OU Riverside Hosts Sermon Series Speaker on Faithful Service and Reconciliation

December 20, 2025

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Olivet University Riverside campus welcomed Pastor Matthew Nevills, Senior Pastor of Anza Baptist Church, as the guest speaker for its Wednesday service. Nevills preached from Philemon 1:17 to 22 and delivered a message titled “The Lord Is Teaching and Training Us to Become Good Slaves.”

Pastor Nevills opened the service by sharing his testimony and reflecting on the servant heart he observed within the Olivet University community. He expressed appreciation for the ways God is working through the students and members, noting that God is continually shaping each believer’s life to live faithfully and obediently according to His purposes.

Drawing on the historical context of slavery in the Roman world, Nevills explained that the Apostle Paul’s appeal to Philemon to receive back the runaway slave Onesimus would have been shocking and countercultural in its time. He described how the passage presents a clear picture of the gospel, with Onesimus returning in repentance, Philemon being called to forgive and receive him in love, and Paul acting as an intercessor by offering to repay any debt on Onesimus’s behalf. Through this message, Nevills emphasized that Christians are called to receive one another as Christ has received them and to pursue reconciliation within the church.

Nevills also highlighted that believers are called to serve one another as Christ served and to live as servants of Christ. He explained that this calling is not a burden but a blessing, teaching that true freedom is found in humble obedience and loving service to the Lord, referencing Galatians 5:13.

The sermon concluded with a reminder that being a faithful servant of Christ is central to the Christian life. Nevills encouraged listeners by noting that God refines His people by shaping their hearts through service, humility, and commitment to the church community.

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