for the kingdom of God is coming. The more we look at th...

In this sermon Pastor Chris explains that Jesus came to save. He does this by exploring the claims of John the Baptism made about Jesus in the first chapter of John's Gospel. In this chapter, John the Baptist claims that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. he also claims that Jesus is God's chosen one. This leads several of John's disciples to check Jesus out, and when th...

In this video Pastor Chris offers a sermon on Jesus' baptism where he discusses that Jesus' baptism confirms his identity and mission. Jesus' identity is affirmed at his baptism when God's Holy Spirit descends upon him after he comes out of the water and God speaks audibly about Jesus' being his Son whom he lives. This public affirmation of Jesus is connected to the passages of Isaiah called the s...

Who were the three wise men, the three kings, or the three magi? Which is it and why did they visit Jesus? In this sermon for Epiphany Sunday, Pastor Chris explains the significance of the story of the three wise men, or as Matthew calls them, the three magi. These characters aren't just an interesting note in the story of Jesus' birth in the gospel of Matthew. These characters are central to the...

How do we respond to the news on Christmas morning? While there are many ways we can respond, there is one way that captures the heart of the people of God. In this sermon for Christmas Day, Pastor Chris calls on the people to raise their voices in praise to the God who comes.

Have you ever wondered what it would take bring lasting peace to the world? Maybe we should just give up on the hope of ever creating such a world. Maybe there is an answer to this problem. Maybe we're just not looking in the right places. In this sermon, on the fourth Sunday of Advent, Pastor Chris reminds us that Jesus, our source of peace, harmony, and goodness, is coming.

The holiday season is meant to be a time of joy, but why? What's so joyful about dragging our kids all over the country, going into debt, and seeing family who don't even like us? In this sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Pastor Chris reminds us that our joy is found in the good news that Jesus came to make the world right.

We make a big deal about Christmas and the birth of Jesus, but what does his coming bring to the world? Why do we even bother to watch for his return? Will it even make a difference once he gets here? In this sermon for the Second Sunday of Advent, Pastor Chris explains how Jesus' return brings his righteous justice by arousing repentance. We can't have justice without repentance, and just comes c...

Can we know the date and time of Jesus return? Can we do anything at all to prepare for his coming? In this sermon, Pastor Chris calls us to watch for Jesus while we await is return.

Have you ever consider who or what you follow? Companies, politicians, influencers, the media, they are all competing for our attention, telling us they'll make our lives better, but will they truly? In this sermon, Pastor Chris explores why we call Jesus king and why we need him as our king.

Do you live in a state of constant anxiety? Do the uncertainties and threats of tomorrow have you paralyzed with fear? In this sermon, Pastor Chris reminds us that Jesus taught his people to expect deception, divisions, and disasters in this life but not to worry because in Jesus we will win life!

What are we to make of All Saints' Day? Should we celebrate? Is there anything that can be learned from this day? In this sermon, Pastor Chris teaches that All Saints' Day points to one life altering idea: knowing God changes us.

We may think that we know God, but do we know him with our head or with our heart? Today we explore this question and more and we take a look at the final chapter of the book of Jonah.

Does God still speak today? If so, where do we turn to hear his voice? Today we explore these questions and more as we look at the third chapter of the book of Jonah.