Stratford Heights Church of God

Stratford Heights Church of God
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Christianity
  • Weekly

Weekly messages from Stratford Heights Church of God in Middletown, Ohio — Bible teaching for real life. Every Sunday we open the Scriptures together and ask how they shape the way we live — at home, at work, in our families and in our faith. Whether you're exploring faith for the first time, getting back to church, or have followed Jesus for years, these messages are for you. Stratford Heights is a community of faith, hope, and love. Join us in person on Sundays at 9:00 and 11:00 AM at 4419 Nelson Rd., Middletown, OH, or watch live at shcog.com.

Episodes

  1. Oct 25

    What Are You Waiting For? | Pastor James Jones

    Speaker: Pastor James Jones What are you waiting for? In this message from Stratford Heights Church of God, Pastor James Jones preaches from Psalm 39: “And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee.” He shows how busy lives, pressure, and past hurts drain our passion and leave us lukewarm and numb. He also shows how musing, taking time to think deeply about God’s goodness and His Word, rekindles the fire. Drawing on Job’s picture of a tree that sprouts again at the scent of water, Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, the road to Emmaus, and the church at Laodicea, Pastor Jones calls us to stop standing on the sidelines and choose hope in Jesus Christ. If you feel dried up, cut down, or stuck, this sermon on hope, faith, and spiritual passion is for you. You’ll hear three questions from the psalmist (my end, the measure of my days, and how frail I am) and three responses: be certain of your destiny, have a keen sense of purpose, and see yourself accurately in Christ. The service ends with an invitation and the sinner’s prayer for anyone ready to give their life to Jesus. Subscribe for more Christian sermons, Bible teaching, and encouragement from Stratford Heights Church of God.

  2. Oct 18

    Count Again, For Heaven’s Sake | Who’s Missing From Your Church?

    Speaker: Pastor Ray Phillips Series: Belonging Have you ever sat in church and felt invisible, like no one would notice if you never came back? In "Count Again, For Heaven's Sake," Pastor Ray Phillips of Stratford Heights Church of God continues our series on belonging with the Parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke 15:1-7. We're good at counting attendance, baptisms and crowds. Heaven counts differently. Heaven counts who is missing. Pastor Ray shares the night his family drove home without his little sister and why nothing was okay until she was home. He shows how Jesus "receives sinners and eats with them," how the woman at the well was pursued, and why the holiness of God is strong enough to handle the brokenness of lost people. This message calls the whole church, not just pastors, to carry the heart of the Good Shepherd (Ephesians 4:11-13). Pastor Ray closes with five practical commitments: ask who's missing, learn names, deepen relationships, contact one missing person, and fill an empty chair. Whether you're searching for a church family in the Middletown, Ohio area or watching from anywhere in the world, you belong here. Subscribe for more sermons on faith, Christian community, church family, grace, and following Jesus.

  3. Oct 11

    Don’t Answer That: How to Silence the Enemy’s Voice

    Speaker: Pastor Ray Phillips Series: Belonging Who have you been listening to? What thought keeps circling in your mind when the house gets quiet? In “Don’t Answer That,” Pastor Ray Phillips of Stratford Heights Church of God takes us to Nehemiah chapter 6. Nehemiah was almost done rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem when his enemies kept inviting him to “come down” to the plain of Ono. His answer still speaks to us: “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.” The voice you believe shapes the life you live. This message shows how to recognize negative voices, heal wounded thinking, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5, Philippians 4:8). Pastor Ray lays out the enemy’s three strategies: distraction, deception and destruction. Then he shows how to stand firm against each one. All the enemy ever wants is access. From Joseph’s false accusation to Jesus refusing to come down from the cross, this sermon on spiritual warfare, discernment and staying focused will encourage you to resist the devil, guard your heart, and pray Nehemiah’s five words: “O God, strengthen my hands.” If you’re tired, discouraged or under attack, don’t quit and don’t come down. Finish the work God called you to do.

  4. Oct 4

    By His Grace... I Quit!

    Speaker: Pastor James Jones Is it really possible to quit sinning, or do we just have to sin a little bit every day? In this message, "I Quit," Pastor James Jones of Stratford Heights Church of God talks about three words: heritage, legacy, and testimony. He tells his own story of meeting God on a mound of dirt at youth camp, then his mom asking him from the pew, "Did you quit?", then the last days of his brother David. Through all of it he shows from Scripture (Luke 13:3, James 4:7-8, 1 Corinthians 10:13, 1 John 2:1) that repentance means turning away from sin, and that God's grace gives us the power to do it. You'll learn why temptation is not sin, and how Jesus beat the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life in the wilderness. Pastor Jones also covers the benefits of quitting: a clear conscience, peace that passes understanding, joy unspeakable, and redeeming love. Whether you grew up in church, carry church hurt, or are looking for hope for the first time, this sermon on repentance, grace, holy living, and Christian testimony will push you to decide today: I quit. Subscribe for more sermons from Stratford Heights Church of God in Middletown, Ohio.

  5. Sep 27

    Welcoming Isn't Belonging: Make Room at the Table

    Speaker: Pastor Ray Phillips Series: Belonging Can you feel welcome without ever feeling like you belong? In this message from our Belonging series, Pastor Ray tells a true story from Japan. Loneliness there has grown so severe that "kodokushi," or lonely death, is now an epidemic, and people pay by the hour to rent a fake spouse, fake children, or fake friends. One man spent his pension to rent a wife and daughter for a single evening, just to feel what it's like to have a seat at the table. Pastor Ray asks a hard question: how many people in our own pews feel just as isolated? Using the Parable of the Great Banquet in Luke 14 and Hebrews 13:1–2, this sermon looks at how Jesus challenged exclusive religious circles. He ate with sinners and tax collectors, touched the leper, and showed that the holiness of God isn't fragile. It's a message about Christian community, hospitality, loneliness, and what it means for the church to be a family. God's house has room for everyone. Make room at the table.

  6. Sep 20

    Home Where I Belong

    Speaker: Pastor Ray Phillips Series: Belonging In this message from the Belonging series, Pastor Ray Phillips opens Ephesians 2:19 and Psalm 84 to show that the church was never meant to be a crowd gathered around a platform, but a family gathered around Jesus. Starting with Maslow's hierarchy of needs, he walks through why love and belonging sit right alongside food, water, shelter and safety as a basic human need — and why the local church is the one place where that need meets eternity. Along the way he shares openly about being bullied from seventh grade through twelfth grade at Trotwood Madison High School, praying every single morning that God would make him invisible, hiding in stairwells at lunch, and titling his high school journal "The Autobiography of the Invisible Man."

  7. Sep 13

    Get Out of the Boat: Bishop Chris and Kathy Swift

    Speaker: Bishop Chris and Kathy Swift Bishop Chris and Kathy Swift bring a powerful word to Stratford Heights Church of God in Middletown, Ohio, from Matthew 14:22-31 and Acts 3:1-6. Starting with Peter walking on the water, they ask the question every believer has to face: is the boat your comfort zone, or is it the only thing you think is keeping you from drowning? This sermon walks line by line through the storm, the moment Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and begins to sink, and the grace of a Savior who gives a first, second, third, and fourth chance to anyone who cries out to Him. From there, Bishop Swift moves to Peter and John at the Beautiful Gate, where two ordinary men with no silver and gold gave a lame man something better — the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.

  8. Sep 6

    From Stranger to Family - The Belonging

    Speaker: Pastor Ray Phillips Series: Belonging What does it really mean to belong? Pastor Ray Phillips opens the new Belonging series with "From Stranger to Family," a message from Ephesians 2:11–22. Paul reminds us that we were once far off, strangers to the covenant, without hope and without God in the world, but now in Christ Jesus we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Pastor Ray shows that Jesus did more than cancel our guilt. At the cross He ended our separation from God and broke down every wall that divides us, so we are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

  9. Aug 30

    What Kind of God Do You Need When the Storm Hits? | Bishop Charles Fischer

    Speaker: Bishop Charles Fischer Guest speaker Bishop Charles Fischer brings a powerful word to Stratford Heights Church of God on Pastor Appreciation Day, preaching from Mark 6:45-52 on the storm-tossed disciples and Jesus walking on water. In this sermon, "What Kind of God Do You Need When You Get Into a Storm?", Bishop Fischer unpacks three truths every believer needs when life gets stormy: a God who sees you even when you can't see Him, a God who knows exactly when to show up, and a God who calms the storm inside you before He calms the storm around you. Drawing from decades of pastoral and evangelistic ministry, he shares personal testimony alongside biblical teaching on trusting God through financial hardship, family struggles, health issues, and seasons of doubt.

  10. Aug 23

    The Danger Zone Part 2 — When Fear Gets The Final Word

    Speaker: Pastor Ray Phillips In Part 2 of "Danger Zone," Pastor Ray Phillips returns to James 4:17 — "to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin" — and finishes the courtroom he opened last Sunday. He opens with a personal report from an unforgettable week, including shaking hands with the Vice President of the United States, then turns straight to the danger itself. Fear rarely wrecks a life all at once. It works like an airplane on autopilot drifting a half degree off course: nothing feels wrong in the moment, but you land in a destination you were never meant to reach. Pastor Ray warns against treating fear, anxiety, defeatism, and discouragement as normal companions, and calls the church back from the cheap grace lie — the idea that a quick prayer is a receipt that covers a casual, unholy life. There is mercy for those who don't know. But when you know, and fear gets the final word anyway, you have entered the danger zone.

  11. Aug 16

    The Danger Zone - When Fear Gets The Final Word

    Speaker: Pastor Ray Phillips Pastor Ray Phillips opens John 19 and James 4:17 with a sentence the Lord gave him in his devotion: "They knew the truth but chose the lie because fear was louder than conviction." This message, titled "Danger Zone," walks through the sobering reality that knowledge creates responsibility — that once God turns on the light, we can no longer claim we don't know what's in the room. Standing in an imaginary courtroom, Pastor Ray calls five witnesses from Scripture: a priest, a king, ten respected leaders, a governor, and a disciple. Each one stood at the same intersection where truth pulled one direction and fear pulled the other, and for one terrible moment each of them let fear have the final word. This is Part 1 of a two-part series, covering the first two witnesses.

  • 11 Episodes

About

Weekly messages from Stratford Heights Church of God in Middletown, Ohio — Bible teaching for real life. Every Sunday we open the Scriptures together and ask how they shape the way we live — at home, at work, in our families and in our faith. Whether you're exploring faith for the first time, getting back to church, or have followed Jesus for years, these messages are for you. Stratford Heights is a community of faith, hope, and love. Join us in person on Sundays at 9:00 and 11:00 AM at 4419 Nelson Rd., Middletown, OH, or watch live at shcog.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Stratford Heights Church of God
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    11
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Stratford Heights Church of God
  • Show Website
    Stratford Heights Church of God