Sunday Morning Podcast | The Moody Church

The central theme of the book Malachi is found in 3:7, “Return to Me and I will return to you.” As people whose hearts are prone to wander, whose religion can become performance, we need the message of Malachi to comprehend God’s tough love and tender mercies for our doubting hearts.   There are six disputes outlined in the book. In this sermon, we’ll explore the first dispute between Israel and God. And in these opening verses from Malachi 1, we find three things:   1) Weighty Concerns   Malachi—whose Hebrew name means “my messenger”—begins his prophecy with these words: The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. Now the word translated as “oracle” here is literally in Hebrew the word for “burden.” These are weighty words from a heart heavy with care for a people whose souls weigh upon him.   Malachi feels the weight of his responsibility. His concern for his people lies heavy upon his heart.   The care of souls is a heavy burden.   Aren’t you grateful for those who have loved you

Why should we read the Psalms?   Music enhances worship, and music helps us memorize the eternal truths of God. Psalm 103 teaches us how to praise in all seasons and for all reasons. When it comes to the issue of praise, authentic praise requires our all, not lip service.   In this sermon, we explore five reasons why should we praise God: God heals our disease God forgives our sin God redeems our lives God crowns us with love God satisfies our souls with good.   Takeaway: Above all, we praise God because He is holy!   Psalm 103

Do you struggle with honest doubts about the Christian faith? Have you ever wondered what's the payoff for living a life of faith compared to the secular world?   In this sermon, we explore Asaph's doubts from Psalm 73. Asaph was a musician who almost lost his faith; we would say he almost “deconstructed.” But he came out the other side spiritually stronger.   Asaph gives three reasons for his doubts, but also explains three mistakes he had made when entertaining those doubts   1) Asaph explains his doubts (v. 1–15). Three doubts Asaph had: The wicked are wealthier than he was. The wicked are healthier than he was. The wicked seems to enjoy life more than he did.   2) Asaph was kept from "deconstructing" when he realized his mistakes (v. 16–28). Three mistakes Asaph made: He had overestimated the wealth of the ungodly. He had underestimated his own wealth. He had been swept away by how he felt, not by what he knew to be true.   Takeaway: Come to God with your doubts; think life through

If you want to properly study what it means to be a Christian, you need to study God. As Charles Spurgeon once preached in 1855, “The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy which can ever engage the attention of a child of God is the name, the nature, the Person, the work, the doings and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father.”   And so, in this sermon, we contemplate our great God from Exodus 3:13­–15. In this passage, we find a dialogue between Moses and God that reveals some amazing attributes about who God is and what our response should be to Him.   1) What was God trying to communicate about Himself to Moses (and us) when He described Himself as "I AM WHO I AM" and "I AM"? The Lord was communicating that He is The Lord was communicating that He is The Lord was communicating that He is The Lord was communicating that He is   2) What are three implications of this massive reality that God is "I AM WHO I AM" and "I AM"? Jesus Christ is the I

When something doesn’t work out the way we expect, we ask, “what went wrong?” In the Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25:14–30, we consider what went wrong with the servant who squandered their single talent, and how they could go from being a wicked and slothful server to a good and faithful servant.   In this parable, we find Jesus describing a man going away and leaving his property to be managed by his servants. Jesus tells us that each servant received according to their ability. The first received 5 talents, the second 2 talents, and the third 1 talent. When the master returned, he called the servants and asked for a report of how they managed what his property. The servant with 5 talents, made 5 more talents. The servant with 2 likewise made 2 more talent. But the servant with one talent only manage to bring forward a dusty talent that he hid in the ground. While the first two are welcomed into the joy of their master, the third is kicked out into darkness and despair.   So, what happened? What

As Paul wraps up his letter to the Ephesians, he gives one final charge to stand firm in the faith. And to do so, he uses the imagery of a Roman soldier armed for battle as an analogy of spiritual armament.   In this sermon, we’ll explore what the Armor of God is all about.   1) The Reason for the Armor   We need the Armor of God because we are embroiled in a spiritual battle.   The Bible tells us supernatural evil does exist, and his operations are far more subtle than we might expect. The evil one, Satan, is the father of lies, and he uses lies to leave a mark on our soul. Satan lies to over-inflate or deflate us. And both lies serve the same purpose: to drive us away from God.   The only way we can stand firm against the lies of the devil are with the Armor of God. But how does the armor work?   2) The Function of the Armor   We are armored with Gospel identity.   We have truth as your base layer protection against the lies of the evil one. Remember the truth of the Gospel: we are far mo

The Gospel shapes all of life. The Gospel doesn’t just matter on Sundays, the Gospel matters ALL days. It saturates and permeates and consecrates every facet of our lives.   And to illustrate how the Gospel shapes all of life, Paul then goes to the heart of where most people do life: at work and at home. And Paul says, let me show you how the Gospel radically transforms those everyday relationships!   In Ephesians 6:1–9, we’ll explore eight principals for these relationships, two for each party in our text: supervisors and employees, and parents and children.   1) The Gospel at Work: Supervisors and Employees   Principle #1 for Supervisors: Leadership is about service.   If you’re in management, a landlord, an owner, or a boss, as a follower of Jesus you’re there to serve. Remember, Jesus made Himself the servant of all when He washed His disciples’ feet. Leadership is NOT about privilege. It’s about service.   And no matter how high you go, no matter how big your office, no matter what circles y

In this sermon from 1 Corinthians 3: 1–18, we explore Paul’s admonition to the church in Corinth to “be the church.” Paul’s intention is to push back against growing disunity and immaturity taking place within the congregation.   A church is a people, not a building, but there are good churches and bad churches. Many of us don’t exactly know why a church is a good church or bad church. We lack the language to identify what the intangible quality is that we intuitively know is off.   In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he is writing to a church that he planted, but whose leaders started to think that they’ve outgrown the Gospel foundation Paul laid. The Corinthian leaders were convinced that they had found a higher wisdom, a more spiritual & practical way to live. And yet, because they were abandoning the Gospel, they were abandoning the only thing that can hold a bunch of sinners together: their unity.   The church at Corinth was beginning to look like the world outside the church. And if the in

In chapter 5 of Ephesians, where the Apostle Paul has been exploring the implications of the Gospel for every facet of our Christian lives, he lays out the Christian understanding of marriage.   The Christian understanding of marriage is radically different from the understanding of marriage found in both traditional and modern cultures. In Traditional Culture (most of world history, and much of the global population still today) marriage is primarily understood through the lens of societal stability. In Modern Culture (here in the West), marriage is primarily understood through the lens of personal fulfillment.   But the Christian understanding of marriage is radically different from both Traditional and Modern understandings of marriage because it blazes its own unique trail. And there’s no better place to see that in that in Ephesians 5:22-33.   1) The Shape of Christian Marriage: Patterned after Christ’s Covenant Devotion   This passage is the most extensive treatment about marriage in the Bible,

There’s tremendous power in the quiet, organic, incremental, growth of the life of God planted in us. When the seed of the Gospel is planted within us, as the Father redeems us in the Son by the power of the Spirit, the new life of God starts growing within us.  And we may not notice the growth as it’s happening, because we’re too close it, but over time we may begin to see some of it.   The change that God intends to bring into our lives isn’t superficial: it goes down deep to the very heart of who we are, and it stretches wide to encompass all that we are. It is the complete and utter transformation of our entire being into becoming like Christ in every way.   Which means everything must change.   That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul has been calling us to in the second half of Ephesians. And in Ephesians 5:1–21, Paul shows us just how comprehensive this life-transformation is.   God intends to transform every dimension of our being.   In this passage, we have 3-dimensional transformation:   1)

In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus tells two short parables the church historically calls “The Parable of the Treasure Hidden in the Field” and “The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value.”   This sermon explores three questions about the parables:   1) What is the kingdom of heaven?   The Kingdom of Heaven in the same way exists everywhere God’s rule exists. In the broad sense, of course, God rules the whole universe, so in that broad sense, the whole universe is His Kingdom.  However, in the narrower sense Jesus intends in Matthew 13, God mainly rules in the hearts of those who are his people by His grace through Jesus Christ the Son. At this point in history, God’s Kingdom is mainly His sovereign rule in the hearts of his people. The Scriptures promise that one day Jesus will rule visibly on earth, but for now God’s Kingdom is His mainly invisible rule in the hearts of Jesus’ disciples.   2) Why is the kingdom of heaven of inestimable value?   The content of eternal life is not mainly living forever; the c

“In God’s family, we choose to live differently.” That’s pretty much what Paul is saying in Ephesians 4. Now that we’re alive as sons and daughters of God, now that we’re members of His family, the house rules have changed. This new family doesn’t live like other families do. It’s all different.   1) The Old:   Paul describes the old self—this Gentile lifestyle—as “corrupt through deceitful desires.” It’s a desire-driven way of life, living to gratify our appetites.   But notice, those desires are deceitful, because they never deliver what they promise. And they are corrupting—they twist and dehumanize us the more we give into them.   Paul says that kind of living messes up our thinking, calling it the “futility of mind.” Paul is describing what moral philosophers call “Akrasia.” What the heart desires, the will embraces, the mind rationalizes, and the conscience justifies.   Paul’s whole point is that we cannot keep living the way we used to.   2) The New:   Paul uses two images to describe our

The second half of Ephesians is about how God means us to live now that we are His children. Who we are shapes what we do.   This passage from Ephesians 4:1­–16 is about growing up. It’s about who we’ll be when we’re all grown up in Christ, and it shows us how we’ll get from here to there.   This sermon centers on three themes:   1) Unity   The hinge of the letter to the Ephesians is this: “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”   You’ve been called into God’s salvation and family as His sons and daughters, so live like it! Let your identity become your living. Let your being shape your behaving. Let who you are flow into what you do.   Act like the person you already are in Jesus Christ. Now, what would that look like? Four traits to pursue as members the family of God: humility, gentleness, patience, and loving forbearance.   We are united in Christ’s body. We aren’t called to create this unity because God has already done that. But we are called t

During Missions Week 2023, guest speaker Rev. Michael Allen challenged us with two passages from Matthew 22:35–39 and Matthew 28:16–20.   Pastor Michael Allen currently serves as the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Together Chicago, an organization that catalyzes faith, business, community, and government leaders to inspire hope and affect peace and justice in Chicago communities. Together Chicago (TC) seeks to reduce gun violence and increase thriving communities in our city through five key areas: economic development, educational achievement, violence reduction, gospel justice, and faith-community mobilization.   Originally from Jamaica, Pastor Allen immigrated to the USA in 1977 and earned a BA in Biblical Studies and an MDiv with a focus in urban ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Previously, he pastored at The Moody Church (1997-2002), Sagemont Church in Texas (2002-2005), and most recently as the Senior Pastor at Uptown Baptist Church in Chicago (2005-2020). He and his wife Marilza have be

For many, the deepest WHY of missions is lacking. The early church understood that EVERYTHING spirals out of our understanding of God—the triune God of the Bible.   “...As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you. And with that, he breathed [on them] and said, Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:19–22)   As Missio Dei is the expression of God Himself, so Missio Dei is the essential expression of faith in the life of the believer.   Historically, what does the phrase Missio Dei describe?   1) Missio Dei is grounded in the Holy Trinity: The Father sends the Son and the Spirit into the world.   2) The triune God’s mission is our mission. He has come, we are called.   3) Missio Dei is a deeply personal invitation: It is the essential expression of faith in the life of the believer.   Missio Dei is the intimate, existential divine calling; we are free to say yes or no. Yet obedience to our Lord in self-giving is essential to our being filled with God’s Life.   In the end, understanding who God is wi

The Apostle Paul has been leading us through a grand celebration of the Gospel: in Christ, by grace and through faith, we have been reconciled with God and with one another. We are alive as God’s sons and daughters. We are unified as God’s family, Jews and Gentiles together in this multi-ethnic family of God.   All of this is—as Paul puts it in Ephesians 3:11-12—through “Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.”   And now, having celebrated our bold, confident, access to God through Christ, Paul decides to show us the way as he launches into one of the most powerful prayers recorded in all the Bible.   In this sermon, we look at three key points about the power of prayer.   1) The Basis of Prayer:   There are two images at the start of the prayer. First, “I bow my knees” is throne room imagery. Second, what’s interesting is Paul says we are bowing before the Father, which is family imagery. This imagery reiterates that now, in Jesus, the bl

The Apostle Paul is writing the letter to the Ephesians from a Roman prison because the Jews in Jerusalem accused him of fraternizing with Gentiles. And here in Ephesians 3:1-13, Paul tells us it’s worth it! All the sufferings for the Gospel, all the hardship, pain, loss, and imprisonment, every bit of it is worthwhile…because of the wonder of the Gospel.   The Gospel story is worth it all! How can this be? We’ll explore three ways that this passage encourages us that the wonder of the Gospel makes it all worthwhile.   1) Spirit’s Mysterious Revelation:   The Gospel is God’s plot twist.   It’s the mystery hidden in plain sight that one day, in Jesus Christ, the true Son of Abraham, all the families of the earth would be blessed: Gentiles and Jews alike, one new family in Jesus, by grace and through faith. No one saw that coming!   2) Christ’s Unsearchable Riches:   What God planned in secret from the dawn of creation and kept hidden until just the right moment, when in Jesus Christ God brought all

In this sermon from Ephesians 2:11-22, we’re going to see the glorious truth of what that salvation means for our relationships with one another.   Salvation works on both a vertical and a horizontal axis (like a cross). Salvation reconciles us with God, and it reconciles us with one another. Salvation isn’t just about “I and me…” It’s about “us and we.”   Three key points from this passage:   1) Alienation   The Gentiles were strangers to God’s covenant blessings, despised by God’s covenant people.   In other words, the Jews were “in,” the Gentiles were “out.” Paul says that at one time, those fleshly distinctives mattered, but no longer.   2) Reconciliation   Because of what Christ has done, those fleshly distinctions no longer matter. In the wonder of God’s grace, the Gentiles have been welcomed into the new covenant that is in Jesus’ blood!   In Christ, God has reconciled Jews and Gentiles to Himself and with one another.   3) Incorporation   The same grace that reconciles us with Go

A few years back a friend of mine in Washington State had a near death experience. In God’s mercy, he survived. And I asked him how it had changed his perspective, and this is what he told me: “When you’re a dead man, and God gives you your life back, it means He’s got a purpose for you.”   And that’s what Ephesians 2:1-10 is all about: we were dead, but God made us alive, which gives our lives new purpose.   1) Dead   The Bible offers a robust understanding for the origin of sin and evil. It arises from three things: human choices, cultural influences, and supernatural oppression. All three are simultaneously at work in a way that doesn’t negate the others.   Spiritual death is ravaging our lives, our families, our neighborhoods, our cities, our nation, and out world. And all that brokenness arises from human choice, cultural influences, and supernatural oppression.   We need a solution that addresses all three sources of evil at once. But we can’t do it on our own.   Apart from grace, we are hop

Did you know that as a follower of Jesus Christ you have a secret identity? By grace, through faith, in Jesus, you are a son or daughter of God! You are royalty incognito. You are an eternal being hidden in time. You are a Titan in this everyday world.   You say, “But I don’t feel or look very much like a Titan…” We think that Titans are supposed to be mighty, skillful, beautiful, and glorious. But, we feel like none of that’s true of us in the moment.   Oh, but one day it will be! When we see Jesus face-to-face, we shall be transformed into His likeness: splendid, beautiful, radiant, and glorious. We’ve been given a secret identity! Sons and Daughters of God! To the praise of His glory!   How is this even possible? How can it ever come to pass? How do we know our secret identity isn’t just wishful thinking?   In Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul shares three ways we can be confident that this secret identity will one day be revealed in glory:   1) Prayer   Our growth is grace.   Our growth is dependent