Seven Mile Road

“When I was shipwrecked, I thought of you.” What a sacred thing it is to be the person that someone would say that about. This is who Elizabeth was for Mary. While not “shipwrecked” exactly, Mary’s life was suddenly spun upside down. Without hesitation, she hurries to be with her older cousin Elizabeth, who receives her with warmth, gladness, and encouragement. In this sermon we’ll hear their stor...

Not the way you imagine. Not like anyone else. Not how a story usually starts. The unique life of Jesus, the God-man, has a unique beginning –a Virgin Birth. It is impossible, there is no denying it. Yet the angel Gabriel gives account explaining, “Nothing will be impossible with God.” This impossible beginning is necessary for all the possibilities that Jesus would bring to humanity. Join us this...

As Luke’s gospel begins to unfold, a weathered priest and a betrothed teenager each receive a wild promise from the Lord about sons soon to be born into their lives. Both ask what seem like similar questions, but each receives a very different answer. In this sermon we’ll talk about why that is and what it means for how we are to respond to the promises of the gospel. Luke 1:5-38

In this sermon we begin a deep dive together into the breathtaking waters of Luke’s gospel. His narrative begins with one super long sentence meant to rope us right in. The Gospel is true - for real true - and there is a certainty the Spirit wants us to have about it. So He inspired the brilliant and beloved doctor (Luke) to write it all down for us.

Sara, Matt, and Michael get you caught up on what's happening this month at Seven Mile Melrose. 

When Jesus' Apostle Paul was invited into a non-church space called the Areopagus, he quoted to his listeners from ... their pagan poetry books? Yes. This Sunday we'll talk from Acts 17 about one of the ways we are working to love and gospel locals from inside-out of the words of some of our culture's most famous novelists, singers, and screenwriters. Acts 17:16-31

As you know, we don’t “chase the headlines” in our preaching, but there are times when we do choose to preach from texts that speak directly to our cultural moment with gospel clarity. Four years ago, we took a Sunday to do this as a new president was assuming a four-year term in office. This Sunday, we will be doing that again. What would you say to a new president if you had a few minutes with h...

In this sermon, we talked about the why ( and a little about the when! ) of Christian baptism, that glorious means of grace, given to us by Christ, by which we are welcomed into the family of God and the fellowship of the church. Whether baptism is on your radar or in your rearview, we are praying that this sermon will be a big help and encouragement. Colossians 2:12

All across the world, every week, on the first day of the week, Christians gather together in public to do the work of worship. And for the last 9 months many have lamented being kept from doing that by the COVID-19 pandemic. Why do we love to gather? Why do we hate not being able to? This Sunday we'll allow the words of Scripture to give us the big why of public worship. Hebrews 10:24-25

Sara, Matt, and Michael recorded a quick conversation to help catch you up on the new year and the new month at Seven Mile Road Melrose. 

One of our dreams at Seven Mile Road is that we would live together in "supertight community." One of the threats to that "supertightness" is the temptation to look at others in the body and be like, "Eh. We don't need you." or "We'd be just fine if you weren't around." This Sunday we'll mine the poisonous root of that sentiment and consi...

A quick 10 minute conversation with Michael Prevett as he moves into a more pronounced way of serving Seven Mile Road.

The author of the book of Ruth finishes his love story with a ... genealogy? Yes! Rather than words to be glossed over, the genealogies in Scripture are reminders that God accomplishes HIs purposes over time through real people. So Ruth ends as the Gospels begin ... with a list of names that tell a gospel story.

In one sense, we are to have one Hero: Christ with no rivals. In another sense, we are to have many heroes and heroines … and Ruth is one of them. She is called a “worthy woman” who was “worth more than seven sons.” This Sunday we’ll see what made this statement so beautifully true and consider how Ruth’s life shapes our vision for the women God has given us at Seven Mile Road.

Matt and Michael sit down to talk about an upcoming book club for anyone interested that will start up in January. Listen to hear about the whys and the whats of this book club. 

Yes, it’s true: due to Sin/sin*, this life is filled with pain and suffering. And yet … it’s also filled with grace. This Sunday we arrive at the end of Ruth’s love story, and we are bombarded with grace after unexpected grace. I mean, how many happy endings can a single love story have? This one sets the record! And in all of them, we’ll get a window into the heart of God for His children. * By “...

Instead of a typical sermon, in this special we hear from some Seven Milers.  Each year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving we pause to reflect and share about God's recent graces in the lives of Seven Milers.  This year we tie things directly to the big gospel truths we've been discovering in the book of Ruth and hear from some of you how those truths have landed on your soul recently. 

One of our dreams is that Seven Mile Road would be jam-packed with strong men who care and contend for the women in their lives. Boaz was such a man. Ruth knew she would be safe coming “under his wings.” Naomi knew, instinctively, that he would take bold, selfless, decisive action when given the opportunity. Woah. In this sermon we focus in on what it takes to be this kind of man.

As Christians, we are called to pursue gospel ends by gospel means, entrusting ourselves fully to God not only in what we are going for but in how we get there. This Sunday we’ll see our father-in-the-faith Boaz do just this. In love, He entrusts himself and his future to God, not only by committing himself to the costly redemption of Ruth, but by refusing to sinfully usurp the right of the first...

We said that the book of Ruth is a love story … but not the kind you’d expect! It begins with the love of a daughter-in-law for her mother-in-law (surprise!). Then we are caught off guard again as we realize that Boaz and Ruth’s marriage is about more being in love: it’s about a bigger, deeper mission that God is accomplishing through them for the good of others, not just for themselves. In this s...

This month Pastor Matt had a special opportunity to sit down with not one but two Katies! Katie Barker and Katie Ryou give an update on this fall's Kalos Team initiative. Some of the newest married women that are a part of the life of Seven Mile Road are participating in a newly-married-women's-intensive.  Listen for a glimpse into what is happening in that intensive and how the Spirit i...

We stop right where we are in the story of Ruth and rerun the scene zooming in on Boaz.  What we see is a worthy man, and upon more than a cursory glance, we see the marks of his vocation or work. There were marks of how Boaz ran his business that showed he loved God deeply. It made his work different; it made his work worthy. In our story, we’ll see God has given us our work as a venue to display...

The gospel births in us a relentless optimism because we have entrusted ourselves to a God of limitless grace. That doesn’t mean we presume that everything will go our way every time. But it does mean that, by faith, we get up every day and give ourselves - energetically and expectantly - to doing the next gospel-shaped thing, confident that God will meet us with all the grace we need … and often...

The gospel life is a life of love. We’ve been loved – deeply, steadfastly, sacrificially – by God, and now we bend that love out to others. The Hebrew word for this kind of love is “hesed,” a concept so beautifully rich we don’t have a single, compatible word for it in English. In this sermon, our breath will be stolen (as Naomi’s was!) as we see Ruth put the beauty of “hesed” on full display in h...

The book of Ruth spins tragic fast: within a few sentences a woman named Naomi has everything that mattered in her life taken away. Everything. She's not technically dead, but she might as well be. What does a daughter (or son) of God do in those moments? We fall towards God, and that falling is called "lament." In this sermon we think on how we can build a culture in our church whe...