Munger Place Church - Dallas, Texas

We are in an election year. This means that for months, all we hear about is campaign strategy and party platforms. But usually, what our politicians campaign for leads to division, tension, and hostility. So this year, we are doing a campaign of our own. In our new series, "Indivisible," we will discuss what our church stands for that makes up our "platform." Together, we can find unity in divisive times. Scripture: Philippians 2:1-8 Pastor: Rev. Sean McDonald

Our Embrace campaign is rooted in Romans 12, which tells us to be a "living sacrifice." However, elsewhere in scripture, we seem to see the exact opposite. For example, in Jeremiah 6:20, God specifically says, "your sacrifices do not please me." So which is it? Are sacrifices good or bad? Maybe both. Scripture: Romans 12:1-2 Pastor: Rev. Sean McDonald

Each of us has received gifts. There are attributes within us all that are not of our own making. We have talents that come from beyond and the Scriptures encourage us to put those gifts into the service of the Lord. Where this leads us is to place everything we are engaged to the service of the Lord. Every word, thought, and action is dedicated to Jesus and we commit our lives to follow Him. Extra Mile: When it comes to spiritual gifts here is what they are: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, mercy, and self-control. Moving a little deeper into our Scripture, each of us has the ability to use our gifts in a greater way. Ask yourself - what are the gifts that God has given me? How can I use those gifts for a greater purpose? As we use those gifts we discover how the Lord is using us - to discover our one purpose and to grow Christ’s kingdom in this world. Scripture: 1 Peter 4:8-11 Pastor: Rev. Andy Nixon

Paul uses his letter to the Romans to really grab the attention of the church and turn them away from their bickering. It is a bit of a slap in the face, meant as a reminder that all the ways we try to characterize and categorize ourselves don't really matter. What matters is who God says we are. And our response should be to fully and completely embrace that. Join us as we dive into what this means and why it is so essential for us to embrace who God calls us to be. Pastor: Rev. Sean McDonald

Converts to Christianity were already living a certain way. We have beliefs, ideas, values and actions that when we embrace Jesus will have to change. Catalyzing this change was much of the Apostle Paul’s work, and he suggests to begin from the inside out. Renew the mind (and I think he would say heart and soul as well) can ignite a change within us. Do you believe he is right? The Extra Mile: The Roman Empire in with the Apostle Paul lived and worked was religiously diverse to say the least. Modern religions, like Judaism, existed as did the worship of Roman and Greek gods, cults of every kind, worship of the Roman Emperor, and local pagan deities of every kind. Into this Paul speaks, ‘to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.’ What do you think of Paul’s advice? Scripture: Romans 12:1-2 Pastor: Rev. Andy Nixon

In Philippians 2:5-11 Paul attempts to describe Jesus. Give it a try yourself and you will see that it’s is a daunting task. As Paul takes this on he lands on a virtue - humility. Jesus is many things, and among the characteristics of what he is Paul tells us Jesus is…..humble. It’s astonishing. Jesus is all powerful, all knowing, and yet these attributes of his are used to serve us all. Jesus is the greatest of servants, and invites us to be the same. Extra Mile: Over the centuries the Church has asked the question - What is the source of sin? As the centuries have unfolded the most common answer is…Pride. As much as we do not like to admit it, we are often the source of our own undoing. The Apostle Paul, the Prophets, and many others knew this and therefore consistently advise believers to be humble. Humility is among the lead virtues for the believer, and much of the Scripture attempts to tell us this is so. Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11 Pastor: Rev. Andy Nixon

The opening of John 8 is one of the most dramatic confrontations in the Gospels. A woman is caught in adultery - note, the sexism of the time excuses the partner - and according to the law of the time the woman should be killed. In typical Jesus style, Jesus confronts the crows and saves the life of the woman. For Jesus, forgiveness is more powerful than rules and it is forgiveness that Jesus offers her in this story. Extra Mile: Give this some thought. John 8:11 is a powerful verse - Jesus tells the woman in the story to change her her life. Forgiveness is never an invitation to keep living a life of sin. I wonder how she did? Jesus wants us to change for the better, and forgiveness is a chance to do so. I wonder if the woman needed a third or fourth chance if Jesus would forgive? What do you think? Scripture: John 8:2-11 

There comes a time to do what is right. In the latter half of the Old Testament we encounter the writings of the Prophets. Among their concerns is - justice. Like few other authors, the prophets are concerned about the widow and the orphan, the poor and the lost, those in need and those who are searching. Amos 5:11-15 reminds of this - the call to do what is right by helping those in need and we will focus on this theme on Sunday. Extra Mile: Amos is the prophet to justice. More than most, the prophet Amos calls us to consider what is fair. His sense of justice is simple - those who have should conduct their business with fairness and be generous to those in need. These values are central to Amos and he invites us to make them ours as well. Scripture: Amos 5:11-15 Pastor: Rev. Andy Nixon

The Bible is a great book for many reasons, one of which that it speaks to us about living in faith on good days and in tough ones. Eventually, faith gets tested. Over the course of life will come a day where it seems like everything has gone wrong, evil and sin will rise, and we wonder ‘How am I going to deal with this?’ The good news is faith wins and the strength faith is forms the heart of Munger this Sunday. Extra Mile: The Book of Revelation is written in a time where the Church is under tremendous persecution from the Roman Empire. The book is written in a kind of code perhaps in case it fell into the wrong hands - the images would be confusing to the nonbeliever. In our passage today, Revelation 21:1-7, the passage speaks of a ‘New Jerusalem’. A new source of holiness and strength will rise - the old world of persecution will stop and a new day begin. This is a word of hope then and now - faith always prevails. Scripture: Rev 21:1-7 Pastor: Rev. Andy Nixon

When reading 1 Samuel 1:19-22 we have to ask a question - Did Israel get this right? Israel asks for a King so that they can be ‘like other nations’. Israel, however, was chosen by God to be a Kingdom of Priests and a nation to the nations. Is there a great risk then in being just like everybody else? As Christians we are called to be different - a light to the nations. Ask yourself - am I trying too much to be like everyone else? Is it time for me to be, in the name of Jesus, different? Scripture: 1 Samuel 8:19-22 Pastor: Rev. Andy Nixon

Every one of us has felt uncertain about the future at one point or another. What do we do when we experience this? Is the answer to just have more faith? While our scripture for this week does discuss a need for faith, it shows us something much more important than just more faith. Scripture: Matthew 14:22-33 Pastor: Rev. Sean McDonald

We have reached the end of Acts. Through our reading, we have learned some critical things that can help us as a church as we experience new beginnings. But in the last two verses, we receive the fourth step in our Blueprint. While all of our steps are important, if we don’t follow this last step, we might as well not have a blueprint at all! Scripture: Acts 28:30-31 Pastor: Rev. Sean McDonald

Even to this day, the Church faces A LOT of challenges. And when adversity strikes, it can be easy to do what is best for us as individuals. However, that is not what it means to be the Church. This week we will see what Paul and Silas do when they find themselves in a scary situation. Instead of pointing to themselves and doing what’s best  for them, they take another approach. Scripture: Acts 16:25 - 34 Pastor: Ryan Waller

The Church from its beginning has been a place that meets needs. If you are hungry, thirsty, in need of help in another form, or simply searching, the Church is the place to become a part of and get what you need. It is an expansive calling. The truth is, however there is nothing like the Church. Only the Church is called to work and help everyone who enters our doors. It is what makes us unique and Jesus wouldn’t have it any other way. Extra Mile: There is a bit of strategy in the Scripture passage today, Acts 6:1-7. A complaint emerged between Hellenistic and Hebraic Jews in a feeding ministry for widows. Some thought the other group was getting more food. In response, the Disciples appoint a team that is a combination of both groups to lead the ministry. We know that from the names - some are Jewish, some are Greek .The Disciples offered a smart and holy solution that allowed everyone to work together! Scripture: Acts 6:1-7 Pastor: Rev. Andy Nixon

The book of Acts doesn’t just show us the start of a church, it shows us the start of THE Church. For that reason, it provides a great blueprint for us as we step into this new beginning for Munger. Over the next few weeks we will dive into Acts together to identify historic truths about what it means to be the Church. This week we will pick up directly after Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit moves over the people they are ready to "be the church." The first thing they do may surprise you, yet it is exactly what we at Munger will need to do to ensure our upcoming fruitful season. Scripture: Acts 2:42-47 Pastor: Rev. Sean McDonald

This week we are wrapping up our series CoMission. What we see in our scripture is probably the most important thing we need to realize about our mission as a Church. In fact, it is so important, that it is exactly what Jesus did during his mission on earth. If we can follow that same model, then we will begin to truly make a difference in our community. Scripture: John 1:1-5 Pastor: Rev. Sean McDonald

This is an exciting time of the year. Student’s are graduating, changing grades, going off the college, and summer is starting! But this time of year can also be scary because it is a time of change. And when we are faced with change, sometimes all we want to do is stay where we are comfortable. But what does God call us to do? How does God call us to handle times like these? Scripture: Matthew 17: 1-9

Message: The message of Corinthians is church is family. We are to love each other, endure each other, and celebrate each other. Family will do all these and more. Today, pray for your church family. Everything that a good family does church is intended to do. We are to love our church and do so well. Extra Mile: Take a look at Acts 15, it is a compromise. James, the half-brother of Jesus, steps forward and offers a compromise between competing factions of the church. In the early church, there was tension between early converts who were Jewish and those who were not. The conflict occurred over circumcision with Paul insisting converts need not be circumcised while early Christians with Jewish roots insisted everyone should be. The result? Compromise. Circumcision was not required, while other laws were. Question - does God ever want us to compromise? Scripture: Matthew 20:29-34 Pastor: Rev. Andy Nixon

This week we are looking at a classic story from scripture. The Good Samaritan is a story that tells us who our neighbor is. We are tempted to label this as a story that teaches us that everyone is our neighbor. However, that’s not really what Jesus says. So who then does Jesus say our neighbor is? Extra Mile: Jesus puts the legal expert through a mental exercise in order to show him who his neighbor was. Turns out, it is the last person he would ever expect to help him and probably the last person he would want to see in a vulnerable position. This week, let’s do the same exercise. Who is the last person or group you would ever expect to help you or that you would want to see you at your worst? Take your time with this. But when you arrive at your answer, apply what Jesus says to the legal expert. Go and show mercy. Scripture: Samaritan - Luke 10:25-37 Pastor: Rev. Sean McDonald

Message: The Christian life is about you, and it’s not about you. All of us need Jesus - we need the forgiveness and life he offers us. Once we are saved by Jesus, though, a change happens. Our lives are to be lived for others. In our Scripture today, Jesus starts a new age. It is an age where believers focus less on ourselves and more on showing and telling the life of Jesus to others. The Extra Mile: Each of the disciples is called to follow Jesus early in the Gospels. They answer and Jesus does what Jesus does. He teaches, heals, and shows the disciples what it is to be a believer. Each of the disciples, however, will abandon Jesus in the events leading up to the crucifixion. Matthew 28 the becomes, a second calling. The disciples are called to spread the Gospel and get a second chance to reclaim their role. Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20 Pastor: Rev. Andy Nixon