Have you ever imagined what it would be like to sit next to a 300-pound pig on an airplane? It happened once--a pig traveling in first class as someone's "therapeutic companion." You can guess how well that turned out. As the pig panicked, passengers scrambled, and chaos took over the cabin. This story serves as a vivid reminder that pride can be just as disruptive--even when it seems justified.
Pride often feels like a reasonable companion, something you think you can bring along for the ride without consequence. But like that 300-pound pig, pride will eventually turn restless and disturb everything around it. Paul, in Philippians, contrasts this chaos with the quiet power of humility. After looking at Christ's perfect humility and Timothy's devotion, Paul turns to a lesser-known man named Epaphroditus. Unlike pride, Epaphroditus lived in such a way that he made the journey better for everyone else. He was Paul's "brother," "fellow worker," and "fellow soldier"--titles that speak to a life lived for others and a commitment to advancing the gospel, no matter the personal cost.
Epaphroditus didn't get any medals or spotlight moments. In fact, he risked everything, even to the point of almost dying, to serve Paul and the church at Philippi. His story is a testament to humility--to showing up, serving faithfully, and genuinely caring for others. While pride demands attention and disrupts the peace, humility, like Epaphroditus' example, leaves an imprint of love, service, and sacrifice.
Today, as you listen to this message, ask yourself: What’s riding with you? Are you letting pride take up space in your first-class cabin, or are you striving to live like Epaphroditus—humble, serving, and selfless? The choice can make all the difference in the journey, both for you and for those around you.
Paul planned to visit Rome, but was instead imprisoned by Felix for two years. When he was finally allowed to leave, his ship capsized in Malta. Paul learned early in his ministry that 'the mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps (Proverbs 16:9).
We'll never live a life without regrets if we aren't committed to living today without regrets. Paul shows us what that commitment looks like in Philippians 2:16-18.
Discontentment is a virus in the Church today. It travels on the winds of gossip, snuffing out joy in every heart it passes through. Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:14-15 why it can have no place in a believer's life. How do we start shining as distinctive lights in our world? Stop grumbling and complaining about life and each other. The world knows how to do that too. And they're watching . . . just how different are you from them?
We are all different people. We have different tastes, hobbies, ambitions, and convictions. Our diversity is seen from the food we eat to the places we vacation. But in the midst of all this diversity, there are a few tendencies we share in common that hinder our spiritual growth and vitality. In this eye-opening look at Paul's exhortation to Philippian believers, Stephen exposes these tendencies and teaches us how to overcome them.
The fact that 11 of Jesus' 12 disciples were martyred for their proclamation of Christ's Divinity should tell you two things: first, that Christ's Divine nature is absolutely foundational to Christianity; and second, that the world doesn't like it.
Jesus washed men's feet. He touched lepers. He ate with tax collectors. He walked from place to place without material possessions. He was the Lord over all, yet became a servant to all. Are you following His example?
All our possessions are made of matter, which God created. All our talents and strengths come from our DNA, which God designed. Everything that sustains us from food, to air, to relationships, is a gift from God. Are you living in light of that today?
The only thing more baffling than the pride of man is the humility of God. Philippians 2:5-8 is a passage we will spend all eternity wrapping our minds around.
In Extravagant Grace, Part 3 (Philippians 4:6–7), Stephen Davey teaches believers how to conquer anxiety through prayer and trust in God. He compares worry to a deadly anaconda that strangles faith, urging Christians to “be anxious for nothing.” Instead of allowing fear to consume them, they are to replace worry with prayer—bringing every concern to God with gratitude. Davey explains that worry pulls believers apart, while thankful prayer realigns their hearts toward God’s power and presence. The result is a supernatural peace that “guards hearts and minds in Christ Jesus,” a peace flowing directly from God’s own character. This peace doesn’t come from understanding circumstances but from trusting the God who controls them all. Through continual, thankful prayer, believers display the extravagant grace of God by living free from fear and full of peace.
In Extravagant Grace, Part 2 (Philippians 4:4–5), Stephen Davey teaches that believers are called to display grace in a disappointed and self-centered world through two qualities—a resolution to be joyful and a reputation for gentleness. Joy, he explains, is not dependent on circumstances but flows from the Holy Spirit, the gospel, and trust in God’s sovereignty—even in suffering. Gentleness, often misunderstood as weakness, is strength under control—a willingness to yield, be courteous, and respond to hostility with grace. Using vivid examples from history, culture, and personal experience, Davey challenges believers to demonstrate joy and gentleness as living testimonies of Christ’s presence. Because “the Lord is near,” Christians can embody supernatural calm and kindness, showing a frustrated world the reality of God’s transforming grace.
In his sermon on Ecclesiastes 12:1–8, Stephen Davey explains Solomon’s urgent call to “remember your Creator” while young, because ignoring God early in life leads to confusion in youth, misery in old age, and regret at death. Solomon describes aging with vivid imagery—failing eyesight, shaking hands, trembling legs, sleepless nights, fading voices, and diminishing desire—reminding listeners that physical strength inevitably declines. Davey emphasizes that these poetic pictures are not meant to discourage but to motivate believers to build a foundation of trust and obedience long before the hardships of aging arrive. Solomon then depicts death as sudden and certain, when the body returns to dust and the spirit returns to God for judgment. Davey concludes that life is fleeting, but remembering your Creator—walking with Him now—prepares you for every season of life and for the final awakening after death.
In his sermon on Ecclesiastes 7:1–14, Stephen Davey explains how Solomon shifts from raising life’s troubling questions to offering God-given wisdom for living well. Davey highlights four truths Solomon teaches: contemplate your mortality, because facing death cultivates serious thinking and a life of purpose rather than pretense; choose wise companions, since the rebuke of the godly is far more valuable than the shallow laughter of fools; cultivate godly character, resisting the pull of anger, corruption, impatience, and nostalgic fantasies about “the good old days”; and consider your Creator with humility, recognizing that God ordains both prosperity and adversity, the straight paths and the crooked ones, to deepen trust in Him. Davey concludes that Solomon’s inspired counsel urges believers to live with sober perspective, intentional relationships, steadfast integrity, and humble dependence on the God who shapes every season of life.
Stephen Davey’s sermon “Reconcilable Differences” (Philippians 4:2–3) explains that real church and family life are messy, which is exactly where extravagant grace must be practiced. Using humorous and honest stories, he shows that grace is more than a doctrine we receive from God—it’s a costly, deliberate way of stooping low in attitude and action toward difficult people. Paul’s appeal to Euodia and Syntyche models gracious confrontation: he names them, refuses to take sides, reminds them of their shared labor in the gospel, and urges them to “live in harmony in the Lord,” enlisting a trusted “true companion” to help them reconcile. Stephen Davey draws out principles that disagreements are inevitable, even mature believers don’t always disagree agreeably, and small conflicts—if unchecked—can damage an entire church. Instead of taking sides, spiritually mature believers should step in to untangle issues and protect the unity of the body, remembering that everyone’s name is written in the book of life. He concludes with the example of a Christian bus driver whose daily, practical kindness creates a community of grace, urging believers to let that same grace characterize their relationships in the church.
