In this guest message, Pastor Eric Phillips of Midtown Baptist Temple examines the story of David and Saul in 1 Samuel and challenges us to consider the thoughts and messages we continually speak to ourselves.

Our thoughts have a powerful influence on our decisions, our perspective, and ultimately our direction. Scripture warns that getting what we want is not always evidence of God’s favor—it can sometimes be the result of His judgment. Likewise, fear, despair, and spiritual deception can lead us away from God’s will.

Through the life of David, Pastor Phillips explores the importance of trusting God through the valleys, prioritizing spiritual growth over comfort, and learning to replace fear and despair with the truth of God’s Word.

What are you telling yourself?
Are your thoughts rooted in fear and convenience, or in the truth of Scripture and the will of God?

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

In this sermon series through the Book of Romans, we are working through Paul’s foundational teaching on the gospel of God and its implications for the believer.

In Romans 1:1, Paul introduces himself as “a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle.” As we continue examining Paul’s introduction, we consider the significance of his name being identified as Paul rather than Saul.

The change in name marks an important transition in Paul’s ministry. Saul, the Jewish name by which he was known, becomes Paul as his ministry turns toward the Gentiles, fulfilling Christ’s calling for him to bear His name before the Gentiles.

From Paul’s new identity and calling, we examine what it means to be saved and serving—a man whose life was transformed by the grace of God and given over to the service of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

In this message from Romans 1:1, we begin our study by considering the remarkable nature of God's preserved Word and its power to establish believers in the faith. After tracing the historical flow of Scripture—from Israel's history in the Old Testament, through the Gospels and Acts, to God's calling of the Apostle Paul—we see why Romans occupies such a foundational place in the New Testament. Though not the first epistle Paul wrote, Romans is the first church epistle God places before us because it lays the doctrinal groundwork upon which the Christian life is built.

This message also explores the purpose and structure of Romans, emphasizing how the book establishes believers in the doctrines of justification, sanctification, God's present dispensation of grace, and practical Christian living. Along the way, we examine God's intentional order of the church epistles, the biblical pattern of spiritual growth through doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, and Paul's calling as "a servant of Jesus Christ." As we begin this verse-by-verse journey through Romans, we are reminded that God's desire is not merely that we possess truth, but that we be established, matured, and equipped to faithfully serve Christ and build up His body.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
For more information, visit the LFSTL website.