The church of Christ on McDermott Road

Partisanship: The Danger of Factions and Divisions (1 Corinthians 3:1-9)

349 views · 2d ago · 36:38

Lessons from the Canaanite Woman (Matthew 15:21-28)

247 views · 4d ago · 35:59

Jesus calls a desperate mother’s people dogs. Read that again slowly. A woman begs him to heal her demon-possessed daughter, and he answers with silence, then a refusal, then a line about bread and the dogs. Some readers have called it racist. Others skip the passage altogether. So what is Jesus actually doing? And why does the Canaanite woman keep coming back?

The Master's Table (Matthew 15:21-28)

564 views · 5d ago · 29:39

We are going to be looking at the story of the Canaanite Woman in Matthew 15. The tremendous faith displayed in this passage begins with a recognition of the power and provision of Jesus. Access to the smallest scraps from the Master's table is more than enough.

Influence: Persuasion, Not Coercion (Acts 17:22-34)

436 views · 1w ago · 40:35

When Paul stood in the Areopagus, he didn't threaten or demand agreement; he reasoned, quoted the Athenians' own poets, and persuaded. He met a pluralistic audience where they were to make the case for Christ. That's a model for how Christians engage a pluralistic society: winsome persuasion that respects the dignity and freedom of the listener, not coercion that forces compliance through power.

Is Lifting Holy Hands Too Much: What We Can Learn from the Woman in Mark 14

439 views · 1w ago · 39:32

Why does church culture often prize efficiency and productivity over devotion that costs something? Is lifting holy hands too much, or is folding them just a habit we mistook for Scripture? A woman broke a jar of nard worth a year’s wages over Jesus’ head in Mark 14, and the dinner guests called it waste.

Unafraid to Pour Everything Out For Jesus (Mark 14:3-9)

743 views · 1w ago · 27:15

A woman walked into a dinner at Simon the leper's house, broke open an alabaster jar of pure nard worth a year's wages, and poured all of it on Jesus' head. The room turned on her immediately. Jesus' own disciples called it a waste and scolded her, as if love for Jesus needed to justify itself. Jesus stopped them cold: she had done a beautiful thing, and she understood something about that moment that none of them did, that he was about to die.

Truth: The Faithful Witness of the Church (John 18:33-38)

432 views · 2w ago · 37:24

When Jesus stood before Pilate, the conversation turned, almost inevitably, to truth — Jesus declaring that he came to testify to the truth, and Pilate answering with the cynical question that still hangs over public life: “What is truth?” In an age of spin, propaganda, and competing narratives, the church is called to be a community that tells the truth, even when it costs something, because our King is himself the truth.

The Daughters of Zelophehad, Five Women You Should Know

253 views · 2w ago · 31:05

What do you do when the law has a gap and your family’s name is about to vanish? Five sisters in Numbers 27 stood before Moses and asked for the land their father had no son to inherit. Matt and Wes start there, fresh off Wes’s trip to Romania, then land on harder questions. How do you speak up without burning things down? Is boldness the same as rebellion? And what happens when God hears your case and doesn’t agree?

The Fearless Daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27:2-7)

563 views · 2w ago · 29:23

Zelophehad died in the wilderness with no sons, and under Israelite law that meant his name and his portion of the Promised Land were about to disappear. His five daughters, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, refused to let that happen quietly. They walked up to Moses and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and made their case in public, in a system with no category for women asking for an inheritance.

Submission or Subversion: When to Obey, How to Resist (Romans 12:9-21)

595 views · 3w ago · 38:26

Christians are called to submit, but not necessarily to always obey. There is a time for a submissive disobedience. When we must disobey, we do so in a uniquely Christian way. We do not participate in violent revolt but instead overcome evil with good. History's most faithful Christian witnesses practiced exactly this kind of resistance: refusing to obey unjust demands while refusing to hate those who made them.

Fear God, Not Pharaoh (Exodus 1:15-21)

826 views · 3w ago · 33:35

Pharaoh ordered Shiphrah and Puah, two Hebrew midwives, to kill every baby boy the moment he was born. They refused, and when Pharaoh confronted them, they lied to his face without apology. These were two women with no army, no political standing, and everything to lose, standing up to the most powerful man in the world. God blessed them for it, and the very population Pharaoh tried to destroy kept growing.

Come and See the Risen Lord (John 20:24-31)

452 views · 1mo ago · 27:06

This text doesn’t use the exact phrase, but it is all about coming and seeing. Jesus invited Thomas to come and see his wounded hands and side. Upon seeing, Thomas declared, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus commended his faith, but also commended our faith, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John, the author of the book then revealed this is why he wrote this book, to invite all of us to come and see the risen Lord, so we too can have faith.

Power and Authority: Who's Really in Charge? (Romans 13:1-7; Revelation 13)

685 views · 1mo ago · 43:17

Every society has a philosophy about the source of governing authority. Rome believed the gods had given them an empire without end. They believed they could conquer and rule the world, because they were favored by the gods. In our modern world, we have secularized the source of governing authority. We tend to believe rulers are given authority by the consent of the people they govern.