Soma Spokane Sermons

Paul is going to finish his chapter 3 thought to his beloved friends and family. Please, brothers and sisters, don’t be distracted by the rubbish of the world. But rather, press in to all that Christ has accomplished for you. Let go of all else. It is all trash, “skubala”, in comparison to the greatness of who Christ is and what He has for you. Let go and grab a hold of Him. We are praying Philipp...

"Rejoice in the Lord" is a command we need to obey, and about which Paul is deadly serious. We lose our joy when we shift our confidence from Christ to our own efforts, forgetting or neglecting all that is ours in Jesus, and that's a deadly shift. A joyful church counts everything as loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus -- But how do we do that today? We are praying Philippians 4...

God has placed his affection on a bunch of nobodies and has declared them to be His cherished possession. The New Testament's picture of the church is a place of mutual honor, where God's people honor and encourage each other regularly. But what do we honor in one another, and how do we become a community of honor? We are praying Philippians 4:19 every day at 4:19 pm (follow along in  #prayer ), f...

Becoming a long-term disciple-making and church planting presence in our region and beyond is no small task, and it requires engagement from every member of the body. In today's text, Paul is urging a deep and ongoing formation in the life of the disciples at Philippi, calling them to work out their salvation in real-world holiness of life. We're looking at the what, why, where, and how of Sanctif...

Becoming a long-term disciple-making and church-planting presence will require us to maintain unity. It is no secret that most churches that have been around for long have experienced disunity and division, often resulting in church splits. Even Paul's favorite church -- the Philippians! -- had a growing rift, and in 2:1-11 Paul is trying to get ahead of it. He reminds the church of all they've sh...

Paul has just shown he is “All in” and is now calling the Philippians to life through being all in themselves. His directions for how to be all in are: Together, strive to stand firm in the Spirit, and together, strive to embody a faithful life to the gospel. The world will either reject or embrace Jesus followers, but resistance to this way of life is a gift that gives us more of Jesus Himself. W...

Our study in Philippians will explore 10 Marks of Long-Term Mission, learning how we can continue to enjoy and share the grace of God for years to come. Paul begins his letter with great joy, gratitude, and affection -- he's remembering how the Philippian church began, and he's celebrating God's work among them and through them. God started a good work among us, God is sustaining that work, and Go...

Philippians is about gospel partnership, how a local church community can enjoy the grace of God and commit together to take that grace to their neighborhoods and the nations. Partnership -- the Greek word "koinonia" -- means so much more than friendly conversation around a cup of coffee on Sunday morning! It means a risky commitment to Jesus and his Kingdom, and a gritty commitment to one another...

As Soma turns 20, we’re looking back at the ways God has faithfully written our story and leaning forward to all he still wants to do in and through us. God has richly, abundantly, and freely given to us, over and against what we have earned or deserved, and has chosen in his kindness to cause this work to be fruitful -- and we are grateful! Over the month of September we’re looking at a key text...

As Soma turns 20, we’re looking back at the ways God has faithfully written our story and leaning forward to all he still wants to do in and through us. God has richly, abundantly, and freely given to us, over and against what we have earned or deserved, and has chosen in his kindness to cause this work to be fruitful -- and we are grateful! Over the month of September, we’re looking at a key text...

As Soma turns 20, we’re looking back at the ways God has faithfully written our story and leaning forward to all he still wants to do in and through us. God has richly, abundantly, and freely given to us, over and against what we have earned or deserved, and has chosen in his kindness to cause this work to be fruitful -- and we are grateful! Over the month of September we’re looking at a key text...

A parable is a short story or metaphor, drawn from familiar cultural context and experience, and prompted by Jesus’ need to explain himself and his ministry. Each week this summer we'll explore one of Jesus' parables, asking what it is meant to teach us about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. In this week's parable, Jesus is encouraging his disciples to stay alert and to be faithful in his absence, as...

A parable is a short story or metaphor, drawn from familiar cultural context and experience, and prompted by Jesus’ need to explain himself and his ministry. Each week this summer we'll explore one of Jesus' parables, asking what it is meant to teach us about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. In this week's parable, Jesus continues the vineyard metaphor to describe the privileged position that God’s p...

A parable is a short story or metaphor, drawn from familiar cultural context and experience, and prompted by Jesus’ need to explain himself and his ministry. Each week this summer we'll explore one of Jesus' parables, asking what it is meant to teach us about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. In this week's parable, Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a king who throws a wedding feast for his son, b...

A parable is a short story or metaphor, drawn from familiar cultural context and experience, and prompted by Jesus’ need to explain himself and his ministry. Each week this summer we'll explore one of Jesus' parables, asking what it is meant to teach us about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. In this week's parable, Jesus tells his followers a story about a landowner who goes out and hires vineyard wo...

A parable is a short story or metaphor, drawn from familiar cultural context and experience, and prompted by Jesus’ need to explain himself and his ministry. Each week this summer we'll explore one of Jesus' parables, asking what it is meant to teach us about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. In this week's parable, Jesus is conversing with Peter about how much a follower should forgive another. In do...

A parable is a short story or metaphor, drawn from familiar cultural context and experience, and prompted by Jesus’ need to explain himself and his ministry. Each week this summer we'll explore one of Jesus' parables, asking what it is meant to teach us about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. In this week's parable, Jesus tells his followers a story of a shepherd leaving 99 sheep to seek and find one...

A parable is a short story or metaphor, drawn from familiar cultural context and experience, and prompted by Jesus’ need to explain himself and his ministry. Each week this summer we'll explore one of Jesus' parables, asking what it is meant to teach us about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. In this week's parable, Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a net, gathering fish of every kind from the sea...

The Jews were waiting for a physical Kingdom of God to be established in Jerusalem, but that’s not what the Kingdom of God is going to look like in this age. Instead, Jesus says, it’s like a mustard seed quietly planted, or leaven worked into bread. It’s a Kingdom that cannot be seen and that cannot be stopped. A parable is a short story or metaphor, drawn from familiar cultural context and experi...

A parable is a short story or metaphor, drawn from familiar cultural context and experience, and prompted by Jesus’ need to explain himself and his ministry. Each week this summer we'll explore one of Jesus' parables, asking what its meant to teach us about Jesus and the Kingdom of God.

A parable is a short story or metaphor, drawn from familiar cultural context and experience, and prompted by Jesus’ need to explain himself and his ministry. Each week this summer we'll explore one of Jesus' parables, asking what it is meant to teach us about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. In this first parable, Jesus gives his disciples the explanation of the parable, drawing attention to Himself...

The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus' manifesto for the life of the Kingdom - what becomes of human communities when they come under the empowering reign of King Jesus. As we end our series on Allegiance, we'll look at the main themes of Jesus' sermon, summarizing what allegiance to him and his way looks like for us. If Jesus is the True King of the World, and our allegiance is to him, then our charac...

Jesus says that John the Baptizer is the final prophet in the line of Elijah, a man of deep Kingdom allegiance and profound moral courage in a day of spiritual decay, and of whom Jesus says “there has arisen no one greater.” Which makes Jesus’ next words all the more shocking: “Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” The least in the Kingdom of God — the simplest and...

Elijah’s final work as a prophet is to raise up Elisha, who requests — and receives! — a “double portion” of his spirit. Like Elijah, our mission is not simply to be faithful in our day but also to help others be faithful, who can help others be faithful. This is the pattern we see in Jesus, too, and the command he gave us as his disciples. As we conclude our series in Elijah, we consider what it...