Pastor Steve begins a sermon series through the book of Philippians on August 22nd called Joy, Unstoppable.

Paul’s New Testament letter to the church in Philippi has been called the letter of “Joy.” It’s simple yet profoundly helpful in knowing Christ & the Gospel-driven life.

Join us Sundays at 10:30am in Autumn. The weeks ahead will break down something like this. Read ahead with us.

(Schedule subject to change)

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8.22 Philippians 1:1-11
8.29 Philippians 1:12-18a
9.5 Philippians 1:18b-26
9.12 Philippians 1:27-30
9.19 Philippians 2:1-11
9.26 Philippians 2:12-18
10.3 Philippians 2:19-30
10.10 Philippians 3:1-11
10.17 Philippians 3:12-16
10.24 Philippians 3:17-4:1

10.31 Stand Alone Sermon

11.7 Philippians 4:2-9
11.14 Philippians 4:10-23

Our culture is busy, hurried, pulled in 5 different directions at once with little chance to slow down. Even our vacations are filled with so much to do that we have little time to be, reflect and enjoy. We grow up around a million signs and commercials telling us to do more and buy more. There has to be more to life than this.

Beginning Memorial Day weekend we are in a new series of sermons titled ABIDE: Kingdom Rhythms in Consumer Culture. The Scriptures reveal to us a new way of thinking and living that builds rhythms into life that set us free from the consumerism that consumes us. Join us for this important, very practical yet radically Christ-centered series this summer.

For more check out my friend Jared Wilson’s Abide study that inspired this series.

After finishing the book of 1 Peter on Sunday, we have a Mother’s Day sermon this Sunday, April 9th. We will be considering the wisdom of Proverbs and motherhood. We hope you’ll come!

On May 16th and 23rd Pastor Steve will be talking about the mission and vision of Doxa as we think about everything from our mission over the summer to a vision of ministry over the next few years.

Tired of running ragged and never finding peace and rest? May 30th a new series begins called Abide. We live in a world where consumption and advertising and doing more and going faster and farther push us through daily life. Pastor Steve is going to talk about what it means to abide in Christ (John 15) by living through regular rhythms of prayer, study, community and more. We believe this will be a life-changing series for Christians as we grow more like Christ through abiding in Christ. For non-Christians, seekers, skeptics, this should be a great series to understand both the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the implications for life in His Kingdom.

We love comfort & ease. But God is building a counter-cultural movement of transformed people who embrace suffering.

“The Christian ideal has not been tried & found wanting;
it has been found difficult & left untried.”
– G.K. Chesterton –

Many of us grow happy with a checklist faith of attendance, minimal giving, and doing just enough to feel good. First Peter describes a much different picture of faithfulness.

Over the next several weeks Pastor Steve is preaching a series titled Christianity Tried: 1 Peter, Suffering & Faithfulness. This radical New Testament letter describes the faithful Christian life as one that pursues faithfulness to Christ and endurance through suffering in an ungodly world. We hope you will join us and find hope.

Read 1 Peter in preparation for upcoming sermons…

• 1.3 – 1 Peter 1:1-2
• 1.10 – 1 Peter 1:3-9
• 1.17 – 1 Peter 1:10-12
• 1.24 – 1 Peter 1:13-21
• 1.31 – 1 Peter 1:22-25
• 2.7 – Stand Alone Sermon
• 2.14 – 1 Peter 2:1-8
• 2.21 – 1 Peter 2:9-10
• 2.28 – 1 Peter 2:11-12
• 3.7 – 1 Peter 2:13-17
• 3.14 – 1 Peter 2:18-25
• 3.21 – 1 Peter 3:1-7
• 3.28 – 1 Peter 3:8-17 (Palm Sunday)
• 4.4 – 1 Peter 3:18-22 (Easter)
• 4.11 – 1 Peter 4:1-6
• 4.18 – 1 Peter 4:7-11
• 4.25 – 1 Peter 4:12-19
• 5.2 – 1 Peter 5:1-11
• 5.9 – 1 Peter 5:12-14

From November 29th through December 20th we will spend four weeks in our Christmas sermon series, Angels We Have Heard On High. Prepare your hearts through reading the sermon texts with your family…

• 11.29 – Matthew 1:18-25
• 12.6 – Luke 1:5-25, 57-80
• 12.13 – Luke 1:26-56
• 12.20 – Luke 2:1-20

Tim Keller’s church in New York City, Redeemer, has provided 150 free sermons and lectures. Go check them out.

Though we would have some disagreements on secondary issues (like baptism), I want to highly recommend his writings, sermons, etc to you. They are excellent.

Our message on Sunday was on parenting. There are many great resources out there for raising your kids. Here are two used in preparation for the sermon…

• Shepherding a Child’s Heart – Tedd Tripp
• Standing on the Promises – Douglas Wilson

What does your heart want most? Pastor Steve begins a new sermon series begins this Sunday, September 6th, called The Pursuit of Happiness: The Life You’ve Always Wanted. We will be hearing about topics that are at the heart of all of our lives…

• 9.6 – Work
• 9.13 – Marriage
• 9.20 – Parenting
• 9.27 – Money
• 10.4 – Recreation
• Other upcoming topics: safety, comfort, diversity, self-expression, power and image

Have you noticed that too many Christians act just like everyone else? We have too often been a people who define ourselves by what we say we are, not what we do. Our lives, built upon a deep and transformative faith in Jesus, should be radically different. We should be counter-cultural and loving and truthful and transparent.

In the hope that we begin to be the people God wants us to be, and do the things he wants us to do, we begin a new sermon series starting this Sunday, July 12th, called Real Life: What We Do Defines Us.

Pastor Steve will be discussing the book of James over the next 7 weeks to hit on the topics of suffering, words, actions, how we treat others and more.  Stop by Doxa at the Waverly House in beautiful downtown Woodstock (Sundays at 10:30am) and experience what God says about Real Life.

We encourage you to read through James in preparation for the series.

We had a glitch in the sermon audio this week. “Conversion to Mission” is now up and fixed. This sermon was about the conversion of Saul, the Pharisee we now know as the Apostle Paul. This sermon was about the powerful work of God to redeem the greatest of sinners, and how our conversion includes a call to be a missionary.

John Piper’s book Desiring God is bring taught in the Woodstock community group. Our discussion of Chapter 2 – Conversion was particularly helpful as I prepared this sermon.