Central Church NYC Central Presbyterian Church

Pastoral resident Abhishikth Babu gave a sermon on Philippians 3:3-10 titled "Christ, Our Righteousness."

It’s a painful reality that Christians have, in some instances, been on the wrong side of history when it comes to issues of injustice and oppression. Is that a right representation of Christianity? Is that a reflection of what the Christian faith is all about? The New Testament book of Philemon suggests otherwise. Listen to this sermon as we consider a lesser recognized contrasting reality: That the most powerful critique of oppression actually has a Christian source.

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Christianity is often regarded as being just a bunch of restrictive rules, limiting the freedom of its followers by forcing them to adhere to a long list of specific dos and don’ts. But was Jesus’ intent to suppress us and restrict us from freely being ourselves? As it turns out, both ancient and modern conceptions of freedom lead us down a path that is ironically enslaving. But the most glorious irony is in what the so-called “restrictive” nature of Christianity does for us. Listen to this sermon as we consider the ultimate source of freedom.

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Christianity is a faith with ancient origins. But is it outdated? More specifically, are the principles, morals, and ways of Christianity enemies of progress? This is a question that has been asked throughout much of Christianity’s existence. Answering this question requires an examination of the notion of “progress,” the presumed trajectory of society. But what if “progress” is really rooted in something much deeper — something directly correlated to the Christian faith itself? Listen to this sermon as we consider the backward- or forward-thinking essence of Christianity.

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Across the centuries there have been people who have used the Bible to propagate chauvinistic, sexist, denigrating views. But this ideological conclusion can only be drawn when Scripture is mishandled, misinterpreted, or misapplied. Jesus’ life and teachings not only uphold the value and dignity of women, they also promote a beautiful synergy between men and women as God’s image bearers that strongly counters Christianity’s misogynistic reputation. Listen to this sermon as we consider the biblical opposition to sexism.

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Understanding who we are is integral to living a meaningful life. As human beings we strive to discover and live out our true identities. So when Christianity instructs us not to affirm our self but to deny our self, it initially seems to oppose the very goal of becoming the truest version of who we are. Upon closer examination of the Scriptures, however, we see that shifting our identity from being rooted within our self to being rooted outside of our self is exactly how we find the stable identity we’ve been craving all along. Listen to this sermon as we consider how our identities are not repressed but rather fulfilled through our faith in Jesus.

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