William Morris said we should keep nothing in our houses that we do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. Revd. Mark Fletcher asks whether the same is true of what we spend our lives chasing. In Philippians 3:3-11, Paul lists an impressive record: a Pharisee, a persecutor of the church, "blameless" under the law. Yet looking back he writes, "whatever gains I had, I have come to regard as loss because of Christ".

In this sermon, part of the series Light in the Darkness, Mark asks, "What is it for you?" Wealth, status and pleasure are not necessarily bad in themselves, but do they give fullness of life, or do they trap us? C. S. Lewis said, "We are too easily pleased." Paul's ambition was far greater: "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection". Mark finds in it an incredible dignity, that our pains and our sorrows "need not be meaningless", and a promise that death is not the end.

His challenge is to cut through the clutter: "Don't settle for that which does not satisfy."

What are you pursuing in life, and will it still matter in the end?

Full transcript and video: https://stpeters.ch/sermons/what-really-matters-in-life/