Murphy Church Sunday Messages

Jesus said, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it (Luke 9:24).” It’s a contrarian thought: rather than self-entitlement we embrace self-denial, and, in doing so, we find the joy and meaning that we’ve always wanted. It’s the spiritual principle of "addition by subtraction.” God does great things when we learn to subtract ourselves and add God’s call. Our passage today is Luke 9:23-27.

His life divides time. He's the inspiration for great works of art, prestigious universities, and medical movements. His teachings are seen in our laws and guide our social behaviors. Any reasonable assessment concludes that Jesus Christ is the most influential person to ever live. And that's where it gets hard. Because Jesus wasn't satisfied with being a great teacher or example. He claimed to be Lord and Savior. CS Lewis concluded that Jesus is either a lunatic, liar, or Lord. What do you believe about Jesus? This week we look at Luke 9:18-22 in a sermon entitled, "Jesus?”

When God calls us to a God sized dream always creates a level of crisis. God sized dreams often collide with our senses of fear and logic. God sized dreams call us to place what little we have in Him. God sized dreams take our faith and multiply it for others. This week we look at Luke 9:10-17 and we are going to see that when we take what little we have and trust God with it, God can use us in ways that we never imagined.

No matter how dark and wretched your past or helpless your present you are not beyond the reach of God’s grace. The grace of God is intended for you in Christ. But the grace of God was never meant to stop with you. Grace is the greatest gift we can ever receive, and, sometimes, it’s the last thing we are willing to extend to others. Jesus calls us to go “Beyond Me” extending the good news of grace to others. Join us this Sunday as we begin a new series: The Cross or the The Trophy from Luke 9.

What does God want from me?” He wants you to be believe in Him. Believing means I place the totality of my faith in God. This, then, frees me to live life trusting in in the faithfulness of His truth and love. This week we are going to look at Luke 8:40-56 and see two examples of faith being lived out in the real world in a sermon entitled Finding Faith.

We start out thinking we can make a difference. Then reality stings us, and we retreat. We quit thinking of others, quit giving our best, quit trusting, and, instead, we make things very safe and controlled. Ironically, the safer we try to make things, the more out of control things seem. In the Christian life, “Losing Control” is not a bad thing; it’s a good thing. God calls us to move from self-reliance to God reliance, from fear to love, from anxiety to faith, from out of control to purpose and meaning. Join us this week as we look at Luke 8:26-39 in a message entitled “Losing Control.”

We all face storms in life. Some are self-induced; some others induced. Some storms are even God induced. In Luke 8, the disciples find themselves a natural storm. Clinging to a sinking boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee the disciples cry out fear in thinking that death has seized their sail. Then they discover that Jesus is Lord of the storm and the vessel for their faith. Join us this Sunday as we continue our series Listen Up with a sermon from Luke 8:22-25 entitled Storm-caster.

"You can make a difference." We hear this statement often, but in the face of darkness it’s easy to lose heart and forget that you really can make a difference. Christians are by nature “children on the light.” We are called to shine our light in the darkness; the gospel is never to be hoarded but freely shared. Join us this week as we continue our series “Listen Up” with a sermon from Luke 8:16-18 and Ephesians 5:9-14 entitled, “How to Make a Difference.”

Impactful people have learned that, no matter your age, you must never stop growing. It's important that we intentionally grow up in our knowledge and wisdom, grow together in relationships, and grow out in service and care. An impactful person is a growing person. How does God desire to grow you in 2017? Join us this week as we begin our series Listen Up, with a sermon from Luke 8 entitled "Growing."

Join Vince Smith, Executive Director of the Collin Baptist Association, as he bring a message on missions from Acts 1:8

Join us for our Christmas Eve service.

The birth of Christ was not an accident it was part of God’s plan from the beginning. Long before Mary was ever born, Isaiah looked forward to the miracle of Christ’s birth. Jesus was God’s divine plan for Mary and Joseph, but it wasn’t there original plan. In fact, being a part of God’s plan meant a major change in plans for this young couple. Sometimes, experiencing God’s best in life requires that we abandon our own version of what should be and instead embrace God’s story for our lives. Join us this Sunday as we continue our series Looking Forward with a message entitled “Get with the Plan.”

Centuries before the birth of Christ the prophet Ezekiel looked forward to happier days when God would restore the hearts of man through the work of His Messiah. On that day God would “remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).” Looking forward to Bethlehem, “The Word became flesh” and the Word in flesh lived among us and died for us. But death could not contain Him, and the stone was rolled away. The Spirit of God brings more than better days to those who believe; He brings a heart of flesh: forever uniting you with the “The Heart of Christmas.”

Two women separated by centuries but connected by God's eternal plan and creative power. Sarah and Mary were seemingly at opposite sides of life’s spectrum, but God would use them to reveal His transformational plan. Through the miracle of new life, God would bring about the miracle of eternal life. Join us this week as we begin our Christmas series Looking Forward. . . with a sermon entitled, “It Can Happen.”

The holiday season is officially underway: a season of peace, love, joy, and. . . .lots of family, food, and football (or, for some, Hallmark movies). It’s the family part of the holidays that for many causes the peace, love, and joy of the holidays to be replaced with conflict, isolation, and hurt. Join us this week as we look at Romans 12:16-21 and identify some practical and biblical things you can do to get along with your family and friends this Christmas season in a sermon entitled Learning to Like Your Loved Ones.

The spirit of gratitude flows from the fountain of God’s grace. When grace erases the stain of sin from our soul, the result is a life free to love much. Join us this week as we prepare our hearts for Thanksgiving with a sermon entitled The Spirit of Gratitude.

Join John "Fletch" Fletcher, our Student Minister, as he brings a message that we are no longer salves but we are sons of God. From Galatians 3:27-4:7.

Sometimes it’s easy to miss it, even though the signs are all right in front of us. We tend to see what we want to see and overlook what we don’t want to see. Amazingly, sometimes we miss God even when He’s when the signs or His love are right in front of us. Jesus healed the blind and raised the dead, and, amazingly, many missed it. In the words of Jesus “We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.” Join us this week as we look at Luke 7:18-29 in a sermon entitled Flutes without Dancing.

There’s a fine line between winning and losing, joy and sorrow, victory and defeat. In Luke 7:11-17, we see “The Collision of the Crowds.” One of the crowds was filled with joy; the other crowd was filled with grief. Both crowds reached a point, where they had no solutions. It was at that point, that God revealed that he is the solution. Jesus gave something only God can give: new life.

Jesus was continually forcing us to wrestle with this question: “Where do I place my hope?” Where you place your hope is where we find your faith. Christ's call was to place our faith in Him, not ourselves, not society, not an unknown force. Jesus called us to trust in Him. Join us this week as we look at two stories of faith from Luke 7:1-16, in a sermon entitled Living in the Faith World.